How To Make Custom Jewelry?
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First thing's first – we must clear up the difference between “custom” and “costume” jewelry. Custom jewelry is planned out by a jewelry designer (think “jewelry architect”) and is typically made of precious gems professionally set onto and into precious metals (gold & platinum). “Costume” jewelry is made of rhinestones or semi-precious (think CZ) stones glued onto alloy metals and recreates the look of real jewelry. Custom jewelry can cost in the thousands to the hundreds of thousands whereas costume jewelry is typically a few dozen dollars, or a few hundred for the highest end pieces made with silver and CZ.
Q: Ok, great, now I know what Custom Jewelry is. How do I get started?
A: The best thing about custom making jewelry is that it can be so very easy when working with a competent jewelry designer. Our way here at Motek Jewelry is very simple. We start with a free consultation and discuss the basic points required to make a piece. A few questions we ask include “What kind of jewelry would you like to make - a ring, earrings, necklace, etc?” If you don’t know, that’s ok! We can help you figure out what would work best for the look you’re going for. The next questions we ask revolve around discovering your taste – do you like minimalist, lavish, chunky, dangly, long, thick, starburst, abstract, symmetrical, multicolor, illusion? What are your design goals? During this stage of the consultation, we sometimes hand-sketch design features and layouts to make the concepts more visually comprehensible. The final question we ask is probably the simplest one – what’s your budget for this item?
Q: What if I’m not sure how much budget to allocate towards this jewelry?
A: That’s ok! Just like any other product with many moving parts and cost components, it can be difficult to know how much is not too much and not too little. To make things super easy for our clients, we start our designs with a small digital rendering fee. The end result is a 3D digital representation of the initial design concept from at least 3 angles (usually 5 or 6 for more complex designs). We then price out the cost to manufacture the design as-is, and then consult with our client again to discuss any design tweaks to accentuate their tastes and budget.
Q: Isn’t it really expensive to design my own jewelry though, regardless of the design?
A: Let’s put it this way – imagine you are presented with two options. The first option is to spend your budget on a high-end, off-the-shelf piece of jewelry for “X” dollars. Option 2 is to take the same “X” dollars and let the designer create a design concept that accentuates your tastes, while using components with the highest lifetime value. So instead of using a gold mounting with extremely high clarity diamonds like VVS (several clarity levels beyond what you’d be able to discern with your naked eye), you end up using a platinum setting set with larger and better cut stones with a slightly lower clarity of high SI. The clarity of the stones in both options will look the same to you, but the size and cut of the second choice will result is a much more sparkly piece, and the platinum setting will resist damage for many more years than the gold. And if you use lab grown diamonds instead of naturals, you can get ALL of the top specs (including two or more times the diamond carat weight) at the same or lower cost to you.
Our goal is to present you with the very best that your money can buy, every single time.
Q: Sounds interesting! But what if I lose or damage my jewelry? If it’s so unique, how can it be repaired or replaced?
A: Fortunately for our customers, we are top notch jewelers as well as designers. What that means is that we can, and often do, repair fix any fine jewelry, regardless of where it came from (whether from a different shop or from a department store). A perk that we suggest our clients take advantage of is our close relationship with a non-profit jewelry insurance company that offers discounts to whoever opens a policy via a referral from Motek Jewelry. They cover accidental loss, mysterious disappearance, theft, damage, etc. We offer our customers white glove insurance concierge services where we help you open a claim, and then handle your claim(s) for you with your adjuster. We also work hard to get you the full coverage amount each time, so you can either replace or upgrade your jewelry in the event of a loss.
Q: How do I know Motek Jewelry will do a good job with the design? I don’t know what’s supposed to go where!
A: That’s the same question that our founder, Bentzion Yehoushua, asked himself when we started offering custom design services. Bentzion was frustrated with the lack of industry quality control with many third party design services. There was a risk of components not fitting well, going in the wrong place, or just not looking good. So before launching this aspect of our company, he went to trade school to learn jewelry repair & design, diamond setting, and advanced jewelry theory and skills that would ensure Motek Jewelry’s customers got the very best with every single order. The end result was that we got to stick to our motto of “Quality First,” and have earned the reputation of the go-to destination for custom made jewelry. We love every single part of the process, and hope to instill that love in our customer’s hearts as well.
We can help you create your dream jewelry
Click here to send us an email to start the conversation