The Benefits of Going Bespoke

The Benefits of Going Bespoke

Bespoke jewellery is the perfect combination of masterful craftsmanship, unique design and individual expression. For those that are looking to find the right way to communicate a deeply personal message through a piece of jewellery, then there really is no better route than bespoke!

Whether you want to have your own design hand-painted onto a pair of high-quality cufflinks, are interested in purchasing a completely unique item with a personal engraving, or want to have a piece made to commemorate an important life event, our expert jewellers and craftsmen at Deakin & Francis are here to turn your ideas into a sparkling reality!

Henry Deakin, our managing director, has created countless bespoke pieces here at the Deakin & Francis factory and knows exactly why we are best suited to bring your ideas to life;

Benefits of Bespoke

At Deakin & Francis, our customers span from rock-stars to royalty and everything in between. Having made unique pieces of fine jewellery for some of the most prestigious and iconic names in the world, we are firmly at the forefront of creating distinctive pieces to commemorate every kind of unique life moment. Whatever you are hoping to create, however weird and wonderful, we would love to work together to help this become a reality!

“It generally starts with a sketch. But that’s not a professional sketch, it could be a sketch on the back of a napkin, a very rough drawing on a piece of paper. It just starts with an idea, and customers will come and meet us here in the factory or in our shop in London and we’ll go through and try to turn their sketches into a bit more of a reality of what can and can’t be made.”

After receiving an initial idea, we will create a professional drawing so that you can get a clear idea of what your piece will look like once complete. At this point, we will start quoting on your item so you can know whether or not we’re working within your price range. Next, we will do a computer drawing which will show you what you can expect when we complete your wonderful, bespoke item.

“From that moment on, the talented team will get to work twisting and bending and creating the piece that the customer wants!”

Engagement rings are one of our most frequently requested bespoke items, and our team understand the unique pressure of designing such an important item;

“I’ve done I don’t know how many engagement rings here, and people sort of have a rough idea of what they want and you can then guide them through, but making my own one was nigh on impossible! So it’s much easier when someone tells you what they want. You can totally sympathise with what they’re going through, it’s a total nightmare!”

Your Bespoke Journey

The level of direct involvement that you have during the creation of your piece is completely down to your own personal preference, with some customers choosing to be fully involved in the bespoke process, and others choosing to communicate via email and telephone without stepping foot in the factory. But we’d like to meet our customers whenever possible and get you involved to witness the bespoke journey firsthand!

“I think certainly with choosing stones it’s quite important [to be involved] as well, because the metalwork is the metalwork and we know we’ll do a good job, but actually the stones are very personal.”

Getting our customers here in the factory to see exactly how things are made is something that we are currently looking to explore further; “We are hopefully going to launch a signet making ring programme here so customers can come and actually stamp out the metal here in the factory and see it being made.”

Why should you choose bespoke?

When it comes to bespoke, the sky’s the limit!

“We’ve very bad at saying no! We’ve got the capabilities to do just about anything here there are absolutely no limits. Whatever you can dream up we can do it! But we’re very lucky here because we’ve got a mixture of really traditional craft and the artisans that are working here, but then on the other side, we’ve got the laser welders who’ve got the CAD design. So we are able mix and match a bit, anything to create the right look and feel that the customer is after.”

Using this combination of old and new techniques has allowed us to remove any element of doubt when it comes to designing our bespoke pieces, as it gives us the most realistic representation of what the final item is going to look like. Using CAD (computer-aided drafting), we are able to gain a much more realistic idea of what your items will look like, for example, we can put in the exact stone sizes for the piece and know that it’s exactly what your item will look like.

“It’s amazing! I find it hard to tell sometimes what’s real and what’s not between that and a photograph.”

Choosing Deakin & Francis for your bespoke item.

At the heart of every bespoke item is the choice to create something unique and personal as opposed to something mainstream which is available for other consumers to purchase.

“If we’re doing an engagement ring and it’s completely bespoke to how they want it, they know that the next person is not going to have the same ring and that it is theirs. It makes it that much more special and that much more personal. If it’s got a name engraved on it and it’s completely designed, then it’s really special!”

The history and heritage here at Deakin & Francis give all of our customer’s reassurance that after 200 years of making jewellery, we know our stuff. We are known for being the best of the best, and the one thing that we never compromise on is quality, which is why our customers have chosen us to help them create their own bespoke pieces!

If you want to find out more about our going bespoke, please contact a member of our team via: [email protected] or call our main office on 0121 236 7751