Benchmarks — Alfonso Luna

The title “bench jeweler” has always seemed like an inadequate title for Alfonso Luna who has diligently worked at a jeweler’s bench peering through a microscope at David Gardner’s Jewelers, for 16 years. Around the store he’s known as Fonz, but you may have also heard him called our “Pave’ Prince.” Here is our interview with him and how he went from apprentice to creating masterpieces.

How did you find your path to being a jeweler? My high school art teacher suggested it. She noticed that I would make jewelry out of plastic and coins. One time I carved a diamond out of plastic with facets and everything and made a ring for my wife.

How did you meet David? When I was at Paris Junior College, David came and made a presentation. I remember thinking the photos he had of his pieces were cool, but I had no idea, at the time, about quality. He was interviewing for a jeweler and it came down to me and another guy and he chose me.

What’s been the key to your success at the store? I started as an apprentice in repair but quickly moved into doing pave’ work. Around the time I began hand-carving pieces in wax we got the CAD program and machine for custom work. Now I do it all, assembly, fabrication and even colored stone setting.

What made this incredible demantoid ring one of your favorite projects over the years? This ring had a beautiful organic design, it looks different from every direction. It was one of those jobs where I just worked on it until we liked it, which made it fun, it was easier because we had the freedom of the fluid design.

This beautiful tanzanite ring has your prints all over it, what was about this ring that made it a memorable project for you? For me this was a high-risk piece because tanzanite is soft and easy to scratch because of its three planes of cleavage. This ring is also simple but full of detail, I liked that I got to work on it from the beginning to end.

Dean says you’re the best at pave’ work of anyone he’s ever seen! What’s your secret? Patience! especially at the end. When you think there’s light at the end of the tunnel, the job is almost done, you can’t rush it, that’s when you have to take a step back, take a deep breath and keep going.

What excites you about your job? I think pave’ is exciting. Setting a giant stone or creating something on CAD. I like exceeding the customer’s expectations and blowing them away with the final product, that excites me.