Art Deco Design
Art Deco-Inspired design is a personal favorite here at Alx&Co. and we get many requests for custom and bespoke rings that reference this era. It’s easy to see why the aesthetic is so popular: done well, Art Deco design balances intricacy with simplicity and often suites people who want something that feels extremely special without feeling frilly…
The Alx&Co. Experience
Working with Alx&Co. is a totally different experience than most encounter these days in the fine jewelry industry. Over the years, we have created a niche area of custom design expertise with which we pair a truly client-centered service approach that leaves our clients feeling considered from the moment of the initial design request all the way through our lasting guarantee policy. As one of our recent satisfied clients reported…
What to Expect in Your First Design Appointment
One thing we pride ourselves in is that we aren’t your typical jeweler. In this way, if you’re preparing for your first appointment with Alx&Co. you may want to take a look at what to expect from your consultation. If you have visited other jewelers in the past you may be (pleasantly) surprised by the experience…
Creating a Mood Board for Design Inspiration
We’ve said it once, we’ll say it again: deciding what you want for your bespoke design can be a daunting challenge these days. The good news is, you have all the options in the world at your fingertips with endless inspiration streaming from Instagram, Pinterest, and Google every day. The bad news is, it can be very, very difficult to discern design you simply find beautiful from design you find beautiful for yourself…
What a Difference Metal Choice Makes!
When it comes to color choice for your setting, some people have a precise idea of what they like and some people really vary in their decision. Personally, I hold a solid preference for yellow gold in most pieces for myself. That being said, I like the look of platinum for other people and love the seamless look it brings. I also think that in most antique-inspired rings, platinum really reigns supreme. During consultations I explain to clients that a yellow gold setting will draw the eye towards the whole ring so that you notice the design as much as you do the diamond…
Designing For Your Lifestyle
In this profession, the internet is both our best friend and our worst enemy. On the one hand, our clients are able to come to their design consultations fully armed with plenty of ideas, photos, and knowledge that they can use to design their perfect ring. On the other hand, there is SO MUCH out there, and unless you really know jewelry, it can be difficult to really understand the difference between a good design idea and a bad design idea…
Sourcing Gemstones with Alx&Co.
For many clients, a design can barely begin without first figuring out the feature stone. Unless you are working with an heirloom redesign, most clients don’t have loose gemstones available to use and most designs are completely contingent upon that feature stone for everything from budget considerations to design proportion allowances…
A Minimalist Heirloom Redesign
Our featured client had an antique family ring that held some sentimental value but that unfortunately was in pretty dismal shape after multiple poorly executed repairs done elsewhere. The ring - set with a nicely-sized natural diamond in the center and flanked by a pair of synthetic blue sapphires - was stylistically not her cup of tea. Combined with the poor state of the ring in general, these factors led our client to pursue other options for resetting the stones.
How to Design Jewelry… Even If You Aren’t a Jewelry Designer
A common refrain I hear from clients is that they don’t know anything about jewelry and have no idea where to even begin when it comes to custom design. Whenever I hear this I tell them that they have nothing to worry about - jewelry design can be done by anyone, with the right guidance…
Introducing The Stargazer Collection
We are thrilled to introduce to you the newest additions to our Alx&Co. lineup… The Stargazer Collection! Like our other Collection items, this daily-wear ensemble was created with customization in mind…
A Gorgeous Idea for Loose Diamonds
One of the most common requests we get for redesign work is to reset a family diamond in a more wearable setting. Many of our clients have either inherited jewelry from family members that isn’t their style, or they come to us because they are interested in resetting a diamond setting from a previous marriage into a different - less engagement feeling - design…
End of Summer Homework: Planning Your Holiday Engagement
Planning a holiday engagement? Let us give you one piece of advice: you need to start your ring design process now. Depending on your circumstances, that might be a bit daunting. Maybe you have never shopped for fine jewelry before, or maybe you don’t have a firm grip on the best style for your engagement ring design. Lucky for you, we kind of specialize in this sort of thing…
Custom v. Bespoke v. Private Jeweler: Do You Know the Difference?
When picking the right jeweler for your project, things can get confusing. Most jewelers now advertise some form of “custom design” but it can be difficult to know exactly what this means until you are in the middle of a sales pitch…
Do’s and Don’ts of Caring for Fine Jewelry
Taking care of fine jewelry doesn’t need to be complicated. When clients pick up their completed rings with us, we always give them the run down on how to best care for their new piece but the summary is pretty straightforward: get it professionally checked regularly and keep an eye on it. That being said, sometimes it’s helpful to know what to do and what not to do, so here is a simple breakdown of our best recommendations from our workshop…
Buying a Sapphire with Alx&Co.
I love sapphires and in so many ways I even prefer them to diamonds. From a gemologist’s perspective, walking through different sapphires with clients is a much more interesting process than with a typical round brilliant cut diamond search because there are so many more variables to go over between the stones…
Our Top Three Tips for Buying a Diamond
Starting a diamond search can be a daunting task, but we try to make the process as easy going as possible. Unlike many other jewelers, we do all of our diamond searches on a custom basis, meaning we don’t keep an inventory on hand for selling….