Combining his vast jewelry making experience with his third-generation teacher heritage, Paul Bartnik loves to share the fun and the detail of his craft. He does so through an opportunity like no other: Paul offers each of his clients the opportunity to participate in the process as their custom piece is being created.

Clients decide the extent to which they want to participate. At a minimum, they approve the design and the wax carving. At maximum, they can walk right through every step of the jewelry making process.

Clients manage their time by booking two- or four- or six-hour intervals to meet their scheduling needs. Their timeline to completion determines how often they come in. One out-of-town couple booked a week straight to both start and finish their rings. Working with Paul became a mini- vacation: they had a great time visiting Portland and exploring the Portland food scene. With the work completed, they went home with their beautiful, custom made jewelry and stories that will last a lifetime.

Paul loves listening to his clients, building on and drawing out their ideas, capturing that first sparkle on paper. He loves carving the wax model and putting any selected stones into that wax so the clients can literally try on their ideas.

From there, they “invest” the waxes and cast them. Paul uses a stereo microscope to fine-tune each piece, adding any selected details such as stone setting, filigree inlay, or hand engraving. The clients can watch it all on the TV screen right above Paul’s workbench.

When the clients go home with their Paul Bartnik Designs custom jewelry, they carry with them a rich experience that brings them closer together. For Paul, start to finish, “It’s really cool to see and be a part of. It’s quite romantic.” 

All of our gems are appraised by Accurate Gem Lab, Inc.