What to Send a Jeweler When You Want Something Custom

The difference between a week of emails and a same-day quote is usually not the design — it is the missing measurements. Here is what a workshop actually needs, and why each item matters.

1. The stone, in millimeters

If you own the stone, measure its length and width. A 1 ct round is about 6.5 mm; a 1 ct oval is about 7.7 × 5.7 mm. Those numbers decide the head, and the head decides the height of the ring, which decides whether it catches on your coat.

If you do not own a stone, say what shape and roughly what size you want. "Oval, around 9 × 7 mm" is a brief. "Oval, 2 carat" is a guess.

2. Ring size, and the knuckle caveat

A ring size is a circumference. If the knuckle is significantly wider than the base of the finger, a ring sized to the base will not go on, and one sized to the knuckle will spin. Mention it — it changes the recommendation, sometimes to a hinged shank.

3. Two or three references, annotated

One image is a mood; three are a specification. The useful annotation is not "I like this one" but "I like the prongs here, the band width here, and the low profile here". That single sentence saves a CAD revision.

4. Metal preference and maintenance tolerance

White gold needs re-plating every 12–24 months. Platinum does not, but it is heavier and greyer. Sterling tarnishes. Tell us whether you are willing to maintain the piece, and the metal question answers itself.

5. Budget range, and the deadline

A range, not a number: it lets the designer propose a realistic band width instead of either over-building or under-building the ring. A deadline tells us whether to queue the piece or to say honestly that we cannot make it in time.

What you do not need to send

A sketch. Most clients apologize for not being able to draw. It genuinely does not matter — the CAD is our job. A rough description plus references is more useful than a drawing that misrepresents proportions.

What happens next

You get a written quote that separates metal weight, stone cost and setting labour, then a dimensioned CAD render, then a 1:1 wax. You approve the wax, we cast. Twelve to eighteen business days later it ships, photographed at every stage.