When it comes to fashion style, be it for men or women, accessories are a must-have. Although women are used to having plenty of jewelry to match their wardrobe they usually possess a lot of cheap sparkling jewelry that doesn’t last long and few high-end pieces.
On the contrary, men use so few accessories compared to women, but they always choose a high-end product that could last for life.
Finding the perfect accessory is not an easy task with so many brands, styles, and quality, it is easy to get lost and be disappointed by an expensive jewel that results to be a high branded accessory made of poor materials.
Custom-made Egyptian pendant made of precious wood, silver, gold and fine stones
If you are willing to have a genuine jewelry collection that fits your style and last forever, custom-made jewelry is certainly the service you have to go after.
I will show you how to start from scratch from your needs and get an idea of your dreamed jewelry piece you could have made for you in a jewelry workshop.
First, set your goal on what you want
Whereas you are a man or woman, you will not need the same kind of jewelry.
Depending on your style and what you want to show off, you have to choose which kind of jewel sets you the best for your first custom-made order.
Women can choose commonly between rings, bracelet, necklace, pendants, brooches or earrings while men will prefer signet rings, bracelets or watches.
Silver brooch with Mexican silver opal and two blue diamonds
Depending on your size, for your bracelet or your ring, the size of your jewel will determine its volume and its metal weight and so impact its price.
So you need to have a clear picture of what you want, how big you want it and the price you can afford to pay for it.
This is important because this will determine if your project can be made and whereas the jeweler can guide you through your project to make it real.
Then, choose your metal
If you are looking for a special jewel custom-made for you, forget the stainless steel or gold plated metals. The jewelers able to create you dreamed jewel work only with sterling silver, 14k or 18k gold and platinum.
You need to know better those metals to make your choice. All three are precious metal but not at all the same.
Sterling silver is the cheapest one, costing less than a dollar the gram, it is very durable and the whitest of all precious metals used in jewelry. Because it is cheap, it is the perfect choice for large jewels weighing more than 50 grams or when you have a restrained budget.
Sterling silver gets black with sulfides (found in sweat, escape from cars…) and is often plated with rhodium to keep it white.
Gold is the king of precious metals and comes in 14k or 18k for fine jewelry. The 14k gold contains 58,3% by weight of gold while 18k gold contains 75% by weight of gold. Gold can come in different colors, yellow, white or pink depending on the alloy it is mixed with. White gold needs to be rhodium plated which means you will need to renew the rhodium every 18 months or so.
Platinum is the most expensive of all the precious metals used in jewelry. Although its price per gram is almost the same as gold price, it is much more difficult to work with and jewelers need special tools and process to shape it, which explains its price above gold jewelry. Also, platinum jewelry is made of 95% platinum alloy (against 75% of gold for 18k gold) but stay white with no need of any maintenance.
Time to quote your project
Now that you have an idea of which kind of jewel you want, its size and the meal you want it made of, you will need to throw your ideas on paper or make a collage of the idea you found on the web and get a jeweler to quote your project.
You do not need to draw well to do so but just be able to explain your need, your jeweler will make a drawing and a quote for your project.
Then you can launch your project if the quote fits in your budget or start making some changes to your design if you need to: downsizing the dimensions, changing the metal or making it lighter are different options that allow you to adapt the design of your project to fits your budget limit.
