We all want to look special, find our own signature style and be able to express what’s within us. So we find ourselves reaching for more unique and personalized products more and more, and talking away from brands that have 10,000 and more copy of the same high waisted ripped jeans and black ankle boots. After all, seeing others wear the same earrings we wear to a fancy party is not a feeling we strive for. So what we’re looking for are bespoke products: made-to-order.
Accessories such as jewelry are often the “cherry on top” to an overall outfit or look. Selecting a beautiful piece of jewelry is always a special occasion whether it is for an elegant engagement ring, a necklace for a wedding anniversary or a pair of diamond earrings for a 25th birthday present. Should we buy a piece of beautiful bespoke jewelry or choose something from our local jewelry chain store? I think you have the answer in your mind.
If you want to be extra unique, then Bespoke jewelry is exactly what you need: making a personal connection with what you wear gives a special feeling. Moreover, our clothes, accessories and even our furniture tells about our personality: and that’s something most of us usually want to express.
To learn a bit about jewelry let’s travel back in time. In the past jewelry was custom made for each individual. Jewellers took orders from wealthy clients and made products for them accordingly.
For a few hundred years the word “bespoke” was only really used in the tailoring industry. The term “bespoke” is used in the United Kingdom and Americans call it “custom made” instead. Furthermore, over the past 5 years the word became common across all kinds of industries and the term “Bespoke Jewellery” has become widely used. Therefore, an increasing number of stores now offer “bespoke” service to their customers.
However, if you think about it, the development of retail culture really changed the way jewelry was crafted: most jewelry shops only sell ‘stock’ pieces that they buy from wholesalers.
We can say, that bespoke jewelry has drifted away from the high street for many years. But, thank God, it is now back in fashion. These days it’s far more visible with nearly every key fashion house offering a customisable or bespoke design service to their clients.
Over the time, different subtypes of bespoke jewelry have formed. Let’s go over some of them.
BESPOKE ASSEMBLY
If you’re not familiar with the term bespoke assemble, you should know, that it is when a jeweler provides a series of set of jewelry parts which can be put together. For instance, there could be different types of rings, styles of collet and stones.
The customer can choose a preferable combination and then the jeweler will make the final personalized set. Nowadays, customers can do it online with special tools and see images of their shortlist for comparison.
Quality of craftsmanship is essential here. When one jeweler can put some pieces together tastefully, another one can assemble the exact same parts beautifully.
CAD BESPOKE
CAD bespoke is a design, that is made on a computer-aided drawing (CAD) system. The drawing can be viewed from all angles. You can imagine how helpful the system can be for customers to visualize the jewelry before committing it to an expensive precious material. They can check the computer model and make the needed changes to craft exactly what they dreamed of.
CAD designs can be limited: if you want one you better search for it real good. And some argue that certain pieces created by this system lack the ‘flow’ or ‘movement’ of those created completely by hand. Nonetheless, it does depend on each individual design and, of course, varies hugely with the skill of the CAD operator.
Operating a CAD package requires professional knowledge, not only to draw the model accurately but also to be aware of crucial factors. Professional CAD operators/technicians or designers do not come easily: their work is highly valued. Some pieces may take a few hours to draw on CAD.
HANDMADE BESPOKE
Handmade items might come to life as pieces of “bullion.” Later on, those are worked on by hand to create jewelry pieces. Some companies accept commissions for fully hand-made pieces of jewelry made from scratch by skilled goldsmiths at a workbench.
Orders like these can be taken by an independent goldsmith. On the other hand, these orders can also be taken from the customers by jewelry designers. They might work with the jeweler or may work as freelance consultants. It is crucial for the designers to be experienced and have enough knowledge about the material.
BESPOKE DESIGN SERVICE
Moving on, there are also bespoke design services you can enjoy. This is how it all works: a jeweler offers a bespoke design service works with the experienced jewelry designer. And the designer is the tie between the jeweler himself and the customer. Therefore, the customer may discuss bespoke jewelry ideas, express their wants and needs to the designer.
Actually, there is a difference between just providing a bespoke service: where something can be made for you by a goldsmith, and offering a bespoke design service. In this case, the customer can see the pieces drawn while the designer injects creativity, expertise, and experience into the process to achieve great results.
One might say, that jewelers are like storytellers. They can use bespoke jewelry to tell important stories from people’s lives. A piece of jewelry is rarely created without emotion.
I’m sure if you take a look at your jewelry box you’ll find pieces that mean the world to you or remind you of a special time in your life. And never in a million years, you would get rid of them, even if they didn’t belong to that year’s fashion trends. I guess you can say, that jeweler’s main objective is to create pieces like those for people to cherish.
From simple fashion styles to handmade designs and vintage looks, a piece of jewelry can be entirely tailored to your needs. And if you’re in need of something special, something extra, something to pass on to next generations, you should go and get yourself a piece of bespoke jewelry.
