He Already Knew Exactly What She Wanted
The message came in the way most of Patrick's custom orders start: a text. A client from Ohio had done his homework. He had taken his girlfriend to a jewelry store under the guise of "just browsing," watched which rings she picked up, noticed which one she kept coming back to, and taken careful notes. The man had a plan.
The brief was clear: a lab grown oval diamond, somewhere between 2 and 2.5 carats. Marquise side stones. A yellow gold band. And a budget he had already thought through.
The rings she kept coming back to. Patrick combined elements of all of them into one.
Patrick read the text between fishing charters. He runs fishing trips on the side out of the Keys , has for years , and if you know Patrick, you know the fish do not wait for gem certificates or ring measurements. But a client with this level of preparation gets a response fast.
"I can make any of them or a combo," Patrick replied. "Do you mean yellow gold or white gold for the band?"
Yellow gold. Confirmed. They were off.
The Sketch Comes First
Patrick does not start with CAD software. He starts with a pen and whatever paper is nearby. The sketch that came through a few days later was rough by design: a quick impression of the ring structure, the stone placement, the way the side stones would sit against the oval center. Enough to communicate the idea. Enough to say, this is the direction, is this what you see?
Patrick's hand-drawn sketch, sent directly to the client for approval
This is one of the things that separates working with a Graduate Gemologist who has been doing this for 35 years from filling out a form on a website. The sketch is a conversation starter. It invites feedback before anything is set in stone , or set in gold, for that matter.
The CAD came next. A precise 3D rendering of the ring, viewable from every angle, showing exactly how the prongs would sit, how the band would flow, and how the two metals would meet in the two-tone design.
Video coming soon , the 3D rendering Patrick sent to the client before production began
Two Tone. It Is a Go.
Patrick offered the ring in all yellow gold or two tone , white gold for the setting, yellow gold for the band. The client texted back within the hour.
"I really like the 2 tone. It is a go! That is amazing."
That is the moment every custom jewelry process is built around. The moment the client sees the vision clearly enough to commit to it. From here, the work begins in earnest.
A haul from the Keys. Between this and the bench, that is Patrick's world.
Somewhere between that approval text and the first stone being set, Patrick also ran a charter. Clients from up north, a full day on the water. The fish cooperated. He was back at the bench the next morning.
Built Against a Deadline, Shipped Overnight
Patrick had a self-imposed deadline: he wanted the ring finished before July. His workshop closes for the first two weeks of that month every year, and this client had a proposal in mind that could not wait until August.
The ring was done by late June. Two tone, exactly as designed. Oval lab grown diamond center, marquise side stones in white gold, yellow gold band flowing cleanly underneath. Patrick photographed it from every angle and sent the images to Ohio before the FedEx label was printed.
The finished ring. Oval lab grown diamond, marquise side stones, two-tone white and yellow gold. Shipped to Ohio, Priority Overnight.
The client arranged for his brother to be at the house for the signature. FedEx Priority Overnight to Canton, Ohio.
The package arrived on a Thursday afternoon. The text came in shortly after.
"This ring is insane!"
What This Looks Like If It Is Your Ring
The entire process happened over text and phone calls. The client never visited a store. He never sat across a desk from a salesperson in a suit. He described what he wanted, Patrick drew it, they refined it together, and six weeks later a custom engagement ring was on its way to Ohio via overnight delivery.
That is how Patrick works. He is a Graduate Gemologist with over 35 years of experience, A+ rated through the Better Business Bureau during his storefront years, and he brings that same level of craft and honesty to every virtual consultation, every show appearance, and yes, every text exchange squeezed in between fishing charters.
If you have an idea, a photo, a rough description, or even just a budget and a sense of what she likes, that is enough to start. Patrick will take it from there , sketch first, questions second, fish when the tide is right.
Custom engagement ring design starts at a conversation. No forms. No salesperson. Just Patrick.