Start with what you already have
Most custom projects begin with something less than a technical drawing. A photo of a ring someone stopped wearing. A sketch on a napkin. A description that amounts to "thin band, oval stone, low set."
Any of those is enough to start. Send the reference material through the custom design page along with the budget range, the ring size if you know it, and the metal you have in mind. If the size is unknown, our ring size guide covers how to measure at home.
Photographs from three angles help more than one. A straight-on view of the top, a side view showing setting height, and a view of the band profile give the designer enough to work from without a call.
Heirloom stones fit the same process. If you have a stone from a family ring, we measure it, confirm the material, and design around its actual dimensions rather than around a nominal carat weight. Older cuts are usually shallower than modern ones, so a setting drawn for a new stone will not hold them correctly.
The quote comes back in one business day
We price the piece before any design work starts, so nobody invests time in a build that will not fit the budget. Quotes go out within one business day of receiving the brief.
The quote breaks down metal weight, stone cost, setting labor, and finishing. Custom work is priced by the piece, not by a catalog number, so the breakdown matters: it tells you which part to change if the total is too high. Moving from 18K to 14K, or from platinum to white gold, changes the number without changing the design.
CAD modelling and the render you approve
Once the quote is accepted, the design moves to CAD. The modeler builds the ring in three dimensions to the stated size and stone dimensions, including prong placement, gallery height, and band taper.
You receive a 3D render and a set of measured views. Nothing is cast until you approve in writing. This is the stage to be specific: prong count, the height of the stone off the finger, whether the band should sit flush against a wedding band later, and how thick the bottom of the shank should be.
Revisions at this stage cost nothing but time, and a change here takes hours. The same change after casting means starting the metal again.
Wax printing and casting
The approved model is printed in wax or resin, then investment cast in the chosen metal. Casting is where the design becomes a solid object, and it is also where small decisions get locked in: wall thickness, the weight of the shank, and how the shoulders carry into the head.
After casting, the piece is cleaned up and the sprue is cut away. A rough casting looks nothing like the finished ring, which is why we do not send photos at this point and call it progress.
Setting, filing, and polishing
Stones are set in-house by setters who work on the same bench every day. Prongs are raised, the stone is seated, and each prong is pushed and filed to hold it without covering the girdle. Then the piece is filed, emery finished, and polished through graded compounds.
White gold goes to rhodium plating at the end. Yellow and rose gold are polished and left unplated. Platinum is polished and burnished.
Quality control and packing
Every piece passes a check before it is packed. Prongs are tested for tightness, the stone is checked under magnification, the certificate number is matched to the laser inscription, and the ring is measured against the ordered size.
Pieces ship in a box with the certificate and care card. Shipping is complimentary on orders over $199, and production runs 12 to 18 business days after the design is approved.
| Stage | What happens | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Brief and quote | Reference photos reviewed, piece priced | 1 business day |
| CAD model | Model built to size, renders produced | 3 to 5 business days |
| Your approval | Written sign-off on the render | As long as you need |
| Wax print and cast | Model printed, metal cast, sprue removed | 3 to 4 business days |
| Setting and finishing | Stones set, filed, polished, plated | 4 to 7 business days |
| QC and packing | Prong check, inscription match, boxing | 1 to 2 business days |
| Shipping | Tracked delivery | Varies by destination |
What to decide before the first message
- The budget range, stated as a range rather than a single number.
- The stone type and rough size, or a note that this is still open.
- The metal, and whether the wearer has a preference or a nickel sensitivity.
- The ring size, or a plan to confirm it before casting.
- Whether a wedding band will sit next to it, and whether the two should sit flush.
Everything else can be worked out in the design. The FAQ covers returns, resizing, and the warranty in detail. If the piece is not a ring, the same stages apply: the process page describes pendants, earrings, and bracelets in the same sequence.