This is the time of year many people start thinking about having bespoke pieces made for Christmas. At Claddagh Design we offer a customized jewellery service where we make up items of jewellery to our customers specifications. Over the years we have produced some amazing pieces of jewellery all inspired by your great ideas. It is really exciting to work on a jewellery design with a customer. It gives us the opportunity to create a one of piece and also allows the customer to personalise an item of jewellery. As jewellery is something that is cherished and handed down through generations it lends itself perfectly to the bespoke process. What better way to create an heirloom than to design it yourself!
While many people relish the opportunity to let their creative juices flow and design their own piece of jewellery others are daunted by the task. Today I'm going to talk you through the process and dispel many of the fears that you may have.
Firstly while it important to know what you are looking for don't put yourself under pressure to have the entire design resolved before contacting your jeweller. Often it is better to have a rough idea and talk to the person who will be making it. They design and make jewellery so can offer suggestions and solve design problems very easily
Budget. It is important to discuss budget as this may influence the materials used and the complexity of the design. If you have no idea how much you would like to spend discuss the design with your jeweller and ask them to give you a rough price range. From there you can tailor the design to meet your needs and suit your pocket.
Think about the person you are buying the piece for, whether for yourself or as a gift it is important to consider when the piece will be worn and how your design will sit with other items of the wearers jewellery.
When discussing the design with your jeweller ask for sketches and discuss any aspects that you do not fully understand. That way both you and your jeweller will have a very clear image of how the piece will look before any metal has been cut.
Listen to the professionals! If a jeweller advises you that your design is not practical and would not be suitable to wear you should take this on board. Perhaps they can suggest an alternative or way alter the design to make it work.
While jewellers are brilliant they unfortunately are not psychic!. Communicate clearly with your jeweller. Remember if you don't request something then the jeweller will not know to include it in the finished piece.
Don't be afraid of the unknown! Often people agonise about whether it will be as good as they imagined, if you have discussed the design with the maker and have approved the sketches then yes a qualified jeweller will be able to translate this beautifully into metal.
I hope this has helped to answer any questions you many have about custom silver jewellery. If you would like more information or have the perfect jewellery design ready to be created feel free to contact us through our Custom Jewellery page.
