News
Custom Design or Help With Your Estate Jewelry By Appointment January 3, 2023 01:30
Things can get a hectic in our little store, so starting in 2023, we will be available to meet with you by appointment for engagement ring shopping, custom design or help going through the box of estate jewelry you just inherited.
We will schedule appointments with you between 10am to noon. So you can come in before the store opens at noon. This will allow us to focus all of our attention on you - without interruption.
Call us at 616-897-9480 to set up your appointment.
Or you can email Cliff - cliffy777(at)comcast.net
(put the @ symbol where it belongs!)
The Chimera Advantage - What it Means For YOU March 9, 2022 17:54
Learn about The #Chimera Advantage. We are celebrating our 20th year in Lowell. Part of that celebration is telling you all the advantages of doing business with Chimera Design.Just What She Had In Mind - New Jewelry From Old June 27, 2019 17:51
Sue had three rings containing nine diamonds that she was not wearing any longer. She had an idea in her head for all the gold and diamonds to be combined into a single ring.
She wanted it to be 10-11mm wide at the top and taper down. She wanted the diamonds to be set as low as possible. We can do that! We sent a quick sketch to Jere (at first she had 7 diamonds, then found a pair of earrings so the sketch shows 7).
Jere took my lovely (!) sketch and sent me back several CAD images for Sue to look at.
Sue approved the CAD image, so we cut the wax. Sue took at look at it and said, "That is exactly what I had in mind." Next step was melting down her old gold, casting the ring, setting all the diamonds and polishing everything up. The result was this:
Well, Sue was beside herself when she picked up the ring. One of the things we love about our "job" is helping people bring a piece of jewelry from thought to reality. Sue let me get my phone and capture some of her happiness:
From a sketch to a ring - we can do that! December 3, 2015 16:56
Chris had taken his drawing into a big box store - not only was our price lower, we completed the ring for him in a little over 4 weeks. They told him it would be three months to get it done. Less $$ and faster service at Chimera Design!Engagement Rings V5 - Examples From All Sources September 23, 2015 19:00
We have posted the various ways we can provide YOU with the engagement ring of your dreams. Please allow me to recap the methods.
- You can use our online Chimera Showcase App.
- We can use CAD/CAM technology and lost wax casting.
- We have a variety of great vendors.
- Julie can fabricate engagement rings.
In this post, we just want to share some of the engagement rings we have done to give you ideas.
Engagement Rings V3 - Some of our great vendors September 23, 2015 12:50
We have a variety of ways we can provide you with an engagement ring or other piece of jewelry. We have shared examples of our online design at The Chimera Design Showcase, we have discussed our CAD/CAM and lost wax casting process in our blog.
We also have a great relationship with some vendors that we have gotten to know and trust over the years. We would like to show you some examples of the kind of rings they can provide.
Jose and Janine are VERY active people. Jose found a lovely diamond in our Estate section and he wanted a vintage look for Janine. He loved this setting because of the classic styling combined with the protective element of the cathedral setting (the ring comes up to the side of the diamond). We made the diamond even more secure by setting it in a half-bezel.
Justin inherited a diamond from his father's aunt. He wanted a simple, elegant setting. He and Cliff looked for something until he settled on this one - he decided to step out and have the ring cast in rose gold to make it stand out. We set the diamond in a 6 prong head.
Lori wanted to celebrate her marriage to David by setting her diamond into a new ring with that had some delicate accent diamonds. She also enhanced her marquise diamond by having us remount it into a halo head.
Jessica celebrated her 2nd decade with Scott by setting her diamond into a much more contemporary setting than he had previously. Their new ring is two tone and incorporates a half-bezel setting for their diamond.
Quinn picked out one of our Ideal Cut round half carats (VS2 I-J color for $1,400 to $1,700) cut by our friend Michael in New Jersey. The he had us set it in a halo-head.
Engagement Rings V2 - CAD/CAM and Lost Wax Casting September 23, 2015 12:15
We love technology at Chimera Design. Cliff and Jere have been working together using CAD/CAM and the art of lost wax casting to create custom engagement rings and other pieces of jewelry for almost ten years now. Here is a quick overview of the process:
- Cliff & Jere take your vision and create a CAD/CAM image.
- Once you approve the image a wax model is cut.
- You can inspect the wax before we cast it.
- We cast the model in your choice of precious metal.
- The stone(s) are set and BINGO - you have your jewelry creation.
Sometimes people come in with a design they have sketched out, sometimes they come in with pictures they have found on the net - sometimes they just come in with one or more diamonds looking for ideas. YES WE CAN - we can make a piece of jewelry as unique as you are.
Victoria had a yellow gold band with she loved. She wanted to celebrate 20 years with Todd by getting a new solitaire diamond set in a ring that would match the shape of the ring she had. This collage of photos shows the band, the CAD/CAM image, the wax model and the finished ring.
Juli saw some ring designs online. There were certain elements she loved, but others that she did not like. We incorporated the parts she loved AND used most of the diamonds from two rings she already had - added a new, larger center diamond and Juli had the ring of her dreams. Here are two CAD images, one of the ring and one of the top. Below that is the finished ring.
Susan had an idea for a new ring for her diamond. She loves nature and wanted something that resembled a tree branch for her diamond and she wanted it accented by some blue sapphires.
One of the most popular ring designs we have ever done was for Sandy. She had an idea based on two or three ring styles - she took the halo element from one, the bezel set diamonds front and rear from another, and diamonds combined with rubies from yet another. We have made several rings that were inspired by Sandy's but PLEASE don't let her know!!!
Sam saw a ring on the website of a very famous jewelry designer, but a) he did not want to pay the premium price and b) he wanted to use different sized diamonds. Yes, we can do that.
This last example is a ring we made for Peter and Sarah. Sarah wanted her ring to be made with an uncut, unpolished diamond. She also wanted to incorporate some small, cognac colored diamonds from a ring Peter had given her. Sarah sent us some images of rings she found on the web for a starting point. Here is the end result:
