All You Need for a Custom Engagement Ring Is a Solid Photo

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Let's backtrack a bit in the wedding timeline, to the day when you decided to put a ring on it, but really had no idea where to begin. Enter Cynthia Pischdotchian, owner of custom jewelry design studio Cynthia Britt, conveniently located on Newbury Street. With men comprising 95% of her clientele, Pischdotchian is well-versed in guiding gentlemen through the engagement ring creation process, often focused on educating them in stone selection—a knowledge base that hopefully spouses will come to appreciate at birthdays, anniversaries, and you know, general jewelry-giving occasions.

Though Pischdotchian launched her post-Boston University career in engineering, she eventually decided to tap into her family's creative heritage—father an architect, mother a fine artist and graphic designer—by enrolling in a fine jewelry school in California, learning wax sculpting, goldsmithing, and eventually CAD upon her return east. In the years since, Pischdotchian has specialized in crafting custom jewelry from scratch (as well as reworking heirloom stones), which has earned her recent "Best of" titles from The Knot and MyWedding.com.

Pischdotchian's process begins with a photo and a sketch. From simply looking at a picture of the partner, especially one with his or her hands in view, the designer uses her sense of proportion to determine the appropriate size and shape of the setting, which she develops before the band. Then comes the sketching, and meticulous it is—with measurements down to the millimeter and ornate detailing, no angle is left unillustrated. Once her drawing is complete, Pischdotchian will quote pricing options, with the explicit goal of maximizing a client's value. Four weeks later and the ring is ready for bended knee.

Naming each design after the person it was designed for, Pischdotchian caters to a discerning crowd that wants something different than the typical Tiffany and Cartier jewelry assemblage. "I just love to make. I want my engagement rings to be achievable luxury," says the designer.
· Weddings Week 2014 [Racked Boston]
· Cynthia Britt [Official Site]