Jewelry Artists

Our jewelers are artists. They are craftsmen. They are talented and skilled and experienced. Most of all, they are able to interpret your needs and wants, and convert that into a jewelry design that fits you perfectly. Your design should suit your personal style, your lifestyle, your budget and your time frame. If we can’t do that, we will tell you so, right up front. No need to waste everyone’s time. We also won’t reduce the quality or weight of the materials to suit a budget to the point that it affects the integrity and beauty of the ring. Although we hate to admit it, there is a limit to the magic that we make. We are limited by the market costs of precious metals and fine gemstones. If you cannot afford, them we won’t be able to help you, as we are unable to affect global market pricing. (We really do hate to admit that and wish we could!!) We do, however, do our best to work within our customers’ budgets, and we can accept various forms of payment and will work out staged delivery if necessary.

That said, we will meet with you during working hours or by private appointment to begin to flesh out your design, first on paper, and then by way of Computer Assisted Design (CAD) Technology. There is a non-refundable design fee for this service, usually ranging from $100 to $400, depending upon the complexity of your design. We will produce shaded/line style engineering drawings, as well as full-color renderings of your piece, both enlarged and true-to-size. We can even show you what a ring will look like on a virtual hand so you can get a sense of the real proportions.

At the point that you approve your design, we will be able to quote you an exact metal weight and number/size of gemstones and diamonds if any, the labor for finishing and assembling the mounting, and the labor for setting any stones and detailing the mounting. All of this translates into a final estimate that is within $100, depending on the market price on the day you make your deposit. We require one-half down on deposit, with the balance paid on delivery.

 

Joel McFadden is a third-generation jeweler, born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. He learned to be a bench jeweler under the tutelage of his grandfather and the other old-time jewelers in Charleston, and from there began working as a journeyman throughout the South. Since then he has operated his own trade shop, a large-scale retail jewelry store, and more recently, a custom-design jewelry boutique in Red Bank, NJ. He is a contributing writer for InStore Magazine. He teaches at the Bench Jewelers’ Conference and was the 2009 keynote speaker there.  His most recent accomplishments include speaking at both the Missouri and Oklahoma Jewelers’ Association annual meetings. He organized and directed the Bench Competitions at the 2009 and 2010 InStore Shows, and he directed the 2010 Instore Show Bench Competition.

 

Jennifer McFadden is your hostess at Joel McFadden Designs. She is usually the person you will begin working with when you want to design custom jewelry. She can help you to narrow your priorities in design and lay out a basic sketch for Joel to use to begin engineering the piece. She is also responsible for keeping your project on budget.
Jen’s passion is animal rescue, and you will often find one of our foster dogs chilling in the store waiting for a forever home.

Ian Goodchild is Joel’s apprentice and is in charge of finishing and polishing and assembly. Named in InStore Magazine as “The Perfectionist,” he has clearly found his calling in the nature of this work. While he spends his free time playing a multitude of online games, his work hours are spent making our castings into gleaming works of art. He has an inordinate amount of patience, which translates into beautiful jewelry for you!