Reconstruction

One of the questions I get most often during Reconstruction consultations is: “Will my exact gold be melted down and turned directly into my new piece?” It’s a completely understandable question, especially because reconstruction work is so personal. People are often bringing in wedding rings, inherited [...]

For so many women, the end of a marriage also becomes the end of wearing the jewelry that marked that chapter of their lives. The rings come off, they're tucked into a jewelry box, and they stay there for years, sometimes decades. They become objects people don't quite know what to do with. Every time I hear [...]

When I returned to the Bay Area this summer, Angi booked a Reconstruction appointment that ended up becoming my very last appointment just days before I had plans to head back East. By the time she arrived, The Ring Bar had been taken down, most of my CMD stash was boxed up, and we just [...]

If you've been following along with my Reconstruction videos lately, you've probably noticed something that looks a little... destructive. Rings are being cut apart, stones are being plucked, and gold and platinum are being dismantled into little piles on our studio benches. Every time [...]

I've cried a few times over the last several months. Not because I've been overwhelmed or exhausted, but because I've been overwhelmed with joy. There have been so many times where I've had to stop and ask myself, How did I get here? I truly believe the Universe guided me here, even [...]

One of the things I wish more divorced women knew is that they don't have to choose between keeping their wedding ring tucked away in a safe deposit box forever or getting rid of it completely. I want to encourage you to think differently here because there IS a [...]

One of the things I love most about Reconstruction is that every project begins with a conversation. Before we ever talk about design details, stone layouts, or metal choices, we usually spend time talking about people: parents, grandparents, marriages, children. The memories [...]

The truth is, many people are sitting on their next favorite heirloom piece without even realizing it. And often, those pieces are tucked away because people don’t know what’s possible. At CMD, we frequently reuse original stones from heirloom and sentimental pieces while [...]

I wish more happily married women knew that redesigning their original wedding ring isn’t disloyal. Sometimes, it’s simply overdue! Cara and Cor have been married for well over twenty years. The kind of couple that instantly makes you smile. They are deeply connected, effortlessly funny, incredibly cool without [...]

Since the beginning of this year, clients from coast to coast have been mailing, carrying and carefully placing deeply personal jewelry into my hands. Old engagement rings. Broken chains. Inherited heirlooms. Pieces tied to marriages, grandparents, milestones, grief, growth and entirely different [...]

I wish more divorced women knew that redesigning and reconstructing their original wedding bands would make them feel like a powerhouse. Lorie is one of my clients who already knows the power of reclaiming her story through jewelry, and this is her reconstruction story! The pieces that carry our histories are rarely [...]

I don’t have a traditional brick-and-mortar… and I like it that way. For many years I was the proud owner of a storefront on Valencia Street in San Francisco — seven days a week, 56 hours a week. It was an absolute labor of love and one of the ways I truly connected with my community. During the pandemic, my [...]

What happens when jewelry you love no longer feels like you? Lee brought me a sentimental moonstone engagement ring and diamond wedding band, and together we reimagined her stones into a bold mixed-metal stack that honors what came before while feeling completely at home in her life now. [...]