WANT TO COMMISSION YOUR OWN UNIQUE JEWELLERY?

It is generally the run up to Christmas or special birthdays, anniversaries I get to work on commissioned pieces. But you can commission a piece of jewellery anytime. It means that you like my style but want to give your input into the design to customise it. And at the end you will have a unique and meaningful piece of jewellery.

Commissions are not only for special occasions.

I think the general understanding is when you commission a piece of jewellery that it will cost thousands and thousands of pounds. But in reality this is not have to be the case. Of course you are paying for the special work goes into the piece (consultation time, sourcing materials, making the piece etc.), but this does not mean that it has to be very expensive.

Commissions can be affordable.

Commissioning a piece of jewellery has two parts: The Customer and the Jeweller. Before I get into what I need to do when you request a unique piece of jewellery, I will explain the things that you need to do in order to have a successful commission.

One of the most important parts of the commissioning process is the research you do! You need to find the right person/jeweller to work with for your idea. Not all designer and makers take commissions. You also need to like their style and their previous work.

Also if this piece of jewellery is for a specific date; for example for special birthday or anniversary, one of the first thing you need to find out whether the jeweller you have picked will have enough time to make the piece for you. The more time you give to the jeweller the better the result will be.

You cannot rush a commission piece.

PROCESS OF COMMISSIONING YOUR JEWELLERY TIMESCALE, DESIGN, BUDGET / COST

After contacting your selected jeweller, at your initial consultation she or he will ask many questions about your unique jewellery request. These questions will be about your your ideas, your budget and your timescale.

To start with, and in a way most importantly, designer will need to know your budget and your timescale. She/he then will need to find out about the materials, stones, size, metal choice etc.

You can show images of jewellery that you like – not to copy them but as inspiration pieces. You can collect images of jewellery, colours, moods etc and create a pin board -either physical or electronic such as Pinterest to showcase what you wish to achieve with this unique piece.

During this initial consultation designer might ask a design fee. Following this meeting jeweller needs to work on the concept design and rough cost and at the next meeting she/he will be able to let you know the design options, have sample materials/metals, drawings and or models.

Once you have agreed with the design and all the materials etc., the jeweller will normally ask for a 50% non-refundable deposit because from this point onwards they will be buying materials and spending a lot of time working on your project which will be unique to your piece. At this stage she/he will also give an estimated delivery date.

Depending on the complexity of the commission you may not need to see the jeweller again until the final contact where you collect your finished piece and pay the remainder of the cost.