Becky Thatcher Designs, Inc.

Becky Thatcher’s designs are inspired by the beauty of Northern Michigan. A nationally known goldsmith, silversmith, and jewelry designer, Becky specializes in unusual colored gemstones including tourmaline, boulder opal, fancy sapphire, tanzanite, rutilated quartz, and beryl such as aquamarine and morganite, which she personally selects from Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Bangkok. Stones by artist lapidaries are collected from the United States and Europe for inclusion in her works.

Using beach stones from Lake Michigan, Becky Thatcher also paints “picture” necklaces and earrings which visually capture the essence of memories related to Northern Michigan: its earth, its water, its skies and its wildlife. Similarly, she used gemstone beads, and ancient and modern beads from throughout the world, to create jewelry that tells stores of different cultures and environs.

Come be enthralled by the inherent beauty and superb craftsmanship behind each Becky Thatcher stone and design.

Our Story Starts With a Journey
Becky Thatcher has been designing exquisite, handmade jewelry for over three decades. These fine pieces feature locally acquired stones, set against rarer gemstones recalling distant places. Boulder opal, sapphire, quartz and beryl from across the seas are set beside the Petoskey, beach stones and fossils of northern Lake Michigan’s pristine shoreline.

Collecting Stories
Becky mixes pearls from Tahiti, the South Sea, America and Asia with local stones. She selects gemstones from cutters in Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Bangkok. Becky’s pieces include stones collected from artists’ lapidaries across the United States and Europe. The stones are then paired with diamonds and pearls.

An Invitation
The stone compositions bring near and far, past and present into each piece. We invite you to experience the sense of a journey’s return that every piece evokes. Our flagship store in Glen Arbor, Michigan or our stores in Leland, Harbor Springs, or Traverse City may be just where find your own story.

Company Mission Statement...
Our stores in Glen Arbor, Leland, Harbor Springs and Traverse City have grown through word-of-mouth. Our customers come back year after year for additional pieces of my one-of-a-kind jewelry and share their discoveries with friends. We are committed to this ongoing business and will enjoy building new customer-friendships.

We select the locations of our shops, not because they are the best locations for selling jewelry, but because these are the places we want to live. We really like living in these areas and are ready to do the work necessary to let us enjoy it. We also participate in the community effort necessary to protect and enhance the beauty of these areas and to encourage the appreciation and growth of the arts.

My deep love of natural beauty and the environment is expressed in my wearable art designs. I use gemstone beads, shells, and a wide range of ancient and modern beads from around the world to “paint” vivid images of ocean, beaches, wildlife, and sunsets. Customers tell us that those “picture” necklaces and earrings capture the vitality and beauty of the Leelanau Peninsula and Key West and prompt the enjoyment and sharing of special memories wherever they may go.

My interest in colored gemstones has grown into a specialty and has drawn me to the major markets, such as Bangkok and Hong Kong, to find unusual stones with exceptional colors at excellent prices: tourmaline boulder opal, fancy sapphire, tanzanite, sugilite, and chrysocolla. I set these stones in high karat golds and sterling silver with unique designs, and my professional staff assists with the execution of these designs. This goldsmith work continues to earn national recognition.

We enjoy meeting customers and treating them as friends. We will work with each customer-friend to find and select the best design for their interest, taste, and pocketbook. If we do not have what a customer is looking for, we will offer suggestions on how to find it. We will treat our customers, as we would have them treat us. All of our customers are special to us; therefore, there are no special discounts to categories of customers.

Our standard is exceptional quality at consistently fair prices. This standard attracts customers and brings them back. We do not use special sales to lure customers into our shops.

Our employees, part of our extended family, share in the pride of this business. Professional and career development and self-esteem are important together with stable employment, fair salaries and good benefits.