People arrive expecting bespoke to carry a premium over buying from a case. Usually it does not. You are paying for the same stone and the same metal, without the retail markup on a piece somebody else designed.
Where the money actually sits
In almost every commission the centre stone is between sixty and eighty percent of the total. The metal is a smaller share than most people guess. The making (design, wax, casting, setting, finishing) is real work and a modest part of the number.
What moves it most
- Carat weight, and specifically the round numbers. A stone just under 1.00ct or 2.00ct costs meaningfully less than one just over, and looks identical on a hand.
- Cut quality, which is the one place we would never economise. It does more for how a stone looks than colour and clarity combined.
- Clarity beyond the point it is visible. Paying for a grade nobody can see without a loupe is the most common way to spend money badly.
- Pavé and hidden halos. Beautiful, and every additional set stone is labour as well as material.
How we quote
A written figure before anything is made, broken into stone, metal and making so you can see what you are deciding about. If the number is wrong for you, the stone is almost always the lever, and moving it is a conversation, not an embarrassment.
What the number does not include
Two things sit outside the quote and are worth planning for. The first is insurance, which starts the day the ring leaves the studio and needs a valuation, which we issue with every piece. The second is the wedding band, which is a separate commission but is far easier and cheaper to design at the same time as the engagement ring than a year later against a ring that did not expect it.
Prices are quoted in rand, inclusive of VAT, and hold for a stated period because metal and stone prices move with the exchange rate. A quote from six months ago is a starting point for a new conversation, not a promise.
Tell us the number first. It is a far better starting point than a picture, and it saves everybody a month.
Is there a deposit, and when is the balance due?
A commission is confirmed with a deposit once the design and the written figure are agreed, and the balance is settled at collection. Where a specific stone is being sourced for you, the stone may need to be secured earlier, and we say so at the time rather than surprising you. The exact terms are in the written quote, and they are the same for every client.
Does a coloured centre stone change the cost picture?
Usually it lowers it, and sometimes by a lot. A fine sapphire or spinel of the same size as a diamond generally costs a fraction of it, which leaves more of the budget for the setting or simply saves it. The exceptions are top rubies, Kashmir or Burmese sapphires and untreated stones of any species, which can cost more than a diamond of equal size. Tell Gavin the colour you love and the number, and he will show you where the two meet.
