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Yael Designs is a San Francisco-based bridal and fine jewelry design and manufacturing company. The company's jewelry is sold in stores across the United States. The company was founded in 2001 by Yehouda Saketkhou, who is the firm's owner, CEO, and chief designer. Only conflict-free diamonds and ethically sourced stones are used in their designs. The company is active in various philanthropic efforts, often devoting collections to benefit causes such as environmental issues and the conflict diamond industry. The company has won numerous awards for their designs, most recently their Baroness ring was selected as the 2014 Grand Prize Winner for JCK Jeweler's Choice Awards, the ring also took home the 2014 JCK Jeweler's Choice Award for Colored Stone Jewelry. Celebrities such as Kerry Washington, Kim Kardashian, Candace Cameron Bure, Phyllis Smith, Sharon Osbourne and Portia Doubleday have worn Yael's designs on television and the red carpet, and the company's designs been featured on the covers of industry publications such as InDesign Magazine, Jewellery Business, Instore Magazine, the AGTA's Prism Magazine and JCK Magazine. Yehouda Saketkhou sees jewelry design as an opportunity for artistic expression; his goal is to create jewelry that connects the worlds of art, jewelry, and fashion.

History
Yehouda Saketkhou founded Yael Designs in 2001. Saketkhou is a long-time San Francisco resident and chose to headquarter the company in downtown San Francisco. The company places a high value on ethical production and philanthropic work. They only use conflict-free diamonds and recycled gold in their jewelry. In 2011, Yael Designs partnered with designer Ashley Morgan to create a line of jewelry called the Leone Collection to benefit Sierra Leone, one of the countries most harmed by the Conflict Diamond industry. A percentage of the profits went to Schools for Salone, a non-profit organization focused on educational development in Sierra Leone. Proceeds from the jewelry sales were directed towards building an elementary school in a southern village. Yael Designs has donated several pieces to the Junior League of San Francisco for their silent auctions over the years and their jewelry was featured in the Junior League's 2014 Fashion Show and Gala. In honor of Earth Day in 2010, Yael Designs participated in Christie's Green Auction, donating their Dream Weaver diamond pendant, which was valued at nearly $15,000. Saketkhou said that his inspiration for his Pacifica Collection came from his frequent walks on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, noting a conviction that the oceans are in "dire need of protection".

Design
The company's collections are inspired by both nature and architecture. Yehouda Saketkhou noted in an interview with JCK Magazine that winning a Spectrum Award changed the way he did business because winning the award, and receiving many orders for his award winning piece, gave him the realization that he could create whatever he wanted as an artist, rather than having to think about what pieces would be marketable. The latest Serendipity collection features sliced emeralds with rose-cut tops, and was immediately one of the most popular collections at the JCK Luxury show Some of the inspirations to the collections have been: the Pacific Ocean, featuring tanzanite stones, the stars, featuring fire opals, and geometric mosaics, featuring black and white diamonds. Several publications have cited Yael Designs' pieces as examples of jewelry which are on trend with the Pantone Color of the Year for different years, including Grayed Jade, Emerald, Radiant Orchid, and Tangerine Tango. Yael Designs has partnered with other designers, including Ashley Morgan for the Leone Collection and Vasken Tanielian for the Modeco Collection.

Awards
Yael Designs has won numerous awards for their designs, most recently their Baroness ring was selected as the 2014 Grand Prize Winner for JCK Jeweler's Choice Awards, the ring also took home the 2014 JCK Jeweler's Choice Award for Colored Stone Jewelry. As the grand prize winner for 2014, Yael's Baroness ring was featured on the March 2014 cover of JCK Magazine. Yael's Lava Fire Opal ring won the 2012 American Gem Trade Association's Spectrum Award in the Evening Wear category, and then went on to win the JCK Jewelers Choice Award in the Color Stone category. In 2011 they won the AGTA Spectrum Award in Bridal Wear with Platinum Honors. In 2010 one of the company's pieces from their Mosaic Collection won the AGTA Spectrum Award for Manufacturing Honors in the category of Evening Wear. In 2009 Yael Designs won the AGTA Spectrum Award for Manufacturing Honors in Business/Day Wear. In 2008 the company won their first AGTA Spectrum Manufacturing Award with Manufacturing Honors in Business/Day Wear for one of their rings from their "Orb" collection of pearl rings.