Petaluma goldsmith ‘reacts’ to Ariana Grande’s engagement ring, goes viral

The way he describes it, Jordan Mantzke’s jewelry-making business Modern Goldsmith is the product of an amalgamation, a mixture of centuries-old craftsmanship with contemporary technology.

So when a YouTube video he posted to his modest channel exploded online recently, racking up more than 1 million views and flooding his inbox with more customers than he’s ever seen, it felt like a fitting representation of his company’s credo and increasing success.

In the five-minute video, “Jeweler Reacts to Ariana Grande Engagement Ring,” Mantzke briefly reviews the pop singer’s unusual rock, then proceeds to take viewers on a tour of his downtown Petaluma workshop, even popping outside to chat with a group of street musicians.

“I got this idea to play Google’s algorithm. I heard Ariana Grande was engaged and someone asked my thoughts about the ring, so I thought maybe if I bust out a video about it I would have a better chance of being seen,” he said from his window-lit workspace Saturday. “It’s funny, it’s like my big break or something.”

Soon after posting it Dec. 22, Mantzke began receiving dozens of inquiries, while the number of views skyrocketed. He’s had to enlist his wife and sister-in-law to help him comb through all the messages, and has even started to turn some jobs down, unable to tackle them all.

One commenter on the video joked, “U cracked the algorithm.” Another posted: “Your plan worked, YouTube recommended this to me out of nowhere!”

“It’s hardly a reaction video, really,” Mantzke said, referring to the online videos where people film their reactions to almost anything, from strange foods to new songs. “I think I talk about it for 15 seconds, but it struck a chord with some people, and introduced them to other videos on my channel as well.”

As much as the video has been a boon to his business, it’s also acted as a virtual introduction to new neighbors and community members. Mantzke and his family, including three young boys, moved to Petaluma from Vancouver in June, wanting to be closer to family and bewitched by the city’s charm.

The move was also a fresh restart for the 35-year-old Seattle native, after he and his wife sold their Washington home to invest in Modern Goldsmith, a culmination of years of training and hard work.

“I had an uncle who was a goldsmith, so when I was growing up we’d visit his shop,” he said. “That’s when I started to take interest in his work.”

In high school, Mantzke got a job as a polisher, then proceeded to study the craft under three master goldsmiths. As he perfected some of the methods that have been used for millennia, he also began to infuse more modern tools and perspectives.

At his small studio space on Western Avenue, its large windows overlooking the Kentucky Street intersection, he walked through the multi-step process to create a piece of jewelry, pointing to ancient-looking hammers in one corner and a state-of-the-art 3D printer in another.

It all starts with computer-aided design software on his Mac desktop, where we builds virtual prototypes to send to clients. Once the elements of the piece are set, he flips on his compact 3D printer, which takes roughly 10 hours to churn out a wax version of the design.

The delicate-looking wax piece is then placed in a stout metal flask, where Mantzke submerges it with “investment,” which is similar to the kind of molding paste that dentists use. Once that is set, he melts the wax in a kiln, leaving a cavity in the shape of the jewelry item, which he then casts with liquid metal.

After which, the piece is polished, then sent to a small workbench for the meticulous task of stone-setting. But unlike some other jewelry makers, Mantzke uses only ethically sourced and lab-grown diamond alternatives, something that has also drawn customers in recent years.

Referring back to the video, Mantzke remarked how critical social media is to his business, which he describes as “100% online.” In addition to the added exposure, the process of filming the video also created an opportunity for the new Petaluma resident to make a few friends, adding in clips of the street musicians who happened to be playing outside his window while he was filming.

“It was a super spontaneous video, and it ended up being so perfect because those musicians were down there playing,” he said. “Normally, it might have been a distraction, but I thought it could be fun to go and pay them a visit.”

Viewers loved the musical interlude, provided by two of the five-members of Los Gu’achis, a group that regularly livens up city streets, senior homes and community events. Violin player Barbara Arhon said they play early California, Southwest and Mexican music, and often use their talents to raise funds for local nonprofits and good causes.

Seeing how much the musicians entertained his viewers, Mantzke decided to donate the $1,000 proceeds of his YouTube video’s ad revenue to the group. Arhon said she was surprised by the act of kindness, which the jewelry maker filmed for a follow-up YouTube video entitled “$1,000 Surprise for the Musicians!”

The top comment on that video? “A heart of gold must be a requirement for goldsmithing.”

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.)