The Ultimate Guide to Creating Custom Diamond Jewelry

Custom diamond jewelry is more than just sparkle - it’s a deeply personal expression of identity, emotion, and creativity. Whether you’re dreaming up a one-of-a-kind engagement ring, a meaningful necklace, a modern bracelet, or a stylish unisex piece, the custom process gives you the power to turn your vision into wearable art.

The custom jewelry market continues to experience steady growth, driven by demand for personalization and unique design. Data Horizon Research valued the global market growth for customized jewelry at USD 33.23 billion in 2023. Custom diamond jewelry is one of the fastest-growing segments in the fine jewelry industry.

Shown below are examples of custom jewelry pieces: custom link cuff bracelet, custom link diamond bracelet, custom designed pear cut diamond engagement ring, and custom designed wedding band.

This guide will answer FAQs and walk you through everything you need to know when creating custom diamond jewelry - from inspiration to final polish.

Why Go Custom Jewelry?

Have you ever been in-store and seen a beautiful piece of diamond jewelry, but you think you’d like it better with a different shaped center stone or precious metal? Or you might like a diamond ring with more side stones or a more unique setting? Creating custom jewelry gives you control over how your special jewelry piece will look.

With custom jewelry you can choose a design and style that reflects your taste. You can select gemstones that align with your budget and values (natural, lab-grown diamond, heirloom gemstones). By adding personalized engraving, accent diamonds, hidden gemstones, or family gemstones you increase the sentimental value of your personalized piece. No one else will have your exact piece of fine jewelry when you have a personalized custom jewelry piece.

Whether your special occasion includes a wedding, a graduation, birthday, Mother’s Day, a personal milestone, or any other special occasion, you will have a special memento of the occasion with custom jewelry.

Custom Diamond Rings

Rings are the most popular form of custom diamond jewelry–especially diamond engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary rings, and personal milestone gifts. Diamond rings have countless styles to choose from, like the solitaire, halo, vintage, three-stone, modern bezel, or stackable examples below. 

When choosing a center diamond, use the 4Cs (cut, color, clarity, carat) to guide your decision. Cut will impact the diamond’s sparkle. Diamond clarity gives your diamond more brilliance, but slightly lower clarity is often acceptable when using smaller gemstones. The priority of the 4Cs may differ depending on the design you choose.

Round is the most popular diamond ring shape, but ovals, emerald cuts, and cushions are also trending. Creating a custom diamond ring typically takes 4-6 weeks for the design timeline. Featured are examples of a round diamond with baguette side stones, an oval cut, an emerald cut, and cushion cut diamond.

 

Custom Diamond Necklaces

Diamond necklaces can range from understated diamond pendants to elaborate statement pieces. Style options for your necklace include solitaire pendants, inline necklaces, halo drops, lariats, bar necklaces, and initial/name pendants; so think about what you want your necklace to express and how often you will wear it.

You could choose one large center stone or many small accent stones for your necklace. The 4Cs still apply, but the priority may differ depending on the design. Your precious metal choice could be platinum, white gold, yellow gold, or rose gold (as seen below). You could add personal touches like initials or blend in birthstones. Creating custom necklaces can take 3-6 weeks depending on design complexity.

Custom Diamond Bracelets

Custom diamond bracelets combine beauty with function. They are popular as luxury gifts or statement accessories and come in various forms. Different bracelet styles will determine how many diamonds you need, how flexible the design can be, and what the final piece will look like. The most common styles are diamond tennis bracelets, bangles, cuffs, ID bracelets, and charm bracelets. 

For those with a larger or smaller wrist size, a custom diamond bracelet ensures you receive the fit you desire with a 0.25” to 0.5” comfort allowance. Opt for box clasps with double-latches or safety chains on high-value bracelets. Expect 4-8 weeks as a timeline, but keep in mind that tennis bracelets take longer due to the number of stones involved.

Custom Diamond Earrings

Deciding on your earring style will determine the number and type of diamonds needed, the setting ( prong style, bezel, halo, earring back, etc.), and how the earrings function for daily or special wear. Some typical diamond earring styles include diamond studs, halo stud earrings, drop earrings, chandelier earrings, and hoop earrings (featured below).

The 4Cs should be considered in your decision in addition to your diamond shape. Round brilliant is the most popular for studs, but princess, oval, emerald, pear, marquise, and cushion cuts offer unique silhouettes and custom flair to diamond earrings.

Unique touches may include graduated diamonds on drops or hoops, birthstones or colored diamonds for personal history. The price will vary with the diamond quality, precious metal used, and complexity of design. Allow 6-12 weeks for design, rendering, approval, and production of your custom earrings.

What You’ll Need

Before placing your custom order, prepare the following. Clarify your vision and purpose by deciding what is the occasion for your custom jewelry. Is it for yourself or a gift? What feeling do you want the piece to evoke–timeless, modern, romantic, bold? 

Set a budget. Diamonds account for the bulk of the cost and may impact the type of diamond quality you choose, as well as the size and number of diamonds. Precious metals (platinum, yellow gold, white gold) will vary in price. Intricate designs will increase labor costs. Make sure you let your jeweler know upfront how much you are planning to spend.

Bring along reference images or sketches of your desired custom jewelry. Have an idea of your diamond preferences (diamond shape, carat range, diamond quality, etc.) Make sure you get a precise measurement for your wrist, neck, or ring size. Bring along any heirloom gemstones or materials you may be hoping to include in the design.

The Custom Jewelry Process

Choose a jeweler who specializes in fine jewelry custom work, has excellent craftsmanship and client reviews. 

Consultation: Once you have your wishlist of inspiration ideas, meet for your consultation with the reputable jeweler you have chosen. Discuss the vision of the type of jewelry desired, occasion for wearing, style preferences, and budget.

Design Phase: Your jeweler will create initial sketches based on your input. Choose your setting and precious metal. At this point you can provide feedback and make changes if necessary. CAD (computer-aided design) models are generated for precision and approval. A wax or resin model may be printed to give you a tactile sense of size, scale, and wearability. 

Gemstone Sourcing: Jewelers will show you several diamond options that fit your design and budget. Choose and approve the diamonds to be used (diamond 4Cs, diamond shape, natural diamonds, lab diamonds, heirloom gemstones). 

Approval: You will need to review and approve the design, precious metals, gemstones, etc.

Production: The physical creation of your custom jewelry begins. The jewelers will cast, set, polish, add diamonds, and finish the piece. Fine details like engraving, finishing, and inspection are completed.

Final Review and Delivery: You will receive your finished, one-of-a-kind custom fine jewelry. Your piece is professionally cleaned and packaged including documentation, appraisals, warranties, and care instructions.

Final Tips For Custom Diamond Jewelry

• Set your budget and communicate it early with your fine jewelry designer at the beginning of the process. 

• Focus on the diamond cut for desired sparkle–it matters more than carat size. Keep in mind that a 1.8 or 1.9 carat size will still be about the same size as a 2 carat, but will come with a cost savings. Featured are a 1.84 diamond ring and a 2.0 carat diamond ring.

• Choose a jeweler with a good reputation for their custom work, and one who will offer visual previews.

• Don’t forget the story–what will make this piece meaningful to you?

• Leave enough time to get your special custom jewelry made. You don’t want to rush custom work!

Your Story, Set in Stone

Creating custom diamond jewelry is a chance to design something that only you will ever wear. Whether you’re crafting a ring to propose, a bracelet to mark a memory, earrings for a special occasion, or a necklace that reflects your spirit–custom design lets you take control of beauty, sentiment, and a reflection of your identity. 

When you want something meaningful and unique and are ready to create your own special custom jewelry, come see us in-store at E.D. Marshall. You can check our jewelry collection for added inspiration. We look forward to joining you in your journey and creating that custom fine jewelry you’ve always wanted.