PRINTOn the Job: Master Jeweler
February 11, 2010 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Kanye West says “Diamonds are forever / Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe.” Jim Pringle is responsible for many of the diamonds in the sky in Columbia. He’s been crafting jewelry for 25 years and won the De Beers Design Award in 1993, which propelled him to shine on the international jewelry stage. Pringle’s clients rave that he’s made some of the best jewelry of all time.
Name: Jim Pringle
Age: 57
RESIDENT SINCE: 1953
AT JOB SINCE: 1985
JOB LOCATION: KT Diamond Jewelers, 2101 Corona Road
PHONE: 234-2777
Jim Pringle has been designing and crafting jewelry in Columbia for 25 years. The lifelong ...
Pringle makes mostly engagement and wedding rings, but he has also made a gemstone-encrusted dragon ...
How did you get interested in jewelry making?
I made models as a kid and learned to make a crown and bridge when I worked as a dental tech. Then I started making my wife jewelry and became interested in designing and manufacturing. When I was driving a courier van in Jeff City, all the ladies in the little offices found out about my hobby and would say, “Oh, make me something.” So it turned into a job.
What kinds of pieces do you make?
We do earrings, pendants, bracelets, watch bands. We made a great big silver dragon bracelet with hundreds of gemstones in it. But mostly wedding rings.
Do guys ever return engagement rings?
That’s always a horror story, especially when 95 percent of the pieces are one-of-a-kind. If she says no and slaps you and throws it at you, then you try to bring it back. But I put time and energy into that for you, and I don’t want it back. So we put it out on consignment, and if somebody else buys it, you get your money back.
What’s the biggest diamond you’ve set?
I made a ring with a 10-carat round, which is huge. The ring was roughly dime-sized. Just imagine a dime on your finger. I think its wholesale value was $50,000.
What’s your favorite kind of jewelry to make?
It’s fun to make different, unusual pieces, but it’s also nice just to make a normal ring sometimes. I learn on every piece I make. There’s a little challenge on every piece, and I never know what will surprise me.
Why did you enter the De Beers contest?
That year was a nature theme, which was right up my alley. Kind of on a whim, I did some drawings and sent designs in. The pendant was a mountain vignette with a little piece of carved rock mountainside in front of it and a diamond flower growing out of it.
How did it feel to win this award?
It was my 15 minutes of fame and glory. That’s the life of an artist. You have a lot of hard work sitting at your bench, and then you have 15 minutes in front of everybody. Then it’s back to being alone with your work.
If you could design a piece of jewelry for anybody, who would it be?
I drifted away from the Catholic Church when I was 15 but decided to return seven or eight years ago. It would be really neat to make an ornate religious jewelry icon and have it put in the Vatican. But that’s kind of sappy. I should pick some rock star.
Have you ever made a tooth grill?
We’ve joked about it, but no. I actually haven’t made any of the new-age body ornamentation. I guess part of that is Columbia. If we were in L.A., I certainly would’ve been approached.
Are most of your clients local?
Most of them, but we have clients all over the country. I actually made that dime-sized ring for a store in Florida that heard about me through a little manufacturer in Jersey.
What’s the best part about your job?
The idea that I’m making something for a person that they’re going to treasure all their life and give to their grandkids. It’s a little piece of beauty that’s personified into something you can hold in your hands.
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