Ordering a Custom Piece: The Process, Step by Step
Custom work is not a slower version of buying from stock. It is a list of decisions settled in a fixed order, before any metal is cut.
What custom actually means
Two things get called custom. The first is a change to a piece that already exists — same design, different metal, different stone, different finger size. The second is a piece drawn from nothing, which needs its own model, casting and setting jig. Almost every order is the first kind, which is not a lesser service: a tested design fits better than an untried original.
Step one: the base piece
Send the piece you are starting from — a link, or two or three photographs. Pictures beat descriptions, because "delicate" means 1.6mm to one person and 2.4mm to another. Then say what you like: the profile, the stone height, the band width. "Everything except the band width" is a five-minute change. "The general idea" is a new design.
Step two: finger size
This is the one number that cannot be guessed and cannot be fixed invisibly later. Measure at the end of the day, on the finger that will wear it.
- Measure the inner diameter of a ring that already fits, in millimetres. Most reliable, and needs no judgement.
- Never use string or paper. Both stretch and read large.
- Between sizes on a band 6mm or wider, go up. Wide bands feel tighter than they measure.
Step three: metal
We work in 925 silver, 9K, 14K and 18K gold. Silver is the value choice and takes rhodium plating on white pieces, so it will need re-plating eventually. 14K is the durability default for something worn daily. 18K is softer and richer, better for occasional pieces than for daily wear. White gold of any karat is plated to look white; yellow and rose are the alloy colour throughout.
Step four: stone and setting
We quote stones in millimetres, because millimetres are what you see on the hand. Carat is a weight, and the same weight gives a different diameter in moissanite than in diamond. A 5mm round is modest and everyday, 6.5mm is the classic engagement proportion, 8mm a statement that needs a wider band. Round reads brightest; oval and emerald lengthen a short finger. On the setting: prongs show the most stone, a bezel protects it completely, and a halo adds spread rather than depth.
Step five: engraving
Engraving comes last because it is the one step that cannot be reversed. Send the exact characters, punctuation included, and say whether it goes inside the band or outside. Inside is protected; outside softens with wear.
What can be changed, and what cannot
The boundary is structural. Anything decided before casting can usually move; anything that would mean re-cutting a finished band cannot.
| Change requested | Verdict |
| Metal upgrade, silver to 14K gold | Yes, quoted as a difference |
| Stone size, within what the head can hold | Yes, the head is made to the stone |
| Stone shape, round to oval for example | Usually yes, new head required |
| Band width by a millimetre or so | Usually, within the design's limits |
| Full eternity reduced to half eternity | Yes, fewer stones and less work |
| Prong setting changed to bezel | Sometimes, the whole top is remade |
| Stones added to an existing cast band | No, the band is cast for its stones |
The approval drawing is the contract
Before anything is cast you get a drawing with the dimensions written on it. Check five things: stone diameter in millimetres, band width, metal and its stamp, ring size, and the engraving spelled character by character. Then reply in writing — silence is not approval. This is the last point at which a change costs nothing. After it, a change means a remake: a new order, not an adjustment.
Why custom orders are not returnable
Our 30-day return covers unworn pieces in their original packaging. A custom piece cannot go back on a shelf: one finger size, one metal, one stone combination, often a name engraved inside. Custom work therefore sits outside the return policy — standard practice, not punishment. The approval drawing exists precisely because the return route is closed.
What sets the timeline, and what causes rework
Custom orders need additional production time on top of normal processing. Queue, casting, setting, engraving and plating all move the date — but most often it is the decisions. A question that sits unanswered for three days adds three days.
| Mistake | What it costs |
| Size taken from string, or on a warm evening | A resize after delivery — easy on a plain band, much harder on a set one |
| Metal chosen on price, then regretted | No fix short of a remake in the other metal |
| Expecting a carat look from a stone quoted in millimetres | Disappointment at unboxing, on a piece made exactly to spec |
| Engraving agreed verbally, never written down | A spelling that cannot be corrected without a new band |
What we make
Everything is made in our own workshop in Wuzhou, which we have run since 2008 — moissanite with GRA certificates at D colour VVS1, and lab grown diamond with IGI certificates, set in 925 silver, 9K, 14K and 18K gold. Pieces run from $17 to $2,020, median around $98, and every one ships with its certificate in the box.
Send the design you are starting from, your size in millimetres and the stone diameter you want, and we will tell you what can be kept, what must change, and which metal suits how you will wear it.