Bespoke Jewellery Guide | SilverfireUK

Here is your guide to understanding what's involved in commissioning a full bespoke piece of jewellery. We are independent jewellery designers and jewellery makers with a workshop in Sussex UK, and we offer a UK-wide service. You do not need to live locally to us. 

1. How much does custom made jewellery cost?

To work out the cost of a commission, our designer and bench jeweller  needs to have certain information from you, such as:

  • Your chosen precious metal: i.e. gold or silver, platinum. See further below about the different types of silver and gold.
  • The size required: If you are uncertain about sizes, we just need a rough idea so our designer has a starting point from which to advise you.
  • Would you like gemstones: They vary considerably in price depending on type, cut, size, type of settings required, and whether you'd like your stones certified. The cost of certified stones are considerably higher than uncertified stones 
  • Do you have a design all ready to go? Or do you require our designers help? The design process takes time and naturally this lengthens the timeframe for completion and increases the cost. 
  • Your budget and timescale: your budget is important as it helps us to work out what will and will not be possible to achieve ,and allows us to advise about possible options. Naturally if you have a deadline we need to know! 

We are often asked for a quick rough idea of costs, but calculating costs for a custom piece of jewellery is not a quick process as a lot of working out is involved! 

Keep in mind that a small item doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be less expensive as you have to factor in what work will be involved and the time it will take. 

Workshop Consumables:

Along with the cost of the metal alloys, making jewellery requires the use of many materials and tools and some designs need more than others.  Sanding and polishing wheels, brushes, burrs, polishing compounds, sandpaper, files, cutters and blades, to name but a few! Then of course we have to factor in electricity costs for running the kiln, etc. All of these things need to be considered when working out the potential costs.
 

Example Of What Goes Into The Costs Of a Bespoke Jewellery Piece: 

  • For small non-complex plain sterling silver items think of  £450 as a ‘starting point’ for when you already have a design (fully designed with no  additional work or images required), but keep in mind that most custom work will likely cost more than this.
  • If your item requires designing in part or in full then the cost will increase.
  • We charge a ‘minimum’ of £165 for design work, and the actual cost will depend on complexity of the design and the time required. 
  • Other factors we consider are, how long will an item take to hand sculpt or build (£200+ for sculpting/build and the cost can vary considerably depend on the complexity),
  • will your item need casting or can it be made from sheet metal,
  •  Is stone setting required? If it does, this increases the cost substantially, not only due to the cost of the stones but due to the time required to set the stones 
  • will your piece require intricate cutting and shaping 
  • perhaps it requires texturing or a lot of soldering work 
  • what finish would be best for the piece, for example a high mirror shine takes more time and thus costs more than a brushed metal finish (minimum cost for finishing £50). 
  • And of course there’s also the cost of your chosen precious metal.

2. What Precious Metal would you like your bespoke jewellery made in?

 - Silver Alloys:

There are different grades of silver, Sterling (contains 92.5% pure silver), Argentium (93.5% pure silver but a higher grade can contain 96%) Britannia (95.8% pure silver) and fine silver (99.9%).  The higher amount of pure silver, the higher the price. That said, silver is the least expensive of the precious metals and can be a cost effective option as it’s much less expensive than gold. 

Because fine silver is purer than sterling, it's a softer metal that can mark much easier. Britannia silver is a nice in between.

- Gold Precious Metal 

We can make your bespoke jewellery from various gold metals, including: 

  • 9ct Yellow, White and Red Gold. 
  • 14ct Yellow, White and Red Gold. 
  • 18ct Yellow, White and Red Gold.  
  • 18ct White Gold  (High Palladium of approx 14% Palladium alloy). 
  • 22ct Yellow Gold. 

With gold alloys the higher the carat, the higher the gold content and higher the price.

Custom Briefings & Bespoke Budget 

Giving us 'brief' details about what you'd like made and letting us know your budget allows us to advise you as to what will and will not be possible (i.e. we will work out what work will be involved and whether it can be done within your budget). It's important to be realistic with what you can afford and what is achievable within your budget and within the timescale needed. 

Ready to bring your unique idea to life?

Return to our Custom Enquiry Form Here: Your Enquiry to get your personalised quote.