Striking the Right Note

5: Brent Neale

As soon as I saw the hexagonal shaped blue chalcedony, I knew I wanted to make it the focal point of the piece. I also really love baguettes, and I use them a lot in my work so I really wanted to use the mint green beryls to accent the chalcedony. Sometimes when you’re trying to fit a bunch of stones into a piece, it can feel like you’re forcing it. But that wasn’t the case here—they seemed to work together perfectly.

I love rings, and these stones just seemed to scream big ring to me. I envisioned a fun, chunky cocktail ring that Sarah could easily wear during the day or when hitting the town after work. It’s a piece being created to mark a special occasion, so I wanted it to look special. I designed it in 18k yellow gold because it’s flattering with all skin tones and it looks great with most colored gemstones, especially in big cocktail pieces.

I like clean simple lines, and I try to avoid using prongs in my work so all of the stones are gypsy...