Most jewelry looks the same when you walk into any shopping mall in New Jersey, and you will find the same designs in slightly different arrangements. Mass-produced identical items that are built to a price point rather than a standard.
At Simply Stone Arts in Readington, New Jersey, every piece of artisan jewelry starts with a raw stone that Tom found, selected, and decided was worth turning into something. He cuts, shapes, and polishes all by himself. And when it is done, it is the only one like it in the world.
That is not a marketing claim; it is just what happens when one person makes everything by hand from natural materials that nature spent millions of years creating.
Who Is Tom Monroe
Tom Monroe is the owner and the sole lapidary artist at Simply Stone Arts. There is no production team, no outsourced cutting, and no pre-made settings ordered from a catalogue.
His passion for stones started in high school, developing into a genuine, lifelong obsession with lapidary arts that has only deepened over the decades since. He has spent years building what he describes as a vast collection of vintage and modern rough. Always searching for material that deserves to be transformed into something that honors what is inside it.
As Tom puts it on his studio page: “Every gemstone I work with has a story written by nature, and my job is to make sure that story is told.”
That is the whole philosophy in one sentence.
What Makes Simply Stone Arts Different
He Starts Where Most Jewelers Do Not
Most jewelry designers buy pre-cut stones from suppliers where the cutting has already happened by someone who will never see the finished piece. The stone arrives in a standard shape to fit a standard setting.
Tom starts with raw rough and decides how to cut the material to best reveal the colors, patterns, and textures inside that specific stone. Then he does the cutting himself.
The result is handmade jewelry where the stone is genuinely the main event, not a representative example of its type.
Honestly, there are very few jewelers working this way anywhere in New Jersey. The patience it requires is significant, and the skill it requires takes decades to develop.
The Double-Sided Cabochon
One of the most distinctive things about Tom’s work is the double-sided cabochon.
A cabochon is a stone shaped into a smooth dome rather than cut with facets, and the form reveals the internal patterns of the material. Tom finishes both sides of every stone, including the front and back. Each surface is cut, shaped, and polished to the same standard.
This is not a standard practice, which takes significantly more time than finishing one side. But the result is a piece of gemstone jewelry that looks equally beautiful from every angle. There is no hidden flat side or compromise, just the stone in its most complete and honest form.
The Design Philosophy: Let the Stone Speak
Tom’s approach to design is clear. As he states on the Simply Stone Arts website: “Instead of overwhelming a piece with excessive design, I let the stone speak for itself, crafting jewelry that feels organic, timeless, and deeply personal.”
This matters more than it might sound. In most handcrafted jewelry, the setting competes with the stone for attention, and the metalwork is the feature while the stone fills a space.
At Simply Stone Arts, it is completely the other way around. The settings are clean and elegant, framing the stone rather than competing with it. Every design decision is made in service of the material, not the other way around.
What Simply Stone Arts Makes
Handcrafted stone jewelry created from carefully selected natural rough. Every pendant and matching set is individually cut, polished, and shaped to showcase the unique character of each stone.
Pendants
Single stone pendants cut and polished by Tom from carefully selected natural rough. Each one is unique, where the stone determines everything. No two are the same because no two stones are the same.
Pendant Earring Sets
Handcrafted stone jewelry created from carefully selected natural rough. Every pendant and matching set is individually cut, polished, and shaped to showcase the unique character of each stone.
Matched sets are made from stones that share a geological origin. Because Tom cuts every stone himself, he can work from the same rough to produce sets that genuinely belong together, not just similar in color but from the same story.
Custom Orders
For anyone with a specific vision, Tom works directly from material selection through to the finished piece. You might have a favourite stone type, like a particular color, to wear for a meaningful occasion. Tom will find the right rough and build the piece around it.
This is what unique handcrafted jewelry actually means in practice. Not a standard piece with your name engraved, but a piece that exists because of your specific brief.
Why This Matters in New Jersey
For collectors and buyers in New Jersey looking for artisan jewelry of genuine craft and individuality, Simply Stone Arts offers something the mainstream market simply does not have.
One maker, one stone at a time, with decades of lapidary experience. And a philosophy that has never wavered from putting the stone at the centre of everything.
Follow Tom’s work as it is made on Instagram at instagram.com/tom.monroe.9862. New pieces are shared, and then they are completed.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is artisan jewelry and how does Simply Stone Arts approach it?
Artisan jewelry is made by hand by a skilled individual craftsperson rather than being mass-produced. At Simply Stone Arts, Tom Monroe cuts, shapes, and polishes every stone personally from raw natural rough before crafting the finished piece.
No two pieces are ever identical because no two natural stones are identical. Simply Stone Arts is based in Readington, New Jersey.
Contact Tom at tom@simplystonearts.com or visit simplystonearts.com to browse available pieces.
2. What makes Simply Stone Arts handcrafted jewelry different?
Most jewelry designers buy pre-cut stones from suppliers. Tom Monroe starts with raw rough and cuts every stone himself. He also finishes both sides of every cabochon to the same standard rather than leaving the back flat.
The design philosophy keeps the stone as the main event with clean, elegant settings that frame rather than compete. The result is handcrafted jewelry with a depth and individuality that production pieces simply cannot replicate.
3. What types of gemstone jewelry does Simply Stone Arts produce?
Simply Stone Arts focuses on pendants and pendant earring sets worked from natural stone rough. Gemstone jewelry from the collection includes a wide range of natural materials selected specifically for their color pattern and texture.
Custom orders are available for those seeking a specific stone type or a piece made for a particular occasion. Browse at simplystonearts.com/products or contact tom@simplystonearts.com.
4. What does unique handcrafted jewelry from Simply Stone Arts mean in practice?
Every piece of unique handcrafted jewelry from Simply Stone Arts is genuinely singular. Tom Monroe cuts every stone from natural rough that will never produce an identical result. The double-sided cabochon technique means both faces of the stone are finished to the same high standard.
And because Tom makes every piece himself, every item in the collection reflects one person’s lifetime of skill.
5. How do I commission handmade jewelry from Simply Stone Arts?
Tom Monroe welcomes custom orders for handmade jewelry through simplystonearts.com/services/personalized-jewelry/custom-order-150522073. Describe the type of stone, color preference, or occasion, and Tom works with you directly from material selection through to the finished piece.
You can also reach Tom at tom@simplystonearts.com or follow his work on Instagram at instagram.com/tom.monroe.9862 before reaching out.
Simply Stone Arts: Artisan Jewelry Made in Readington, New Jersey
Most jewelry is made to sell. Simply Stone Arts makes jewelry because Tom Monroe cannot imagine doing anything else with a stone worth cutting.
That distinction is shown in every piece.
Visit simplystonearts.com or contact Tom at tom@simplystonearts.com to find your piece or begin a custom order.