Alex Monroe is ridiculous

[buzzoffbee]

I really loved their hidden bee locket but wanted it 50% bigger. (1.5cm tall instead of 1cm)

After several attempts and mis-communications with them going back to April, I finally managed to get a quote from them today! The original is £775, they want between £3500 and £5000!

Is it me, or does anyone else think they've lost the plot? They really don't want to make this necklace for me, do they?

Anyone recommend a similar jeweller who can make something similar at a more reasonable price?

I actually agree with you. I would maybe expect to pay £1800
But they obvs don’t want your custom and they obvs don’t want to make bespoke items, it’s not worth it for them.

Etsy has a lot of jewellery makers could you try someone one there. Or the guild of silversmiths

I had a piece of hers, it was cheap and shit, actually it was the bee, though the famous one. I can see a locket is more difficult.

But honestly, someone will fucking hand carve you one for less than that. I would actually presume they don’t have the skilled staff for it, and they outsource their mould etc and the “handmade” bit is simply filing it down.

Of course a one of item is much more expensive. for a standard size they will have the moulds and tools set up. for one off they would need to be specially made. it's rather like asking for a car three feet longer than usual.

If you increase the length by 50% the volume of gold increases by much more than 50%, as others have said.

If you’re a baker surely you’re aware that if someone asked you to make a cake 10x10 inches and 4 inches deep and then someone else wanted one that was 15x15 inches and 6 inches deep that you’d need a lot more than 50% more mixture. The second cake would need over 3 times the amount of batter despite only being 50% longer. I think you need to re-do your maths. This is not the rip off that you think it is.

I'm a (part time) jeweller, it's likely that the original is cast copies of an original master. It's much cheaper and faster to cast copies than it is to make from scratch so you are effectively paying for all the original making time, as well as a slightly increased materials cost.

It's also a well known brand so there's probably an element of charging for that but depending on the making method, it can be quite a lot more expensive to make what seem like minor changes to a design. Certainly for anything that is usually cast from an original master (rather than CAD) it's going to be expensive.

Well its cast isn't it? So making it a non standard size requires the making of an entirely new model of the original form but in the new size from which new moulds must be made and into which your extra gold must be poured.
TBH don't really see how they could do it for less and make a profit.
FS.

Just about any jeweller will be able to start from scratch and do it cheaper, but that's not what you wanted is it?

They are made to order, but they have a mold already in place. They'd have to make an entire new mold specifically for you. Plus, as explained, it's not 50% more gold. Don't pay it if you don't want to, but yabu. It's nothing like cake making.

You requested a quote eithier go with it or don't. No one Is forcing this pendant on you .

I don't understand point of complaining about it.

Hi OP

Try a brand called Cabbage White England. I have a few of their bits and a few people have asked if it's Alex Monroe

@buzzoffbee

I bake cakes- if someone wanted a 12oz cake instead of a standard 8oz cake I wouldn't increase the price from £50 to £325- it doesn't make any sense!

You would if you had to buy new equipment in that cost you that much.

I think you're being unreasonable. They've told you how much it will cost. So either accept it or don't but don't complain about them for being open about the costs up front.

And then there's the extra value in having a bespoke design

@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand

They might make the standard one 'to order', but they will have a pre-made mould that they use to make each one, with one mould making a large number of pieces. The cost to them of making the standard size are therefoee significantly lower than making a bespoke piece.

A 50% increase in size will require them to make a fresh design and mould etc. that they will only be able to use once. It was never going to be just a 50% increase in price, or even just a 100% increase.

This was what I was thinking, so time, skill plus extra gold.

I have already accepted IABU!

Please can anyone recommend British Jewellers who are more reasonably priced and work in solid gold not just gold plate?

For example I really like Lily and Roo

Anyone know others which are similar?

Get something similar but not a direct rip off made by a custom jewellery designer.

I'm glad you've agreed you are BU.

Because I really think you are

The increase will be more than just the scaled up material and labour cost….you are massively over simplifying it as is the poster who talked about a bigger cake. The locket probably has a mould for the standard size. For your bespoke size they’d have to create and make a new mould. That mould and any other specific tools for the design may only ever be used for you and you alone.

Why not just go to a reputable goldsmith rather than an online shop? That way you can get exactly what you want and it will be unique (as long as it isn't someone else's design!).

@buzzoffbee

The necklace is 18ct gold and is made to order anyway, they do a bespoke service and I just want it 50% bigger than their standard offering in this design. Of course I expected it to be more- 50% more gold and scaling up but they are asking for not 50% more cost but a cost increase of around 700%

Do you know how jewelery is made op?

It is not just a question of stretching it.

Stephen Einhorn?

www.joyeverley.co.uk/collections/yellow-gold-necklaces This lady seems reasonably priced- I like the oak leaf and acorn!

@buzzoffbee

I have already accepted IABU!

Please can anyone recommend British Jewellers who are more reasonably priced and work in solid gold not just gold plate?

For example I really like Lily and Roo

Anyone know others which are similar?

Dinny Hall does very nice things.

It still looks like it should have "Elizabeth Duke" across the top of the page.

@Jumpjumpjumper

It still looks like it should have "Elizabeth Duke" across the top of the page.

What does?

@Lotusmonster

The increase will be more than just the scaled up material and labour cost….you are massively over simplifying it as is the poster who talked about a bigger cake. The locket probably has a mould for the standard size. For your bespoke size they’d have to create and make a new mould. That mould and any other specific tools for the design may only ever be used for you and you alone.

I realise the increased materials costs are pretty much nugatory when we're talking about custom one-off versions of something already so vastly overpriced. It just bugged me to see someone confidently state that scaling up a piece of jewellery so it's 50% bigger by length will require only 50% more gold. It's the mathematical equivalent of confidently stating that the plural of sheep is sheepses.

@ClumpingBambooIsALie

50% bigger doesn't mean 50% more gold. I don't know what shape the piece of jewellery is, but to simplify it I'll pretend it's a sphere, which will overestimate somewhat but perhaps not much. The formula for the volume of a sphere is V = (4/3)πr3, so increasing the diameter of a sphere by 50% increases the volume by 237.5%. So unless I've fucked up the maths somewhere, a sphere of gold that's 50% taller actually has nearly 3½ times as much gold in it.

This