When most people think about custom jewelry they see dollar signs $$$. Sure, a custom designed piece of jewelry has to be a little more expensive because there are costs involved in a custom jewelry design that are not there in a mass produced piece. First, you are paying for more of the jewelry designer's time. Time to sit down with you and work out the design, plus any time needed for revisions and procuring any special stones. Also included would be discussing your preferred stone quality and trying to balance the desired quality with your budget. The second added cost is creating a custom wax model. Whether it is carved by hand or by machine through CAD/CAM, it could add a substantial amount to your project cost if the design is complex. CAD design software, CAM systems for cutting the wax and 3D printers are expensive equipment for the jeweler to purchase and maintain, so these options will be more than hand carving your custom wax. In some cases, such as highly complex designs where multiple pieces need to fit precisely together, CAD is the only real option if you want a great result. As talented as some wax carvers are, it's hard to beat the precision of the CAD/CAM system. That being said, there are designs that are best carved by hand as well. Organic shapes and free-form designs are definitely best left in the hands of an artistic wax carver with the ability to make small adjustments as they work. The biggest disadvantage to having the wax carving done by hand is that it is difficult to make any moderate to major modifications once the wax is completed. Any major issues will require starting over with a new block of wax. With CAD the customer is able to see a computer generated rendering of the custom design from many angles and will look just like a photo of the completed piece. If you have any trouble visualizing the finished design from sketches, then CAD is definitely the way to go. You don't want any design surprises when your custom piece of jewelry is delivered.
Here is an example of a custom pave` diamond engagement ring I recently completed. You can see the advantage of having the work done on CAD rather than by hand in this situation. All of the small pave` set diamonds are set up with precise spacing and the design is perfectly symmetrical. It is possible to carve something this technical by hand but would require incredible precision to get every bead (purple areas in image) perfectly placed. When set up properly, it also speeds up the diamond setting portion of the labor to some degree. I worked with the customer to tweak the design slightly after I sent him the first CAD version and after some minor revisions, a very realistic rendering was generated for the customer's final approval.
The image on the right is not a photo of the custom ring. It's actually the computer generated rendering of the engagement ring showing it in platinum with all the diamonds set in place. The rendering gives you a great representation of what the finished product will look like. The design can be shown from any angle and some programs will even generate a 360 degree revolving video of the ring. The only misrepresentation on this image is the prongs on the top are shown overly long. They would be cut down to the height of the diamond in the finished ring. Otherwise, it's very realistic!
The next step in the process is to create a wax copy of your custom jewelry design. This can be done by either a 3D printer or by milling with a CAM machine. After a little clean up and removing any supports, you have a perfect copy of your design that you can hold in your hand and inspect for any issues. Assuming there are no issues, we can now move forward with casting your design in your chosen metal. The casting fee is a small part of the overall cost in a custom piece but is important that your jewelry casts perfectly to avoid any pits, impurities or defects that could be cosmetic or structural. Casting involves surrounding the wax/resin copy with plaster in a metal flask (can) that hardens around the wax copy and the connected wax sprue that extends out of the plaster. The casting flask is placed in an oven and heated until the wax is burned out and a cavity in the exact shape of the design is left in the plaster. The next step in the process is to melt your chosen metal and inject it into the cavity in the flask. There are several methods to do this and most of the time there are no issues. I did have one bad experience where the flask broke and molten platinum was flung around the room and all the labor spent on a hand carved wax was lost in an instant. Which reminds me of another advantage of having your custom design on CAD- a brand new wax copy is just a few mouse clicks away! Now I remember why I prefer CAD!
Next is the most labor intensive part of the process. The metal has to be run through a series of sanding grits to remove any flaws, bumps and pits until all surfaces are perfect. This can be done by hand or (if feasible) on a polishing wheel. This can be tedious work but is important to go through all the steps to get a mirror finish. The next step is to set the gemstones. In this case it was 96 pave` set diamonds and a 1.5 carat center diamond. It's very exacting work to set each small diamond securely, level and in perfect alignment with the adjacent stones but this is what can set a well-made custom jewelry masterpiece apart from a mass produced piece of junk. The final steps are buffing the metal to a mirror polish and removing any polishing compound with a steamer or with an ultrasonic cleaner. A final check and then your custom jewelry is ready for delivery.
Here is a photo of the completed custom platinum diamond engagement ring shown in the images above. It's quite unique and even more impressive in person!
The most obvious reason to create a custom piece of jewelry is to be able to proudly wear a design that is uniquely you. A one-of-a-kind design that you help create is so much more special than anything you can buy out of a jewelry case at the mall. So, it might cost you a little more and require a little more time and effort but in the end the result will be priceless. I would love to work with you to create your dream piece of jewelry. Contact me to get started!
John Hileman
(602) 845-0835
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