You may have heard of friends or loved ones customizing engagement rings or wedding jewelry. Chances are you have seen a necklace or bracelet personalized with names, dates, or inscriptions. What exactly goes into creating this jewelry, and what are all the things a custom jewelry designer can do?
Select Your Favorite Metal
First thing’s first: choose your preferred metal. Select from the obvious choices, like gold, silver, silver-filled, or more unique options, like platinum, titanium, antler, meteorite, and even dinosaur bone. When choosing a material consider novelty and your personal preference as well as the material’s durability, composition and weight, and whether it stands up to tarnish and wear, like scratching.
Have Your Eyes On A Unique Stone? Make Your Vision A Reality
Millennials are moving away from traditional, clear diamond engagement rings. A growing number of brides-to-be are sporting color diamonds, like pink, blue, and yellow diamonds. Others are opting for another stone altogether. A staggering 52% of new brides say they like the look of color stone or gemstone engagement rings, like Jessica Simpon’s ruby engagement ring and Halle Berry’s ruby ring.
Another thing to consider is your partner’s views on climate change and the environment. A growing number of brides and grooms-to-be are taking the environment into account and choosing lab-created stones or responsibly sourced diamonds for their engagement jewelry. Work closely with the right custom design jeweler and lab-created stones resemble natural stones in just about every possible way. These stones are physically, aesthetically, and chemically identical to gemstones or diamonds mined from the ground. Create amethysts, opals, sapphires, rubies, peridots, alexandrite stones, and more.
Make It Special
Of course, stones, bands, and/or chains for necklaces, bracelets, and anklets are just the beginning. There are plenty of other features to customize and tailor to your tastes.
“Monograms and birthstones exemplify the intimate appeal of jewelry by aligning a piece with sentimentality,” The National Jeweler writes. These days, monograms and birthstones are merely the tip of the iceberg, too. Custom jewelry designers are seeing ever more creative requests, like requests for lockets or necklaces with hidden messages, and horoscope- or coordinate-inspired jewelry. Customers are asking for necklaces with custom-designed pendants or with small chambers to fill with gemstones — like their children’s birthstones — or pearls.
The Final Steps
Once you have selected all of the elements for your custom design, it is time to start taking the necessary steps to make it happen! Here’s how it works:
- Sit down with a custom jewelry designer for a consultation. Bring any materials you think may help, including sketches and pictures, with you.
- After settling on a plan, custom jewelry designers will use your design to create a temporary model, typically out of wax. That model will help you envision what the final product will look like before starting the permanent design process.If you are custom designing a necklace with a special setting or pendant, you will work with your designer to select a chain material, style, and length. Then they will create a model of your pendant.
- Following approval, rings, pendants, charms, or any pieces that require a mold will be cast.
- After the band or pendant is cast, any stones will be set onto your jewelry.
- When all stones are set, your jeweler will add any finishing touches and polish the jewelry to a vibrant shine.
According to Brides magazine, 94% of couples discuss marriage before they get engaged. Do not forget to talk about your engagement and engagement ring as well. Tell your partner if you have any preferences for responsibly sourced diamonds or custom designs.
Custom jewelry makes a great gift for other occasions, too! Custom design jewelry is great for anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, and life milestones. Reach out to a trusted jeweler with any questions you may have!