“How much is a custom ring?” is like asking how much a house costs. The useful answer is a breakdown, because two rings with the same photo can differ by a factor of eight.
The four line items
Every quote we write has the same structure: stone, metal, setting labour, finishing and shipping. Anything that does not fit those four is either a service (engraving, certification) or a markup.
1. The stone (50–80% of the total)
Stone choice dominates. At the same 7 mm round size:
- Moissanite, D/VVS: the lowest cost by a wide margin.
- Lab-grown diamond, G/VS2: several times the moissanite price.
- Mined diamond, same grade: several times the lab-grown price.
Size compounds it: doubling the carat roughly quadruples the stone cost in diamonds, and moves moissanite much less. This is why “1 ct or 2 ct” is the single biggest question in the brief.
2. The metal (10–25%)
Silver is cheap; 18K gold and platinum are not. A wide platinum band can cost more than the setting labour. We quote the gram weight so you can see the metal separately from the work.
3. Setting labour (10–20%)
Prong work is quick. Pavé, channel and halo work is slow and skilled — a full pavé band can take longer than the entire rest of the ring. Three-stone settings add matching time, not just setting time.
4. Finishing, certificate and shipping
Polishing, rhodium plating, the GRA card or IGI report, and tracked shipping. Small, but not zero, and it is where cheap suppliers cut corners invisibly.
The two decisions that move the price
- Stone material and size. Moving from a 2 ct lab-grown to a 1.5 ct lab-grown, or from diamond to moissanite, changes the total more than every other choice combined.
- Setting complexity. A solitaire in a plain band versus a halo with pavé shoulders is a large labour difference for a similar look at arm's length.
What custom does not have to cost
CAD modelling is not expensive at our scale, and we do not charge for the first render. The premium people associate with “custom” is mostly retail margin, not manufacturing. If a quote has a large “design fee” and a separate “CAD fee” on top of a high metal price, ask what each covers.
How to get an accurate number
Send four things: stone type and size, metal, ring size, and a photo or reference. Without those, any number is a guess. With them, we quote within one business day. Request a quote →
The people who cut the stones and set the rings. We publish what we can verify on our own bench, and link to the certificate or the guide when a number needs a source.
