It would have been simple for jewelry designer Sekikazu Nakakura, G.G., to take the easy route in life. The son of a Japanese jeweler, he could have effortlessly slid into the family's retail business to continue what his father started.

But that wouldn't have been his style.

Like the jewelry he designs, Sekikazu, as he's simply referred to, likes to take creative risks and be outside of four walls in places where he can find inspiration for beautiful pieces. Sometimes elements in nature do the trick. Jewelry from his Sakura Collection, for example, is his interpretation of the Japanese cherry blossom, which incorporates spiked ribbons of gold and pink coral.

Other times he gets his ideas from something as ordinary as a house or even a camera. It really depends on where his imagination will take him, he says. But one of his most recent flashes of creativity struck him through the glass of an exhibitor's counter while walking through the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show earlier this year.

He saw a suite of cultured golden mabe pearls and was awestruck by their unusual color. They created a picture in his mind of a golden sun, low on the horizon with its shimmering rays reflecting off a large body of water, he says.

He even came up with a name, "The Peaceful Horizon." Designed with 18K yellow gold and accented with marquis-cut yellow beryls, the piece would be a tribute to the golden hue, he thought.

"When I first saw the material, I thought it was dyed," Sekikazu says. "But they told me it was natural. I was surprised. It is really unusual. That's when I knew I wanted to make something with it."

The suite's centerpiece is a tapered necklace featuring nine cultured golden mabe pearls ranging from 12-17 mm and 15 golden beryl accent stones. The suite is rounded out with matching earrings and ring. Sekikazu has since decided to gift "The Peaceful Horizon" to the Institute, making him the first Japanese designer to make a donation to the GIA Collection.

"My roots are in GIA. Donating this suite was my way to express that," Sekikazu says. "I have fond memories of the time I spent there, and I wanted to say 'thank you very much' because today I'm here. I'm a jewelry designer."

While the catalyst for his creativity may vary, Sekikazu says women around the world are his muse. Each is a blank canvas waiting for him to adorn them with his jeweled artwork that pulls on their heartstrings, he says.

"Jewelry is something that makes women feel different. When they wear it, they smile," Sekikazu says. "I have confidence that when they wear my jewelry, they feel beautiful."

Sekikazu was 27 years old when his sister, seeing how much he wanted to be a designer, suggested he travel to the United States to study at GIA. First he had to study English, however, and two years later, he enrolled in the Graduate Gemologist program at the Santa Monica campus in 1983.

He describes his time at GIA as an eye-opening experience. He learned to be open about other cultures and made friends from all over the world. It's also where he may have picked up his quirky sense of humor, says Kumiko Obara, International Division manager for Sekikazu Corp.

"Most Japanese men are conservative and reserved," she says. "But Sekikazu opens himself to everyone and is funny. I think he got this sense of humor from the States."

He shares bits of humor through tongue-in-cheek candor during conversation. When asked if he's a second-generation jeweler, he can't resist the opportunity to have a little fun.

"I'm not a second-generation jeweler," he says. "You see, my father started the retail store, and when he passed away, my mother took it over. So I'm a second-and-half-generation jeweler."

His design career really took off soon after winning the grand prize in the George A. Schuetz Jewelry Design Contest in 1984 for a rendering of a bracelet he designed while still a student at GIA. Looking back, he says the award changed his life. It validated what he had dreamed of doing all along. Yet, as a foreigner, the experience was also confusing and even humorous at the time, he says.

"At first, I thought it was a mistake. I was at GIA, and people started congratulating me for winning the grand prize," Sekikazu says. "I was like, 'what prize?' I didn't even know who Schuetz was. It was so funny. I thought they were talking about Snoopy [creator Charles Schulz]."

Other awards followed, as well as opportunities to create specially designed pieces for companies around the world, including Lazare Kaplan. He was also commissioned to design a golden crown for the Shingon sect of Buddhism in Japan.

It was created to honor the retirement of the Jurin-in Temple's resident priest and to recognize the one who was taking his place. Made from 18K gold, the formal headwear's design represents the floral pattern of an orchid and is accented with various gemstones positioned to symbolize the four cardinal points - north, south, east and west.

Sekikazu would still have found some way to exercise his creativity, even if he had decided to stay and run the retail store. He has an affinity for floral design and working with ceramic, he says.

Sekikazu may have left his father's home and the family business years ago, but in one sense, he's returned. Aside from exhibiting at trade shows, the pieces he's designed have found their way back in his family's retail outlet.

"Sekikazu has always been very creative," Obara says. "He simply didn't want to be the retail businessman. He's always felt the need to create something."