Commissioning a piece: what happens between the sketch and the ring

A bespoke commission usually takes 4 to 8 weeks. That figure comes from The Jewellery Editor, 22 November 2015, in a piece by Rachael Taylor in which several working jewellers describe how a commission is run. The same article records a ring finished in a week, another in 3 days, and a ruby that took a year to find. All 3 numbers are true, and the distance between them is the whole subject.

I have made jewellery by hand in London for 22 years, from a stall on Portobello Road to Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods. Anything made to a drawing still crosses my own bench, so I can tell you what the slow part really is.

A commission happens in drawings before it happens in metal

In that article the designer Hattie Rickards describes starting with initial sketches and letting the client choose which become proper drawings. After that can come 2D technical drawings, 3D digital renders, a mock up and a wax model. Andrew Geoghegan told the magazine not to skip the wax: "This is always a great idea, as it gives your client an understanding of the true scale and balance of the piece."

That is the stage people are surprised by. A drawing flatters. A wax sits on the hand at the real size and weight, and it is where a design quietly gets changed, almost always smaller. Nobody regrets the wax. People regret the piece that only looked right on paper.

Making is rarely what holds a commission up

In the same piece David Marshall credits having his makers in house for a ring built in a week, and Rachel Sweeny of Cox and Power mentions a ruby that took a year to track down. The bench is quick. Finding a particular stone, in a particular size and colour, is not. If a commission has a date on it, settle the stone first. A design built around stones already held, as in the diamonds collection, can be quoted and started the same week.

Bespoke is not a surcharge

What stops most people asking is the belief that having something made costs more than buying it finished. Barry McCaul, quoted in the same article, says of his own workshop: "Every piece we make is handmade and would be the same price if it was a commission." He adds: "There is no added charge." That is his workshop rather than a rule for the trade, but it is the honest shape of it. A commission is quoted individually because the cost follows the metal, the weight and the hours, not because a drawing carries a fee.

What you actually need before you ask

Not a finished design. A photograph, a rough sketch, a word, a date, a crest, or a piece you already own and never wear. If it is the last of those, the material is already in your drawer and the route is Second Life, where inherited rings, loose gemstones, old diamonds, broken chains and odd earrings are remade by hand in the London studio. The estimate is free and there is no obligation. Silver stamped 925 or hallmarked gold that is past saving can instead be recycled, which puts the metal back into the workshop and a £20 voucher back to you.

The piece that shows what a commission can hold

The Bespoke Crest Wax Seal Signet Ring is £495 in solid 925 sterling silver and £555 in gold vermeil. The oval face is 15mm and the ring weighs 8g. The crest is cut intaglio, meaning recessed into the metal and reversed, so pressing it into warm wax leaves the crest raised and the right way round. It does something a bought piece cannot: it is a ring, and it is also a working signature. Its listing invites you to email about changing the engraving or the shape of the face, which is where a commission starts in practice.

What I notice is that people arrive holding the thing they want rather than describing it. A photograph of a grandmother's ring, a signature on an old letter, a word nobody else would understand. That is a brief, and it is more use to me than a tidy description. It is why the first step is always a photo and never a form.

2 other ways in

If a crest is more than you need, the Enamel Cube Letter Necklace starts at £70 for 1 hand painted cube in sterling silver or gold vermeil, and you add cubes to build a word or a number. At the other end the Solid Gold Bespoke Family Crest Signet Ring is £1,500 for 8g of 14kt solid gold in yellow or white, and asks you to get in touch about style and weight so the quote is accurate. In between, the solid gold letter necklace is £170 in 9kt solid yellow gold for 1 charm and chain, with each further letter £200 and a 4mm gold birthstone £20.

Bespoke commissions for Christmas close on 15 November. Remodelling closes earlier, on Sunday 1 November, because the design is worked out with you before any work starts.

The second life is the real one.

Send a sketch, a photograph or a single word to anna@annalouoflondon.com, or start in the Design bar, where the pieces made to a drawing live.

Questions I get asked

How long does a commissioned piece take?

Allow 4 to 8 weeks, the figure the trade gives, and expect the design stage to take longer than the making. A particular gemstone can add weeks or months at the front of that. The Christmas dates are 15 November for bespoke and 1 November for remodelling.

Do I need to know what I want before I get in touch?

No. A photograph or a rough sketch is enough, and most commissions begin with less than that. Price comes after I have seen it, because it follows the metal, the weight and the work. Getting an estimate is free and carries no obligation.

How do you size a ring that is a surprise?

Borrow a ring she already wears and measure that. The ring size guide shows how to do it at home with a strip of paper, and a signet ring can usually be adjusted afterwards, which is part of why it is a safer commission than a set ring.