Behind The Scenes - A Custom Heirloom Re-design
I often get questions about what goes into a custom project, what kind of things can I do, how long does the process take, can I use my own stones...
Today I am here to break it down a bit, with one of my recent heirloom re-design projects I had the honor of working on.
Custom can take as little as 4 weeks or as many as 12 weeks depending on the complexity of the design and materials used. So it's always best to get in contact sooner rather than later if you have a hard deadline like a proposal planned or an anniversary.
The process always first starts with a consultation, do you have stones you want to use? gold? or are we starting from scratch? What are your inspirations? Pictures and drawings are always appreciated! And finally we discuss your budget and timeline so we are on the same page from the beginning.
From there if you decide you would like to move forward a design deposit is requested and we get to the fun part!
With this piece, she wasn't sure what she wanted. She had emeralds and diamonds that were set in her grandmothers gold rings. She knew she wanted those in a white gold ring perfect for everyday wear. She sent a few inspiration photos of rings she liked and I sent her a few quick sketches to see what she was thinking.
In the end we ended up deciding on a cluster ring, inspired by pebbles skipping along a body of water, her emeralds and diamonds would dance across her finger. I think a cluster ring is an excellent choice if you have lots of small stones that you would like included in one ring for sentimental purposes. (*not all stones can always be used, stones are a case by case situation and often have to be examined further before determining)
From here I sent her a few different stone composition ideas, she ended up choosing the middle option and it was onto wax carving!
I carved a setting in wax that would perfectly hold all her stones, once she approved the wax I put it into casting, cleaned and polished the ring and had all the stones tightly set.
The end result is a gorgeous, low profile cluster ring that sparkles and dances in the light!
I absolutely adore re-imagining jewelry and giving it a new life so it can continue to be worn and adored for years to come!
If you have jewelry collecting dust in a drawer and you're thinking you may want to create something new I would love to speak with you about your ideas! Feel free to reach out to me at Lacee@Laceealexandra.com and we can discuss your vision further.