Bespoke Commissions

 

Bespoke commissions give me a great opportunity to work closely with customers to bring special pieces to life. I try to complete commissions within 4-8 weeks, but depending on the scope and intricacy of the design, this can sometimes take longer.

Including as much detail as possible when you get in touch helps me produce the most accurate designs during the conception and sketching phase.

A few examples of things to start thinking about:

- Commission type e.g ring, pendant, other

- Main metal type

- Plating, if any

- Stones, if any

- Inspiration examples (using things from my portfolio is helpful)

- Textures or finishes you like

- Special dates, names, places - Inscription, if any

- Ideal completion date

- Budget range

For bespoke commissions, the process usually begins by talking through ideas and discussing the answers to the above questions. I can then start to advise on metal types, shapes and finishes that fit your brief so I can quote for the piece to fit within your budget. Once you’re happy to proceed, I can begin the sketching process.

Due to the fact that I work alone, and sketching is labour intensive, for anything custom there is a charge of £500 for me to produce initial drawings which includes two rounds of amendments. The drawings will at first be thumbnail sketches, which will then be narrowed down to more detailed designs until you have the final one you are happy with. The £500 sketch fee is then deducted from the total price of your commissions, which will be invoiced to you for payment once the design is finalised and before I order materials and start work on the piece itself.

These sketch consultations can take place via email, phone call or WhatsApp. I prefer to use WhatsApp as a quick and easy way to share images of the design developing.

Finally - all designs, even bespoke commissions are owned by me. If you would like to pay for exclusivity then we can discuss that.

If you're unsure about the metal type you'd like to use, here is some information about the ones I tend to use.

- 9k white gold has a natural yellow pigment to the metal

- 18k white gold, has a darker hue to it, in my head, it's almost more chocolatey (but that might just be me). I really like working with this metal.

- With yellow gold, there is a slight colour difference between 9k and 18k. 9k gold contains less pure gold than 18k therefore the intensity of colour is less – hence the difference in cost, too. As well as this, you'll find that the higher the karat of gold, the more the weight increases.

Please email kobayashi@castrosmith.com to discuss your bespoke commission, or alternatively use the form on the contact page.