Money Talk
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How we price and how we take payments is something I think about almost everyday.
As an independent creative business, even in a luxury market, pricing fairly both for ourselves and our clients is a very nuanced process. We have to take into account the ever fluctuating market- gold and diamond prices move daily, and with our ever changing global landscape those prices have shot up over the past few years. It’s always been a priority of mine to provide fulfilling employment and to properly compensate our team. I leverage that with the uniqueness of our product and the experience you have when you work with us. Value for LMJ isn’t just the price tag, but your overall time spent with us and how we can make it special. All of those factor into the wildest pricing spreadsheet my bookkeeper has ever seen.
Custom Jewelry Pricing |
For general custom, earrings and simple pendants begin at $3000 and non-engagement rings start at $4000.Things that affect pricing include the complexity of the design, how many gemstones you want for the piece and their size/quality, and the materials. 18kt gold typically runs ~20-25% more expensive than 14kt, and earth mined accent diamonds are typically as much as 70% more expensive than lab grown- so depending on your values and also aesthetic preferences, there are cost mitigating factors. If you are having a necklace designed, gold chain is quite costly- the way to think about it is the more that needs to be done to the material to get it to its finished state, the more expensive it will be. In chain’s case, first wire must be drawn down to the desired gauge, and then it must be linked and fabricated into chain.
For our engagement/wedding services, our custom engagement and commitment rings start at $5000. The typical range for custom engagement rings is $6000-$15,000. Large center stones- specifically diamonds and Montana Sapphires can make that price jump considerably with carat weight, clarity, color etc. Additional details like accent stones, complicated settings, and higher karat gold can also influence price.
Our custom services also carry a higher price than say, our designed-to-order VOW pieces, or our ready-to-ship VOW pieces because of the level of attention each client receives. We approach custom design with a concierge level of attention- providing numerous rounds of sketches, stone selections, and in person (if applicable) meetings to ensure the most desirable outcome. There is also more labor and fabircation associated with the fully custom pieces. This is in fact the very reason I designed VOW- to provide a different price point and way of working with us.
The Pricing Timeline |
The reason we charge a deposit for our custom consults is so that the work that I put into our design process is compensated, and so that I know you are serious about working with LMJ. Clients don’t see an invoice until we’ve settled on a design, because every option has such varied pricing parameters. It’s my responsibility to make sure we stay in budget, and I remain extremely transparent throughout the design process. All design consults require disclosing your budget- your tippy top number, so that I can make sure to show you options within that budget, and so there’s no surprises come invoicing time. I know that asking for your top number can feel like showing all your cards, but it is my hope that through the process you build trust with me to know that we are always working towards that dream piece of jewelry- and not just hitting that top number. I always tell folks that my job is to find where your budget and your dream piece overlap in the Venn Diagram of jewelry design.
If we are looking at multiple options - lab vs earth mined, 18kt vs 14kt, or 1ct vs 1.5ct, I often provide pricing comparisons so you can make both an aesthetic and budgetary call on design choices. If you ask to see what a 2ct diamond looks like instead of the 1ct we’ve been talking about I’ll be the first to let you know if it fits in the budget or if we are moving into aspirational territory. I want to be transparent and informative throughout the process.
Invoicing and How to Pay LMJ |
Once a final design is reached, I will detail all the design choices into your invoice. Our invoicing system allows for partial payment, and often we just ask for 1/3 of the total to begin work. We do not start production until a deposit is made. After that, you can use your discretion as to how many installments you would like to make, so long as the invoice is paid in full before delivery, and an invoice does not remain active for longer than 6 months. If you’d prefer to pay via cash or check, that works too! We always appreciate cash and check payments, as a small business saving on those credit card transactions makes an impact! At this time LMJ does not offer financing options. However, through our website and After Pay, there is financing on purchases under $2000.