Custom wedding band question

KentuckyKate

If anyone here had a ring made to contour around her engagement ring, please share your wisdom.

FI and I went to the store my e-ring came from to shop for wedding bands.  I just wanted a plain band, and the jeweler told me my only option is to send my e-ring to the designer and have them custom make a matching band for me to the tune of $2,075.   I thought this price was way too high for a thin white gold band with no diamonds or anything, so we left.

Now I am going to start calling around and popping into other jewelry stores to see if I can get one made, but I am curious if anyone knows what a fair price for this is.  I know better than to tell anyone what the first quote was, but I was just hoping to get a ballpark figure in mind before I started shopping.

Thanks!

AlexiaANDRobert

I went to an independent jeweler and it was about $700.  White gold with diamonds.  He kept my e-ring for about 3 days to make a mold for the band. Total process was about 3 weeks.

ETA: I think he gave it to me for cost, so might price might be a little low, but not much.

Islamorada14

Yeah, that sounds WAY too high for a plain band.  Last year my quote for a 18k white gold custom band WITH .35 tcw of diamonds and milgraining was ~$1500. 

Unfortunately, I can't say how much a custom plain band should be, but over $2000 is just ridiculously obscene.  Gold prices are currently high, but still, I see non-custom women's white gold bands selling for around $300 all the time.  Custom shouldn't require a 7 fold increase in price.

K Byte

FI had a band custom made for me -- it has sapphires and diamonds in white gold. It doesn't fit "around" my e-ring but it does fit directly under it in the same shape as my e-ring. I'm not sure how much it was but I know for a fact it was way less than $2000! I should post pics sometime but I've been forgetful, lol.

JMN2010

I agree - that is very high! I went to jewelry row in Chicago to a store that was very highly reviewed. I got a very simple white good band without diamonds (or really any other embellishment except milgraining) for around $400. They did do all the work in the store so that might have helped with the cost. They did have to keep my ring but only for about a week.

I would definitely suggest looking around for an independent jeweler.

KentuckyKate

Thanks everyone,  that really is helpful. 

LVB- I think The Castle is only is Lexington, right?  My dad put in a call to a guy he knows at a place that's a lot like the Castle here in Lville, and he said they can probably do something for me, so I am going to start there. 

The original quote was so high because it was from a name brand designer, plus it would have had hand-engraving on the band to match my e-ring (PIB).  But I just think it's unnecessary, since the band will be thin and sitting flush against my e-ring, to get something that expensive.  That jeweler told me that was my only option, which I know is not true, hence the shopping around now.

AlexiaANDRobert

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_custom-wedding-band-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:8f9142ce-d579-4c05-925b-e4f6e53833b2Post:b6ee2f85-9d65-4685-9a3e-067253348378">Custom wedding band question</a>:
[QUOTE]If anyone here had a ring made to contour around her engagement ring, please share your wisdom. FI and I went to the store my e-ring came from to shop for wedding bands.  I just wanted a plain band, and the jeweler told me my only option is to send my e-ring to the designer and have them custom make a matching band for me to the tune of $2,075.   I thought this price was way too high for a thin white gold band with no diamonds or anything, so we left. Now I am going to start calling around and popping into other jewelry stores to see if I can get one made, but<strong> I am curious if anyone knows what a fair price for this is. </strong> I know better than to tell anyone what the first quote was, but I was just hoping to get a ballpark figure in mind before I started shopping. Thanks!
Posted by KentuckyKate[/QUOTE]

To actually answer your question, depending on the thickness and price of gold at the time, I THINK around $600 sounds right to me.

For ours, plain gold was only about $200 cheaper than with diamonds so we just went ahead and did it with diamonds.  I THINK our jeweler made our stuff at cost.  I KNOW for Robert's ring he didn't charge us for the modifications (etching the two lines in and rubbing the middle part and engraving on the inside).  My band fits perfectly against my e-ring and I'm really happy with my decision. Also, this isn't a chain store, and it's a husband and wife owned shop that was recommended to me by a close friend.

I'd ask your local for recommendations or just check the yellow pages for independent stores.

Good luck!

mynameskatie

I worked in jewelry and it sounds like that price is triple keyed. So essentially they're saying  it would cost them about 700.00 with all of the casting and labor. They're taking that amount and multiplying it by 3 to make HUGE profit.

Try elsewhere or tell them you're unwilling to pay that much and see if they'll come down. With the price of gold right now I'd say probably around 750-900 dollars is fair price. I know it seems like a lot for something so simple but they do put a lot of work into a custom cast piece and a jeweler probably is not going to make the piece at cost, they need to make some sort of profit.

Night_Sprite

My plain white gold custom curved band was about $400 and Roger's jewelers did both the wedding band and the engagement ring.  I don't know if it helps, but they did great custom work for us.