STEP
BY
STEP!
How our bespoke
service works!
Team Alyssa love nothing more than creating those special and personalised pieces of jewellery that can be enjoyed both now, and cherished forever.
Our aim is to bring your wildest jewellery dreams to life – if you can dream it, we can nearly always make it!
THINKING OF HAVING SOMETHING MADE?
The bespoke process in 3 simple steps
GETTING STARTED
It is really helpful to have a rough idea of what you are looking for when you come to us to have something special made. Why not browse through current designs of Alyssa’s, our past bespoke projects or other jewellery you have seen that you like the feel of? We recommend you gather some rough ideas and inspiration for the type of jewellery you might like- such as necklace, cufflinks etc, along with a rough budget where possible. Providing us with a budget will help us to shape ideas to suit your ideal spend.
Don’t worry if you are stuck for ideas and inspiration during the early stages; that’s perfectly normal! Just provide us with a starting point and as much information as you can, mentioning any special birthdays, months, words, places or anything else you might think we will find useful, and we will do the rest!
Please note that due to the popularity of our bespoke jewellery service, pieces can take between 4-12 weeks to complete. The actual time frame will depend on the waiting list, how busy we are and the complexity of your project.
Don’t be afraid to ask us how long your idea might take to bring to life – we will normally be able to give you a quick answer once we’ve gathered the information from you about your project, but we recommend you getting in touch early if it’s a special present such as a Christmas gift as our books will fill up. If you require something urgently, we can often tailor our ideas to suit your timeframe!
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
The next stage of the bespoke jewellery service is to develop and refine your ideas and thoughts into tangible designs. Some designs are quite straight forward so will not require much designing or ‘toing and froing’, whilst others are more complex and may require more thought and development.
The design process can be quick if you have a clear idea in mind from the outset of how you would like your special piece to look, but other projects may take a little longer…and that’s okay! It’s important that it’s absolutely perfect!
The design and development stage is where you will see ideas and concepts come to life. Team Alyssa will work closely with you– before, during and after the bespoke design process. Once you are happy with your design, we can progress to the next stage: we will discuss any deadlines and finer details with you, and provide sketches/diagrams where necessary.
At this stage, you are welcome and encouraged to give feedback and contribute any more ideas or changes to the design – It’s important that your special piece is perfect, so we understand you may require a bit of time to mull it over or discuss with a loved one. We will send all relevant information over for you to read in your own time, plus any sketches/photographs if needed. This also serves as a record of your query and ideas in case either of us need to refer back to it at a later stage during the process.
MAKING THE MAGIC HAPPEN
Once you are entirely happy with your piece, and payment has been made in full, your gorgeous piece will be made in our Hertfordshire workshop by Alyssa, and the same amount of care and attention is given to every piece which we make. Alyssa will hand craft your jewellery using traditional silversmithing/goldsmithing/stone setting techniques, and should you have decided on gemstones for your design, she will let you choose these yourself if needed. You will also be given a rough ‘making time’ prior to commencing with your order, so you will know when to expect your finished piece. Time to mark an ‘x’ on the calendar and count down the days!
Once your beautiful piece is finished, we will wrap it in our signature luxury packaging, which is perfect for storing your piece in when you are not wearing it, or for taking with you on your travels (wherever your travels may take you!) Our beautiful packaging has also been thoughtfully designed, so if you do not wish to keep the box, you may recycle it. Your new piece will be securely sent to you by Royal Mail, using their Special Delivery service, which is fully insured- and for International deliveries, we use the Royal Mail International delivery service so you can sit back and relax. The hardest part is waiting for the postie to deliver that special package!
If the piece is for a gift, customers often like to keep sketches (where given) and bespoke ‘in the making’ photographs to give to the jewellery recipient along with the finished piece. Some of our customers even like to make a little album and give that along with the jewellery too.
This is a really popular idea and allows the recipient to see exactly how the piece was designed, and how much of your hard work has gone into the bespoke design! If this is something you would like us to log for you, please do let us know and we can make sure we take a photograph of your piece being made in our workshop.
If you’re thinking ‘my idea is impossible’, think again, because it may be VERY possible! We have been known to turn all sorts of jewellery dreams into reality, and our extensive gallery of previous bespoke projects will give you an idea of the types of jewellery we are able to create.
Having a piece of bespoke jewellery made by Alyssa is a special and unique experience. With over 10 years of experience with traditional Silversmithing and Goldsmithing skills, we can help bring your ideas to life from our workbenches and jewellery workshop which is in the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside.
We can add meaning and symbolism to your special piece through the use of gorgeous gemstones (both precious and semi precious) and with engraving too.
Our wonderful team will be more than happy to help you every step of the way to create something you will treasure.
MENS SILVER DOG TAG PENDANT
Our customer Andrew was looking for something special he could wear every day to represent his Children, and loved the idea of a traditional style dog tag.
We incorporated a cross into this design and elegant engraving. The result was splendid and he has worn it every day since!
We created this wonderful dog tag necklace fromsterling silver from our customers initial sketches and ideas. Once we hadworked together to come up with something workable, it was hand cut, engravedand fully hand polished.
