JD Gray's Designer Jewelry creates sculptures for your hand (or neck, or ears)

Jon Gray is an artist and sculptor. His media is white gold, yellow gold, diamonds and gemstones and he creates stunning and unusual rings, pendants and other fine jewelry that's on display in his gallery at Quarry Ponds in Granite Bay.Gray describes his work as "different from the rest of the pack." And that's true. His custom designs are unlike jewelry seen in other shops. Indeed the diamonds are dazzling — the designs are definitely different. One of his rings has two geometric-style bands on either side of a 1-3/4 carat diamond. One band is white gold, the other yellow gold and each band has a single row of diamonds down the side. On the back or the underside of the band is another small stone. It isn't visible until the wearer holds out the palm of her hand. Another unique creation is a ring designed for the left hand. It sits at an angle on the pinkie finger. "This looks good on a person with long fingers but also makes a shorter finger look longer," he said. Again, there's a stone on the flat, palm side of the band. "It could be a diamond, a child's birthstone or the husband's birthstone," he said.There must be hundreds of rings in the shop, and, like a gallery, each can be viewed as an exquisite piece of art. Among his creations is a ring with a center blue sapphire stone, diamonds and pink sapphire stone on the back. Another ring has rose gold and white gold bands with a pink diamond. His rings are stunning, unusual and large with the center stones elevated, yet protected by bands on each side. "I see sculpture in motion on these rings," Gray said. "Why not see it from all directions?" Hence the designs on all sides and the stone on the back."What's great about being an artist is to create something that never existed before," Gray said. "Not many people can do that. Jewelry is so personal — it's one of the most personal gifts. And it can be handed down, be a legacy."Jewelry is a lot like furniture, Gray said — "There's a lot going on behind the scenes." That includes durability of the pieces, what goes into making them, how long they'll last and the quality.He likes to design pieces that are personalized and ap-proaches jewelry from a sculptural and an artistic perspective. He can look at a person's rings and tell when they were made because of their style. A lot of personality and character goes into Gray's designs. He prefers white and yellow gold rings and doesn't recommend silver for the long term."When I'm designing I take into account the customer's personality and the hand and what's going to look good." Many women are critical of their hands, he said, but with rings as beautiful and stunning as his, who is looking at hands? People are admiring their rings.For wedding rings Gray suggests couples may want to start out with a smaller center stone and change it for a larger stone later on. "They can go with a nice setting with room to grow," he said. "Once you've got the setting or foundation, you can add to it over the years." The original stone could be redesigned into a pendant."Many of my customers are going into their second or third marriages and have a little more to spend." They don't necessarily want both an engagement and wedding ring, he said. "By the second, third or fourth time around they get more creative." His regular customers don't typically shop for jewelry just for Valentine's Day; however, he has several gift items – pendants, watches, bracelets, earrings and a selection of Italian Murano and Art Glass beads. The beads can be added to bracelets or combined for a pendant.In addition to designing jewelry, Gray does custom work and repairs. "I take things that people already own and make something new," he said. For example, one woman brought in old pieces of jewelry and Gray created a bracelet for her husband for their 30th anniversary. Another person asked Gray to create a bracelet with several links, each depicting someone in the man's life — his father, children, grandkids. Each link has the family member's birthstone and name on the back.People are often hesitant to redesign a family jewel, but it still can retain its significance as "mom's ring" as it's passed on to each generation. It can be redesigned completely or have something added to it. He recently redesigned a pendant a woman's father had given her into a ring.Gray's shop is a gallery of jewelry in several glass cases of different shapes along the walls and in the center. They're ideally designed for browsing. "A high percentage of my inventory is my designs," he said. Several pieces of art glass also are displayed. "It's jewelry for the home," he said. Gray has had his own jewelry store in various Sacramento locations for 29 years and has been in the business for about 40 years. He originally was headed for law school, but didn't get accepted right away due to a lack of openings in the program. He minored in art in college and enjoyed sculpture. When he didn't get into law school, his mother encouraged him to take jewelry classes. He was reluctant at first, but finally enrolled. "I found I was a natural at it." Gray is a perfectionist. Lines have to be straight, curves perfect. "That takes time," he said. "A lot of designers don't have patience. They don't take the time to do detail work," he said.His creations are evidence of the time he spends on each piece."Jewelry has significance, longevity, tradition and history. In terms of things you can buy and get value out of, it's jewelry," he said. "You can enjoy jewelry every minute, every day for years." ----------JD Gray's Designer JewelryWhere: 5540 Douglas Blvd., #120, Granite BayPhone: (916) 899-6121