The Bespoke Process
| Welcome to SUZANNE DUNN'S Love to Legacy bespoke jewelry design process.
Creating a custom-made piece of jewelry with SUZANNE DUNN is truly an unrivaled experience. Through in-depth consultations, we translate your vision into a unique piece that you will treasure for generations. Suzanne lends her discerning eye to all aspects of the creation process, from design and sourcing the precious materials to overseeing the handcrafted design process, in order to ensure beauty and quality at every stage. |
 
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Design Consultation
We begin the process with a complimentary, private design consultation, which allows us to discover more about you and/or your loved one and discuss any ideas you may have. You are welcome to provide inspiration for the piece, be it in the form of photos of favorite jewelry or anything else that reflects your or your loved one's personality.
During this initial phase, we will explore the overall style and look you would like to create, discuss which gems you prefer, and look at the different types and finishes of precious metals. We will show you examples of jewelry and offer suggestions to fit your personality, lifestyle, taste and budget. This open, interactive conversation will lay the foundation for achieving the perfect piece of custom jewelry.
If your jewelry will feature diamonds, we will go through the four C's and review exactly what qualities we look for when choosing a diamond. Every diamond that we sell is ethically sourced and guaranteed to be conflict free.
Sketching & Designs
We’ll take all of your inspiration, ideas, and specifications and bring them to life on paper, with a critical eye toward durability, timeless design, structural integrity, and staying within your budget. You’ll receive three concept sketches initially, and we’ll go through feedback and revisions until you get exactly what you envisioned. We truly want you to love your design.
Once we have narrowed it down to one design concept and are confident which direction to proceed, we will then move on to the gemstone stage.
Diamonds & Gemstones
The next step involves sourcing the exceptional diamonds and/or precious gems that will be used in your design. We responsibly source stones just for you based on your design, ethics, desired quality and budget. At this meeting, you’ll get to see, feel, and hand select each stone that goes into your ring.
Because diamonds and precious gemstones are a natural product that come in an endless variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, we prefer to begin the design process with specific stones (and their dimensions) in mind. This ensures that the proportions of your jewelry are perfectly suited to the size and shape of the diamonds and/or gems in your ring, necklace, earrings, pendant or bracelet.
Engineering
At SUZANNE DUNN our jewelry is made with integrity using ethical manufacturing processes that make use of sustainable materials and minimize waste. To minimize the environmental impact of our production we will endeavor to create a large portion of our designs from fair trade gold and silver and ethically sourced stones.
Sustainability is also maintained by using 3D printing technology as a design and production tool. The use of 3D printing technology has also allowed us to bring some of our more innovative and intricate designs to life.
We’ll precisely engineer and architect your design into a 3D CAD model and send you a digital rendering of all angles for your approval. We take the 3D concept to metal and make a casting of your piece; then we hand set your stones, add any handcrafted details, polish the piece and your design is complete.
The end result is a stunning piece of custom jewelry that is absolutely perfect for you or your love one, and will provide a lifetime of enjoyment.
Legacy Photo Book
As a very special part of our 'Love to Legacy' experience and in keeping with our mission to tell our collectors' stories through jewelry, each custom-made piece is presented to you with its own hardcover Legacy photo book. This one-of-a-kind book provides accurate documentation of the production journey of your piece through vivid, high-resolution photographs. This photographic journey which goes from the concept phase through to the completion phase, will serve as a beautiful, tangible reminder of your story, your legacy, for generations to come.
Delivery
If you are in the NYC area, you’ll come in to our studio for a 30 minute meeting with Suzanne herself to pick up your piece. She’ll talk about care and cleaning, insurance information, documentation on stones, and the SUZANNE DUNN Certificate of Authenticity.
Appraisals
Independent certification is how you can be sure that you are getting a quality diamond that has been accurately graded without bias. All Suzanne Dunn Jewelry diamonds are analyzed and graded for quality by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), one of the most respected and accurate labs in the diamond industry. To verify a diamond's quality before purchase, be sure to review its Diamond Grading Report or Diamond Dossier. It is also good to know that your purchase of a custom-designed ring, pendant or pair of earrings from Suzanne Dunn Jewelry comes with an appraisal that includes the retail replacement value of the item for insurance purposes.