Zivia Beer is a popular jewelry designer from Bnei Brak, who helps her clients create the custom jewelry of their dreams

Photos: Zivia Beer

You all know what graphic design is. I bet you even know what interior design is as well. But did you know that jewelry design is a thing, too? All those glittering gold and diamond pieces in the jewelry store didn’t design themselves, you know.

The process of making jewelry is fascinating, and I know just the person to show us how it’s done.

Zivia Beer is a popular jewelry designer from Bnei Brak, who helps her clients create the custom jewelry of their dreams. Today, we’ll be following the process of creating a piece of jewelry, from sketch to reality.

Decisions, Decisions

You know that feeling when you walk into an ice cream store and you’re faced with so many yummy flavors? It’s a good thing the store lets you sample the flavors to help make your decision easier! Walking into a jewelry store is pretty much the same thing. How do you choose from so many beautiful things? If buying jewelry in a store is complicated, then how on earth are you supposed to choose a design when the options are literally endless?

When a new client tells Zivia she wants to make a custom piece of jewelry, the first thing they do is have a little chat. They’ll discuss what category the new piece will be (necklace, earrings, ring, or bracelet.) Will it be for Shabbos or weekday? The client will need to have some idea of how much money she wants to spend. Then they’ll talk about the style. Here is where most people will get stuck, because there are so many options! Luckily, Zivia has a neat trick up her sleeve.

After four years in the business, Zivia has designed dozens of pieces. The actual pieces are made of gold and diamonds (and sometimes other gems as well), but she also has silver models of many of her designs. The silver models help new clients visualize sizes and shapes. This is especially important for earrings. Sometimes clients will come with some of their own ideas. Otherwise, Zivia will show them some inspo pics to help them get ideas.