Is it really cheaper to have jewellery bespoke made?

[StephenDedalus]

I read this all the time on here - oh just go to a jeweller & have it made. Far cheaper etc.

This is the exact opposite of my experience. My engagement & wedding ring & dh's wedding ring were all hand made by an excellent jeweller. And we paid handsomely for this.

We certainly could have found bigger stones etc just buying from a chain jewellers but it wasn't about that for us.

We're now getting a ring made by the same jeweller & the cost is eye-watering compared to browsing websites & rings I often see recommended here. Again, we have the choice & this is what we want to do because it's what we want.

But is it actually cheaper to get things made specifically or is that something just trotted out here?

I'm curious about it now

I think it really depends on what you’re comparing. Quality of the stone, craftsmanship and branding all play a role.

If you’re comparing to high end / designer brands - Tiffany etc where you’re paying a huge premium for the brand name, 100% you can get a high quality ring with an equivalent or better quality stone custom made for a better price.

If you’re comparing to mass produced rings then no, a custom made ring is unlikely to be cheaper.

And obviously it depends on the craftsmanship of your jeweller, the methods they use and how reasonable their pricing is. Hand forged rings will cost more than CAD / cast setting. If a stone is a standard size there is also the option of using stock settings which will be more affordable again.

Thanks for the reply @Zoetrope1
I don't have any 'brand' jewellery (Tiffany etc) so I guess I hadn't thought of that aspect. I can see how they're charging a huge markup for their goods.

We have commissioned rings from a master jeweller so I guess that plays into things too.

It just struck me as one of those things you read about on here all the time and I wondered if people found it to be their experience that getting something made was actually the cheaper option

I like going to a jeweller to get the custom just want you want piece. I went for a platinum solitaire ring cad designed to my specifications and it was £750 for the ring and fitting the stone which I thought was reasonable.
I have also had a necklace made from a recycled engagement ring which I think I may recycle again as I don't like how the necklace sits.
However, I think if you are going the custom route, it's always best to buy a cheap example of what you would like so you can give it a test run. I wish I had done that with my necklace.
A friend went custom for a bracelet but she doesn't like the fit or look of its so that's an expensive mistake to try and resell.

My stone was purchased from a reputable dealer in Bangkok and went to a local jeweller back home to create a simple band. It was definitely cheaper.

My engagement ring wad made by the diamonds factory. We chose a lab made diamond for ethical reasons and it was a fraction of the price of any store we could find a similar ring in.

I've just had a ring made to celebrate a big birthday. I used the stones from another ring in it and while it's absolutely what I want and made by a reputable jeweller, it definitely wasn't cheaper.

For people who have had a ring custom made for what they feel is a reasonable price, can you link the designer please? Looking at high street equivalent prices, not high end

it is much cheaper to buy a stone wholesale and then have it set. There are hundreds of jewellers working in places like hatton garden, they're no frills in scruffy offices, not a shop, and they're much much cheaper.

Depends on the the choices made. I went to a lab independent jeweller in a small city not known for jewellery (so not London or Birmingham in the jewellery quarter) and and was quoted a very reasonable price compared to what high streets charge, in the event I didn't proceed

In jewellery much of the cost is the jewellers time and overhead. The precious metal is the least of it.

If a client gives me an old piece to be reworked it takes ages and that time has to be charged for. Often it would be cheaper to use new stones and new metal.

I've just produced 5 different designs for a client before we hit on the "right" one. That's a whole morning at least before I've even started on dismantling the existing piece and fabricating the new setting. I will not be using the existing metal as it's cheaper for me to send it off to be refined with the rest of my scrap than spend the time needed to melt it down and turn it back into a useable sheet of silver.

We can't compete with the factory made, mass produced products of the High St, nor do we have the buying power to buy diamonds and other stones in the quantity for the best prices.

I had my engagement ring made in the diamond district in NYC by an independent jeweler. I’d never have been able to afford a ring like mine if I’d went to Tiffany or Boodles or another ‘big’ jeweler. For me, it definitely worked out cheaper.

I really liked a Cartier bracelet and asked my jeweller if he could do similar. In the end he made me one which was very similar and it cost about £400 as opposed to £1400. So not a cheap bracelet by any means but significantly cheaper than paying for the brand name. Very much about perspective I think.

I find it much more expensive to have something made as well. We have a good jeweller in town, but you pay dearly for their expertise.

It's a difficult one to gauge. It can be cheaper but not always.
Boodles, Tiffany, Cartier etc could be made as a similar design using same quality of materials for probably a third or quarter of the price. But with those you are paying as much for an experience , the showroom, the branding, advertising etc.
For wedding bands and fairly simple rings, bespoke imo would compare favourably to most (not all) shops or online.
If something has lots of tiny diamonds or is very complicated it might be machine set, (or cast with diamonds in it) or set in the far east where labour costs are much lower, then it would be more expensive to handmade or make to order. We don't make many bracelets for example because that could be 2-3 days work and the labour cost is high.