Located in the Art District on Obregon between Morelos and Guererro is the small custom jewelry shop of Carlos de la Cruz. I first met Carlos a few years ago and learned that he was the son of a jeweler from mainland Mexico and had been a designer for some of the top jewelers in Los Cabos before decided to go out on his own. Beth had some of her late father’s jewelry that she wanted to use to make a ring for herself and pendants for our daughters, Leah and Erica. He father’s gold ring had 14 stones (diamonds and sapphires) mounted in it. She also had a gold bracelet.
We met with Carlos to outline the design ideas and ask if he was willing to use the existing gold and stones to make the items that Beth wanted. Beth had a rough drawing of the pendants and had another ring that she wanted Carlos to use as a basis of the design of the new ring. He took measurements of Beth’s ring size. They identified the length and style of gold chain that Beth would like for the pendants. The new ring was to use eight of the stones from her father’s ring (4 sapphires and 4 diamonds) and each of the pendants was to use three stones (one with two diamonds and a sapphire and the other with two sapphires and a diamond).
He weighed all of the gold and provided us with a receipt for what we had given him (both the ring and bracelet and a $100 US) deposit. He said that he would send photos along the way to make sure that his design was consistent with Beth’s vision.
Carlos uses wax to create the basic design and then the mold is used as the basis of each jewelry item. With pictures of the whole process, we could see the steps that he was taking as the process unfolded. Once he had the actual gold items, he asked us to come in so that Beth could try on the ring and examine the two other items. The ring was slightly large and so like Beth’s other ring, they agreed to add three small blocks inside the ring to make it fit perfectly. The ring was also bright gold and Beth asked if he could adjust it to a satin finish to match the other ring that she has and loves (she might wear the two together).
Carlos did not have the chains but said that he would contact suppliers and see what he could find. Gold has become very expensive and the first estimate came back at $800, which he thought was unreasonable. Beth and Carlos agreed on trying for chains of the appropriate length for around $200 each.
Two days later we met to receive the final items, which were perfect. The design and manufacturing process was easy and perfect and the cost extremely reasonable. So much so that Beth gave him some pearl earrings to also mount in some of the left-over gold.
The photos below provide a great story of the process and results of this custom jewelry design project with Carlos de la Cruz.
During our design process, one of our neighbors from Zacatitos asked for a recommendation of a jewelry to reset her emerald. She also used Carlos with excellent results (photo attached).
For more information about Carlos de la Cruz visit his website at https://carlosdelacruzartisticjewelryworkshop.business.site/ or visit him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/carlos.delacruz.94009
