How is my custom engagement ring priced?
Every bespoke engagement ring we create is unique. In order to provide you with a comprehensive quote, we schedule a complimentary design consultation to understand your needs.
While most expect to pay more for a custom piece of jewellery, this is absolutely not the case. As a small bespoke brand without high street shop premises, we can save you money compared to pre-made jewellery found elsewhere, in particular large brands with an even larger advertising budgets.
The attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship that goes into one of our custom made pieces of jewellery is far greater than that of a mass-produced engagement ring from a store.
Each part of the process is shaped by you - from the design, to the hand-selected diamonds, to the manufacturing process with casting of metals and setting stones, to the finishing and polishing. No design or ring ideas? No problem, we will help to guide you.
Ultimately the price of your custom jewellery is dictated by the materials used, the pricing fluctuations in the market, the rarity of the stones along with the intricacies of the design.
Type of Centre Stone
One of the top drivers of cost is the rarity and the size of the centre diamond. Many factors impact the price of diamonds, we call this the 4Cs: carat, cut, clarity, and colour.
Typically, natural diamonds are the most expensive stone option, but there are rare gemstones that can exceed that of a diamond. Some Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires and Alexandrites all can give a diamond a run for its money in terms of rarity and value.
We offer diamonds and gemstones for your engagement ring should you desire something more colourful and less traditional, we can also custom cut your stones to your requirements.
Diamond Size
As one might expect, prices go up as diamond carat weight increases. However, prices increase exponentially rather than incrementally. Certain carat sizes, called “magic numbers” mark the points where diamond prices jump: 1.00ct, 1.50ct, 2.00ct, 3.00ct, 4.00ct, and 5.00ct. This means that a diamond weighting 0.99ct will be substantially cheaper than one weighting 1.00ct.
One important thing to note, not all carat weights appear the same visually, because this is a measurement of the weight, not an actual size in mm.
We often see diamonds which are visually smaller than their carat weight due to poor cut, where the diamond is cut too deep making it visually smaller.
On the flip side, you may have heard of diamonds that are spread large – a 2.00ct spread like a 3.00ct for example. This means although the size is larger on the finger, it will lack the sparkle due to being too shallow.
We focus strongly on the cut and the ideal stone proportions of each diamond we select. Yes, you can buy a larger carat diamond, but it may appear smaller and/or lack the scintillation and the fire which makes a diamond so special.
Diamond Quality
At Valentina Fine Jewellery we only use certified diamonds that are conflict-free, visually beautiful and high quality. As already mentioned, we focus strongly on the cut of a diamond – a well cut diamond shows off the best sparkle.
For natural diamonds, we only use GIA certified diamonds above 0.50ct. GIA set the bar for diamond certification with the most stringent quality control.
You can also find lower prices for rings that are mass produced, with similar sized stones that are not exceptionally cut, have lower clarity or a lower colour grade or that are too deep or too shallow when looking online. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Whatever your budget, we can recommend which shape is kinder to hiding colour or clarity so that you get the best stone for your money.
Diamond Shape
Not all diamond shapes are visually the same. A round diamond is the most popular cut, however there are many cuts to choose from – fancy shapes, novelty cuts and antique diamonds. Each diamond has its own unique qualities and style and some appear larger than others. A one carat diamond in oval and pear cut will always look visually larger than a round diamond, this is due to the elongated shape.
Another point to note, some shapes hide colour better than others, therefore you can save by going slightly lower colour grade. Other shapes hide clarity characteristics well. For example an emerald cut diamond will hide colour very well, especially set in Platinum or White Gold but will show even the smallest clarity characteristics, therefore VS clarity or better is recommended.
Some shapes are also more expensive than others. We are here to advise you on each one to ensure you get the best diamond for you.
Redesigning a Heirloom
Designing engagement rings with our client’s existing diamonds or gemstones is not only a specialty of ours, but it will also save you the cost of purchasing a brand new centre stone. We can remove the stones carefully, preserving the original ring/jewellery setting for you to keep for sentimental reasons should you desire to do so. Fashions change, and one day it may become trendy again. Alternatively, we can find/cut a gemstone to size to replace the diamond you are removing for your engagement ring.
We do need to check the stone(s) prior to agreeing a reset. Heirloom diamonds and gemstones hold so much meaning in them, and we want to make sure that they are stable enough to undergo the transformation, as there can be some risk involved when working with older stones.
Precious Metal Type
The prices of precious metals fluctuate continuously - sometimes even by the hour. Generally speaking, platinum and palladium will increase the cost of a finished piece of jewellery more than 18K yellow, white or rose gold. Platinum and palladium pieces generally weigh more than gold by ounce, therefore it will typically cost more, even when the price per ounce of gold is more.
It’s also worth noting that no matter what metal is used, the amount of metal used will influence the cost. For example: a solitaire engagement ring with a 5mm band will cost more than the same design with a thinner band of 1.5mm.
Design Details
Our workshop is located in Hong Kong and every engagement ring we make is created from scratch to your design specification. Each ring ranges in detail, structural requirements and design complexity. A design with a high level of detail and intricacy, in particular with extra stones used, will be higher priced than a simple solitaire design due to the extra hands-on time that is required throughout each phase of the process.
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