I bought it (BIG TIME)
When Hugo passed away last year, I wanted something to commemorate him and looked through countless “pet grief” pieces of jewelry, but in the end I went for something relatively cute and not cheap. I did. Fortunately, I work at a wonderful Canadian facility called Birks, which offers custom design options. “Bark’s Bespoke” This allows you to create a piece from scratch like I did, or convert an existing piece. I often get asked questions and help clients with custom designs in my work, so I wanted to share my experience.
Birks Bespoke’s process is very simple on paper. Make an appointment with a salesperson, tell them what you want, receive a hand-drawn sketch and quote, finalize your design, and wait for your piece to arrive.
One thing I often encounter with clients who are new to custom design is that custom is usually never cheaper than buying from a showcase, so if you try to copy something from Harry Winston or Tiffany, you’re probably going to spend your money. That means you will have to pay. At least more than what’s in the showcase. This mainly comes down to the fact that customization is made just for you, and items purchased from stores are (to some extent) mass-produced. He only makes one wax/mold for your work, whereas multiple wax/molds are made for retailers. This means that instead of one custom piece absorbing all the cost, the cost is amortized over many pieces.
So, with all this in mind, we set out to design a ring to honor Hugo. Since he was born in August, I thought it would be nice to have a birthstone ring, but then I remembered that Hugo and Hemingway were both born in his August, so they adopted him together in 2015. In honor of his adopted brother, he wanted a ring with two stones. Hemingway Hugo and I loved being together, and we were often together when he came home from work, so it made me smile to think that we could be “together” like this.
I originally considered using one pear-shaped peridot and one oval-shaped spinel (both August birthstones) to create an asymmetrical look for each boy, but after thinking about it… , I decided to leave both the same stone. I don’t have a peridot ring, so I thought it would be more unique to have a green stone ring. After much deliberation, he finally settled on two 0.70 carat pear-shaped peridots surrounded by pavé diamonds. To keep costs down, we decided to make the ring out of 14K white gold instead of 18K or platinum. Since it’s not an everyday ring, I didn’t think it would be a problem if I chose white gold if the rhodium peeled off (white gold jewelry looks yellowish when the rhodium peels off). Platinum would have cost about $1,000 more, and since I mainly designed the design to show the metal, platinum tends to have a slightly matte finish over time (white gold retains its luster). This is what I didn’t want.
Once we decided on the design, it took about six weeks to make the ring, and an additional few weeks for it to be appraised for insurance purposes. We started the design process in September and received the ring and documents in November. The big question was, did I like the results? Let’s just say I did and it was definitely different than what I expected. The first thing I noticed was how much metal was in the “twist” part. I didn’t expect it to be this thick, but the ring looked so gorgeous, especially since the peridot looked so big. I’m at a stage in my life where bigger is better, so I’ve managed to make it work, which I wouldn’t have wanted 10 years ago. It didn’t take me long to reconcile the vision I had in my head with what I had in my hands, but when it comes to keeping an open mind, this is what I mean. It’s like a thing.
The only time I actually wear my ring is at work (definitely not at home) and I always take it off when the store opens and closes. First, peridot is not a hard stone and will chip. Secondly, about 2 weeks after I got this ring, I was wearing it at a store opening, and since I wasn’t used to thick rings, it ended up getting stuck on the side of the wall, and I was wearing it at a store opening. One was dislocated and chipped. The stone culet…I had it repaired and it looked like new, but she had only repaired jewelry once in her 16 years at Berks. For someone who had never done it before, this was an eye-opener for me. Be very careful now and remember to move slowly when wearing it. Because you don’t even realize how much you’re doing with your hands until something like this happens. And it doesn’t take much time. I give this advice to all my clients. Especially when it comes to engagement rings, they should be taken off at home and not worn 24/7. I should have listened to myself.
Have you ever custom designed jewelry? Did you enjoy the process?
Loading..
