Commissioning a piece
Five stages, eight to ten weeks, one signed quotation before any metal is cut.
Conversation
An hour, in the atelier or by video. Budget is discussed first, not last, because it decides stone before it decides design.
Drawing
Hand sketches, then a CAD render from two angles. Two rounds of changes are included; most commissions use one.
Stones
You see the actual stones, loose, under daylight-balanced light and in daylight at the window. Nothing is chosen from a certificate alone.
Bench
Casting, then hand finishing and setting. This is the four-week part and it is not compressible.
Handover
Fitted in person where possible, with the certificate, the care card and a valuation for insurance.
What it costs to start
The first conversation is free. Drawings and a CAD render are charged at €180, credited in full against the piece if you go ahead. We ask for 50 per cent on signing the quotation, which is when we buy the stone, and the balance at handover.
What you get to see, and when
- Hand sketches within a week of the first conversation.
- A CAD render from two angles, so you can see the profile rather than only the face.
- The actual stones, loose, in daylight, before we commit to any of them.
- Photographs at the wax stage if you want them; some people prefer the surprise.
Where a commission goes wrong
Almost always in one of two places. Either the brief keeps changing after the quotation is signed, which costs both of us money, or the piece is designed around a stone that has not been bought yet and turns out to be unavailable in that exact size. We buy the stone before we finalise the drawing for exactly this reason.
Resetting stones you already own
Bring them in. We will look at them under magnification and tell you honestly what condition they are in; inherited diamonds are often chipped at the girdle in ways that limit which settings are safe. Where a stone cannot be reset safely we say so rather than take the work.
The original setting is returned to you in every case, even where it has no value. It is not ours to melt.
Metals we work in, and the ones we decline
- 18ct gold Yellow, white and rose; our standard
- Platinum 950 Heavier, whiter, and harder to work
- 22ct gold By request, for plain bands only
- 9ct gold Not offered; too brittle for fine claw work
White gold is rhodium plated as standard and will need re-plating every two to three years with daily wear. We tell every client this before they choose it, because discovering it later feels like a defect and it is not.