Investing in Custom Design: Pricing & Materials
The Cost of Custom Jewelry
It is the most common question we receive, and because every bespoke piece begins as a blank canvas, every answer is unique. While our custom commissions have ranged from a thousand to over a million dollars, a typical transformational redesign utilizing your existing gemstones generally runs between $2,500 and $6,000 (excluding the purchase of any new gemstones).
Our primary goal is to work respectfully within your stated budget. Designing a breathtaking masterpiece does no one any good if it is not a piece you can comfortably afford to take home. We believe in complete transparency about where your money goes and how different design choices impact your final investment.
Our primary goal is to work respectfully within your stated budget. Designing a breathtaking masterpiece does no one any good if it is not a piece you can comfortably afford to take home. We believe in complete transparency about where your money goes and how different design choices impact your final investment.
Can I save money by using my old gold?
A common misconception is that melting down your old jewelry will significantly reduce the cost of a new piece. In reality, this is rarely a viable option. Over a lifetime of wear, sizing, and repairs, jewelry accumulates different solders and alloys, fundamentally altering the metal's structural composition.
Here is why melting down existing jewelry often compromises the new design:
While we can occasionally hand-forge a simple, rustic design using your original solid metal, intricate, delicate, or highly precise designs require the exactness of CAD engineering and fresh, structurally sound casting grain.
Here is why melting down existing jewelry often compromises the new design:
- Rolled Gold vs. Casting Grain: There is a fundamental metallurgical difference between fresh casting grain and existing jewelry. Rolled gold has been mechanically compressed and work-hardened. When melted down without proper refinement, it becomes brittle, porous, and impossible to work with unless we add a substantial amount of pure, new metal—which effectively negates any cost savings.
- Hollow Jewelry: If an heirloom piece is hollow, there is remarkably little actual metal to yield once melted.
- Gold-Filled Jewelry: The intense heat of melting mixes the base metal core (usually brass or copper) directly into the gold, completely destroying its purity and ruining the batch.
- Gold-Plated Jewelry: The microscopic flash-layer of precious metal is entirely insufficient to extract or work with.
While we can occasionally hand-forge a simple, rustic design using your original solid metal, intricate, delicate, or highly precise designs require the exactness of CAD engineering and fresh, structurally sound casting grain.
Can I save money by reusing my old gemstones?
Absolutely! Repurposing your existing diamonds and colored gemstones is a wonderful way to manage costs while preserving the sentimental value of your family heirlooms.
However, we must know about these stones at the very beginning of the process. True bespoke design means engineering the architecture of the ring specifically for the gems it will hold; we cannot simply force your grandmother’s tapered baguettes into a design engineered for round diamonds. Additionally, we will carefully inspect your stones under magnification before we begin. Chipped, abraded, or structurally compromised gems cannot be safely reset into a new design (and you certainly wouldn't want damaged stones in a pristine new masterpiece!).
However, we must know about these stones at the very beginning of the process. True bespoke design means engineering the architecture of the ring specifically for the gems it will hold; we cannot simply force your grandmother’s tapered baguettes into a design engineered for round diamonds. Additionally, we will carefully inspect your stones under magnification before we begin. Chipped, abraded, or structurally compromised gems cannot be safely reset into a new design (and you certainly wouldn't want damaged stones in a pristine new masterpiece!).
Can AI-generated images reduce my custom design costs?
The short answer is no. While artificial intelligence can generate breathtakingly beautiful concepts, it completely lacks the fundamental engineering parameters required to create physical, wearable jewelry.
Here is why an AI image cannot bypass the engineering phase:
Bringing us an AI-generated image is a fantastic starting point. It serves as wonderful inspiration and gives us a crystal-clear understanding of the aesthetic you want to achieve. However, translating that digital fantasy into a structurally sound, durable piece of fine jewelry still requires the exact same time, metallurgical knowledge, and meticulous engineering from a master craftsman.
Here is why an AI image cannot bypass the engineering phase:
- No Structural Physics: The internet is flooded with spectacular AI-generated designs that, upon closer inspection, feature floating gemstones with absolutely no prongs or structural metal to actually hold them in place.
- Un-Castable Models: Some advanced AI tools can generate an STL file (the format used to 3D-print a resin model). However, simply having the correct file type does not mean the piece will actually grow correctly or allow molten metal to flow properly. For example, if an AI generates prongs exactly as they look in a finished picture (already folded tightly over the gemstone), a jeweler physically has no way to set a real stone into them.
- Locked Meshes: STL files are essentially "locked" meshes, not editable engineering files. If the AI places a single prong even a fraction of a millimeter out of position, we cannot simply nudge it into place. The entire design must be rebuilt from scratch by a human engineer just to correct that one microscopic error.
Bringing us an AI-generated image is a fantastic starting point. It serves as wonderful inspiration and gives us a crystal-clear understanding of the aesthetic you want to achieve. However, translating that digital fantasy into a structurally sound, durable piece of fine jewelry still requires the exact same time, metallurgical knowledge, and meticulous engineering from a master craftsman.
Current Metal Prices
The live feed below displays the current, up-to-the-minute market prices per ounce for precious metals. These figures represent the baseline market cost for the raw materials before any craftsmanship, engineering, or bench work is applied.
To put these numbers in perspective, precious metals are measured in Troy ounces (1 Troy ounce = 31.10 grams). A typical, solid, wide band (size 10) might weigh roughly 15 grams if crafted in Platinum, or 10 grams if crafted in 14K gold.
To put these numbers in perspective, precious metals are measured in Troy ounces (1 Troy ounce = 31.10 grams). A typical, solid, wide band (size 10) might weigh roughly 15 grams if crafted in Platinum, or 10 grams if crafted in 14K gold.
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