Since 1997, Jewelry Designs by Stuart Benjamin & Co. has specialized in unique, one-of-a-kind designs, chosen and produced with great attention to detail.

“No job is too small to work on,” Stuart Benjamin said. “If it has sentimental meaning to the customer, it has sentimental meaning to us.”

Benjamin and staff pride themselves on the way each piece is constructed, paying particular attention to the color of gemstones and the timelessness of the design. “We want our jewelry to make the wearer as happy in 10 years as the day they picked it out,” said Benjamin, who has worked in the industry since childhood. His grandfather, Ed Benjamin, was extremely well respected in the business and Stuart Benjamin credits him for everything he knows.

Barbara Wasserstram began when she was 21 selling in retail jewelry stores in the Midwest. After moving to San Diego, she began her own custom design business and met Stuart.

Wasserstram is vice president of the San Diego chapter of the Women’s Jewelry Association. Benjamin is on the board of the California Jewelers Association, and Jewelry Designs by Stuart Benjamin & Co. has just been accepted to the American Gem Society. The first month Jewelry Designs by Stuart Benjamin & Co. was in business, they designed and manufactured a pink, 18-carat gold and ruby bow pin to benefit Mama’s Kitchen. The pin was auctioned off and the proceeds went to AIDS research.

“The joy we felt is how we feel each time we create an heirloom piece, be it for families or charity events,” Benjamin said. “What goes around comes around.”