Imani/Emunah StarAugust 2007 Sterling silver, 18 karat yellow gold For the occasion of the bat mitzvah of my friend Laura's daughter Imani, I thought I'd design something special. Imani and I are pretty good friends as well, by which I mean that we tease each other mercilessly. Her Hebrew name is (Emunah) which means "faith" exactly the same thing that her given name means in Swahili. I decided that I'd combine the two cultures of her names into one piece of jewelry.

to draw the glitter of the center stone out towards the 18K palladium white gold shank of the ring

I designed this pendant as an homage to her work

the single day's worth of oil burned for the full eight days that it would take them to press fresh olive oil to fuel it

The mixture of light and dark in the crescent and three-quarter phases represent how well they understand each other and compliment one another's strengths

so the wedding band fits the engagement ring like a puzzle piece and the set becomes a full crown

Two friends of mine were getting married

but I'd always wanted the chance to make it again as I acquired better tools and improved at my craft

and the two of them should always be a source of peace and comfort for each other

" the Greek form of "John" (as used in the title of the Gospel of John)

the actual text of verses 14 and 15 appear on the right and left sides of mezuzah case respectively

The deep red of the garnets and the hammered pattern of the 22-karat gold (materials common in ancient Greek

He wanted a brooch for his wife that celebrated their daughter