Commissions

Ten to twelve weeks, a silver trial you wear before any gold is cut, and a price you can see the working for.

Commissions

Four ways in

What you bring decides how the work runs, how long it takes and what it costs. All four end at the same bench.

Remade from your own gold

An inherited ring, a snapped chain, a drawer of odd earrings nobody has worn since 1998. I test the metal, melt what can be reused and raise something you will actually put on.

You bring

Whatever gold you have, and the story of who wore it if there is one.

You get back

One finished piece, hallmarked, plus any metal I could not use, returned as a small ingot.

Lead timeTen weeks From$1,400 See the price bands

A stone you already own

You have the stone and a setting nobody would choose today. I design around the cut instead of forcing it into a standard mount, and I will tell you early if it cannot be reset safely.

You bring

The stone, loose or still in its old setting, and an honest answer about how often you would wear it.

You get back

A new piece in gold, silver or platinum, and the old mount back in a bag if you want it.

Lead timeEight weeks From$980 See the price bands

Made from nothing

No metal, no stone, just a conversation. Two drawings at full size, one trial in silver you wear for a week, then the piece itself.

You bring

A budget you are comfortable saying out loud, and a date if you have one.

You get back

The finished piece, the silver trial, and the drawings, which are yours to keep.

Lead timeTwelve weeks From$2,200 See the price bands

A pair of wedding bands

Two rings that have to look like a pair without being identical, made in one run so the color and the finish match. Most of my year is this, and I am not tired of it.

You bring

Both of you, once, for an hour. Ring sizes get measured here rather than guessed at home.

You get back

Two hallmarked bands, boxed separately, plus free resizing for life on both.

Lead timeTen weeks From$1,850 See the price bands

How it runs

Bench to mark

Most of it happens in this room. One stage does not, and it is the one that takes the longest.

  • Talking and drawing

    An hour at the bench, then two drawings at full size so you can hold them against your own hand rather than imagine them.

    Hands In the workshop Takes One week

  • A trial in silver

    The shape made once in cheap metal and worn for a few days. This is where things get changed, and where nobody has ever regretted speaking up.

    Hands In the workshop Takes Two weeks

  • Raising the piece

    Sheet cut, wire drawn, everything hammered and soldered up. This is the slow part, it is most of the price, and it does not get rushed for a date.

    Hands In the workshop Takes Three weeks

  • Stone setting

    Cut the seats, set, burnish down. Anything unusual goes to a setter in Glasgow I have used for a decade, and I tell you when it does.

    Hands Workshop or setter Takes One week

  • Assay and marking

    The piece leaves for the Edinburgh office, is tested independently of me, and comes back struck with five marks. Nothing I can do makes this faster.

    Hands Edinburgh Assay Office Takes Ten working days

  • Finishing and post

    Final polish, a last fit if you can get here, then boxed with its drawing and sent insured.

    Hands In the workshop Takes Three days

Bench to your hand, all in Ten to twelve weeks

Prices

Where the money actually goes

One real commission, taken apart. Nobody has ever asked me for this and everybody has been glad to see it.

Worked example

A hammered 18 carat band, 4mm wide, size N

  • Metal

    Eleven grams of recycled 18 carat gold at the price I paid on the day, plus the losses that end up in the sweep tray.

    36%
    $640
  • Bench hours

    Nine hours: rolling, forming, soldering, hammering, then the finish. My rate is one number and it is the same for everybody.

    40%
    $720
  • Assay and marking

    The office fee for testing and striking, and the insured courier both ways. This is the one line I have no control over.

    3%
    $48
  • Finishing

    Compounds, mops, and the two hours at the end that nobody thinks about until they see a piece that skipped them.

    9%
    $160
  • The workshop

    Rent, gas, insurance and tools worn out, spread across everything that leaves the bench in a year.

    13%
    $232
What you pay $1,800

Metal is priced on the day I buy it, so a quote holds for fourteen days. Everything else on this list is fixed and has been since 2023.

Questions

Asked and answered

Sorted by where you are in it. If yours is not here, write and ask it; nobody has ever asked me something silly about a ring.

Before you commit

How long does a commission take?
Ten to twelve weeks from the first conversation, and ten working days of that is the assay office, which I cannot hurry for anybody. If you have a date, tell me at the start rather than at the end.
Can I use gold I already have?
Usually. I test it first, because some older alloys will not take a clean solder join. Whatever I cannot use comes back to you as a small ingot rather than quietly disappearing into my scrap.
Do you take a deposit?
Half at the drawing stage and half before it is posted. The deposit covers the metal, which I buy on the day, so it stops being refundable once the gold is on the bench.
Can I see something first?
Come to the bench on a Tuesday to Friday, or ask a stockist to show you a piece from the permanent line. Photographs of jewelry are almost all lies about scale.

During the work

What if I do not like the trial?
That is exactly what it is for. You will have worn a silver version of the shape for a few days before I cut any gold. Changing your mind at that stage is free; changing it after is charged at my hourly rate.
Will you send photographs as you go?
Yes, at the end of each stage, and I will tell you honestly when something is going slower than I said. I would rather send bad news early than a good photograph late.
Can somebody else finish it if something happens to you?
There is a written arrangement with two goldsmiths in Edinburgh who would complete anything on the bench and return the deposits on anything not started. It has never been needed.

Afterwards

Will a hammered finish wear off?
It softens rather than disappears. Gold takes on a low shine where it is handled, which most people prefer after a year. I will re-finish anything I made, free, for as long as I am working.
Can you resize a ring later?
Yes, for life, on anything I made. Two sizes either way on a plain band, less on a stone-set piece, and I will tell you which before you buy it rather than after.
How do I clean it?
Warm water, a drop of dish soap and a soft toothbrush. Nothing ultrasonic on a set stone, and keep silver out of a wool drawer, which will tarnish it faster than a fortnight at the beach.

Four places left before spring.

Say roughly what you want made and roughly what you would like to spend. I answer every enquiry myself, usually within two working days, and I will tell you plainly if I am the wrong person for it.

Start a commission

18 of 22

Commissions taken this year

After that the book closes until September, and it closes properly.