No, swallowing a ring that is not yours does not make it yours.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/7109869-418/man-gets-a-12-days-in-jail-for-swallowing-womans-diamond-ring.html
The nerve.
August 22, 2011
July 21, 2011
Those Insufferable "Creative" Types... sheesh.
During our morning cruise through the blogo-tumblr-webisphere we stumbled on this interesting little tidbit:
http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/21/7114042-creative-types-are-full-of-themselves-study-confirms
To sum it up quickly, researchers studied random college kids and concluded that people who identify as creative are considered by others as "full of themselves." Obviously this finding, in the grand scheme of things, means little... not unlike most random silly studies reported via news magazines. But it does give us the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be creative and to question what kinds of associations people make about creative people working in a creative industry.
Question #1
Are we blogging this topic to make our creative snobby selves feel better about being so snobby?
oooh that's a tricky one... verrry tricky.
Question #2
Do we consider ourselves creative?
Not really. But we do have a distinct point of view about jewelry and jewelry design. Most of the time this point of view drives the entire design process. During the process of designing a piece of jewelry we use common sense, experience, and innovation. When we are designing for a client, we listen. We ask a lot of questions and we listen some more. Then we listen. When we design for our cases we design what we like and have found that people respond to our taste and point of view. Every ring we make looks like a J Albrecht Ring. If a J Albrecht Ring is not for you, well then you're just crazy. (is this confidence or creative-type-who's-full-of-himself mentality? hmmm.) All kidding aside, are we "full of ourselves" enough to belive that our design point of view is better than some others? As a matter of fact, yes. We do think that hand made, considered, thoughtful fine jewelry in a clean, modern style is better than a lot of what's out there in the world of mass produced, hollow, ultra trendy, celebrity-driven jewelry. And are there other designers out there doing creative work? Absolutley, and we're humbled by them.
Question #3
What makes us so confidnet about our work?
We're confident about our work because have the chops to back it up. Insert Kid Rock song here. Seriously, though, our Goldmsith, Kenny, has 15 years on the bench. J started in the industry at 18 and went on to mentor Hawk when he was just 18. And Laina... well, you know... she's super duper creative.
When we meet with a challenge, we figure it out. Ask Jay and he'll tell you that good design solves problems. He may also mention that "it's called work for a reason." Combine 53 years experience with a workshop full of state-of-the-art technology, and you've got a shop that can take being labeled "full of themselves" with a grain of salt.
Question #4
Do we hang out trying to be "Cool Creative Designer People?"
Nope. We just happen to be a family who's carved out a little corner for ourselves in the world of Custom Jewelry. We have the extreme pleasure of helping our clients celebrate birthdays, graduations, engagements, promotions, weddings, anniversaries and births. It's an honor when people ask us to create jewelry to commemorate lost loved ones. We really just want to work hard, and be kind and honest with people, and raise our kids to do the same. We've got a feeling that this applies to just about everyone, "creative" or not.
http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/21/7114042-creative-types-are-full-of-themselves-study-confirms
To sum it up quickly, researchers studied random college kids and concluded that people who identify as creative are considered by others as "full of themselves." Obviously this finding, in the grand scheme of things, means little... not unlike most random silly studies reported via news magazines. But it does give us the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be creative and to question what kinds of associations people make about creative people working in a creative industry.
Question #1
Are we blogging this topic to make our creative snobby selves feel better about being so snobby?
oooh that's a tricky one... verrry tricky.
Question #2
Do we consider ourselves creative?
Not really. But we do have a distinct point of view about jewelry and jewelry design. Most of the time this point of view drives the entire design process. During the process of designing a piece of jewelry we use common sense, experience, and innovation. When we are designing for a client, we listen. We ask a lot of questions and we listen some more. Then we listen. When we design for our cases we design what we like and have found that people respond to our taste and point of view. Every ring we make looks like a J Albrecht Ring. If a J Albrecht Ring is not for you, well then you're just crazy. (is this confidence or creative-type-who's-full-of-himself mentality? hmmm.) All kidding aside, are we "full of ourselves" enough to belive that our design point of view is better than some others? As a matter of fact, yes. We do think that hand made, considered, thoughtful fine jewelry in a clean, modern style is better than a lot of what's out there in the world of mass produced, hollow, ultra trendy, celebrity-driven jewelry. And are there other designers out there doing creative work? Absolutley, and we're humbled by them.
Question #3
What makes us so confidnet about our work?
We're confident about our work because have the chops to back it up. Insert Kid Rock song here. Seriously, though, our Goldmsith, Kenny, has 15 years on the bench. J started in the industry at 18 and went on to mentor Hawk when he was just 18. And Laina... well, you know... she's super duper creative.
When we meet with a challenge, we figure it out. Ask Jay and he'll tell you that good design solves problems. He may also mention that "it's called work for a reason." Combine 53 years experience with a workshop full of state-of-the-art technology, and you've got a shop that can take being labeled "full of themselves" with a grain of salt.
Question #4
Do we hang out trying to be "Cool Creative Designer People?"
Nope. We just happen to be a family who's carved out a little corner for ourselves in the world of Custom Jewelry. We have the extreme pleasure of helping our clients celebrate birthdays, graduations, engagements, promotions, weddings, anniversaries and births. It's an honor when people ask us to create jewelry to commemorate lost loved ones. We really just want to work hard, and be kind and honest with people, and raise our kids to do the same. We've got a feeling that this applies to just about everyone, "creative" or not.
June 09, 2011
April 25, 2011
Pearl Street is in Bloom
Pearl Street is blooming...
We simply could not work in a more beautiful place than Boulder, Colorado. All around town the trees are flowering and the beds on the mall are blooming with tulips. Why not make an afternoon of it next time you drop in to have your jewelry serviced? We'd love to recommend our favorite spots for brunch, shopping, and happy hour... just give us a call!
We simply could not work in a more beautiful place than Boulder, Colorado. All around town the trees are flowering and the beds on the mall are blooming with tulips. Why not make an afternoon of it next time you drop in to have your jewelry serviced? We'd love to recommend our favorite spots for brunch, shopping, and happy hour... just give us a call!
April 19, 2011
Diamonds and Donuts; Jolie Designs visits J Albrecht.
On Thursday we welcomed Michael from Jolie Designs to the shop. We sat down with a little coffee & donuts (Frasca Cafe's amazing maple glazed confections are really more like pure inspiration than breakfast food) and played.
Looking through the new Jolie collection we were excited to find many vintage styles with a decidedly modern point of view...one ring in particular showcased a delicate swirl of flush set diamonds across the crown, with traditional bead set diamonds trailing down the shank of the ring. In other words, not just your standard diamond-millgrain-intense ring you see advertised in "Stylish Lady Magazine."
Maybe it was the three cups of coffee, the donut afterglow, or perhaps Jolie's exquisite french baguette sapphires, but we suddenly got the urge to splurge. Aside from the assortment of stylish diamond stacking bands we're known to carry, we've selected additional fancy diamond bands that will stack with the originals beautifully and hand picked many really lovely engagement settings (many with said french cut sapphire baguettes). Along with rings, we culled some stunning pendants and several lever back earrings perfect for wearing everyday. Look for all of these new sparlkies to hit our cases the end of May. Here's a tiny preview of things to come...
Looking through the new Jolie collection we were excited to find many vintage styles with a decidedly modern point of view...one ring in particular showcased a delicate swirl of flush set diamonds across the crown, with traditional bead set diamonds trailing down the shank of the ring. In other words, not just your standard diamond-millgrain-intense ring you see advertised in "Stylish Lady Magazine."
Maybe it was the three cups of coffee, the donut afterglow, or perhaps Jolie's exquisite french baguette sapphires, but we suddenly got the urge to splurge. Aside from the assortment of stylish diamond stacking bands we're known to carry, we've selected additional fancy diamond bands that will stack with the originals beautifully and hand picked many really lovely engagement settings (many with said french cut sapphire baguettes). Along with rings, we culled some stunning pendants and several lever back earrings perfect for wearing everyday. Look for all of these new sparlkies to hit our cases the end of May. Here's a tiny preview of things to come...
March 26, 2011
You *need* these earrings.
Just finished... 14k white gold dangle earrings with cabochon cut rutilated quartz and bead set diamonds.
These look amazing with little black dress, jeans & black cashmere sweater, or potato sack. Your call.
Snag them before they end up in Laina's jewelry box. (shhhhhh...)
$1650
March 08, 2011
Behind the Scenes: Cast to Finish
Take a look at the rough cast in this yellow gold ring, compare it to the finished piece and you get a little taste of the labor involved in making fine jewelry.
February 12, 2011
Counting the Moments Bracelet
Just off the jewelers bench...
It was an exciting day when our client came to us with antique watch faces and asked for a bracelet design. Even more exciting though, was when it came off the bench (just in time for Valentines Day) looking absolutely charming.
We've designed heavy, modern, uniform 14k yellow gold links to contrast the delicate age and various shapes of the watch faces. It was important to us that the piece have a modern romantic feeling, so we've sandblasted the gold and tucked two small diamonds into the clasp for a peekaboo of sparkle.
Hand made & weighing approximately 44grams.
It was an exciting day when our client came to us with antique watch faces and asked for a bracelet design. Even more exciting though, was when it came off the bench (just in time for Valentines Day) looking absolutely charming.
We've designed heavy, modern, uniform 14k yellow gold links to contrast the delicate age and various shapes of the watch faces. It was important to us that the piece have a modern romantic feeling, so we've sandblasted the gold and tucked two small diamonds into the clasp for a peekaboo of sparkle.
Hand made & weighing approximately 44grams.
February 09, 2011
February 08, 2011
A timeless ring...
We delivered this stunning ring to our tearfully delighted client Erin, just in time for Christmas. We're just posting the photos now after spending the last month reflecting on the many designs we delivered during the holidays.
We've thought of this ring everyday since it left our shop. It's truly an honor and a privilege to work with such beautiful, well cut stones. For lack of a more subtle metaphor, it's kind of like a chef who is given a gorgeous cut of aged, grass fed, perfectly marbled beef and a basket of vine ripened, organic heirloom tomatoes. Why fuss up high quality ingredients? A good chef knows to use proper technique and knowledge of flavors to create a simple, expertly seasoned dish where the ingredients are allowed to shine and not be covered by thick sauces or unnecessary garnishes.
And that's what we've done here. This is a 2 carat, emerald cut sapphire. We've accented the sapphire with 2, half carat emerald cut diamonds and then designed a simple, heavy (not hollow) platinum setting to showcase the stones. We feel this is an example of classic, quality, sturdy, timeless fine jewelry.
We love to play, experiment and design unusual, unique jewelry... but quality materials, traditional workmanship, and perfect technique is the foundation for everything we do.
January 24, 2011
Ever Wonder?
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at your favorite jewelry shop? Well, here's what 8:30 Monday morning looks like at J Albrecht...
January 15, 2011
New Floors
Happy New Year, Everyone! Thank you to all of our friends for a fun and busy Holiday Season! We were able to take a few days off between Christmas and New Year, and despite the fact we wanted to take that time to lay around in our pajamas and eat leftover cookies, we instead took the opportunity to install new floors into the shop! We opted for cork... nice warm color, durable and eco friendly. Here's a picture:
Pretty, no? Cheers to 2011!
Pretty, no? Cheers to 2011!
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