Sandy Rubin: A ring designer who specializes in handmade & ethical pieces
New Yorker, ring designer, and traveler, Sandy Rubin, stopped in The Bridal Finery one Friday afternoon to meet the TBF team and visit our store. I had the opportunity to sit down with her, over a cup of green tea, to learn more about Sandy's engagement ring collection and for her to learn more about us. Sandy is extremely educated and is more than just your average ring designer.
The best way to explain Sandy's collection is one of a kind. She uses a range of colored stones & diamonds that are not typical for engagement rings. I fell in love with her grey diamonds and her London Blue Topaz. The grey diamond has the appeal and luster that traditional diamonds have, however, these are special. She pairs diamonds and stones with thin bands to allow the stones to sparkle & shine. Because the Sandy Rubin pieces are ethically handmade in New York, imperfections may happen when molding the metal or shaping the stones. There is a stigma with imperfections, but imperfections are okay and that's what can make a piece one of a kind.
The birth of the Wanderlust Collection
The Wanderlust Collection embraces travel. To develop this collection, Sandy went on a liberating solo cross-country road trip in search of the perfect stones. From New York to LA, Sandy found herself in new experiences. She said as a woman, traveling alone is so exposing. You stick out because you are alone, you may look or feel rough around the edges. But once you are cleaned up, and comfortable, then it's a beautiful experience. It's the same with stones. Once stones are exposed, they need to be cleaned, once they are cleaned, they are beautiful.
Her favorite stop during her trip was Flagstaff, Arizona. She found herself with a group of retirees to go rock hounding. At first, the group didn't take her seriously, but once they saw her using the same rock hounding book they use, they respected her and let her join. While hounding with the retirees, she found chrysocolla and tourmaline stones which she used to create new pieces for her collection.
For more information on the Sandy Rubin collection or to purchase, click here.
Above are photos from Sandy's experience in Arizona. Photos taken from the @sandyrubinjewelry instagram.