Southern Jewelry News

In true “Jersey Shore” style, long-time Rhode Island retailer Baxter’s Fine Jewelry played a big part (pun intended) in the custom creation of an engagement ring for reality TV star Michael “Biggie” Morgan from MTV’s “Pauly D Project,” which launched earlier this year. A spin-off from “Jersey Shore,” the “Pauly D Project” shows Biggie as the ‘man behind the man,’ managing the day-to-day operations of Pauly D as he travels the nation playing his music and most recently, opening for the latest Britney Spears tour.

When Biggie decided to pop the question he took his mother and the MTV film crew to Baxter’s to shop for the ring. Baxter’s is owned by Paul Messerlian and his father, Robert, who have been producing jewelry for more than 50 years. They have a well established reputation for producing high-quality, custom pieces and the Morgan family has been buying their jewelry from Baxter’s for years. They were the top choice for Biggie who knew he needed a custom fit for his finance Mary Jane Giampa.

“MTV came to our store and filmed Biggie picking up the ring and they showed close ups of ads on TV,” explains Paul. “Biggie’s fiancé, Mary Jane, has a very small finger requiring a custom piece. We created a ring exactly her size, just under 4 carats with shared prongs on the side and a band with flush fit stones to match.”

Paul and his staff spent time with Biggie sketching out the design, rendering a CAD drawing for his approval and then a wax carving until the ring was completed. Biggie brought Pauly D with him to pick up the ring, along with the entire MTV camera crew.

The first of several shows in which Baxter’s appears aired in early May, but can be found on the MTV website by searching for Pauly D Project episode 6.

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