Commissions

There are so many variables in the process that it makes more sense if you can come up with a budget and ask me to work within it. If you want to spend £1,000, for instance, I would calculate my work, the metal costs, hallmarking etc and then what was left can be spent on stones. I could show you two diamonds of equal size but one costing £100 and the other £500 depending on the quality so having an idea of budget at the outset makes more sense than designing something and then asking how much it’s going to cost.
As a rule of thumb I can generally do the work cheaper than you could buy it ‘off the peg’ so it’s up to you whether you want to save some money for something else or just opt for better materials in your jewellery.

Design

I just need a starting point. Ideally a picture of something that you’ve seen and like in order to let me know the sort of look and style that you’re after. Things to think about are, obviously the metal colours and the stones but also the style of setting the stones. Traditional rings are set with claws and this allows more light to come in behind the stone. This applies more to coloured stones but, with diamonds too, claws have the advantage of obscuring less of the stone than flush or ‘rubover settings’
Rubover settings comprise a solid rim of metal that is forced over the stone to retain it. A rubover gives a hard outline and a more contemporary look and that is often favoured in modern jewellery.
Flush settings, sometimes called ‘gypsy settings’ have the stone actually buried into the surface of the metal and are often used on wedding bands in order to create a smooth ring with the stones protected.

Metals

I can work in any of the precious and semi-precious metals and you should consider them all for their different qualities and costs. I've had clients come to me for a platinum wedding band and walk away with a silver one and £900 extra to spend on the honeymoon. Since I first drafted this page the subject has grown somewhat so I've given it its own page which you can find here.

Stones.

Please read our diamonds page for an introduction to these marvelous stones. If you prefer to use coloured stones or to mix the two then the options are virtually endless. Traditionally sapphires, rubys and emeralds have been classed as precious stones and all the others as semi-precious. Generally it would be the precious group that would be set with diamonds but there is no need to restrict yourself to those three when there are so many interesting and vibrant colours available.
As with diamonds you will find that the price varies hugely depending on quality and that bigger stones are cut from better material making them even more expensive. You will probably want to find a balance between quality and price so that you are not paying a great deal more for a virtually indiscernible difference.
Time frame
The absolute minimum for a commissioned piece, other than something simple like a wedding band is three weeks. This gives us a week to source the materials, a week to make it and a week to get it hallmarked. Some designs will take longer and involve more processes such as making moulds and masters for casting. I’ve not missed a deadline yet and I will do my best to move the process along as fast as possible so that you get your jewellery quickly and so that I get paid!


The process

I personally find drawing time consuming and not very fruitful in conveying a design to the client. I prefer instead, wherever possible to make a design up in silver so that you can see it, handle it and try it on. Generally this silver model can then be used to make a casting mould so that the work is not wasted and you know that the piece you end up with is the same as the piece you’ve seen.
Up to the point where I buy the actual materials you are not committed to anything and you can change your mind or pull out all together. It’s important that, if you’re commissioning a unique piece that you should get exactly what you want and so I don’t mind how long it takes to establish that.
Once the design is finalised I will ask for a deposit to cover the cost of materials and then you should be only a few weeks away from wearing a stunning piece of personal jewellery.

So how do you start..?

1. Find a starting point for how you would like the piece to look.
Look in jewellery shops and on the internet
Gather pictures from brochures and the web

2. Decide on your metals and stones

3. Give me a call on 01275 390357 or use the Contacts page
It may help for us to meet but often it’s not necessary (it will save you that horror!) and
we can do the whole thing by fax, phone email and post.