Rebecca Zemans Jewelry Blog — artisan made

We hope everyone has been having an excellent summer!  The studio has been busy working with couples to create special wedding bands all season long, as well as custom tailored anniversary and birthday presents.  Our favorite projects always seem to involve heriloom materials and the transformation which takes place in using something old to create something new. Our most recent heirloom redesign was for a client's wedding band using elements of a ring from her Oma.  Our client works with her hands and needed a durable wedding band that suits her lifestyle, yet wanted to incorporate materials from family heirloom...

Mike Stephen, host of Outside the Loop, a WGN 720am radio show that airs on Saturdays at 6am came to visit the studio a few weeks ago to talk about what I do. It was so much fun to have him record the sounds of the studio and chat about my process and inspiration. Click here to have a listen. You'll find me at the 8-minute mark. Enjoy!    

We have been busy building up our inventory and working on many custom pieces and so we thought it would be nice to give you a little preview on what we have been working on!   These two gorgeous pieces are wedding bands, which have been carved in wax and then cast into 14K gold with diamonds.  These are variations of our classic Starburst Ring in different metals.     And here are some of the custom necklaces we have been working on over the last few weeks/months. As you might be able to see, the necklaces are variations of our...

Often known for it's red-brown color, the alternative birthstone of July is the beautiful carnelian. Carnelian is a zodiac birthstone for the signs of Leo and Virgo and has been said to promote inner vitality and joy. The carnelian is a commonly available microcrystalline quartz. It is considered a chalcedony, made up of silicon dioxide colored by different levels of iron impurities which makes them come in many warm colors ranging from a pale orange to a dark brown. Often, the stones have been heat treated to make their color more intense. This stone got its name from the Latin...

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....