Deposits, Balance and Payment Terms for Custom Jewellery

What a custom jewellery deposit pays for, when the balance is due, what is refundable and what to have in writing before a bespoke commission starts.

A custom jewellery deposit is the point where a conversation becomes a commission. It is also the point where most later disputes are quietly decided, because whatever is written down at deposit stage is what both sides will refer to if anything changes.

The terms below are typical of independent workshops in Kuala Lumpur. Exact figures vary, so treat this as a map of what to expect and what to ask.

What a custom jewellery deposit is for

Stones. Once a specific stone is bought for your piece, the workshop has spent real money that cannot easily be recovered. A large part of any deposit exists to cover that.

Metal. Gold and platinum are bought at the day's price. A deposit lets the workshop lock the metal in rather than carry the price risk for weeks.

Bench time. Design, CAD, casting and setting are labour that has no other buyer once it is done to your specification.

A deposit is therefore not a formality. It is the workshop's protection against a piece that only fits you.

Typical structure

Design stage. Some workshops charge a small design fee before any deposit, refundable or deductible if the commission proceeds. Others include design in the deposit.

Deposit on approval. A percentage of the quoted total, paid when you approve the final design and specification. Fifty percent is common; commissions built around an expensive centre stone may ask for more, because the stone is most of the cost.

Balance on completion. Due when the piece is finished and you have inspected it, before it leaves the workshop. For remote clients, before dispatch.

Staged payments are sometimes offered on larger commissions, usually tied to milestones such as stone purchase and casting.

What should be refundable

Before a stone is bought or metal is cast, a reasonable workshop will refund most of a deposit, minus design time already spent. Ask what that figure is.

After a stone is bought, expect the stone cost to be non-refundable unless the workshop can return it to the supplier, which is not always possible for stones cut or sourced to order.

After casting, the deposit is generally forfeited, because the piece now exists and has no other buyer. Some workshops will offer to complete it and let you sell it, or credit part of the value against a different piece.

None of this is unreasonable. What is unreasonable is finding it out afterwards.

What to have in writing

A specification. Metal and purity, stone type, weight, colour and clarity grades, certificate number if there is one, ring size, finish.

A price, and whether it is fixed or subject to metal price movement. Most workshops fix the price at deposit; some reserve the right to adjust if gold moves sharply before casting.

A delivery date, with what happens if it is missed.

Change policy. What design changes are free, which cost, and at what stage changes are no longer possible.

Refund terms, as above.

Aftercare, if any is included: resizing, first clean, prong checks.

A one-page document covering these is normal. A verbal agreement and a receipt is not enough for a piece that may cost as much as a car.

Paying

Bank transfer is the usual method for deposits in Malaysia. Cards are widely accepted but some workshops add the processing fee on larger balances; ask. Keep every receipt, and make sure the receipt references the specification sheet.

The question worth asking

"If I change my mind at each stage, what do I get back?" A workshop that answers precisely has thought about it. That is the workshop to use.

Book a complimentary design consultation at the C'Garden atelier, The MET Corporate Towers, Kuala Lumpur: 010-766 7448 · hq@cgarden.com.my

C'Garden is an independent bespoke jeweller in Kuala Lumpur. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by any organisation, laboratory or brand named in this article. Third-party names are used only to refer factually to those organisations and their published standards. All text and imagery in this article is original work created by C'Garden.

Reference

Jewelers of America. (n.d.). Buying jewelry. Jewelers of America. https://www.jewelers.org/buying-jewelry