From Sketch to Wrist: How Custom Jewellery Is Made at ElayaLuxe
Most people assume custom jewellery is reserved for celebrities and six-figure budgets. The truth is that a well-run custom process is accessible, collaborative, and often better value than buying a comparable finished piece — because every dollar goes into your design rather than showroom inventory. Here is exactly how it works with us in Surrey, BC.
Step 1: The idea — however rough
Custom projects arrive as everything from a precise CAD-ready drawing to "a pendant of my daughter's name, something like this photo." All of it works. You submit your idea through our Custom Request form with any reference images, and a specialist calls you within 24 hours to talk through style, size, metal, stones and budget — plainly and without obligation.
Step 2: Design and approval
We translate the conversation into a design for your approval. This is where the important decisions get made: 10K, 14K or 18K gold and in which tone; natural diamond, lab-grown or moissanite; setting styles, dimensions, engraving. Our job is to lay out the trade-offs honestly — our Diamond Education guide covers most of them — and adjust until the design is exactly right. Nothing is made until you approve it, and your quote is fixed before work begins.
Step 3: Crafting
Approved designs go to the bench: casting in your chosen gold, stone selection and setting, finishing and polishing. Most pieces complete in three to six weeks depending on complexity. You receive updates at each stage — many clients tell us the progress photos are half the fun.
Step 4: Delivery
Every finished piece passes a final quality inspection against the approved design, then ships fully insured anywhere in Canada, or is placed in your hands at a private appointment.
What custom is perfect for
Name and initial pendants, one-of-one chains and bracelets, engagement rings built around a stone chosen together, portrait and memorial pieces, upgrades of inherited jewellery — and for watch clients, custom touches on straps and accessories. If it can be drawn, it can usually be made.
Have something in mind? Start your custom request — it takes two minutes, and the consultation is free.
