Bespoke Process.
Find out more about how commissioning works.
Getting Started
The process of commissioning a piece of jewellery begins with a quick questionnaire where you can share a few initial ideas. I’m interested in the sort of design you have in mind as well as when and where you want to wear your new jewellery, and how you want to feel when you’re wearing it. Once I have received your expression of interest, I will get in touch to arrange a first appointment. This gives me the chance to find out a bit more about you as well as setting out costs, timeline and how we’ll communicate. This appointment can be in person, at my studio in London, or online, whichever works best for you.
The Appointment
Whether in-person or online, I’ll have given some thought to the core characteristics of the piece and I’ll prepare a selection of stones for your appointment. I might include different types of stone, different cuts, and a range of sizes. The right stone often really speaks to you and will influence to an extent how the design will develop. The main aim of this appointment is to put the essentials of your commission together. Our communication in advance of this meeting will have given me plenty of pointers, but sitting down together is where things will really start to come together. By the end of the appointment we’ll have a good idea of what your commission will look like.
The Design Stage
Based on all of your feedback and the ideas we discussed in the appointment, I’ll source any further stones and f inalise the design of the piece by working on sketches, if necessary, and testing placement of stones. I’ll then produce an estimate for your approval and give you a timeline for the project, usually 8-12 weeks but this can vary if your stones are being cut to order. Upon payment of a 50% deposit, your project is booked in. It can be a challenge to make changes after this point, and I won’t make any changes to the price I’ve given you unless you decide for example you’d like to use 18ct gold throughout instead of silver and gold.
At The Bench
By far the most significant amount of time in this process is the hand crafting of your unique piece of jewellery. Each component, from the smallest loop to the setting for the stone itself, is hand fabricated by me. I take a great deal of care over every detail, ensuring the technical specification of your jewel matches its beauty. Depending on the complexity of the piece, making can take many weeks. As you’ll have seen from the process so far, handcrafted jewellery involves many stages which typically take place across several weeks. I will keep you updated at certain stages of the process, agreed with you in advance.
Finishing &
Handover
Once I have completed all the sawing, drawing down, filing, setting and polishing of your piece it must go to be hallmarked. This is a really important part of the process. It will tell anyone who discovers your jewellery in the future when it was made, what it is made out of and by whom. I see hallmarking as a way of placing a piece of jewellery in a historical archive. I also always have each commission photographed, so I have a record of all of the beautiful pieces I’ve made over the years. Once all of these steps are complete, I will contact you to arrange collection or deliver, and forward your final invoice.
