Reasons To Choose A Custom Engagement Ring

You’ve found the love of your life and it’s time to buy an engagement ring. You want rings that tell your unique love story in a personal and meaningful way. That might be enough reason for many to have a custom ring made but there are more benefits to going the custom engagement ring route than you may have thought.

Here are some questions and considerations to think about.

You Control Your Engagement Ring Budget:

When you are having your engagement and wedding rings custom made, you set the budget and your designer and jeweler will help you stick to it. You’re not just stuck with whatever is on offer. Prices are based on materials (metal and gems) and labor (complexity of the design). Your designer can help you narrow down the perfect diamond and/or gemstone, metal and level of labor that give you the look you want - at the right price.

How Much Are Custom Designed Engagement Rings?

The short answer is: whatever you are comfortable with. Whether you’re cool with a big splurge or on a tight budget, there are lots of ways to create a unique engagement ring that you or your partner will love. The best part, is that you are in control of your price. Get the exact combination of metal, gemstones and design that maximizes your engagement ring investment. The factors that go into the cost of custom made engagement rings are the choice of metal, the choice of gems and the labor (which depends on the level of complexity). If you already have an idea of the design direction, share your Pinterest board or other inspo pics with your local jeweler. They can give you options to achieve the look you want that fit your budget and your personality. Resetting or repurposing your own family heirloom diamond or gemstone is a great way to keep costs down while adding special meaning to your custom engagement ring.

The chart below shows that from 2017 to 2022 the majority of Jewelsmith’s custom engagement rings are priced between $1000 to $7000, and most of those in the $3000 range.

chart showing vast majority of custom engagement rings are between $1000 and $7000

How Long Does It Take To Have A Custom Engagement Ring Made?

Generally it takes several weeks to create any custom jewelry project. Currently, here at Jewelsmith, the turnaround time for a custom engagement ring is between 6 and 8 weeks. Other jewelers will have different time frames depending on how busy they are at any given time and how much capacity they have.

It’s safe to assume that November and December will be the busiest times for pretty much any custom jewelry store, so it’s best to plan accordingly. Contact us for current availability.

Each custom engagement ring is designed and created by hand, individually. This is a very different process than assembly line mass production that many ready-to-wear engagement rings are made with. When a ring is created one-at-a-time, it takes a bit longer but that allows for more attention to detail and quality control.

goldsmith, Patrick King working on a one-of-a-kind custom engagement ring

Focus On Quality:

The custom engagement ring process involves your designer and goldsmith (jeweler) working closely with you to translate your vision into your dream engagement ring.

See the jewelry making process in action:

Each piece of custom jewelry is individually created and every aspect of the process is controlled for quality and design.

Pro Tip:

Choose a jeweler with plenty of experience. A good jeweler will pay attention to what designs hold up well over time and why.

A jewelry store that has been around for a while will build up a great knowledge base and is more likely to be around if you ever need any maintenance or other service.

goldsmith, Cameron White working on a custom project

Ethical Standards:

Choose a jeweler that matches the values that are important to you. Do they support their community? Do they incorporate green practices in their business? Are they welcoming and inclusive to all individuals?

Recycled Precious Metals:

Is the metal used by your jeweler either recycled or from certified fairmined ethical sources?

Precious metals are one of the easiest and cost-effective materials to recycle. In a custom jewelry shop, leftover pieces of gold, platinum and silver scraps can be melted and poured into the raw materials like wire and sheet to create more jewelry. Even the tiniest dust particles can be reclaimed into usable material by a process called refining which is commonly used in the jewelry industry.

Sometimes your old jewelry can even be incorporated directly into your custom engagement ring.

Ethical Gems:

Lab grown diamonds, moissanites, Canadian diamonds and Montana sapphires are all great ethical choices for engagement rings. There are other great choices also, so check with a gemologist to find out more.

Of course, reusing, resetting, repurposing your own gems is a great way to reduce, reuse, recycle.

Can I Reset My Own Diamond Or Gemstone In My Custom Engagement Ring?

Absolutely! You can even combine diamonds and gemstones from multiple pieces of heirloom jewelry, like Auntie Mary’s sapphires and Granny’s diamond into one engagement ring that has even more personal meaning. Another benefit of resetting or repurposing diamonds and gemstones is that it will lower the cost of your ring and has ethical benefits.

old wedding set transformed into new rose gold and diamond wedding set — diamonds from an heirloom family wedding set reset and repurposed into a new rose gold ladyslipper engagement ring

Get Exactly What You Want:

You or your partner may have looked around online and social media and found engagement ring styles that you like elements of but that aren’t quite perfect. Share your faves and what you do (and don’t) like about each one. Designing your own custom engagement ring is easier than you might think, especially when you find a jeweler near you that you trust and that can transform your vision into reality.

Are there special events, places or symbols that are important to you and your partner’s relationship? Like you’re super into the TV show Stargate or rode a ferris wheel on your first date that you got a piece of when it was later dismantled? See our galleries of past custom projects.

spinning ruby baguette ring inspired by “Stargate”

cone and sheet engagement ring with piece of ferris wheel incorporated — Jewelsmith “Cone and Sheet” ring with a piece of an old ferris wheel incorporated into the design

Are you a minimalist? Traditional? Vintage? Modern? Whether you want something totally out of the box or just a little unexpected tweak on an otherwise classic engagement ring design, a fully custom jeweler can create your perfect ring tailored exactly to you and your story! Use this style guide to see some examples of all these styles.

smooth low setting in rose and white gold infinity twist engagement ring

vintage inspired hand engraved engagement ring

What kinds of designs fit your lifestyle? For example, someone who wears gloves every day might prefer a smoother, lower setting with clean lines. A talented jewelry designer can pull together those elements into a beautiful, durable and unique engagement ring design.

Custom Engagement Ring Process:

The custom process should be enjoyable! Collaborating and connecting with skilled artisans, seeing how your jewelry is custom created and having a meaningful piece of wearable art that tells your personal story can be a fascinating and fun experience.

Resources:

While the choices may seem overwhelming at first, you can use online tools to home in on what you will love today and for the long term.

Pinterest is a great place to gather and share your inspiration.

Jewelry terminology can be confusing but there are lots of resources to help especially when it comes to information about diamonds and diamond engagement rings like GIA’s “Diamond Engagement Ring Terms.”

If you’re looking for info about setting styles, shank shapes, and gemstone shapes, plus their jewelry terms, check out our guide.