News

Chimera Design has natural fancy yellow diamond rings. May 26, 2023 16:49

The Gemological Institute of America is the world's foremost authority on diamonds. GIA invented the Diamond Grading System after WWII when diamonds began to be available to regular people as a way of standardizing the language used to value diamonds across the US and around the world. Cliff earned his Diamonds Graduate diploma from GIA in 1998. :-)
The Four C's that GIA came up with are Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carat Weight. If you are familiar with the Color scale, you know that diamonds at the top of the scale (D,E,F) are considered colorless and are generally speaking more expensive than those further down the color scale. That is the case UNTIL you go far enough down the color scaled to get into fancy colors and then the price jumps up. The reason for this - it is all about rarity. Natural, fancy color diamonds make up less than .01% of all the diamonds mined from the earth. The come in red, pink, blue, orange, green, and yellow.
Of all the natural, fancy color diamonds yellow are the most affordable. (FYI - red and blue diamonds command insane prices!) Our favorite diamond supplier, Jason, has his office in the New York diamond district and he keeps a nice supply of natural fancy colored diamonds on hand.
Chimera Design is pleased to offer natural fancy yellow diamond rings to West Michigan. Every one of them comes with a Diamond Report from GIA that assures you that what you are purchasing is a natural fancy color diamond - the rarest of the rare.
Natural fancy yellow diamonds available at Chimera Design in Lowell.
The reason we mention the GIA documentation on our fancy yellows is because lab grown diamonds can be treated to turn colors. In fact, High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) treatments can also be used to turn white mined diamonds various colors as well. Reputable diamond sellers will inform you of the source of any colored diamonds they sell. We consider ourselves very reputable.
No other yellow gemstone can match the fire and sparkle of a yellow diamond. We really enjoy our relationship with Jason and our ability to offer natural fancy yellow diamond rings in our little shop.
Another natural fancy yellow diamond ring from Chimera Design.
Here are four examples of natural yellow diamonds that we have in our case. We would love it if you stopped in to see them in person - they are amazing.
Stop in Chimera Design to see natural fancy yellow diamond rings.

Shop for Personalized Jewelry Online September 9, 2021 14:06

Design Personalized Jewelry Online - easy peasy!

Custom Made Heart Beat Ring or Rings Using Your Actual Heartbeat - Stackable June 26, 2021 13:08

We can make a ring or rings using your actual heartbeat. Working from a copy of your EKG, we can make a ring or set of rings in 14kt gold that are your heartbeat.

A Sample Of New Jewelry Made Here At Chimera Design June 28, 2019 13:34

90 second video of some of the latest handmade jewelry at Chimera Design from the bench of Julie Claire DeVoe.

 


Just What She Had In Mind - New Jewelry From Old June 27, 2019 17:51

Sue had three rings containing nine diamonds that she was not wearing any longer. She had an idea in her head for all the gold and diamonds to be combined into a single ring.

She wanted it to be 10-11mm wide at the top and taper down. She wanted the diamonds to be set as low as possible. We can do that! We sent a quick sketch to Jere (at first she had 7 diamonds, then found a pair of earrings so the sketch shows 7).

Early sketch of custom ring design

 

Jere took my lovely (!) sketch and sent me back several CAD images for Sue to look at. 

CAD image of a custom ring at Chimera Design

Sue approved the CAD image, so we cut the wax. Sue took at look at it and said, "That is exactly what I had in mind." Next step was melting down her old gold, casting the ring, setting all the diamonds and polishing everything up. The result was this:

Custom ring made from old rings and diamonds from them at Chimera Design.

 

Well, Sue was beside herself when she picked up the ring. One of the things we love about our "job" is helping people bring a piece of jewelry from thought to reality. Sue let me get my phone and capture some of her happiness:


Chimera Design Crafts Custom Jewelry Using Elk Ivory April 12, 2019 13:05

Chimera Design has crafted many pieces of custom jewelry featuring elk ivory over the years.

Elk Ivory Jewelry at Chimera Design


In Which Cliff Changes His Mind About Moissanite March 16, 2019 17:52

Cliff was never a big fan of Moissanite. That all changed in 2015 and he explains why in this blog post.


Yellow Diamonds - Engagement Rings That Stand Out - $2,500 and up. January 5, 2018 12:17

We love Fancy Yellow Diamonds. Take a look....

Blue Zircon Is A Rocking Gemstone - We Love It October 6, 2017 15:37

Blue Zircon is a natural gemstone - most folks immediately think of the man made cubic zirconia or "CZ" when you mention blue zircon. NO NO NO!

Blue Zircon is the traditional birthstone for December. 

One of the main reasons we LOVE it is the way it sparkles because of the high refractive index and strong dispersion characteristics. What all the mumbo jumbo means is that blue zircon sparkles and winks like crazy! 

It is our belief that blue zircon is waaaay underappreciated as an accent gem or even as the Main Event! Here is an engagement ring we just did for a couple. She stopped in the other day to tell me she had been getting a ton of compliments:

10kt White Gold Vintage Ring With Blue Zircon Center

Another recent ring we did involved using blue zircon to accent the center stone:

White gold engagement ring with blue zircon accent gems

 

One last example for you - we made this rose gold bracelet for a couple - blue zircon is her birthstone and we alternated them with diamonds. Suh-weet!

Custom rose gold bracelet with diamonds and blue zircon.

One closing statement - NONE of these pictures capture the sparkle and fire of blue zircon. You really need to see it in person to fully appreciate the POW! this gem will bring to your jewelry.


Chimera Design Has The Solution For Curved Engagement Rings July 15, 2017 10:22

The Loving Embrace curved bands will fit 95% of all engagement rings.

 


Our Cases Are Filled Once Again July 26, 2016 09:55

Earlier this year we started a relationship with a great company located in Tucson, Arizona. Pan American scours the planet for the coolest gemstone beads, glass beads, and pearls. Then their artists in Tucson design and create some fantastic looking jewelry.

One of the reasons we love the jewelry from Pan American is because is similar to what Julie used to make when we first opened - great mixtures of color and textures. These days Julie is so busy with her metal work that she has no time to devote to gems, beads, and pearls - so the work of the people in Tucson is welcomed.

We just received a new shipment. The designs are eye catching and the prices are great. Earrings from $18 - Murano glass bead necklaces are $88.

Gemstone Beads, pearls and all around Funky, Fun jewelry.


Michigan Themed Jewelry at Chimera - Made in Michigan! February 18, 2016 17:54

We love the Mitten. Our affection for Michigan is visible in the jewelry we carry.

We have some friends just north of Traverse City who make most of our Michigan themed jewelry. They use Petoskey stones and Leeland Blue - which is actually a by-product of the copper mining industry in the Upper Peninsula.

One of their most popular items is the Sterling Mitten.

Sterling Michigan Mitten Set With Petoskey Stone

We also carry sterling silver Mitten beads, made at Terry Berry in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They make plain ones and ones engraved with the word "Michigan". These fit Pandora and other bracelets - or just wear the Mitten on a chain.

Sterling Michigan Mitten Bead

We also have sterling silver beads celebrating most of the great colleges and universities in Michigan. MSU, U of M, EMU, CMU, WMU, and GVSU. All of these are available in sterling ($49) or enamel and sterling ($59). They fit  Pandora and almost every other similar bracelet. 

University of Michigan Sterling BeadMichigan State University Sterling Silver Enamel Bead

We try to stock a wide selection of Michigan Theme jewelry at all times.
We love us some Mitten!