Custom Design: Extra Credit - Taking Care of Your Piece
You did it! You successfully designed your first custom design and hopefully the wearer loves it. For many of our clients, our design might be the first introduction they have to true piece of fine jewelry. Fine jewelry is special not simply because it is expensive and made of precious materials; rather, fine jewelry is special because it can be maintained and repaired for years, even decades, to come. Having a serious jeweler who can not only create your piece, but also take care of it as you move through your milestones, is vital. That being said, you can and should take an active role in keeping your jewelry well maintained at home. Here’s what you should keep in mind..
Custom Design 104: The Production Phase
Let’s begin this mini-course with a well-earned congratulations! Once you reach the Production Phase, you can sit back and rest knowing that your work is finished (ours is really just beginning). You have made all the decisions that you will need to make regarding the design, you have finessed the design to perfection, and you have paid your invoice (hopefully) without sweating too much. Now you can kick back and wait for the email letting you know that your piece is ready… oh wait, you might have a proposal speech to plan now…
Custom Design 103: The CAD Review Process
A very special and often unexpected part of working with Alx&Co. for your design is our extremely thorough CAD review process. This is another integral way that we are very different from most fine jewelers: our clients see their designed piece before production, with nearly every element clearly articulated in the design. This involves sharing drafts of designs with clients so that they can envision the piece its ultimate form and make edits according to their own taste. A lot of jewelers who say that they offer custom design services don’t actually engage this process with their clients because they would rather not endure what can be a multiple-iteration back-and-forth conversation of a piece, but we find that when clients have the opportunity to edit their own ideas, the pieces turns out better 100% of the time…
Custom Design 102: Sourcing Your Gemstone
If you are lucky enough to have an heirloom gemstone that you are happy to use in your custom design, you can skip this step. Most people, though, will start their custom engagement design process empty handed and in need of an anchor gemstone to tie their design together. At Alx&Co., we provide full gemstone sourcing services for our clients and are happy to walk you through purchasing the perfect center stone for your design. That being said, we do our gemstone sourcing a little differently than most jewelers, so here is a helpful primer on how we do it…
Custom Design 101: What We Cover in Your First Design Appointment
So, you booked your first design appointment with Alexandria & Company - congratulations! You just made a huge step in moving your design idea forward. We know it can take a lot of research, referrals, and thinking to get here so first, allow us to say thank you for considering us for your project. We are very different from the traditional fine jewelry story experience, so you may be wondering what to expect from the process at this point. While every job is different, here are some basic elements we will hope to cover during your first consultation…