Bespoke Jewellery
Your story, forged in fire and flame…
If you're thinking of having a piece of bespoke jewellery made by us, please read on.
In an age of mulitple choice CAD desgins and sliders to choose diamonds, we want to offer something different.
It won't be for everyone, and that's ok. We have put together this guide to help you understand our process, and make sure we're the right fit for you.
Our Bespoke Service
What is bespoke jewellery?
A bespoke piece of jewellery is designed for you, and only you. It could start with an idea, a gemstone, or a purpose. You might have an idea of how you would like it to look, or you might like us to come up with ideas for you.
We are happy for you to show us photos for inspiration, however we don't copy other peoples designs and we only take on commissions that work with our design styles. Find out more about this below.
Where to Start
We work with people in person. Our shop and workshop is in Alcester, near Stratford Upon Avon and 20 miles south of Birmingham.
The first thing to do is get in touch, either by email, using our contact form, by phone or come into the shop. We will ask for your initial ideas and book you in for a design appointment with Camilla.
As we only take on a limited number of bespoke projects each year, there may be a wait before your first appointment, so please do enquire early. After your appointment, the commission process can take 10-12 weeks (or longer for complex projects)
We also don't usually start new projects in November or December.
Before your appointment
To make your design appointment as helpful as possible, there are a few things we ask you to think about beforehand.
1) Do you know what gemstones you would like to use? If so, we may be able to arrange to have a selection for you to view
2) Have you thought about your budget? More on that in the next section, but it's important to establish this early on to make sure ideas fit with reality.
3) If this is a suprise, have any hints or tips been dropped? Metal colour, gemstone, shapes, solitaire as opposed to three stone, coloured gemstones or all diamond, antique style or modern.
4) Are you working to a deadline? Some designs are more complex than others and additional elements (eg. engraving, enamelling, sourcing gemstones etc.) can add to the timeframe.
Your Design Appointment
Your appointment will take place in our design room, just off the shop floor. It's a lovely relaxed place where we can sit down with a tea or coffee and talk through your ideas. Camilla will listen to your ideas, show you samples and gemstones, sketch, go through photos and take measurments. You are welcome to show us images you have found or tell us about the inspiration behind the design.
Don't worry about having all the answers, our job is to ask the right questions and explain the process and possibilities to create the design for you.
At the end of this appointment, if you are happy to proceed to the design process, we will take a deposit of £200.00
This will form part of the end payment for the commission.
The Next Steps
After your appointment, Camilla and the team will work on your design or designs, and will send them to you by email with the quotes. Depending on the project, the images will be CAD renders or Procreate drawings (drawn by hand on a tablet) We can always make changes to these if needed.
Some projects need a second appointment, to choose a gemstone or just talk through the options in person.
When you are completely happy with the design and materials, it's time for us to start making. At this point we will ask for a payment of 50% of the total cost of the project.
Making your Jewellery
Our workshop is visible through the green doors on our shop floor- this is where we make your jewellery. Each project is different, some designs are cast and then hand finished and the stones set, some are hand fabricated from sheet or wire, some are made with your metal which is melted down and drawn into the shape needed or cast. Every piece is hallmarked by the Birmingham Assay Office, who test the purity and stamp the jewellery with our makers mark, the date letter and the purity.
Making your piece of jewellery usually takes around eight weeks, however it can be longer for complex projects. If we are making more than one item for you this can also take longer.
Collecting your Commission
When your piece of jewellery is ready we will contact you and arrange a date and time for you to collect it. Your bespoke item will be beautifully presented in our of our handmade walnut boxes, and we can gift wrap it in our marbelled paper and sari silk ribbon. We will also provide an insurance valuation certificate.
Pricing
As this guide shows, a huge amount of time, effort, skill and experience goes into making bespoke jewellery.
As a guide, if we are supplying all the materials, our prices start from around £3,000.00
If we are using your own metal or gemstones this could be different, but it is not automatically cheaper to do this as it can mean there are extra steps invloved.
If you have more precious metal than you need for a project, or other gold items you wish to sell, we can accept these as part payment. The value given will be based on the gold price at the time.
