Informative ·

How to commission a piece of jewellery

A man and a woman stand side by side discussing a jewellery commission at Justin Duance's jewellery workshop

We welcome commissions at Justin Duance, there is nothing we like more than helping you bring your wildest dreams to life.

Whether you have a set idea of what you would like or a completely blank canvas, each commission starts with a conversation – either in person at our workshop, or over e-mails or a call.

We’ll work alongside you to work out what you would like, we want it to be a fun experience where there are no wrong questions or scary upselling. To us, the most important thing is that you love your jewellery.

The process of commissioning a piece of jewellery - a notebook lays open with drawings and small annotations alonside examples of rings and loose gemstones and diamonds

Once we have a sense of what you would like, we will go away and work out quotes for you. These will be e-mailed to you, so you will have time to mull everything over and ask any questions or make any adjustments.

When you’re happy and ready to go ahead, we ask for a deposit of half the balance to make a start on your jewellery. Our standard lead-time is 3–6 weeks, sometimes more complex commissions can take a little longer, but we will always communicate this with you.

Depending on the nature of your commission, we may make drawings or mock-ups in the development stage and share pictures at different points of the making process to check you’re happy with how the piece is forming.

When your jewellery is finished, we’ll be in touch for the remaining balance and to arrange collection or delivery.

If you would like some inspiration or hear how others have commissioned a piece of jewellery, there is plenty on our commissions gallery and our customer stories on our Journal.

 

Jewellery commission myths debunked

  • You don’t have to be super creative to commission a piece of jewellery. We’ll be the ones making it remember!
  • We can remodel your own heirloom jewellery – or we can use our materials, including a unique collection of reclaimed gemstones and diamonds as well as ethically sourced new ones.
  • A jewellery commission doesn't have to be completely off the wall, it could be a slight variation on one of our designs that you'd like to personalise.
  • Not all jewellers are out there to get as much money as they can out of you. That said, commissioning a piece of jewellery isn’t cheap, but we will always try to work to your budget while keeping our business sustainable.
  • We don't charge a commissioning fee - the prices of the pieces on our website will give you a good guideline on costs.
  • If your quote is over your budget, we’re always happy to try to work with you to find ways to make it more affordable – such as reducing stone sizes or numbers.

If you have any questions at all about how to commission a piece of jewellery, just get in touch either by e-mail or on the phone, we're always up for answering any questions at all.

Some of the commissions we've made over the years - find plenty more on our commissions gallery.

 

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