How does one go about getting a custom ring?

[hoofbeats95]

I would love to get my princess cut tourmaline from Finewater set in something custom. . . maybe from BGD! But the thing I that I don''t even have an idea of what I want! Do you need to know? Do you need to send them pics for ideas first? how the process work?

 

[D&T]

do you have any design elements that you love? bezels, no bezels, prongs, double prongs, open gallery, intricate gallery, what are your taste like? are you more antiquey? contemporary modern? or are you ok with just sending the stone off and having a "masterpiece" per se created by Brian or anyone else you might be interested. I am pretty specific and a control nut so I have to have an idea of a design before I can send it off to anyone...lol

 

[fierypyropixy]

Yeah, I echo D&T . . . it all depends on your personality. I''m a control freak so I have to dictate nearly every single little detail, but I WISH I could be the type to just hand over a stone and say "do with it what you will".

Of course inspiration pics are good, or knowing parts you like/dislike, but sometimes I just have to go into a jewelry store that has a good wide selection of different types of rings, or lots of catalogs, and see if anything clicks. Even if you have no intention of having that store set your stone, it''s a great way to get some ideas. Then again, sometimes they come up with really good ideas you never thought about, and you DO end up having them craft a piece for you!

 

[Michael_E]

All you NEED to know is what sort of style you like in a general sense. Nearly everyone doing custom work uses CAD modeling and rendering software and will start with a model of your stone and your finger size. You then make decisions, ( which can be changed later), which go into making the computer model of the ring. As the design progresses from simple things like ring size, band width and thickness to more complicated things like the locations and setting of any side stones or the shape of any filigree and it''s style, you will see a more focused ring image developing until you have something which is unique and suits you perfectly. My advice is to put together a list of the simple things first, (ring size, height of the center stone, band width and thickness, prongs or bezel setting) and any other basic things which really matter to you. Have the designer put together those basic things just to get an "outline" of your requirements and look that over. Then it''s just a matter of filling in the blanks by using parts of other designs or even hand sketching on a printout of the initial basic design.

One word of warning about being a "control freak"...there are some things which you do NOT want to control. These are the details which may not look quite right to you, but are REQUIRED in order to get a good casting, or to make a piece which is sufficiently strong and will stand up to daily wear. CAD models tend to look a bit heavy, since they are made to be cast and then that casting worked by hand to arrive at the finished dimensions and level of surface finish. The images produced are also made so that you are looking at a magnified version of what you will receive. There''s not much use in being overly concerned about small details on a computer image, when in reality they will be too small to be seen when being worn, (anything under 1/2mm fits in this category). It''s sort of like looking at a painting with a loupe...you don''t want to be critical of brush strokes when the overall view from a distance is what counts.

 

[Kismet]

Usually it''s good to have *some* sort of idea of what you want... set it high, set it low, solitaire, multi stone, etc., and then you and the jeweler can work from there.

The eye candy thread here and the Spectrum Awards at agta.org are great places to see things that aren''t necessarily run of the mill. Look at all types of jewelry, not just rings, to see what sorts of design ideas you like and don''t like.

 

[chrono]

It would be very helpful to browse around to get some ideas of concepts you like and those you don’t like. Even a style will be helpful. Take the time to look at tons of pictures or SMTR section of PS for ideas. Once you think you have a vague idea, you can send a picture of it to BGD or whoever for suggestions.

Preliminary things to consider:
1. Modern, clean & classic, pave, antique, etc.
2. Bezel, prong-set or something in between?
3. Metal colour and type

 

[Fly Girl]

I prefer to find a designer whose work I just love. You can generally find pictures of their work online, or in my case, in their shop. Then I can be pretty sure I will love what they come up with for me. We sit down together and I show them my stones and they start coming up with ideas. I find the process to be just amazing. Creative people are full of wonderful ideas that would never occur to me. So, the last thing I should be doing is controlling every detail. The result would be rather dull.

I remember sitting down with one jewelry store designer and she wanted me to tell her everything and she just put it into the CAD. Finally, I looked at her and said, "I am a lousy designer, otherwise I would be doing this for a living. You should have an idea now of what I like. I''d like you to do more designing here, and not be leaving all the details up to me." In the end, I cancelled my project with her.

So, I guess I represent the other side here. I want to get a unique piece that I love, but it should also represent my designer''s point of view.

 

[litebrite]

This is a combo of what FlyGirl and others have said, and it''s what I have done.

1) Look at SMTR or the colored rings thread for ideas about what settings you like and dislike. Note which designers move you, save photos of the rings that really inspire you and settings that you think your Finewater gem will fit in. Note the designers of rings you love. Do you want a ring, necklace, brooch, etc?
2) Go try these on in person if possible, or close approximations. Sometimes you like the look of something in a photo and it looks all wrong on the hand or neck. (It''s kinda like wedding dresses.)
3) Figure out what metal you want for the setting. Some designers only work in certain metals.
4) Look at different designers who do custom work for their styles - do they fit with yours? some designers have a more swirly or feminine style like JuliaKayTaylor or Sally at Hearts of Water. Some are more antique like James Meyer.
5) Have the dimensions of your stone, your desired metal, and an idea of your budget before you call around for ideas and price quotes. If you feel comfortable with the vendor, their timeline, and their prices, move forward.

I think not knowing at all what setting might be somewhat frustrating for a vendor since there are gazillions of styles which makes it harder to find the one or ones that make your eyes shine, and they don''t necessarily want to commit to doing a custom project that you wouldn''t like, which they might or might not be able to resell. Sending pics of inspirations helps, and if you can draw close to what you want, that helps too.

Some of us are more detail oriented and have a very specific idea of what we want down to the mm of the shank, prongs and melee. This doesn''t have to be you, but figuring out the steps above will bring you and the vendor closer to the finished product.

Good luck and remember, it should be fun

 

[SB621]

I''m new so I"m sorry but what does BGD stand for?

 

[chrono]

Date: 8/26/2009 12:57:33 AM
Author: Sarahbear621
I''m new so I''m sorry but what does BGD stand for?

Brain Gavin Diamonds.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Thanks guys. I''m not so bad off that I don''t know basically what I want. I just don''t have any real inspiration pics. But I know the basics. I know the metal type, I know I don''t like high settings, I know I want V-tip prongs as it''s a princess cut. . . I''m not THAT bad. I just don''t know from there. The stone is gorgeous but it needs some diamand accents. Yet I want the stone to "pop". I just don''t know if that is enough info. I''m not really a control freak, but I do either love or hate something almost instantly. I''ve also spent my fair share of time in the mall jewelry stores trying on every ring in the case, so I know what I like on my hand. Often times the sales person will tell me what great fingers I have as every style looks good. Which is partly true - though I personally don''t like every style. So I feel pretty good knowing what will look good on me. Is that enough?

 

[Lovinggems]

How about contacting Michael E, someone posted a lovely cushion/princess ring made by him a little while ago.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Date: 8/26/2009 8:38:17 AM
Author: Lovinggems
How about contacting Michael E, someone posted a lovely cushion/princess ring made by him a little while ago.

I'm not sure I know who Michael E is. Can you post a linkt to him? If you can find a link to the thread with the ring, that would be great. I did a search and it came back with Michael B . . . do you really mean Michael B?

In general I LOVE BGD stuff that I've seen posted here though. So he's on the top of my list. Plus Lesley was great to work with for my ACA stone.

 

[Kismet]

Michael E posted in your thread here *points up*. You can find his website at http://www.gemshoppe.com, but frankly there''s not a lot on it.

Lovinggems may have been talking about my ring made by Michael E. It''s a cushion zircon with princess spessartites.

 

[Lovinggems]

Date: 8/26/2009 9:27:47 AM
Author: Kismet
Michael E posted in your thread here *points up*. You can find his website at http://www.gemshoppe.com, but frankly there''s not a lot on it.

Lovinggems may have been talking about my ring made by Michael E. It''s a cushion zircon with princess spessartites.

I love the colour combo of your ring Kismet

, HB asked about v tip prongs and I thought of Icce''s ring.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/handshots-fedex-brought-me-the-ring-today-micheal-e-with-a-barry-gem.120377/

 

[Fly Girl]

When I was looking for inspiration pictures, I found the Greenlake Jewelry site to be helpful. Link They have lots of pictures of colored stone custom rings. Once you narrow it down a bit more, I think you are ready to contact a designer.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Date: 8/26/2009 9:27:47 AM
Author: Kismet
Michael E posted in your thread here *points up*.

Oh geesh! Blonde moment! Thanks!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I remember you getting that tourmaline! Looking forward to how you end up setting it

I know when I went to Julia for my pendant, I only have very general ideas like "flowy, organic" in addition to the few things I knew I wanted : silver, bezeled, and attached with a link. From there she drew up sketches, and I''d comment on what I liked and didn''t like, and then she''d tweak the sketches until we found something I loved

I don''t know what kind of process BGD is used to though.

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 8/26/2009 8:32:41 AM
Author: hoofbeats95
Thanks guys. I''m not so bad off that I don''t know basically what I want. I just don''t have any real inspiration pics. But I know the basics. I know the metal type, I know I don''t like high settings, I know I want V-tip prongs as it''s a princess cut. . . I''m not THAT bad. I just don''t know from there. The stone is gorgeous but it needs some diamand accents. Yet I want the stone to ''pop''. I just don''t know if that is enough info. I''m not really a control freak, but I do either love or hate something almost instantly. I''ve also spent my fair share of time in the mall jewelry stores trying on every ring in the case, so I know what I like on my hand. Often times the sales person will tell me what great fingers I have as every style looks good. Which is partly true - though I personally don''t like every style. So I feel pretty good knowing what will look good on me. Is that enough?

HB, if this is the case, I''d say that you may want to give a little bit more insight to the designer. V-tip prongs and low set leave room for too wide an array, I think, and wouldn''t help a designer narrow down something that you''ll like. Given that custom work usually isn''t refundable, you''d want to give enough information to tilt the odds in your favor of being happy with the finished product.

You say you''ve tried on a ton of rings and you know what you like on your hand. My suggestion would be to find examples of those ring styles in photos and give them to your designer. From all those styles, a designer can get a good sense for what elements seem repeatable and can use this as the ''framework'' for your custom piece and then get creating on the details.