Avoid These COSTLY Jewelry Mistakes

Someone just walked into my shop with this ring they bought one month ago for over $10,000 and this is how it looks now. See the difference? Well they made one of these seven crucial mistakes that I see a lot of people make when they're custom making their engagement rings or just custom jewelry in general. So let's go over these seven mistakes so hopefully you don't make it and lose out on tens of thousands of dollars. So let's start off with mistake number one which is making And don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of the dainty look but the problem is if you want that ring to last you a lifetime not just past the engagement photos you have to make sure that it is made thick enough. A lot of these big box retailers are selling these ultra dainty rings which are like 1.5 millimeters or thinner which is just crazy to me because they know and everyone in the jewelry industry knows when you hit it against the counter or you punch someone in the face which hopefully you're not doing that that ring is not going to last more than a few months because the materials that we make our rings with like gold and platinum are very malleable meaning they're very easy to bend. If you take a ring you can easily just bend it like that when it's below two millimeters. So my recommendation when I make my custom jewelry is to always make something at least at least 1.8 millimeters thick. If you could get it above two millimeters that's even better so it actually lasts you a lifetime. While we're on the topic of durability let's go on to the second mistake that people make choosing gemstones that just aren't durable enough for everyday wear in rings. And I see this really often and I get it listen I'm a gem enthusiast I like all gems right but if someone comes to me wanting an appetite as their center stone in the ring I'm straight up just going to say no because it's not a matter of if it's going to scratch or crack or break it's a matter of when. One strike on the table of that stone and it'll crack into a million pieces and you will be sad and I'll be sad because I have to deal with it. My recommendation for engagement rings specifically and just rings in general if you're going to be wearing it every day is to choose the right gemstone like a diamond or sapphire or spinel because not only are they hard but they're tough meaning they're scratch resistant and they're impact resistant. That being said if you do like a gemstone that is softer us jewelers have some tricks to make it more durable so don't count it out entirely if your heart is set on something like an emerald ask a professional like me we can make it happen but if you know your heart on your hands then I would probably steer away from that. Mistake number three is very common and that is cheaping out on the materials when you're actually making the custom ring. I really only recommend three options and that's 14 karat gold 18 karat gold and platinum. Fine jewelry is made out of gold and platinum for a reason. They can stand the test of time. I've seen some rings from the 1920s in perfect condition that are made out of platinum same thing with gold. While sterling silver is still a precious metal it will tarnish over time and what tarnishing does it kind of like darkens the metal and just lose all of its shine which some people like the look of and that's fine but if you want this ring to last you a lifetime which I'm sure you do especially if it's an engagement ring then I would stick with gold or platinum. Mistake number four that I see a lot of people make is not letting the jeweler do their job. Listen when it comes to custom jewelry us jewelers are always happy for input. We want your input. We want you to pull inspiration from different places sketch something out be like I want this with this that is totally fine but when it actually comes to designing a custom piece in CAD let us jewelers do our job. We know what works and we know what doesn't work. If we want prongs that are just tiny little little specks over the stone we're not going to do that because we know the stone is going to fall out. When we build things in CAD we know how it's going to end up looking. You just gotta you gotta trust the process you know. Let us be your guide through the to the mountainous pass of jewelry. Wait what? Let us jewelers guide you throughout the the trail of the unknown when it comes to custom making jewelry because we've done thousands of jobs and we know what works and what doesn't work. Mistake number five is assuming that all jewelry is made equal and that is just not the case. You could have two rings that look pretty similar but could be completely different when it comes to craftsmanship finishes and how it was made. A lot of these big box retailers are mass producing their jewelry overseas and not even paying attention to quality control whatsoever. So the prongs could be bent out of shape the polishes could be awful and the solder marks could be hideous but from a distance you wouldn't really be able to tell until you take a look in person and until the years that you wear it and you notice hmm my ring isn't looking so good and it really comes down to poor craftsmanship. When we make our custom jewelry we make sure everything is perfect before we send it out to you. So don't assume that all jewelry is made equal. Mistake number six is pretty common and that is having no idea what your partner wants if you're buying it for them. Yes surprising your partner with an engagement ring is always awesome but what's really bad is having them be surprised at how hideous a ring looks because you had no idea what they like. Yes they're gonna love it regardless but my recommendation is always just do a little bit of due diligence check out what they like go on their Pinterest ask some friends look at their jewelry if they already own and kind of take away some inspiration from that so they don't hate the ring that you give them. Yeah. Which leads me to my final mistake and that is mistake number seven not having an idea of your budget. If you have an expectation for a hundred thousand dollar ring with a ten thousand dollar budget most likely it's not going to work out. When it comes to making custom jewelry we can make things from a thousand to a hundred million dollars and everything in between. If you don't know what your budget is then it makes it really difficult to communicate what you could actually afford with that budget. So my recommendation is give yourself a budget range stick to that budget and we will try to maximize whatever custom jewelry we make within that budget. So there you have it those are seven mistakes that I see a lot of people make. Hopefully this video saves you tens of thousands of dollars and a lot of headaches and if you want your own custom jewelry be sure to check out my website ObviTheGemGuy.com. We have a custom jewelry form where you could fill in all the information and we will get back to you. We have a team ready to make your custom dreams come true. Thank you.