Eight years ago, she commissioned a necklace for her granddaughter's 10th birthday. This year, she's back. The second granddaughter is turning ten.
A birthday that deserves more than a gift card
When Debi reached out about a custom necklace for her granddaughter Anna's 10th birthday, she already knew what she wanted: something inspired by my Open Windows necklace, but with real diamonds worked into the design. This wasn't a casual gift. It was the kind of piece a grandmother gives when she wants a ten-year-old to understand that she's worth something extraordinary.
We talked through the details. Debi's daughter Kelli liked the look of yellow gold, so we went with solid 14k gold, not gold-filled, for both the pendant and the chains. I reached out to one of my gem dealers about diamond briolettes to incorporate into the design. Debi sent a deposit and told me she trusted my judgment on the stones.
Here's where the design thinking gets interesting. Debi wanted real diamonds in the necklace, but a full diamond cluster would have pushed the price well beyond her budget. So I mixed real diamonds, 15 to 20 pointers in G-H color with VS to SI clarity, with Herkimer diamonds throughout the cluster. The real diamonds provide genuine fire and brilliance. The Herkimer diamonds, which are naturally faceted quartz crystals with exceptional clarity, amplify that sparkle across the entire pendant. Visually, the cluster reads as a brilliant, cohesive whole. The combination allowed Debi to give her granddaughter real diamonds on her 10th birthday without compromising the scale or impact of the piece.
What I built was a necklace centered on a cast solid 14k gold elongated rectangular pendant frame, clustered with this diamond and Herkimer diamond mix. The pendant hangs from a solid 14k gold chain with individual Herkimer diamonds spaced along its length. It's a piece that a ten-year-old can grow into, something that looks just as right on a young girl as it will on the woman she becomes.
What it takes to build a pendant like this
The process photos from my bench tell the story of how this piece came together.
I started by creating a wax model for the elongated rectangular pendant frame, which was then cast in solid 14k gold. Alongside it, I built a custom clasp component, also in gold, because a piece like this deserves hardware that matches the design, not a generic finding pulled from a supply catalog.
Once the gold forms were cast and cleaned up, I moved to the detail work: drilling, setting, and finishing with rotary tools and a collection of polishing and sanding attachments that I keep in a tin on my bench. Each diamond and Herkimer diamond was individually wire-wrapped and positioned within the pendant frame to create a cluster that looks organic and natural rather than uniform. The chain in solid 14k gold was hand-bailed with sparkling Herkimer Diamonds to echo the pendants' brilliance.
The result is a necklace where every element was made specifically for one person, for one birthday, by one pair of hands.
Eight years later, the phone rings again
"Eight years ago, you made a necklace for my then 10-year-old granddaughter," Debi wrote. "It is now time for the second one as my youngest granddaughter turns 10 this year."
That sentence is the entire point of this story.
Debi didn't go to a jewelry store. She didn't browse online marketplaces. She didn't look for something mass-produced that would be "good enough" for a milestone birthday. She came back. Eight years later, to the same designer, for the same occasion, because the first experience created something worth repeating.
The second granddaughter was born in October, so her birthstone is opal or tourmaline. She already has opinions: watermelon tourmaline. That necklace is in the works now, and it will be just as one-of-a-kind as her older sister's was.
Two granddaughters. Two 10th birthdays. Two necklaces made by hand, eight years apart, by the same artist. That's what a commission becomes when the first one gets it right.
The piece: Custom diamond and Herkimer diamond pendant necklace with a cast solid 14k gold rectangular pendant frame on a solid 14k gold chain with a hand-fabricated clasp.
The materials: Diamonds (15-20 pointers, G-H color, VS-SI clarity), Herkimer diamonds, and solid 14k yellow gold.
The occasion: A granddaughter's 10th birthday.
The return: Eight years later, for the second granddaughter's 10th birthday.
Every piece Andrea Li makes is one of a kind. If you're looking for a way to mark a milestone that a gift card never could, start a conversation.
Yes. Andrea creates one-of-a-kind pieces designed to mark milestone birthdays and grow with the wearer over time. She works with clients to select materials, gemstones, and designs appropriate for the occasion and the recipient's age, creating pieces that look just as right on a young girl as on the woman she becomes.
Yes. Andrea regularly combines real diamonds with complementary stones like Herkimer diamonds to achieve visual brilliance within a client's budget. The real diamonds provide genuine fire while the Herkimer diamonds, naturally faceted quartz crystals with exceptional clarity, amplify the sparkle across the piece. The result is a cohesive design with genuine precious stone content at a more accessible price point.
The process begins with a conversation about the design vision, occasion, and budget. Andrea sources diamonds from her gem dealers based on specifications like carat weight, color, and clarity. She creates wax models for cast components, casts them in solid 14k gold, then hand-finishes and assembles the piece. Clients can provide a deposit to cover material costs upfront, and Andrea keeps them informed throughout the process.