Modern Heirlooms – The Future Fine

A renowned curator of the rarest jewels. A seeker of treasures hidden in the world’s pockets. Eyes that rest only on beauty that spills unexpectedly, from pieces sculpted and set by artisanal hands. Jenny Chung Seeger is the dreamer behind iconic San Francisco boutique No.3 Fine Jewelry – one that draws a cult following of likeminded souls seeking the rarest of heirlooms. When we heard this creative mind was launching a jewelry line of her own, we knew it was going to be something special. 

A magical culmination of experience, insight and intuition, The Future Fine occupies a space in the fine jewelry world that only meticulous eyes and deep hearts could know was missing. A collection built around the art of selecting stones – a brand mantra many attach to their labels, but few embody with quite the same impact. Using only antique stones over 100 years old and contemporary fancy cuts artfully set into modern designs, each ring is viewed as a vessel to elevate each gemstone, and never distract. Weaving together stories of the past through nostalgic stones, immortalizing present moment decisions through contemporary design, and symbolizing future promises of forever – The Future Fine are creators of inimitable future heirlooms. 

We had the pleasure of spending a moment with Jenny Chung Seeger to hear more about The Future Fine, handcrafted in a city that spills with the same unpredictable magic echoed in her stones. 

“The concept of a solitaire may seem simple — but the simplest designs are the ones that require the most thought.”

We love the artful way your first collection embodies all that is uncomplicated, more over is unforgettable. We’re excited to hear where the inspiration came from for the label, and have you paint a picture of The Future Fine’s ultimate muse?

The Future Fine is guided by the past, modelled by the present, and created for your future.

Our journey in creating this line has been one of self-discovery. Every day we are inspired by pieces in our own families, all the history and craft that lives within them, and the idea of borrowing old techniques and mixing them with new ones. We’re inspired by some of the timeless, uncomplicated concepts of a solitaire ring, and how to make it fit into the modern present: your present. While relationships may shift and change as we all grow, a Future Fine ring takes inspiration from all the ways love has been celebrated in the past. The present moment, for each ring and each diamond we select, is meant to take you into the future, where this token of love becomes an heirloom.

Our muse is someone who respects thoughtful design, is interested in preserving tokens from the past, and is bold enough to shake conventional traditions but excited to celebrate new ones.

Daring on the edge of art yet reflecting an unspoken timelessness, can you explain your approach to design and the in-house process of creating a ring?

The in-house design process always begins with pencil sketches and numerous prototypes to ensure all the small details are realized. The concept of a solitaire may seem simple—but the simplest designs are the ones that require the most thought. The exact placement of prongs, the scale of the gallery, the orientation of the diamond—these are all decisions that make a TFF ring so special. Often times a new design is born from a very special diamond, such as an heirloom or a geometric cut. From there, our designers ensure the ring embodies the past, while honoring the present, always with a future heirloom in mind.

Your collection spills with modernity yet remains nuanced in tradition, sentimentality, and respect. Where do you source your stones from and how have your own heirlooms influenced your designs and maker’s mark?

The TFF ethos is very much about diamond selection. We only work with true antique stones (classified as over 100 years old) or modern fancy cuts and colors, sourced from only our most trusted. Finding a diamond that best represents the unique aspects of your relationship can be hard to translate in today’s common round brilliant diamond, so embracing an unconventional diamond-sourcing ethos provides our clients with a truly modern approach. Old Mine cuts, grey or salt & pepper diamonds, and geometric hexagonal cuts are among our favorites, known for their unique and one-of-a-kind properties.

My grandmother left me some very special pieces when she passed away: a class ring made of 18k gold and jade, and a solid gold (adjustable) men’s wedding band. Inside both of these rings are the jeweler’s maker’s mark and other insignias that I’ve studied to gain insight to the provenance and make of each ring, and more importantly the moments that were special to my grandma. This has really inspired me to ensure that every TFF ring is forged to symbolize a moment in time, and our maker’s mark and wishbone stamped inside every TFF ring is a reminder of that.

“We only work with true antique stones (classified as over 100 years old) or modern fancy cuts and colors, sourced from only our most trusted.”

To book a consultation, or shop the collection online, visit The Future Fine website and Instagram.

Photography by Cody Rasmussen.