What Does a Jeweler Know About Your Ring That the Average Person Doesn’t?

My father taught me how to make custom jewelry way back in the ’90s. Back then, we would sketch a design on paper and hand-carve a model ring in a firm jeweler’s wax. It was very meticulous, and it had to be perfect. I remember thinking, “Each half of this ring looks good, but they don’t match.” It was a process of painstakingly adding more wax here and removing a little there until they were symmetrical.

In the beginning of my learning, my dad would say, “Make it a little thicker, a little stronger. A Belliston Jewelry ring is different from a typical ring—it should last a lifetime.” He would then compare our rings to other rings that were purchased elsewhere, rings that we were repairing. He pointed out where other rings had been hollowed out underneath and where they were too thin.

Later, at a jewelry convention, I noticed a section of exhibitors reserved for Italians. I wondered why there was a section reserved for Italy and not mixed in with every other exhibitor. Their salespeople were quite pushy. One insisted that I use a 10x power magnifier to “loupe” his rings. That’s when I saw it. I noticed the quality of the polish on their rings. That was the only real difference! They polished every last square millimeter that could possibly be polished—even the underneath parts. I tell that story to my jewelers to encourage them to polish better.

My dad taught me all about the four C’s of diamonds: color, clarity, carat, and especially the fourth and often overlooked C—the cut. It amazes me how often the cut gets overlooked, especially when purchasing diamonds online. Just last month, I had a customer bring in a diamond with a very high color and clarity grade. He was quite proud of it. Unfortunately, the cut was very bad. The stone was too deep, which made it look smaller than it weighed. It weighed over 1 ct but looked the same size as our ¾-carat diamonds—which looked better.

I learned how to identify an ideal cut diamond just by looking at a few key indicators. The cut is what makes a diamond sparkle. It’s what catches the light and returns it to your eye in both white and all colors like a prism.

I continued that legacy three decades later when I created the Belliston Love Collection—our exclusive line of jewelry designed to be durable, comfortable, and stunning. I also designed Belliston’s Super Comfort Fit rings for men—the most comfortable men’s rings on the planet.

Come see and feel what makes a Belliston Jewelry design different from a typical ring.

Start your custom design across from Weber State and see more at bellistonjewelry.com.

Belliston Jewelry—made just for you… cherished for generations.