Grandmother's Sapphire & Diamond Bracelet Transformed

Recently a long-time client came in and wanted to rework a bracelet she had inherited from her grandmother. The bracelet was chunky and a little dressy for her lifestyle.

After showing her many design options we landed on a classic style that was timeless.

This redesign was a little more complex than others. We had to incorporate oval sapphires and diamonds of various sizes. We wanted to do that in a way that masked the size difference between the diamonds.

The first step involved removing all stones from the original bracelet, measuring each one individually. Then we would be able to lay out a new bracelet design.

The client’s first thought was a traditional alternating sapphire and diamond line bracelet, but upon removing the stones we realized just how much of a size difference there was in the diamonds.

This is when we stepped in with an alternate design suggestion that would allow the client to use all of her stones.

We still used the idea of a traditional line bracelet as our starting point. We started laying out the bracelet by hand with one of the oval sapphires. Then, on each side of the oval we started with, we placed two diamonds that roughly matched each other. We continued that pattern for as long as possible around the bracelet. There were more diamonds than sapphires—so near the clasp we used only the remaining diamonds, graduating them from large to small.

After our layout by hand, we had a computer rendering completed so the client could review the design and provide her feedback. She loved the layout, so we moved forward.

Once the bracelet was created, our Goldsmith hand-set each stone, ensuring each ended up in the right spot for the design.

The result was amazing. The client was speechless when she saw the final outcome! She immediately put the bracelet on and commented that the piece could be worn day or night. She added that her daughter would be excited, too, knowing that one day she will inherit a beautiful bracelet that’s been worn in some capacity by her great-grandmother, grandmother, and now her mother. The design may have changed, but all the stones remain the same!

If you have a custom design you'd like to explore, set up a consultation!