Custom Design 104: The Production Phase
Let’s begin this mini-course with a well-earned congratulations! Once you reach the Production Phase, you can sit back and rest knowing that your work is finished (ours is really just beginning). You have made all the decisions that you will need to make regarding the design, you have finessed the design to perfection, and you have paid your invoice (hopefully) without sweating too much. Now you can kick back and wait for the email letting you know that your piece is ready… oh wait, you might have a proposal speech to plan now…
Ok, zooming back out. Really, the Production Phase of your design truly is largely hands-off for you but for us, we consider this to be the part where things really start heating up. We put a lot of work into our designs to cast near-perfection but truly, perfect craft can only be achieved by hand. Production puts our workshop to the test. It’s where we set, finish, and perfectly calibrate each piece to create a lasting work of art that we can stand behind. It’s where things can (and do!) go wrong - whether in casting, setting, or finishing - so we try to build in plenty of extra time so that we stay on track for your timeline. We typically tell people to allow 5-6 weeks for production, but that timeline is completely contingent upon the complexity of your piece. Solitaire rings will take less time, more complicated settings will take longer time. Simple as that!
A key point to remember about our shop is that because nearly everything we do is custom or bespoke, unforeseen problems can arise in a piece that we troubleshoot using our professional experience and craft. Serious problems rarely come up (we wouldn’t have a great business if they were routine!) but when they do, we are reminded of why it takes a next-level craftsperson to fix them. Most jewelers simply don’t have the hands-on experience to solve tricky setting problems or rebuild a gallery to improve its structural viability, but we do. And in the exceptionally rare instance when a design we make just isn’t working, we will remake the entire piece to perfection. We truly stand by the quality of our work and take pride in knowing that our clients feel comfortable coming to us with any and all questions or concerns along the way. This is another element that sets us apart from bigger-name jewelers: we design, set, finish, and take care of our pieces in house, so you’re working directly with the people who will be perfecting your piece and performing all the quality assurance tests needed to ensure we got it right.
Truly, the Production Phase is what keeps us accountable to our designs. Tim, our lead CAD designer, signs off of every piece we put into production and he is often the guy behind the bench spending hours perfecting the setting, so he is careful to create pieces that he knows we can execute and stand behind. We see a lot on Instagram from other jewelers that don’t have the same level of guaranteed work and frankly, a lot of those designs looks like really bad ideas. Too-thin bands, too-small prongs, and other potential issues that we see in our own shop when clients bring rings made elsewhere for repair. Of course, issues can come up in any workshop, but we feel strongly that a good jeweler should work to fix any structural issue in their own piece - hands down.
The Production Phase also accounts for the higher skill level that we as a small, local business, are able to hire for and train. Our model is less efficient, sure: other jewelers have turned to outsourcing these jobs to large, factory-like facilities that mass produce and set jewelry. Taken to scale, they can charge less for these services. But, you as the client lose a lot in that transaction. You can’t have your ring resized while you wait, you can’t tighten a loose prong when one ultimately becomes a little dislodged, and you don’t have access to the expertise that backs up pieces like these for life. When creating a piece as meaningful as what we craft, we feel strongly that it’s worth the price bump for the quality of service we provide.
So, while the Production Phase for you might feel a bit restful, know that for us it’s the part where we put our skills and goals to the test. Once we’re confident that the piece is perfect, we contact you to schedule your pick up where we will again walk you through our guarantee and remind you to bring us the ring for adjustments and check ups as you move forward. We always hope to see our clients again and if the piece was designed for someone else, we would love to meet them. A special point of pride for us is knowing that we had a small part in a big milestone for our clients and we have many clients who we have seen through decades of work and special occasions. What will our next project be for you?