Choose your design, watch them create it

TONAWANDA - Learning his craft as he apprenticed under the direction of his father, Jeremy Lupke owner of Gem Design Jewelers is a third generation gold smith. Taking over for his father John Lupke 12 years ago, who obtained his skills from his father, Gerhardt Lupke, Jeremy has mastered the skill of creating beautifully crafted pieces of custom jewelry from scratch.

The process of creating custom pieces of jewelry is rather interesting, and quite unique in the Western New York area. Gem Design Jewelers is one of the only jewelers in the area that has the tools to produce their own designs from right inside the store.

“We can create our own custom work here,” said Alisa Smith, store manager. “We carve our own waxes by starting with a block of wax and carving it down into a pendant or a ring, or whatever the customer wants. From there, it’s called a lost wax process, where the mold is actually cast into a sterling silver, 10 carat or 14 carat gold mold. We can do yellow and white gold. We only work with precious metal and gem stones.”

Smith added the store does not work with any type of base metal, because it does not last as long.

“We are one of the only places in Western New York that still does everything, start to finish, right here at our store,” said Smith. “Everything we do stays here, aside from stone cutting.”

Attributing the success of the business to the creation of custom designs and unique jewelry, Gem Design Jewelers also offers fair prices to its customers.

“We like to walk our customers through the entire process and educate them on what they should look for when purchasing jewelry,” said Smith.

When looking to purchase an engagement ring or wedding band, it’s important to pay attention to the Four C’s: cut, color, clarity and carat. The combination of these can drastically change the look of a diamond that an individual might be looking at.

“We want to make sure our customers get the best quality and the best price,” said Smith.

As Kemore residents, the trio, which includes Jeremy’s sister Katie Bach, is growing. They feel at home in the Ken-Ton area and hope to continue to grow their business locally, and provide residents with quality, custom designs for every occasion.

“We love being a part of their [the customers] special occasions,” said Smith.

She added, “When people come into the store and see what we do here, they become customers for life. It’s really a great feeling to be part of this. You don’t realize how personal and sentimental a piece of jewelry really is.”

The store also creates customized items from those pieces of jewelry that might just be sitting in your jewelry box. Whether it is with diamonds from an old wedding band or different loose stones from other jewelry, Gem Design Jewelers can take those pieces and create something brand new. They also specialize in men’s jewelry.

For those individuals looking for a smaller custom made piece of jewelry, Gem Design Jewelers also specializes in custom bead making. A few items on the list that are near and dear to the hearts of Buffalonians are beads in the shapes of a Buffalo and a Chicken Wing. In addition to the custom beads, the store also sells Lovelinks, similar to the Pandora charms.

Check out the latest creations from Gem Design Jewelers on facebook.

For more information or to browse, visit 3680 Delaware Ave., Town of Tonawanda, or call 447-0217.