How does the custom process work?

It all starts with an idea…

The custom jewelry process always starts with a seed of inspiration. It could be the memroy of a family trip. Or the birth of a child. Or the achievement of a hard-won success. Or simply the color of a loved one’s eyes. Regardless of the origin, the goal of the custom goldsmith is to create a tangible jewel that embodies the client’s vision.

The custom design process is not for everyone. It requires a leap of faith to believe in the beauty of something that does not yet exist. But for those with a sense of adventure and imagination, the process is great fun for both client and goldsmith, and will result in a piece of jewelry unlike any other.

Initial design consultations are free of charge. Scheduling an appointment ahead of time is preferred so that we can give you our undivided attention.

We start by asking a lot of questions and learning about your tastes and preferences, lifestyle, favorite things and activities. Perhaps there is a story you wish to tell through the piece. Some clients bring other favorite pieces of jewelry, sketches, photos, artifacts from past travels, lace from an old wedding dress… the sources of inspiration are limitless.

Next, we discuss the wide variety of options in metals and gemstones, showing you examples from our showcases and our loose gem collection. Going back and forth between vision and object, we can usually narrow down the project to two or three possible ways to realize your vision.

Next comes the design phase. Fresh from the initial consultation, we retreat to our studio to create accurate-to-scale, hand-drawn, color sketches or computer renderings of the finished pieces as we envision them. Concurrently, we search for and procure any loose gemstones to be included in the piece.

For truly novel projects, or ones that will use gems provided by the client, we may request a $250-350 nonrefundable design fee to generate a set of drawings, several design options, and/or a wax or silver model of the piece.

When you arrive for your second consultation, you will be presented with our sketches, a collection of stones to consider, and price quotes for each design. We do not email our designs to prospective clients, nor allow photographs to be taken, unless a design fee has been paid.

Once a design is approved by the client, a one-half deposit of the total estimated price is required to begin work. A completion date is set, usually 4-8 weeks from the date of deposit, and the balance is due upon delivery. Working times less than four weeks are possible, but please be aware that handcrafting takes time, and we will not sacrifice quality for speed.

Over the decades, we’ve made countless custom jewels for generations of clients, each as unique as the wearer. We look forward to creating a new work of wearable art just for you, symbolizing your own life experiences, emotions and memories.