Another arrival to the studio tree...

It is with great pleasure I introduce our newest member of Atelier Linde Lim, my recently arrived third son, Cassian!

The summer was a blur with more projects than we anticipated... I will be updating this blog at the end of December with highlighted works from this summer's wedding season as several commissioned pieces were created for close friends!

Until then, the studios in Chicago, NYC, and Munich will remain closed until 01 Decembers so that I may spend time with my growing family before diving into holiday and new year commissions!  Until soon...

Photo credit: Dan Merlo Photography

Au revoir my dear friend...

In loving memory of Claude H. Fouché

Grief has a way of creeping into all facets of our lives... We recently lost our beloved friend, Claude, to stage 4 lung cancer that metastasized to his brain. In honour of many shared times and happy memories, this piece represents the architecture and designs that moved and inspired him.

Etruscan Design Roots

February is typically known as cupid's month where love is celebrated in food and through gestures of affection. For this 18K gold mesh necklace, I drew inspiration from my beloved high school history teacher, Catherine Deans-Barrett.

In my formative adolescent years, she provided me hours of patient mentorship which later blossomed into a deep friendship that has withstood the test of time and distance. I fondly recall the moments we roamed the displays at Chicago's Art Institute alongside the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, as well as the many hours she spent teaching me the Etruscan language, history, and culture.

This necklaces pays tribute to Catherine's classical style, generous heart, as well as the design forms often found in Etruscan art. I deeply thank her for the two decades of friendship, support, and her willingness to be a Guardian to one of our twin sons.

Holiday twinkles...

'Tis the season of enchantment - with twinkling lights amidst the snow, visions of candles atop beautifully crafted Menorahs, tasty sugar-plums as well as freshly made latkes, and stockings carefully hung by the chimney awaiting a generous visit from St. Nicholas...

This has been yet another year of changes at Atelier Linde Lim. Wedding-related commissions continue to keep us busy year round. You can find the latest installment of natural diamond engagement rings below, all of which are set in lustrous 18K white, yellow, and rose golds.

The studio warmly welcomed two talented new apprentices, Anzhelika and Ramón, to keep the tradition of goldsmithing alive. Anzhelika hails from St. Petersburg, Russia and has a background from the Russian Academy of Arts in metal. Ramón arrived to the Windy City by way of Taxco, Mexico where he studied sculpture and metal. He is finishing his last round of apprenticeships before taking the goldsmithing examination next year. Both of them bring a tremendous amount of energy into the studio!

Lastly, Metalwerkstatt, our fine jewelry school, is equipped with five work stations for the growing number of accepted students. In the coming year, we will have an updated website dedicated solely to the school which will include a student gallery. We also hope to be able to offer a limited number of need-based scholarships beginning in the spring quarter.

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season, and until 2012...

Summertime blues...

With the recent spring wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, it was no surprise to those within the wedding industry that Kate Middleton would influence the nuptial trends for future brides-to-be.

This month, I had a great deal of creative fun fabricating a piece that took a more modern twist to the classic royal sapphire and diamond engagement ring that graced the former Princess Diana, and now Prince William's wife.

Besides the traditional oval sapphire, I added black diamonds in a micro-pave setting and remixed the mood using black gold for this particular fashion forward and edgy woman.

Bold, tough and daring...

Whomever declared an engagement ring must be delicate and subtle?

If it is written somewhere, it was a pleasure to design outside the box and push the limits of Victorian propriety when creating this ring which sits on two fingers (think elegant knuckle ring!).

The marquise cut diamond was a grandmother's heirloom and after conferring with the fiancée-to-be, I merged her wish for something that would be an edgy 18k white gold conversation piece alongside respecting the integrity of her grandmother's beautiful stone.

Languid days, sultry nights

Summer moves to its own relaxed beat: easy and sensual. And as the weather warms, sounds of joyous celebrations and wedding bells are faintly heard in the distance...

Of recent, I had the great honour and pleasure of designing and fabricating a custom engagement ring for our beloved friend, Chandra, who happens to be my best friend's former girlfriend (all are on wonderful terms!). Her taste leans towards the traditional, and she wanted a ring that was modest, low-profiled, as she is a paediatrician, yet at the same time, unique with a few curves. Her soon to be fiance, Andrew, wanted a beautiful center stone that was not masked by other flourishes.

I am attaching the gouache drawing of the design we all settled upon. Andrew was so excited about the proposal that I did not have an opportunity to have the final ring professionally photographed before having it couriered out! I also am updating a photo of the lovely couple on their wedding day held amidst the scenic mountains near Los Gatos, California. The image is compliments of Encarnacion Photography.

In celebration of the nuptial season, here are a few other projects that have been in the works... ranging from a unique two-loop ring (called the "Chicago Loop"), traditional eternity rings for three special brides in June, a dark and striking cocktail ring for a future mother-in-law who has a penchant for quartz, a delicate series of petite sapphire nugget engagement rings paired to an avid rock climber, and a pair of star burst earrings for a special maid of honour.