Custom Fine Jewelry Design & Restoration Services
See what sets us apart.
The Alx&Co. Experience:
How We Work
We are a full-service fine jewelry design studio based in beautiful Old Town, Alexandria. We pride ourselves in being purposefully small, with a decidedly calm and welcoming environment that encourages creativity and confidence in our clients at every turn. While we might feel more low-key than our more traditional counterparts, our perfectionist standards are key to our five-star reputation for beautiful, durable design and thoughtful service.
Experience an Alx&Co. design story, see what sets us apart.
Fine Jewelry Design & Workshop Services
Learn More
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We create our custom and bespoke designs in-house and offer a completely hands-on approach to the jewelry design process. Our Signature Alx&Co. Collection is designed by us (not by a vendor) and can be adapted limitlessly to your personal preferences, or opt for a completely novel design. Your Design Lead will work directly with you to create the perfect reflection of your own tastes and personality in your design.
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We set, finish, and maintain our pieces in our on-site workshop using our own team of trusted bench jewelers. We create every custom piece with the mindset of a true craftsperson, meaning we equally weigh durability with design. Most other jewelers are either designer or craftspeople, not both. We bridge both worlds.
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We are the definition of a small, mom & pop shop, and our commitment to transparent, ethical, and hardworking standards runs from the top down in our workshop. Shop owners Tim and Meaghan meet with clients, draft our designs, craft our pieces, and manage our workshop on the daily, but the business would be nothing without our incredible support team of bench jewelers and administrative staff who round out our services. We are fully accountable to our work and consider each and every project equally important, since we know our client entrust us with their most sentimental and prized possessions. We also aren’t afraid to do things differently from your average jeweler, and our custom design and restoration services reflect that thinking.
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Investing in fine jewelry can feel like entering a foreign world for many people. There is so much insincere and opaque messaging within this industry that can leave a prospective buyer confused or misled into purchasing something that doesn’t fully represent their own goals. Because we control every aspect of our work - from material sourcing to workshop management to design and fabrication - we can share our professional knowledge with our clients through every phase of the piece. We take pride in presenting an informative, transparent process that leaves our clients feeling empowered to make the right decision for them (rather than what a trend says they should do).
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With our team of specialized benchjewelers at the ready, our in-house workshop can repair or resize your most treasured pieces. Our team will walk you through the repair or resizing process and provide a thoughtful quote for our services once we have examined your piece.
Schedule a repair or resizing appointment here
Our services.
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Custom Design & Fabrication
Our specialty. We offer a full suite of in-house design and sourcing services to suit any project goal. Meet with one of our designers to talk through your design objectives, and we’ll provide a roadmap of how we can best fulfill your idea. We design and create custom and bespoke engagement rings, wedding bands, pendants, earrings, bracelets, cuffs - anything jewelry related, we’re the area’s finest resource for true end-to-end in-house design and fabrication services.
Our custom designs generally start at about $2500 but the prices are highly variable depending on the design. Complex settings start closer to $4500. The best way to get a sense of cost is to reach out, tell us about your design idea, and we’ll be happy to walk you through expected pricing from there.
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Gold & Heirloom Jewelry Repurposing
Use your old gold or gemstones to create something new. Whether it’s a ring you inherited that you’ll never use or a chain that broke and can’t be repaired, we can help you find the best utility for your fine materials. Often, we can melt and create a new piece with your own recycled gold, or we can apply the melt value of your gold towards a custom project. We can also reset diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and semi-precious gemstones in a creative design that honors their significance. Don’t let your goods go to waste - use them in a new piece and get the most out of these highly recyclable materials.
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Fine Jewelry Repair & Restoration
We provide a comprehensive range of professional repair and restoration services out of our onsite workshop, including repairing broken ring shanks, replacing missing diamonds or gemstones, repairing prongs, and reshaping deformed jewelry. We have listed out some of our most frequently requested repairs, but if you don’t see a service listed simply reach out and we’ll be happy to let you know if we can do it. We work on fine jewelry only (no costume jewelry, unfortunately). Because every piece differs in complexity and materials needed, we provide pricing for these services upon in-person examination of your piece.
Generally, most services start at $90 and increase according to the materials used and complexity of the work performed.
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Diamond & Gemstone Sourcing
Whether you are missing a melee diamond from your setting or hoping to source a new feature stone, we are the area’s best resource for the widest options in diamond and gemstone sourcing. We do all of our diamond and gemstone sourcing on a custom basis and can match or cut virtually any gemstone needed for your project. We offer natural and lab created options and can talk you through ethical and transparent sourcing options if desired.
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Ring Resizing
We are happy to resize rings purchased outside of our studio. We can also add speed bumps, a sizing bar, or a shank opener to your ring. Speaking to a professional will give you the best options for your sizing needs.
Ring resizing generally starts at $90 and increases based on the metal used, the width of the ring, and whether diamonds or gemstones need to be taken into consideration.
If you purchased your ring with Alx&Co. we provide complementary resizing within a year of purchase as long as we are adjusting the fit of the ring and not changing the finger on which you will wear it. Of course, we are happy to increase the size of the ring to whatever size you need but a fee might be involved if it is being adjusted multiple sizes.
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Ring Check - Diamond & Gemstone Tightening
We can throughly examine your piece and tighten or repair any settings as needed.
Generally, this service starts at $30 for pieces purchased outside of Alx&Co. but we will provide clear pricing for any tightening or prong adjustments we determine are needed before we complete that work. We are also happy to clean and polish your piece if desired.
If your item was purchased at Alx&Co., your ring check up is always complementary.
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Chain Adjustments & Repairs
We can repair most broken chains and adjust the length of your chain as needed. Please note that we cannot work with hollow, costume, or certain plated specialty chains. We are happy to take a look at your piece and determine if we are the best resource to repair it.
Chain repairs generally start at $90.
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Earring Post Repair & Adjustments
Convert clip backs to posts (or the other way around); add a more secure post option, repair a broken post, or adjust an earring drop.
Repairing a single post starts at $60 and prices increase according to material used and the complexity of the job performed.
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Rhodium Plating
It is common and excepted for white gold to lose its bright-white appearance over time. We can rhodium plate your piece as long as it is created out of a fine 14k or 18k material. We can also gold plate items created out of sterling silver, white gold, or platinum.
Rhodium or gold plating starts at $120.
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Engraving
We work with the best engraver in the area and can walk you through options for custom engraving on your piece. Engraving should be done on fine materials only and we offer hand engraved services rather than machine engraved. Hand engraving achieves a better product in terms of look and wear over time. Smaller items such as inside rings can receive script or serif style text, and larger surfaces such as sterling silver cups can receive crests, monograms, and other detailed motifs. You can also add a pattern to your ring to make it feel more antiqued.
Engraving is priced based on the project, so all pricing is custom quoted.
About Our Pricing
Every project is different at our shop, so our pricing is always contingent upon the specific details of each design we create. We always try to be fair and transparent in how we price our work, but we tend to be more expensive than major online retailors because our process is very different from a point-and-click sale. Your Lead Designer will work with you directly to determine the best options for your resources and timeline and we are always happy to provide suggestions to meet your budget.
Good to know: Our Starting Budgets are to give you a general idea of what to expect, but they aren’t firm numbers. Specific details depend on what gemstones you want to use, the material you prefer, and how heavy the piece is. If you have any questions about how this works, we highly encourage you to give us a call or, better still, schedule an appointment so that we can talk more specifically about what you have in mind. Booking a consultation does not commit you to any process, but you’ll be able to get really useful information on how we can best suit your search.
Alx&Co. custom design detailed process
Alx&Co. custom design timeline
The "Before", our client's aquamarine ring that she brought for redesign
Mid-process, we test the fit of the gemstone and evaluate the proportions of the ring
The gemstone is set in the new design
The "After"- yellow gold dome ring
A few months later, we created a second ring using the leftover diamonds from the original piece. We added a green tourmaline as a birthstone reference.
OUR GUARANTEE
Our reputation is our bottom line. We want you to be as happy as we are with your purchase or repair, so we offer a full guarantee on all our work and handmade jewelry. See below for details:
Repairs and restoration
We stand by our work and expertise. If something we fixed isn't quite right, or breaks again within a year through normal wear-and-tear, we will repair it again at no cost. Our only exception to this rule is if we clearly state that we will not guarantee the repair because we don't think it's the best course of action or the repair itself is likely to break again because of the nature of the problem. If we aren't guaranteeing the repair, we will always clearly state this to you and write it on your invoice so that there is no confusion.
Custom design
We will happily resize or re-plate your Alx&Co. ring for free within the first year on a complementary basis (as long as the finger you wear the ring on remains the same). We encourage everyone to ensure that their ring fits perfectly and sometimes it can take a few adjustments to get it just right, so please don’t hesitate to utilize this complementary service to your advantage.
Our custom pieces are designed for a life of normal wear-and-tear unless we tell you otherwise. If you lose melee stone or accent gem within a year of completing the design, we will replace the stone at no charge. Please note that we do not offer this guarantee for certain gemstones such as emeralds which are inherently fragile. We absolutely recommend that you come to our shop at least once a year for a complimentary checkup to let us examine the ring, its stones, and clean it. If you aren't local, send us an email when it's time for your checkup and we will send you a shipping label. Doing this will keep your ring strong and secure for life.
Please note that each piece from our workshop is hand-crafted and fully reviewed for quality assurance before it reaches you. We always take care to make our designs as perfect as possible, but very slight variations in structure or finish are normal with any custom item. If you notice anything that doesn't seem right about your completed design, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can address your concerns promptly.
Purchases From Our Showroom
We try to select only items for our showroom which we feel confident in sending into the world. We maintain relationships with the designers we feature and can coordinate a repair with them if a designer item you purchase breaks due to normal wear and tear. We can also make repairs if needed, but in order to maintain artistic integrity we may ask the designer to complete the restoration. While we don’t sell overly delicate things, we do recommend taking care of your heirloom-quality purchases and having them professionally checked by us at least once a year if you wear them often.