Affordability · Finance · Insurance
The money conversation, handled privately.
Nobody should have to guess what a ring costs, or feel awkward asking. Gavin talks about budgets plainly and in private, then helps you make the number work without compromising the ring.
Discretion
Private by design
One conversation, one jeweller, and nobody else in the room.
A commission at Ruschin & Co starts with a one-to-one conversation in the Illovo studio or over a video call. There is no sales floor, no public price list and nobody listening at the next counter. What you plan to spend is discussed once, plainly, and stays between you and Gavin.
Naming a budget early is not a negotiating tactic and it is never held against you. It is the single most useful thing you can tell a jeweller, because it decides where the money should go: into the stone, the metal or the making. Gavin will tell you honestly what a figure buys, and where a little more or a little less makes a visible difference.
What discretion means here
- Consultations are private and by appointment, in person in Illovo or by video call.
- Quotes, invoices and messages go to you alone, on the number and the address you choose.
- Nothing about your ring is photographed, published or shown to another client without your permission.
- If a surprise is part of the plan, say so at the start. Gavin is used to keeping them.
Pricing
What actually sets the price
Every ring is priced from three things, and the shares are rarely equal. Understanding them turns a budget from a limit into a plan.
- The stone
- Usually the largest share by a wide margin. Carat weight moves the price fastest, but cut is what you actually see across a room, and colour and clarity have thresholds beyond which the difference is invisible without a loupe.
- The metal
- Platinum and gold are priced by weight and purity, so a heavier band or a wider shank costs more than a slimmer one. This is the smallest share of most rings, and the easiest to adjust without anyone noticing.
- The making
- Design, hand-setting and finishing in the Illovo workshop, and the casting that sits behind them. This is time and skill rather than mark-up, and it is why two rings with the same stone can look and feel very different.
- The extras
- A written valuation for insurance is issued at collection. Plan for the insurance premium, the wedding band, and the occasional resizing over a lifetime of wear.
From the Journal
Finance
Ways to make the number work
Most rings are not paid for in one go, and there is no shame in that. What matters is a route you understand, at a cost you can see, that never turns a happy decision into a monthly strain.
- Stage it with the workshop
- A commission normally runs from a deposit that secures the stone and starts the work, through the making, to the balance at collection. Ask Gavin how that would be staged for your piece and your timing.
- Give it time
- A longer lead time is the cheapest financing there is. If the proposal date allows it, planning the commission a few months ahead lets the payments follow the making rather than the other way around.
- Talk to your own bank first
- If you are borrowing, a personal loan or an arrangement with your own bank is often the simplest to understand, because you already know the people and the terms are written down in one place.
- Read retail credit closely
- Store credit and buy-now-pay-later plans exist for jewellery and suit some people, but short terms and fees add up. The total cost of credit is the number to compare, never the monthly amount.
Questions to ask any lender
- What is the total cost of credit over the full term, including every fee and any credit insurance?
- Is the provider registered with the National Credit Regulator?
- What happens if I settle early, and what happens if I miss a payment?
- Is the interest rate fixed for the whole term?
Insurance
Insuring the ring
The ring is finished, and the second most important thing that leaves with it is the valuation. Insure it before it goes on a hand, not after the first scare.
- Start with the valuation
- Every commission leaves the studio with a written valuation describing the stones, the metal, the measurements and a replacement value. It is what a broker or insurer needs to put a real figure on the policy rather than a guess.
- Two ways to cover it
- Household contents cover usually protects jewellery only inside the house, often with a low single-item limit, so on its own it is not ring cover. Ask for the ring to be listed by name and value under the all-risks section of the policy, sometimes called specified all risks or personal effects, or take a standalone jewellery policy. Either way, the valuation is what the insurer works from.
- Read the conditions
- Check whether cover is on a replacement or an agreed-value basis, whether it applies away from home and abroad, what excess applies, and what conditions come with it: a safe overnight, an updated valuation every few years, or regular checks of the setting. That last one is enforceable, so have the claws checked and keep the record.
- Keep the paperwork together
- The valuation, any laboratory report for the centre stone, the invoice and a few clear photographs. If the worst happens, that file is the claim.
If a claim ever has to be made, Gavin can quote for a replacement or a repair and describe the original piece precisely, because he made it. That is the quiet advantage of a personal commission that nobody mentions until they need it.
From the Journal
Ruschin & Co
Where Gavin helps, and how
The point of a private jeweller is that the guidance is personal, honest and does not stop at collection.
Honest budget planning
A straight answer to what a figure buys, and where moving it makes a visible difference.
Design to the number
The proportions, the metal and the stone chosen together, so the budget goes where it shows.
The paperwork
A written valuation at collection and any laboratory report for the centre stone, handed over and explained.
A lifetime of aftercare
Annual checks, re-polishing, resizing and updated valuations when the insurer asks for them.
If you would like a name for insurance or finance, ask. Gavin will tell you who clients have used and why, and whether Ruschin & Co has any commercial relationship with them. Any such relationship is declared on this page.
Questions
Straight answers
Do I have to tell Gavin my budget?
No, but it helps more than anything else you can say. A budget is not a ceiling Gavin will try to reach. It is the number that decides where the money is best spent, and it is discussed once, in private.
Is there a price list?
No. Rings are quoted on real stones and a real design, in writing, before anything is made. A price without the stone in front of you would be a guess, and the Journal explains where the money goes if you want a sense of scale first.
Can I pay in stages?
A commission normally runs from a deposit to a balance at collection, with the making in between. Ask Gavin how that would work for your piece and your timing, and get the arrangement in writing.
Does Ruschin & Co offer credit?
Ruschin & Co is a jeweller rather than a lender, and any credit you use should come from a provider registered with the National Credit Regulator. If you would like a pointer, Gavin will tell you what clients have used and declare any relationship the studio has with them.
Will anyone else know what I spent?
No. Quotes, invoices and messages go to you alone, and nothing about the ring is published or shown to another client without your permission. If the ring is a surprise, say so and it stays one.
What do I need to insure the ring?
The written valuation issued at collection, any laboratory report for the centre stone, and the invoice. Ask for the ring to be listed by name and value under the all-risks section of your policy rather than under ordinary household contents, or take a standalone jewellery policy, and confirm the conditions with the insurer in writing.
How often should the valuation be updated?
Insurers commonly ask for an updated valuation every few years because metal and stone prices move. Gavin can re-value a piece he made, so ask when the policy is next due for renewal.
Privately, in Illovo or online
Talk to Gavin about the number.
One conversation, no obligation, and nobody else in the room.