Back in August, I had the opportunity to sit down with Melissa of Melissa Tyson Designs and work with her to design one of her gorgeous cluster rings for my jewelry collection. I've known about Melissa Tyson for years and first came across her when a friend and I were chatting about unique engagement rings.
In our initial conversations before my appointment with her, she suggested that if I had any stones that I would like reset, this could be a great way to change up the look of the jewelry but add some sentimental value to the stone. I searched through my jewelry collection and decided to take an opal necklace that my Nonny gave my mom years ago as our inspiration piece. Melissa evaluated it, we talked out design, and then began choosing stones that would compliment the piece. What I love about the MTD cluster rings is how unique and fun they are, and I loved that our opal spoke to that!
Melissa's studio is what jewelry design dreams are made of. As we chatted through style and design options, it felt like my options were endless! My birthday is in May (and our little girl's will be, too) so I've always had a soft spot for emeralds. Once we decided that one of the complimenting stones would be an emerald, Melissa began offering suggestions of what would go best style-wise. We opted for a blue topaz or the secondary stone, and while it also complimented the opal and emerald perfectly, we honed in on the sentimentality that we would use an emerald to represent my May birthday, a blue topaz to represent Stephen's December birthday, and the opal. At the time, I had no idea I was pregnant, and I love the idea that this piece can one day be passed down to our daughter - an heirloom ring created from a gift from her great-grandmother.
The stone selection wasn't the only design aspect of the piece. Melissa put together 6 different layouts and we worked together to decide what would best compliment my hand. In addition, I could choose the gold and finish, opting for a 14k smooth band. I love that this ring has both sentimental value and aesthetic appeal. This ring reminds me of the depths of the ocean and it's a dainty piece that still has a statement value to it.
If you are looking for a great gift for Christmas, engagement, or just because, I would highly recommend looking into Melissa Tyson Designs. Custom orders take 8 - 10 weeks and there is a rush fee available foé those looking to have Santa deliver something underneath the tree!
Are you looking for an engagement ring? Melissa creates some incredible pieces. One of my best friends has a gorgeous MTD elongated hexagon salt and pepper diamond engagement ring that she and her fiancé designed. Click to see it here!
While her custom pieces are gorgeous, Melissa has an amazing collection of ready-to-ship pieces! Sizing is complimentary and that means you also have the perfect gift just in time for Christmas. One of my personal favorites is the Emerald Sea ring.
While Melissa Tyson Designs designed this ring in exchange for this post, all opinions are my own.