“Bespoke” is one of those funny words, either you know what it means or you don’t. You might have heard it in passing or when it’s referring to something in the tech field, or in clothing, furniture, jewelry, or just about any other context. But what does it actually mean?
Anything “bespoke” is custom-made or made-to-order. It’s anything that has been specifically designed with the customer in mind and in direct collaboration with that customer. This can apply to just about anything in today’s world, but it was first coined by professional tailors and dressmakers in late 1700’s England. Originally, bespoke referred to the process of measuring or fitting customers in custom-made clothing items, traditionally suits, as no two people have the exact same tastes or measurements. Throughout the years, the term has diverged from clothing and is commonly used as a modern marketing phrase, describing goods from pharmaceuticals to software to wine, to nearly anything aimed at the Millennial and Gen Z markets.
In the jewelry business, bespoke pieces are becoming increasingly popular. Brides-to-be sort through thousands of Pinterest boards, Google searches, and social media photos to find their perfect engagement ring. They get the image of their dream ring in their head, combining aspects of a dozen similar settings – maybe they want a halo, but with the diamond shaped differently, and the band needs a slightly tighter twist than that photo, and also in rose gold with smaller accent diamonds. It can be difficult to find a pre-made, ready-to-go engagement ring that meets all of her specifications.
Luckily, engagement rings are infinitely customizable! A jeweler that offers bespoke, or custom-made, jewelry can sit down with a customer and work with them to create a piece that is one of a kind. Here at Sayers Jewelers, we have multiple ways of customizing jewelry!
If you’re looking for a bespoke piece of jewelry that no one has ever seen before, Mr. Sayers has decades of experience custom making items from scratch. We’ve created custom rings designed around heirloom diamonds to tell a story; we’ve made pendants that evoke the feeling of a particular memory; we’ve made custom gold badges for first responders to share with their families. Anything you can think of, we’ve probably made it right here in store!
If you’re a visual learner and need to see what your custom piece will look like before committing, we have a special 3D design software that can show you exactly how your piece will look once finished. Our software allows us to create and render custom designs entirely from scratch, or we can modify an existing setting to suit your needs. Every detail of your design will be clear to see and once we render the image, it’ll look like a real-life finished piece!
The bespoke process really comes into play when we discuss engagement rings. It’s rare to find a customer who is completely satisfied with a pre-set ring in the front case – and there’s nothing wrong with that! Having a unique engagement ring is the trend right now, and we’re here to help find that perfect ring! If you’re shopping with us for an engagement ring, it’s common for us to start with two cases of “semi-mounts”, or settings with side gems and space for a center stone.
Our particular bespoke process consists of two main steps: 1. pick your mounting and 2. pick your center diamond. We have hundreds of beautiful semi-mounts in stock for you to browse through. We can adjust the settings to accommodate most center diamond styles and shape. All you have to do is find the perfect one!
Once you choose your semi-mount, we move into our Diamond Room and show you a number of different loose diamonds that would fit in the mounting. We explain the 4 C’s of diamond grading to help you make an educated decision about your center stone. Once you find the diamond that fits your taste and your budget, we set that stone into that mounting and, in a few days, you have a bespoke engagement ring ready for pickup.
But what if you don’t find a semi-mount that you like? What if you have a specific ring design in mind? That’s where our custom design software comes in! We’ll sit you down and gather the specifics about your dream ring: the metal color, the diamond shape, the style, the size, your budget, all of those little details – and create a ring that matches all of those specs. You can watch us create it in real time (sometimes they take a few hours!) or we can email you renderings once we have it all finished. We offer one round of free modifications and you let us know which details you want to keep or change. These custom pieces usually take 10-14 days to arrive in our store and set, so be sure you allow plenty of time before you need to pop the question!
No matter how we go about it, the bespoke process is a fun and easy way for our customers to walk away with a beautiful, custom-made piece of jewelry that is all their own. Unique, one-of-a-kind retail items are on the trend right now, what else can you customize for yourself?