Meet Your Jewelers
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Founder, JA Certified Master Bench JewelerNic Brotherton, JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler was born and raised in Alaska, and now resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. He is the owner of Gemworks Fine Jewelers and specializes in advanced diamond and stone setting, hand engraving and hand fabrication with precious metals. This passion is what drives him to create authentically handmade creations using only the finest and rarest gems and metals. It’s not surprising that even as a true master craftsman, Nic is never satisfied by being a ‘good enough’ jeweler. He continually perfects and enriches his skills by investing in continuing education. Over the last 10+ year Nic has enriched his knowledge with the following immersive courses:
‘Knife and Gun Engraving’ - Steve Dunn, instructor (GRS)
‘Platinum Fabrication Plus’ - Blaine Lewis and Drew Hadley, instructors (New Approach School for Jewelers)
‘Advanced Stone Setting’ - Blaine Lewis and Drew Hadley, instructors (New Approach School for Jewelers)
‘Stone Setting Pavé’ - Alexandre Sidorov, instructor (Antwerp, Belgium)
‘Professional Stone Setting’ - Ron Finch, instructor (GRS)
‘Ornamental Hand Engraving’ - Jason Marchiafava, instructor (New Approach School for Jewelers)
‘Advanced Pavé’ - Jason Marchiafava, instructor (New Approach School for Jewelers)
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Graduate Gemologist, AJP (GIA)National Association of Jewelry Appraisers, Member
Meaghan LaPrath has been buying, selling and assessing the quality of Gemworks Fine Jewelers.fine gems, diamonds and jewelry for over two decades. She is the owner and founder of Paragon Gemological Services, now known as: Gemworks Fine Jewelers. Being a GIA Graduate Gemologist, AJP is at the top of her well-earned credentials. As a curator of all things beautiful and rare, she finds joy in the connection those things have to our everyday lives. She lives in Washington State, but secretly, her heart lives in the Diamond District of NYC. Meaghan is highly experienced in both wholesale and retail fine jewelry and diamonds and is a member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. She graduated from Eastern Washington University - BA Interdisciplinary Studies (Business Administration and Women and Gender Studies), Summa Cum Laude. In a past life, Meaghan was a dancer, teacher and choreographer.
AFFILIATIONS, COURSES & PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Gemological Institute of America - Alumni Association
GIA Continuing Education Recognition Program
National Association of Jewelry Appraisers – Member
Jewelry Appraisal Basic’s skills assessment examination from the Jewelers Board of Appraisal Review (JBAR)
Cultured Pearl Association of America cultured pearl course ‘Pearls as One’, CPAA Certified Pearl Specialist
The Old and the New
The craft of goldsmithing and stone setting is as old as time. Over the millennia, the fundamentals of making jewelry has changed very little. Gold is still melted, alloyed and fashioned into stylish adornment as it was thousands of years ago. Stones are still painstakingly selected and then set by the hand of highly skilled, specialist craftsmen. The rarity and allure of exquisite diamonds and fine gemstones continue to captivate us and the desire to create and wear jewelry have remained unchanged: jewelry is a universal language that speaks to wealth, social status and timeless beauty.
Of course, over time even the most traditional methods of jewelry making have been advanced by technology and technique.
Today, all items created by Nic Brotherton are made using an advanced jewelers microscope to see in detail each stone being set, each prong being shaped and each stroke being cut for hand engraving. This microscope, which enables magnification up to 30X - combined with Nic’s Master Jeweler expertise - creates a level of unparalleled precision and ensures the highest quality of work possible in every piece he creates.
