Please walk me through custom (hand-made) process!

[alene]

I'm finally going ahead with my reset! After months of vacilating and indecision, I've finally decided that I'm most drawn to very small halos with plain shanks so that is what I'm doing for my reset. I contacted several highly recommended vendors (some of them never got back to me). Got a quote from Steven Kirsch that was actually within my budget, plus he's local, so I'm really hoping to work with him! So what's next? Of course, I emailed Steven and I'm sure he's going to guide me through the process but, I'm nervous because the only time I had a custom-made ring (not from a Pricescope vendor), it came out nothing like what I'd expected, not even close. So what should I expect in the process? Since there are no CADs, do you get a sketch? Do you get to specify the details (in writing), like the shape of the prongs, type of pave, width/height, etc? What else should I be asking/discussing before things are finalized? I realize that with hand-forging, I don't have as much control over the design and that's fine, I just really to have a good idea of what I'm getting. Thanks!

 

[Christina...]

I feel your anxiety Alene! I'm about to embark on this same journey! I'm assuming that the design that you've picked out is similar to one that he has done before, so that you can use that as a reference? I'm sure that he will walk you through the process from everything from picking out your alloys, to the size and cut of the melee, to how high to set the stone. I'm sure it's a nerve racking experience regardless, but at least you have the knowledge that SK does absolutely amazing quality work. I can't wait to see your finished piece!

 

[alene]

Thanks Christina! I"m definitely anxious though very excited. What makes me even more anxious is that I actually don't have an exact ring in mind that I'd like to reproduce. I love elements of several specific rings but really will need some help putting it together. Plus I really need for the ring to work with my wedding band. This is definitely going to be a nerve racking process!

 

[Christina...]

Your in fantastic hands! Can you send SK your wedder to help him make sure that the design for the ering is a good fit? How have you found working with Sk so far?

 

[CharmyPoo]

SK really just does it. He doesn't really provide sketches but it is important for you to tell him what you want. You can sketch it out and tell him what you want. He will tell you if it is possible or not and what he is planning to do. Then, you magically get your ring.

My experience with SK:
1. Talk through email a bit what I wanted
2. Talk to him live and confirm direction
3. Give him the diamond
4. Try on the metal work to make sure it fits and is what I want
5. Get the beautiful finished product

It's not a difficult process. We have to remember that it is new for us but he makes tons and tons of these rings ... so the process is pretty simple for him.

 

[Christina...]

Charmy about how long did the entire process take for you? Did you ship through registered mail? If so, was it incredibly slow? I've heard that some vendors prefer this method because of the safety, but I've always shipped Fed ex overnight and have never had a problem.

 

[alene]

Charmy, thanks so much for chiming in! It's really helpful since you've been through the process. Would SK not do any sketches at all? I can't draw to save my life, I was really hoping he would.

Christina, I'm really not far into the process. So far I found him really easy to communicate with through email but I literally just emailed him today to let me know that I wanted to work him. I can certainly let you know how it goes if you're considering him too.

 

[Christina...]

He's certainly on my short list depending on what I choose for a design, so I would love to hear your thoughts and impressions! Thanks, I'll be following your journey.

 

[Haven]

SK really just does it. He doesn't really provide sketches but it is important for you to tell him what you want. You can sketch it out and tell him what you want. He will tell you if it is possible or not and what he is planning to do. Then, you magically get your ring.

My experience with SK:
1. Talk through email a bit what I wanted
2. Talk to him live and confirm direction
3. Give him the diamond
4. Try on the metal work to make sure it fits and is what I want
5. Get the beautiful finished product

It's not a difficult process. We have to remember that it is new for us but he makes tons and tons of these rings ... so the process is pretty simple for him.

SK didn't make my ring, but this was exactly how it went for me when I had my hand-forged ring made. It really was like magic--I said, "This is what I want, here is a very bad hand drawing of it," and then POOF! It was on my hand a couple months later. (I never tried on the metal work for fit or anything before the ring was finished.)

I think SK has proven that he can be trusted to make sound structural and aesthetic decisions, so I would feel totally comfortable telling him what I want and leaving the rest up to him. I know some people are more hands-on, so if you want to be more involved you could probably work that out with him, too. I was totally happy just waiting (im)patiently for my ring to arrive once we decided to move forward!

 

[alene]

Thanks Haven! I've seen your drawings and if I could draw like you, I'd just give him a sketch and wait patiently too! I'm just hoping I can communicate what I want effectively despite my complete inability to draw a 3-dimensional object!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Charmy about how long did the entire process take for you? Did you ship through registered mail? If so, was it incredibly slow? I've heard that some vendors prefer this method because of the safety, but I've always shipped Fed ex overnight and have never had a problem.

The whole process took about 4 days for me. This was before SK got so busy and he was such a sweetheart to do this for me. I wanted my wedding band to sit completely flush with my e-ring which has lots of curves. He needed my e-ring in order to make the band. I flew down on a Friday to drop off my e-ring and later that day .. he got the metal work done and I tried it on. I picked up both my rings on Monday. It was a truly fantastic experience.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Charmy, thanks so much for chiming in! It's really helpful since you've been through the process. Would SK not do any sketches at all? I can't draw to save my life, I was really hoping he would.

I was just making a wedding band with SK so no sketches were required. He drew it with his finger

When I worked with Leon Mege, he drew lots and lots of sketches because I didn't know what I wanted. Pages and pages of it. I still couldn't decide after a long time and we had a phone meeting. He sketched and emailed me the sketches while I was on the phone. It was also very painless.

 

[alene]

That's good to hear! I'm meeting with Steven on Wednesday, so will bring photos of the rings I have in mind and, hopefully, he can help me figure out how to put it together and maybe even sketch it for me.