Value for Money

Is bespoke jewellery an expensive option?

Our average bespoke engagement ring cost around the same as the UK average for all engagement rings - so if you think that bespoke has to be an expensive option, think again!

We have won a string of national and jewellery related awards based on our mantra that bespoke jewellery and good design should be accessible to all. So we always strive to give the best possible value for money, regardless of how much you decide to spend - part of the meaning of good design is knowing how to get a beautiful result within a budget.

How do I know you offer good value for money?

Every month the jewellery industry publishes a table of average prices of standard diamond solitaire engagement rings with different qualities of diamond in basic mass-produced settings.

We ensure that if we were pricing the same quality diamond in a simple setting, our price would be about the same or a bit less - even though:

• Our settings are often handmade and can involved hours and hours of a master goldsmith's time hand-forging metal into shape.
• Our designs are one-offs, in other words there will only ever make one of that design, ever!
• We are experts in choosing the best diamonds and gemstones, which is a bit of an art, so our stones will be just that bit better.
• You get unlimited time with one of our jewellery designers who will guide you through the romantic process of designing your own unique engagement ring.

How do I find out how much what I want might cost?

We don't publish the prices people paid for past commissions but if you've seen one on our site that takes your eye, just contact us and we'll tell you roughly what it cost when it was made.

If you've got an idea of the sort of thing you want, then contact us and one of our jewellery designers can chat through the options and give you a rough estimate.

One thing to bear in mind - don't be disappointed if a past commission cost, for example £2000 but your budget is £1000 as its more than likely that we can find a way of doing a very similar design to your budget, perhaps involving a different quality of stone or perhaps a simple design change that could drastically change the time it takes to make and hence the price - that's the beauty of bespoke design.

Making price comparisons between us and other jewellers

The internet is great for comparing prices for things like a specific model of camera where you can be sure that you are really comparing like for like. But in the world of engagement rings there are good HSI diamonds and bad HSI diamonds and properly made settings and cheap and nasty mass-produced settings, its rather hard to tell the difference from a website.

Comparing diamond prices.

You can buy your own certificated loose diamond on the internet. You buy a stone from a table of cuts and clarities which would be fine if diamonds were a uniform thing and every stone of a particular specification was the same. However, we find that stones with the same numbers can be very different - one full of life and the next flat and boring.

Of course it's up to you where you buy your stone and we're always happy to set a stone you've bought elsewhere, but we invariably find that stones we see bought elsewhere just aren't as lovely as ones we could have supplied ourselves.

We tend to source each stone for each customer for a range of suppliers across the world, rather than try and sell you one from our own stock. This means that we can help you choose the best stone and will be ruthless about rejecting anything that isn't good enough. Our dealers tell us that they have given up sending us their poorer gemstones as we always notice and send them straight back!

Read more about buying your diamond or gemstone from us.

Comparing Setting Charges

A properly hand-forged ring isn't the same as a cast setting from a catalogue so is difficult to make direct comparisons between our setting charges and elsewhere. Many of our rings are completely hand-forged - meaning that one of our skilled craftsmen has spent perhaps more than 12 hours carefully constructing the ring from individual pieces of sheet metal and wire. The reason this often isn't more expensive than a like for like, mass-produced equivalent is to do with the enormous margins the jewellery industry has traditionally enjoyed - we believe there is nothing luxurious about overpaying for your engagement ring.

If it's right for the design and means you can get more for your budget we will use a precast collet (the bit that holds the stone) and carefully alter it to fit your ring. It's always a considered decision though, and part of our drive to supply you with the ring you want at the right price for your budget. Alternatively it might be right for your project to be made via CAD or a combination of CAD and handmaking.

Proper design and master craftsmanship is a good investment

If you listen to the experts on, for example, The Antiques Roadshow, while they do talk about the gems in a piece, (and diamonds are intrinsically much more valuable than semi precious stones,) they reserve the main part of the valuation for the design and level of craftsmanship of a piece of jewellery. So second hand jewellery shops are full of inexpensive diamond rings with ordinary settings. The design and craftsmanship make much more difference to the ongoing value of a piece than the difference between, for example an H SI diamond and an H SI2 diamond.

Do contact us

We hope this has answered some of your questions about us and the costs involved with bespoke jewellery, but please do contact us if you'd like to find out more or would like to have a chat with one of our designers.

Related blog articles

• Harriet's blog article: Diamond Price Comparison.
• Harriet's blog article on diamond certification.
• Kate's blog article: Investing in Diamonds.