Handpicked

TOM KNOELL AND GIRLFRIEND KECIA Watari spent months traipsing through jewelry stores looking for a diamond engagement ring that would, in Knoell’s eyes, stand out like his bride.

Most of the rings the couple saw, however, looked as if they’d been spewed out by the thousands on an assembly line.

Then the couple spotted an unusual ring at Stuart Moore jewelers in Fashion Island Newport Beach. A sleek platinum sculpture, the ring had no fancy scrolls or prongs, just a row of diamonds supported by the curved metal.

“We’d never seen anything like it,” says Knoell, 27, of Costa Mesa.

With the help of store owner and jewelry designer Stuart Moore, Knoell and Watari designed a similar ring with a 1.2 square-cut diamond in a channel setting and 10 smaller diamonds on the side. The ring cost about $7,000, a bit over budget, but Knoell says the ring’s uniqueness made it worth the price.

“It’s really an expression of my girlfriend,” Knoell says. “It’s one of a kind.”

Many couples want engagement rings that break the mold. While they could pay less for a ring from a retailer who buys mass-produced rings in bulk, they don’t want to see their ring on anyone else. They seek out custom jewelers who can make them a piece shaped to their personality and taste.

“I’m not impressed with ready-made jewelry,” says Maria Cache of Fountain Valley, who married Joe in June. “I like something that stands out.”

The couple sought custom jeweler Glenn Ballard of Ballard & Sons in Fountain Valley to create a pave diamond ring in a platinum setting.

“It’s Art Deco-ish with a modern twist,” Maria says. “I work as a physical therapist, and I’ve gotten jewelry caught on patients before, so I wanted no jagged edges or sharp points.”

Her ring, set with diamonds inherited from his family along with a new center stone, cost $4,000. The Caches also had a wedding ring made for Joe out of white and yellow gold with channel-set diamonds from her family for $800.

“We’d trooped through jewelry stores and looked at one gold band and the next gold band and the next,” Joe says. “Then we went to Ballard, and we did pencil sketches of the rings we wanted, and they created the molds. It means more when it’s your design.”

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It’s not easy to find goldsmiths who can turn those sketches into dream rings.

At Stuart Moore’s workshop, two goldsmiths (who work primarily in platinum) cut and roll and shape precious metal as if they were bakers working with cookie dough.

Most mass-market jewelry is made primarily by machine using castings; the melted metal is poured into molds. Moore’s artisans use flat sheets and bars of platinum or gold, which they roll, bend, hammer, saw and file into shape.

“There are few craftsmen left who know how to do this,” Moore says.

Most train for a minimum of five years as apprentices in Germany or Switzerland. Moore has recruited goldsmiths who hammer out his designs at his stores in Newport Beach and SoHo in New York City, as well as a store opening in August in San Francisco.

He also carries pieces made by other designers using the same hands-on techniques.

“It takes about 12 to 15 hours to make a ring this way, versus a half-hour from a cast,” Moore says. Extra labor adds about $400 to the cost of producing a ring.

Those willing to pay the premium do so because they like the jewelry’s clean, architectural style--an almost industrial look that Moore says does not appeal to everyone.

“Our perfect customer is a 28-year-old architect,” he says. “It’s someone with an awareness of line and form.”

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Customers can modify the design of a ring they see in the shop or work with Moore in creating a piece.

Craftsmen who can handle such work represent an increasingly small portion of the industry.

“It’s getting rare for people to sit down and make jewelry,” says jeweler Glenn Ballard. “The big chains order 1,000 units at once from manufacturers. There’s nothing wrong with that, but some people want their own pieces, especially engagement rings because they’re a symbol of love.”

Customers meet with Ballard to draw up a design on paper. Ballard creates a wax carving of the design. From the gold or platinum casting, he fabricates the piece by hand, welding, setting stones and polishing. The process takes five to six times longer than for a ring made by machine.

“When they see the ring, they feel like they’ve made it,” Ballard says.

Ballard’s designs feature primarily geometric shapes or antique Victorian styles. He received first prize in a recent jewelry design contest staged by the Independent Jewelers Organization for a pair of original tourmaline and diamond earrings.

“Some styles I design are bold, smooth and tailored, but I also love fine swirls and filigree,” he says.

Couples like the idea that, in an age of mass marketing, they own a piece of jewelry conceived and created just for them.

“People instinctively recognize that someone used great skill, great love and spent many hours on something,” Moore says. “In our rushed society, we appreciate those things made by hand. It’s so rare today.”