Hazel said he was always interested in rocks, minerals and crystals. After working as a geologist for five years, he decided he wanted to create something new with the rocks he studied.
“My driving motivation was always to be able to create beautiful pieces of jewelry,” Hazel said. “[I wanted] to make something that was really nice that somebody would cherish for years.”
Nikolas Alan Jewelers offers custom rings, necklaces, earrings, watches, pendants, cufflinks and more. Hazel said the most common request he gets is for custom rings and he likes incorporating family stones into new pieces.
“If they have stones passed down through generations...we often use those in their new rings,” Hazel said. “It plays into the whole sentimentality of it all and brings the past together with the present.”
For each custom-made piece, the entire process is done at the store. After the design work, Nikolas Alan Jewelers uses a 3D printer to make a model for the customer.
“We used to have hand carved wax, which I did, and then you show it to the customer and hope that they like it,” Hazel said. “If they don't like it, it takes 4 to 8 hours to carve that wax and do it all over again. Modern technology allows us to make those changes quicker than we ever did in the past.”
He is able to spray paint the model and make it look as close to the real piece as possible to help the customer with the process.
“Once they've decided then we go to the next step,” Hazel said. “We cast it into precious metal and set all the diamonds and gemstones and then we finish it. It’s all done here in house.”
Although many people prefer simplistic designs, Hazel said he is inspired by European architecture and enjoys incorporating those elements into his designs.
“When you go to Europe and you see all the crazy buildings and how much attention to detail that they put into it... it's absolutely amazing and inspiring,” Hazel said.
At Nikolas Alan Jewelers, the client is very involved in the design process. During an initial client meeting, what Hazel calls a discovery process, he shows the client a bag of mock rings for them to try on and get a sense of what they like.
Nikolas Alan Jewelers takes each client’s unique tastes and preferences into consideration to create a piece they love. Many clients come in with Pinterest boards and he is able to make their ideas a reality.
In addition to custom jewelry designs, Nikolas Alan Jewelers provides:
- fine jewelry repair
- watch battery replacement
- appraisals
- diamond sourcing
Want to learn more about Nikolas Alan Jewelers? Visit the business’ website to find more information. Future clients can also visit the business’ Instagram and Facebook page to see Hazel’s past designs.
The above story was produced by Multi-platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
