The people who choose us to bring their jewelry desires to life are a crucial and beloved part of Automic Gold. We know taking the plunge with a personalized piece can be daunting, though, so here we lay out every step of the process so you can place your order with confidence!
1. You tell us what you want.
It all starts with your first email to our customs department.
Here are the questions we ask people interested in a custom piece:
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What kind of piece are you looking for?
A chic nameplate? A new set of statement earrings? An anniversary bracelet? Endless possibilities!
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Would you like it in gold, silver, or platinum? If you want gold, which color?
All four of our standard gold colors cost the same, so there's no need to worry about that affecting your quote. If you usually avoid white and champagne gold due to their nickel content, here’s good news: we can produce nickel-free versions of these alloys for a bit extra! While we advise against silver since it tarnishes, we’re still willing to work with it if you prefer.
We can also work with gold, silver, or platinum that you already have! Send us pictures of any jewelry you’d like to use with their gram weights (a kitchen scale will come in handy). Solid pieces of metal, like rings and bangles, are ideal for repurposing.
Just note that to use your metal, the total weight needs to exceed that of the new custom piece. Different companies use different alloys, and mixing metals of different make-ups can unfortunately lead to your new piece breaking during production or wear. If we can’t reuse your metal, we’ll happily give store credit for it!
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If there are gems, which gemstones (and what shape, size, and color) would you like? Lab or natural?
This helps us figure out a price estimate for your piece and show you the right options for your project. Undecided on type? We’ll advise long-lasting gemstone options for you based on the piece you want and how much you’re down to spend. If the gems you have in mind for your piece aren’t durable, we’ll let you know and may decide to not take your order. We strive to make jewelry you won’t have to send back for repairs every month!
Not sure about gem size? Send picture references of gem sizes you like and we’ll make suggestions based on your ring size (the same size gem will look very different depending on ring size!).
Keep in mind that many of our in-house gems (especially diamonds) are in high demand and we want to make sure all customers have a fair chance with them, so we can’t guarantee availability for every stone we initially show you by the time you get back to us. If we don’t have the perfect stones in stock, we’re happy to look around for more options, cut gems into different shapes, or custom grow lab stones for you!
We can also use gems you already have, but we prefer to work with our own since they come with a warranty. We can’t be held responsible if stones that aren’t ours break during production since their durability depends on their individual history and previous wear. If you do choose to use your own stones, we’ll be as careful as possible, but we can’t make promises.
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If you want an engraving, what text (and which font) or image would you like engraved?
We can engrave pretty much anything as long as it physically fits in your piece—handwriting, drawings, fingerprints, whatever you can think of! There’s no set character limit for text; it depends on the design of your piece. You can choose any font you’d like as long as it’s free for commercial use.
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What’s your timeline?
Custom orders can take a few weeks to a few months depending on how complex they are, but we offer expedited production for extra cost to speed up the process if you’re in a rush. If you want it “as soon as possible,” then expedited production is your friend! Otherwise, we work within our normal schedule.
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What’s your budget?
This determines how close we can get to your vision. It’s especially important when ordering something with natural precious stones (diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires), as prices soar with size and quality. Having a concrete price range helps us show you options that won’t make your bank account mad at you.
If you want to get a rough idea of potential prices before reaching out, take a look at our custom gallery. Keep in mind that custom jewelry will cost a bit more than in-stock items on our site.
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What’s your ring size or necklace/bracelet/anklet length? Any other jewelry dimension requirements?
We always want a perfect fit for you, so we offer tips for all jewelry types (necklaces, rings, bracelets, anklets, and piercings!) right here.
For necklaces, please give us an exact length. Depending on the chain, the length will determine the price. Plus, everyone’s bodies and preferences are different, so we really can’t tell you what the “right” length is for you!
If you’re unsure about your ring size, we recommend getting our ring sizer, scheduling an appointment with us to get measured, or visiting a local jeweler (especially for wide bands, or folks with small fingers but wide knuckles). Simply using a measuring tape is very inaccurate.
Since all custom orders are final sale, altering ring sizes post-production will cost extra, and certain designs pose resizing difficulties. If your ring has stones or enamel all the way around, it’s not resizeable whatsoever; we’d have to remake it from scratch. We want you to be happy with your piece so it’s important that we take the guesswork out of sizing.
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Describe your design ideas.
Reference images, links, and drawings are very helpful! We also use these to suggest other design elements if what you send us isn’t exactly what you want. Try to send images as attachments rather than directly in the email body! It’s much easier for us to navigate your emails this way.
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Does your piece need to accommodate strenuous wear?
Love working out or taking a dip at the beach? Frequently wear medical gloves? Clumsier than most? Everyone has different needs, so we’ll recommend design elements to suit yours.
Here are examples of helpful responses!
- Here are links to some rings I like. I’m not super committed to a specific design yet, but I know I want a colorless metal and gray gems, leaning towards more angular shapes. I’m willing to drop around $5,000. I work with my hands a lot and would like to not have to take the ring off too often. My ring size is 14.
- Could I get a rose gold earring charm in the shape of a cactus? I don’t really want to spend any more than $350, but if that’s not possible then the absolute maximum I can go is $500. If we can do it within budget, could I get a tiny emerald in the middle too?
Need more help zeroing in on your dream piece? Give us your number in your email and we can set up a phone consultation—or, if you can commute to New York City, we can set up an appointment for you to visit our office! (Both options are subject to our office hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 11AM-4PM, excluding US federal holidays.) Still, try to answer as many of the above questions as possible beforehand so we have a decent starting point!
1.5. If we’re reusing your own jewelry, you send it to us.
If you’re shipping a package to us rather than dropping off in-person, get insurance for it just in case anything happens—and please don’t send us stuff in a non-padded envelope! It’s far more at risk of damage, loss, or theft that way.
Once we receive your package, we’ll inspect it, and if everything looks good…
2. We send you an invoice.
There’s no rush, but we recommend paying it soon after you get it. We may update your quote over time to reflect current trends in the gold, gem, and labor markets.
We need full payment for our jewelers to start actually making your piece(s), but we’re very flexible on how you pay! We accept cash (dropped off in-person), all major credit & debit cards, PayPal, Shop Pay, Affirm, Afterpay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.
Prefer to use your own card over a third-party service for installments? No problem! We’re happy to send you several smaller invoices instead.
Your invoice(s) will be in a separate email than our initial conversation. Check your spam folder if nothing pops up! Once paid…
3. We design it.
Certain custom orders come with a complimentary computer render (see our previous models here) so you can see how your piece will look before we start making the real thing! Keep in mind that these are more like rough drawings than exact replicas. We usually get the first preview to you in a week or so.
You can make any modifications during this stage as you want! If you change your mind about the stone shape or gold color, if you want to add an engraving or even totally overhaul your original design, we got you!
If you bought a custom ring or charm, we can do you one better: for an extra fee, we’ll also ship you a physical wax model of it so you can try it on and make sure you love how it looks in person! You don’t have to send it back to us. Think of it as a little souvenir.
We won’t start making your project until you’re completely satisfied with your 3D model. Once we get your stamp of approval…
4. We start making it!
All our orders are made by our in-house jewelers and designers, not a factory overseas.
For most orders, this usually takes about 3-5 weeks (during busier times like the winter holiday season, it can be more like 5-7). If you opted for expedited production, we aim for 1-2 weeks! That said, every personalized order has its own production steps and challenges, so we can’t guarantee exactly when we’ll be done. Very labor-intensive requests, like gem cutting or custom lab gem growing, will significantly stretch all production timelines since we can’t rush these processes.
It’s hard to say when we’ll finish your order until we’re close to completion, so try waiting until halfway through our initial estimate before asking for updates. Anything can happen—one time we were setting a salt-and-pepper diamond into an otherwise ready ring, but the diamond cracked in half! (This was a rare event, but it just goes to show the unpredictability of making specialized jewelry.)
Once we’re done…
5. We ship it or you pick it up.
Get excited—your jewelry’s ready for you! We’ll show you a video of it for final approval and confirm your shipping address is still good to go before we send out your package.
As soon as we ship your piece, you’ll get a separate email with tracking information so you can stay up to date on its route. Depending on the order, we may require a signature for delivery to prevent theft.
Prefer to pick it up yourself? If you can commute to Manhattan, we’ll schedule a time for you to visit our office.
6. You enjoy your one-of-a-kind jewelry!
Go ahead and show off your latest shine. To keep your new jewelry looking its best, check out our jewelry care tips. (Also, psst, we love to feature our customers on our social media! If you post any nice pics donning your custom pieces, tag us or email them to us with the account names to tag. You might find yourself on our pages!)
If you scrolled this far, we bet you have a piece in mind that you’re itching to make. Let’s make it happen.
