One of the challenges of having a business that specialises in hand made jewellery  is managing time/jobs and by extension – having patience and instilling it in others.

When you have spent a lot of time, thought, effort (and money)  creating a dream ring, playing the waiting game is no fun at all, but there is no way around it; making things from scratch takes time.

I am currently experiencing this first hand as I am patiently waiting in the never ending queue for my own sparkler to be made (a cognac diamond trio – super yum). Every time I think  ”maybe this week” someone else comes along and my business brain wins the day. Trying to get it done for our anniversary in June (fingers crossed).

Obviously the solution is to throw more bodies at the job, however, that is far easier said than done, as it has to be exactly the right person for the job.

However, that isn’t really the point of this post. I really wanted to give a small insight into what a person who has ordered a handmade ring is actually waiting for.

Unfortunately we haven’t photographed too many works in progress, but it is something we plan to do more of as I would like to make this a regular (ish) feature – plus it is pretty cool to see.

The first is a ring from last year. One that co incidentally ready around the time of the royal wedding but was designed way before anyone had seen the Princess’ ring.

The process is interesting and extensive.

We start with emails describing what is wanted, this then leads to an exchange of drawings or photos until all the details are worked out and then, in the case of a coloured stone, the selection of the ideal hue and tone is made. For a diamond the selection is based on what is wanted from the stone and of course budget.

Once all of that is worked out, the metal is ordered, the job description is created, a job packet made and off it goes to the workshop (in Brisbane). Whilst there is an element of ‘first come first served’ we also create a jobs queue based on like  with like (materials/styles)  and of course crucial things like wedding dates and preferred engagement dates. During busier seasons this can be quite a challenge and very frustrating.

Having said that, there hasn’t really been a ‘quiet time’ with this business in the last 12 months, so that rule more applies to the early days of growing the business before the hunt for an additional jeweller began. I’m not really going to complain though, it is pretty awesome to dream up a business idea and actually watch it flourish and to have a job that never gets boring and to be always talking with people who are madly in love (my favourite bit I think).

Oops, I digress.

Back to the Sapphire and Diamond ring (in platinum).

Here are a few photos of the ring in progress. The setting was hand made, however not photographed alas. Look out for more detailed versions of this post in future.

Ferdinand took a couple of photos of our latest ring just to show the customer, not as many steps here to see, but it is such a gorgeous piece, I would like to feature it here anyway

Not as thorough as I would have liked, but a glimpse all the same.

Until next time

Melinda

www.ethicaljewels.com.au

About the Author

Melinda, a jewellery designer and qualified gemmologist, is the founder and driving force behind Ethical Jewellery Australia (EJA) and The Promised Ring.

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