From Rock to Ring: How Our Jewelry Is Made

Most jewelry changes hands many times before it reaches a customer - mined by one company, cut by another, set by a third, sold by a fourth. At Annabel's Jewelry, a meaningful part of that chain happens with us, personally.

1. Sourcing: Rockhounding, Not Wholesale Buying

My husband and I are seasoned rockhounds. For years, we've gone on field trips across Texas and beyond - sometimes alone, sometimes with a guide - hunting for rocks, gemstones, and fossils ourselves rather than buying pre-sourced material from a wholesaler. Over the years we've found agate in several varieties (red and black plume, pompom, moss, flower garden), quartz and amethyst crystals, chalcedony, and fossils including echinoids, ammonites, gastropods, bivalves, and trilobites. One of our most memorable finds was an eleven-inch amethyst geode discovered in West Texas.

2. Cutting, Trimming, and Polishing

Once we've found a stone, the work has just started. We personally cut, trim, and polish many of our own stones and crystals - the hands-on craft known as lapidary work. It's slow going: shaping rough stone, working it down through progressively finer grits, and polishing it to its final shine. Our "We found it. We cut it. We polished it." isn't a slogan - it's literally what happens to many of the pieces in our Rocks & Fossils collection before they ever become jewelry.

3. When We Bring in a Specialist

For certain pieces - particularly fine faceted gemstones - we work with skilled artisans we've met through the gem and mineral community. One of our most meaningful pieces came this way: at a gem & mineral show, we met a craftsman who faceted a two-carat stone, sourced on one of our own trips, into a wedding ring - and three more stones into another. It's proof that even when we bring in outside expertise, the story of the stone still starts with us.

4. Materials Selection

Alongside our self-sourced stones, we work with:

  • Sterling silver - the brightest of the precious metals, requiring regular care and polishing (we include polishing cloths at no extra cost with sterling silver pieces)
  • Gold-filled findings - containing significantly more gold alloy than gold-plated pieces, giving them greater durability and longevity
  • Austrian and Czech crystal - including genuine Preciosa crystal from the Czech Republic, birthplace of bohemian crystal and the inspiration behind all modern rhinestones
  • Natural gemstones - stones formed without human treatment, enhancement, or alteration; mined, cut, faceted, and polished to reveal what nature already made

5. From Stone to Finished Piece

Once a stone is ready, it's set into sterling silver or gold-filled findings and finished as a necklace, earring, ring, or bracelet - each piece designed to let the natural material do the talking.

Quality and Care

Every piece is made to last, not just to look good on day one. That's part of why we're upfront with customers about material care - sterling silver needs occasional polishing, gold-filled needs less - because jewelry that's understood is jewelry that's taken care of.

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