Custom Jewelry
Every year we build more jewelry with sapphire gemstones customers found than we sell. I take that as a testament to our professional, helpful, staff and fair pricing.
We prefer using karat gold mountings but also have platinum, palladium and sterling silver mountings available. To get ideas you can visit www.stuller.com. Don't worry about logging in. Click on the "Mountings" tab and browse thousands of jewelry selections. If you get "lost" come see us in person. We'll measure your stones and help narrow down your search based upon the style of jewelry you prefer.
Jewelry Building Tips and Tricks
Here is the lowdown on the methods we utilize and why things are priced the way they are.
Custom Jewelry
There are basically three ways to build jewelry with a gemstone you found or purchased.
Stock Mounting
The most common, and most cost effective, way to build jewelry with your own gemstone is to utilize a "stock" mounting. Manufacturers produce a wide variety of jewelry mountings in many different styles. Each mounting is designed to hold a particular shape and size of gemstone. We attempt to cut all of our gemstones to these "calibrated" sizes so they can easily be set in stock mountings. Because the mounting is already finished all the goldsmith has to do is set the stone. Stock mountings are always the least expensive way to build jewelry with your gemstone(s). It usually costs less to build a piece of jewelry with your own gemstones than the price of a finished piece.
Unfortunately, the jewelry mounting you pick may not be manufactured to hold the size or shape of the gemstone that you own. It is not uncommon for customer gemstones to be larger than what the stock mounting is designed to hold, which leads us to option two.
Assemble Stock Components
The second most cost effective means of builiding jewelry is to assemble stock components. Assembling components is a great way to obtain truly "custom" jewelry cost effectively. It allows us to work with any size or shape stone. We locate components to assemble the piece in the style you selected. The cost is always higher than utilizing a stock mounting because two or more components are required plus the additional labor charge for the goldsmith to assemble the piece. The advantage is a truly custom piece of jewelry with your own gemstone at a reasonable price.
Custom
Every year a customer comes in with a collection of stones and wants to build a piece of jewelry that is all their own. Totally awsome. Not like anything else out there. Something with special meaning and significant value, both emotionally and financially.
Sketches, drawings, wax carvings, prototype, your approval and production. The whole process takes time and requires your involvement at every step. Many of these projects take a year or more to complete. Most cost $4,000 or more. Most finish worth $20,000 or more. If your heart is set on building something special we can help. Just be prepared for the journey. It's like building a house, with lots of decisions.
Pricing
Jewelry mountings are sold by weight plus a fixed "finishing" charge. Bottom line: as the mounting gets larger and weighs more, it costs more. The cost of the mounting is related directly to the cost and quantity of precious metal involved (gold, silver, platinum, paladium). In addition to paying for the amount of precious metal the manufacture adds a fixed finishing charge to the cost of each piece. A simple, smooth, ring shank can be tumble polished and will have a lower finishing charge than a highly detailed filligree piece. The fancier and more complex the mounting the higher the finishing charge. Small, lightweight, fancy mountings will have a higher finishing charge than the value of the metal. The price of heavier pieces like rings and large pendants is controlled by the amount of precious metal in the mounting and how much it weighs.
Most people want quality jewelry and are willing to pay "a little more" for a comfort fit shank instead of a knife edge shank or want a heavier chain for a nice pendant. However, they are shocked when the price is four time higher. You have to go back to geometry to figure this one out. The area of a circle is the fixed ratio "pi" times the radius squared. In simple terms: if you double the diameter, which is a squared function, 2 x 2 = 4. Thus, the piece weighs four times more simply by doubling the diameter and costs four times as much!
Goldsmith Charges
We contract all of our goldsmith and silversmith work out to local artisans who are professionals in their field. All work is completed locally to the highest professional standards.
The goldsmith bills out his work based upon the complexity of the piece, how long it is going to take and the materials involved. Goldsmith charges are billed at $45 to $65 per hour; which I think is a pretty fair price for an artisan who has to equip a shop and supply all of the tools and materials needed to complete the job.
One of the reasons we prefer that you build gold, platinum or palladium jewelry is because of the value of the gemstone and the "labor" charge associated with the goldsmith. Gold has long been a store of wealth, and more than likely, will continue to be. So is silver, but only at about 1/100 the value. We are happy to work with you using any type of metal; but encourage you to make an investment in your jewelry and spend at least as much, or more, on the mounting as the labor charge associated with the goldsmith. Your jewelry will be worth more, and in the end, provides more "value" than trying to save money on the cost of the mounting.
We build hundreds of pieces of jewelry per year for customers with the gemstones they found. We prefer using karat gold mountings but also have a nice selection of sterling silver, platinum and palladium mountings available. To get ideas you can visit www.stuller.com. Don't worry about logging in. Click on the "Mountings" tab and browse thousands of jewelry selections.