In this post you’ll hear a beautiful engagement story of Barnaby and Olivia, in front of your eyes you’ll see the creation of their exclusive engagement ring and you’ll also learn a few tips and tricks to help you prepare for your bespoke jewellery service consultation.
It is a windy Tuesday morning, people chaotically rush to work and Barnaby, my new customer, is on his way to Bedford to meet me and have a chat about my Bespoke Service. He wants to get an Engagement Bespoke Ring made for his girlfriend and I am very excited because my gut tells me Barnaby is up for a very unique and innovative design. We meet at The Embankment, a great local pub overlooking the river Grand Ouse, and after having a small talk and few sips of fresh coffee, we dive into the imaginative exploration process.
Our first meeting is usually the most important one, it provides the basis, gives birth to the initial concepts, outlines further steps – so I always tell my customers to have a little brainstorm session at home and bring a small list of specific details that will help us get the most of our first meeting.
- Tip 1: bring some ideas or design styles that you like. This will help me understand the style of ring you want. Just look through a few magazines or use Google to find some specific engagement ring images. Cut-outs, printouts, photographs, sketches, drawings, anything that is inspiring and makes you think “Holy mackerel, this is my dream ring!” is great so bring them all to our appointment.
In his phone Barnaby have some images of actual rings that his girlfriend had tried on in the high street and genuinely liked. This is extremely valuable as it helps me understand exactly what she fancies and how her dream engagement ring should look like.
- Tip 2: Think of a fair budget you want to invest in your engagement ring. If you came this far, you probably have an idea of the style that you want and how much you would like to spend for your engagement ring. Sometimes men feel anxious that their budget might be too tight to get anything unique or precious. However, the future is bright, I say to everyone. Calculate your budget, keep that figure in mind and I will help you choose the size and quality of the shining gemstones to make a ring that is affordable as well as beautiful, special and personalized.
Barnaby is looking for a high-quality 1ct diamond. I immediately check with our manufacturers and find an exclusive diamond, suitable for his budget. I will explain a bit more about diamonds, their size, quality and price in my next post, but in the mean time you can find more information here. Just have in mind, when you try diamonds, you’ll never want to go back.
- Tip 3: Look at your calendar and think of a time-scale. Imagine you are planning to pop the question next weekend: you’re arranging a romantic dinner, choosing the best tie for the occasion, booking flowers and… the ring is not ready due to manufacturing delay. That sounds awful!
That’s why it is very important for you to plan in advance and keep us informed. Our bespoke engagement rings usually take 2-3 weeks to be designed, including tweaks to the design, and from 8-10 weeks to be manufactured. You think it sounds like a long time and wonder, why it’s worth the wait? Well, apart from being personalized and fabulous, our engagement rings usually feature premium, high-grade Canadian diamonds which are rare and has a high value and recognition in the world of jewelry.
During our conversation with Barnaby, we brainstorm and come to the conclusion that Olivia, his fiancée, would like a shining diamond as a central stone. Moreover, she wants tiny sparkling diamonds around the central stone, all of which would go down the sides of the ring, the arm of the ring, and then there would be a vintage-looking setting with decorative grain work. Incredible ideas in just one meeting!
After a week of our first meeting I send Barnaby a few designs to review. When he goes through the designs, there is one ring that he immediately falls in love with: it’s exactly what he wanted and what he expected. You won’t believe this but the night before, when I had showed the designs to my partner, Philippe, he had chosen the same design of the engagement ring as his number one! It is truly a destiny – that exclusive design is meant to come alive and shine on Olivia’s finger for the rest of her life.
Olivia’s ring is made using Fairtrade gold and a Canadian certified diamond, a diamond that comes with a certificate of quality and origin so we know exactly the mine that it comes from. Her ring is a Bespoke Ethical Engagement Ring – this is an amazing option which I suggest to all my customers in our bespoke service: you can get your ethical engagement ring made using ethical materials. The design had a mix of different size shining diamonds, central stone of above 0.6ct and small 1- 1.5mm diamonds down the sides and different setting techniques: rub over setting and grain setting. For quality and design, it’s a winner.
Now, hold your breath. The result of my initial casual consultation is this stunning diamond ring, wonderful and special – not like anything you have seen before… and I am very proud of its design. 🙂
After a few weeks I meet up with Barnaby to give him this stunning ring, his unforgettable tribute to endless love and harmonious life together. Barnaby is so happy and excited: he had already planned his weekend away in Italy to make a surprise to Olivia, and what a surprise!
I have a chance to meet lovely Olivia a few weeks later to slightly resize her ring. This is a free service I offer to my customers, as, naturally, it is difficult to get the perfect ring measurement without spoiling a surprise. Don’t worry – if you are unsure about her size, we can design a ring that is easily resizable, no problem.
Olivia has been a happy woman ever since with her new gorgeous ring and she smiles saying: “it is the nicest ring I had ever seen”. I couldn’t be happier!
As anticipated, the next stop for me with Barnaby and Olivia is designing a special wedding band to match her engagement ring. They are getting married in September so the clock is ticking fast. Stay around and I’ll keep you updated as we are meeting in a couple of weeks to start discussing a new exquisite ring to represent their adorable match made in heaven. 🙂
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