Having served time in the Marines, Zach Moulds never imagined that he would pursue a career in making classical and timeless jewelry. Yet after working in the industry for nearly a decade, he and his wife, Emily Moulds, who has a background as a clothing designer for Diane von Furstenberg in New York, launched their company, Heirloom Violet, in Sept. 2024.
With a passion for building cars and motorcycles as a hobby, Moulds said he was naturally drawn to the craft. “The carry-over comes from an interest in working with metal, just on smaller pieces,” he explained. “In the beginning, I was trying to figure out the best ways to set stones and make them structurally sound without looking bulky because each piece has to be designed for beauty while also engineered for functionality.” For Moulds, that art form has become inherent, a second nature.
While Moulds’s strength is engineering, Emily’s is design, she said, as her experience in the world of fashion overlaps with her love for creating custom jewelry. “Because jewelry coincides with wardrobe choices, I’m always looking at trends and color research. For example, when the choice of clothing is simple, jewelry is bolder.”
She added that when it comes to 2026 trends in jewelry, solitaires, bezels, vintage designs and diamond studs are having a moment. “Traditionally, women like delicate pieces, which never go out of style. Right now though, we are also seeing a movement towards chunkier accessories,” she said. “Colored stones are great, too, because they can instantly become a fashion statement –like a signature color that goes with everything you own. Don’t worry about colored stones needing to be symmetrical, either. Mixing colors and cuts can make pieces even more special.”
While the Moulds agreed that together, they strike the perfect balance between a structural and creative mind, they also collaborate with a renowned local jeweler. Who the Moulds praise as the go-to guy for repairs and custom work downtown. “He’s so technically brilliant at repairs and custom work that he could even set a diamond into a spoon,” Mould said.
As their business model is geared towards custom-made jewelry, the Moulds don’t carry inventory or have a storefront. “We make pieces that can be passed down over generations without having to charge astronomical prices. By eliminating the overhead, we’re able to achieve that,” they said.
Although Heirloom Violet is fully online, the Moulds said it's meaningful for them to interface with their clients. “We often meet in person at a local coffee shop so we can learn what is most important to our customers and show them the quality of our work with pieces we have on hand,” Emily said.
“Our clients are usually men who are about to propose,” Moulds continued. “They typically have an idea about what they want us to design and bring in pictures to share with us as examples.”
“What matters most is that we capture what they have in mind so we can meet their expectations, as well as those of the fiancee-to-be,” Emily said. “It helps that our clients don’t have the pressure of walking into an expensive jewelry store and that we can sit down in a casual setting and talk through what’s important to them.”
After learning what the client's expectations are, the Moulds offer an explanation of various stones, metals, cuts, clarities and sizes.
Discussing the budget is always important as well. “We try to accommodate all price ranges and we can usually do that,” Moulds said. “Even though gold prices are astronomical right now, there are ways to get creative if the budget becomes restrictive. For example, we can adjust the color of the stone or choose a lab versus a mined diamond. Lab diamonds are a popular choice for about ninety percent of our clients,” Moulds said. “Because they can be much bigger and are nearly identical to traditional mined diamonds –except they have no inclusions and are a perfect color– the lab option is really a bang for the buck if you aren’t looking for resale.”
“Designing and constructing custom fine jewelry is always exciting and we are always inspired by the ideas our clients share with us,” the Moulds concluded.
To learn more about Heirloom Violet’s exquisite creations, visit heirloomviolet.shopify.com and follow their journey on Instagram at heirloomviolet.
Each piece has to be designed for beauty while also engineered for functionality. That art form has become inherent, a second nature.