What a Bespoke Quotation Actually Covers

A custom quote is not one number. Knowing the four things inside it tells you which parts are fixed, which move with the gold price, and where you can genuinely save.

When a bespoke quotation arrives as a single figure, it is difficult to judge. Broken into its parts it becomes obvious where the money is and what you can change.

The four parts

1. The metal. Weight in grams multiplied by the day's gold price for that fineness. This moves. A quote given three weeks ago is not a quote today, which is why most quotes carry a validity period.

2. The stones. Priced individually. On a diamond ring this is usually the largest line, and it is the one where a small change in specification moves the total most.

3. The making. Design time, CAD modelling, the resin pattern, casting, finishing and setting. Largely fixed, and largely independent of how expensive your stone is. Setting a one-carat diamond takes about as long as setting a quarter-carat one.

4. Finishing extras. Rhodium plating on white gold, engraving, a fitted box.

Why the making charge is not negotiable in the way people expect

Clients sometimes ask for the making charge to be reduced on an expensive piece, on the reasoning that the total is already large.

The hours are the same. A jeweller who discounts labour to close a sale is either taking a loss on the work or was overcharging beforehand. Neither is a good sign.

Where there is genuine room is in the specification, and a good jeweller will point at it unprompted.

Where you can actually save

Drop clarity before you drop cut. Clarity is what a loupe sees. Cut is what other people see across a table. Paying for flawlessness you cannot perceive is the most common overspend we see.

Sit just under a weight threshold. Prices step at the round numbers. A 0.92 carat stone and a 1.00 carat stone are nearly indistinguishable on a hand and are not close in price.

Reconsider the metal. 18k against platinum is a real difference in cost, and on many designs a difference nobody notices in wear.

Simplify the underside. Elaborate gallery work under the setting is skilled labour that nobody, including the wearer, will ever see.

What to ask for in writing

The finished weight in grams. The stone specifications in full. What the making charge includes. How long the quote holds. And what happens if you change your mind after the pattern is printed.

A jeweller who will not itemise is asking you to trust a number. On a purchase this size, that is a reasonable thing to decline.

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.). Jewelry buying guides. Jewelers of America. https://www.jewelers.org/buying-jewelry/jewelry-buying-guides