In the latest installment of the series “From the Desk Of,” jewelry designers Vanessa Fernández, and Lorraine West, and Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewelry, Frank Everett take Only Natural Diamonds behind the scenes to see their personal workspaces where the creative magic happens.

It’s where ideas become realities. It’s where the natural diamond jewels worn on the red carpet started to sparkle in a pencil sketch. It’s where symbolic diamond designs are first given shape. It’s where diamond engagement rings are initially laid out.

A jewelry designer’s desk is a place where you can find all sources of inspiration, collaborations in process as well as tools of the trade and personal passions.

Meet the Expert

You might imagine the jeweler responsible for making gifts of state for the White House would have a full workshop of artisans and administrative staff. This is not at all the case for Vanessa Fernández, who was initially commissioned by President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. From her studio in Miami, Vanessa works alone and does everything from designing to making the jewels and dealing with the peripheral paperwork. While she had to push to meet the deadlines of some of the requests, such as the order for 48 brooches that the First Lady gifted during the Paris Olympics, Vanessa got the jobs done on time. The focus and flair she applied to the special commissions are the same when she creates handcrafted jewels for private clients and select retailers. Vanessa shared details about the tools of the trade in her studio.

I don’t usually wear rings while I am working, but putting them all on for the picture was a fun way to show some of the pieces I’m known for. There is a fluidity in the goldwork on my rings and some of that comes from my inspiration in the female form and looking at the work of the artist Gustav Klimt. I’m inspired by the way he depicts women, down to the curls in their hair. 

I look for colored gems and diamonds that kind of give you butterflies, or I just look at it, and I know that’s a good one. It’s got to have that special thing. Otherwise, I just pass it over. 

When I work, I listen to a mix of fun music like Latin, 90s, Donna Summer, Bad Bunny, and the Bee Gees.

When I did an internship with Lorenz Bäumer in Paris, who was doing his own collection and the Louis Vuitton collection at the time, he said we do our designs a little differently than the classic gouache which is a very thick painting material that you have to water down and layer on vellum; plus it takes a long time to dry. He’s like, “We go a little faster here, and we use something called Tombow.” They’re essentially watercolor markers. So, when I do a formal design, it’s Tombow. 

It’s my little box of cast gold parts that I will reuse for something. 

I have tons of sketchbooks and sketch pads everywhere, but there’s only so far that I go with a pencil and paper before I switch to carving the wax for a jewel. It goes back to my roots as a sculptor. I will carve the wax for a jewel 15 times until I get it the way I want it. 

As the Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewelry in New York City, Frank Everett’s days are jam-packed liaising with clients about selling their treasures and previewing them for potential buyers and press. But those are far from his only activities. He also runs one of the most popular Instagram accounts in the category @frankbeverett. His vibrant feed includes informative reviews of vintage jewelry, modern designs, and famous fashion figures. His Instagram is so good you might think there’s a social media manager running the account, but it is all Frank. For over 10 years, the jewelry expert has been sharing even more detailed stories through his popular Sotheby’s video series on YouTube, “Frank’s Files.” As if all of this weren’t enough, Frank has also curated several memorable selling exhibitions, including “Brilliant and Black,” “For The Boys” and “In Bloom.” Elements of all these things and more can be found in Frank’s office.

The first day I started at Sotheby’s in 2013, I noticed all the brooches in the auction. I had wanted to start wearing more jewelry and a brooch seemed like the perfect piece to put on a lapel. It was long before brooches became popular on the red carpet. The one I am wearing is coming up in our June sale. It’s a 1930s Art Deco double diamond clip brooch. 

There is always jewelry on my desk. The pieces in the picture are from our June sale, and they include an Edwardian diamond necklace and the diamond tiara on the bust of Diana I bought from West Elm years ago. 

Most pictures relate to sales we have done. I added Mary Tyler Moore [on the table] after we sold her estate in 2023. The Cartier ‘Boule’ ruby ring was the first piece I reviewed for “Frank’s Files” 12 years ago when we shot it on an iPhone. 

The tall bust is holding my jacket and the tape measure I constantly use to measure a bracelet or necklace for clients. The bust on the table had been used to display the jewelry Shaun Leane made for Alexander McQueen in the 2015 Savage Beauty exhibit in London at the Victoria & Albert museum. When we sold Shaun’s personal archive, he brought it for the display and then gave it to me. It was a wonderful sale and we got to see a couple of those pieces going to the permanent collection of The Met, where the exhibit originated. 

That’s my gym bag. It is a passion of mine, and I go every night when it’s quitting time. Of course, I may continue to answer emails and texts between sets, but I am pretty strict about getting to the gym.

For many years, Lorraine West made her jewelry collection in the studio she set up in her Brooklyn home, where she lives with her husband and son. The space was perfect for her to design and literally hammer out bold gold, silver, and brass jewelry, which draws on her Caribbean roots and love of minimalism. Over time, a long list of celebrities, including Beyoncé, Keke Palmer and Zendaya, found the independent collection and wore it for videos, fashion shoots and red carpet moments.

As her business grew Lorraine began incorporating more diamonds and other gems into her jewels. In the process she was making regular excursions to Manhattan’s Diamond District on 47^th Street for gems and manufacturing specialists. “My day began at my bench in Brooklyn, and then I would go into the Diamond District, sometimes back and forth two or three times a day,” explains Lorraine. “That’s when I figured I needed to be here.” The day this picture was taken was the day Lorraine set up the little space she named the Petite Suite. “It’s a cutie pie, and it has all the things I need and the community of jewelers I work with are nearby; it’s like family,” says the designer.

There are a selection of my bestsellers including the Nipple Hoops, the Open Heart Ring, the Hot Comb Pendant Necklace, and the Ascension Nail Halo Ring. There are also the Palette earrings, a style Beyoncé wore in the “Black Is King” video.

The horseshoe was above the front door of my childhood home on Long Island. My mom gifted it to me so that goes anywhere I work. It inspired my horseshoe rings I just started making one day when I was working with bezel wire. And I put diamonds in each end.  People love them and I am wearing one in the picture. 

I began making engagement rings when two friends of mine were looking for a design and I realized I could do it. They met in South America, so the ring was inspired by volcanoes there. Now I am usually working on a few engagement rings a month. The designs are custom and always reflect the couple’s relationship. 

Those are fire protection when I am using the torch. Safety first.

Here’s a pro tip about that coconut oil. I use it as a moisturizer on my hands and face. I also use it on files. It helps take any rust off. I figured that out by experimenting one day and it worked.

It came from a store near my son’s school in Brooklyn that’s no longer open. They always carried beautiful ornaments. I said to myself you know what I really want to get this ornament not even for the tree, but just for my space so I put it above my bench. I didn’t have a lot of time to set up more elaborately, but I was just like what can I put in here that will bring some color, protection, and the good vibes.