Rebecca Zemans Jewelry Blog — Sterling Silver

Considered the “Universal Crystal” all over the world because of its transparent and colorless nature, Crystal Quartz is the perfect alternative to the diamond, the traditional birthstone of April. The word "crystal" comes from the Greek word "krustallos", meaning ice. Quartz was believed to be ice formed by the Gods. Since the Middle Ages, crystal balls made of clear quartz have been used to predict the future. The English word "quartz" comes from the German word "Quarz". Another theory, by Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, was that quartz is ice that has been permanently frozen after a great length of time....

With Spring upon us, we wanted to share the new custom pieces we've been working on this Winter. We've been so busy that we realized we hadn't shown you many new pieces in a while. So here is a glimpse of some of our most recent work. We couldn't have done it without our amazing clients whose vision make these designs possible!  We always love making our customers dreams come true because it pushes our creativity and skills keeping us fresh and on our toes. For example, we worked with Palladium for the first time, which can be a difficult...

Today we will share with you some insight on one of our most important processes - forging. Forging is the process of shaping the metal using force. Forging can be done either hot or cold, depending on the metal. For our silver and gold jewelry, we use the cold forging process after annealing the metal. Meaning, we hit the metal while it is cold after heating it up to loosen the molecules and then cooling it off so we can hold it while hammering it. Hot forging is when you hit a portion of the metal while it is hot,...

  In September, the Illinois Artisan Gallery contacted me to submit a design to create a brooch that would serve as an award to honor a woman in Illinois that exemplifies Dawn Clark Netsch. I was extremely honored and excited to win the commission. Not only is Mrs. Netsch a role model for many, it was extra special because my mother worked with her and I had always heard so many wonderful things about Mrs. Netsch growing up.  Mrs. Netsch is a pioneer in education, law, and politics. In addition to being a professor at Northwestern University, she was a...