Custom Engagement Ring Process — Step by Step from Design to Delivery

By Dmitry Strugovshchikov, founder of STRUGA

A custom engagement or wedding ring goes through several decisions before work begins in silver. A sketch sets the silhouette; a model reveals the width, height and position of the stone. This is where you examine how the ring will sit on a hand. The approved form can then become metal, with the surface finished by hand.

The custom ring process at STRUGA starts with a brief: form, material, size, budget and the date you need it. The project is then agreed, made and prepared for dispatch. Allow roughly 3–6 weeks for custom production as a guide; a person at STRUGA confirms the specific schedule. Shipping is separate. Discuss changes, stone selection and sizing before making begins.

Updated September 13, 2026

Start by comparing your idea with an existing object: Thorn Ring | STRUGA. A different form or fit gives the brief a specific starting point. Its place in the Atlas: CODEX → THORN → 925 sterling silver.

How is a custom ring different from a ring off the shelf?

An existing model already has a silhouette. A custom project lets you ask a different question: could the band be wider, the profile lower, or the setting built around a particular stone? The distinction lies in the design work required, rather than the word “custom” on a page.

Personalization can also solve the problem. A different size or an inscription inside the band does not always call for a new design. Name the change you need before ordering. A wide band with a low setting gives the conversation more substance than “something unusual.”

STRUGA has two routes: Custom Order for individual objects and DARK UNION for wedding rings, paired vow rings and alternative wedding forms. Both start with a brief. A person at STRUGA prepares the individual proposal.

Shelf ring or custom — which one fits?

Compare the form, the fit and the time available. The catalog shows existing objects. A custom project allows changes that cannot be made by choosing another size from a list. A catalog listing alone does not establish that your size is ready to ship.

Question	Catalog model	Custom project
Where to start	Choose an existing form	Describe the form you need
What to check	Size and available option	Design and fit
What to ask about time	When this option can ship	When the project can finish
What to agree	Terms of the specific order	Scope and proposal

For a pair of wedding rings, discuss each hand separately. A shared surface or repeated detail can connect the pair even when the widths and sizes differ. Designing two rings together does not require identical dimensions.

What happens in the brief, and what should you bring?

The brief gathers the ring's starting conditions: who will wear it, how it will be worn, the form you want, your budget and the date you need it. You may not know the exact size in your first message. Say so at the outset.

• Form. Send reference images with a note about each: the width, outline, dark recesses or height of the stone. Another designer's ring can be a reference for the conversation, rather than an instruction to copy it.
• Hand and habits. Explain what will sit beside the ring: other rings, a cuff or gloves. Describe the amount of volume you are used to wearing.
• Stone. Say whether you want one, whether you already have a particular specimen, and how much its color and natural outline matter.
• Budget and date. State the budget you can work within and the day the ring must be in your hands, including shipping time.
• Things to avoid. A high setting, a reflective finish or a very wide band: these limits help make the project more precise.

Preparation does not require a prescribed number of pictures or a fixed hour-long call. The useful test is whether the brief gives enough information to discuss the form and terms. The custom ring cost guide goes further into the budget conversation.

How is size worked out when the ring is a surprise?

You can start the discussion without an exact size. The sizing method and any later adjustment need to be agreed before making begins, however. A photograph of a hand or a number from an unrelated size chart cannot settle that question.

A ring that already fits the intended finger can be a useful reference. Share its size, width and how it was measured. If the size comes from another system, use the ring size conversion chart while keeping the original notation for checking.

Do not automatically transfer the size of a narrow band to a wide design: discuss the form and fit together. Whether a finished ring can be resized depends on its construction and inserts. Ask about that in advance, especially for a pair, a stone-set ring or an inscription. The proposal should make any included adjustments clear.

What happens between the sketch and the metal?

Sketch: choose a direction

A sketch makes silhouettes easier to compare: a quiet circle, an angular form, an off-center setting. Say what should stay and what gets in the way. Words such as “heavier” and “thinner” need a little unpacking: do you mean band width, metal thickness or the impression of the outline?

Brutalism V.3 Ring | STRUGA can serve as an existing reference from BRUTALISM. Including the object gives the discussion a specific comparison for the form you have in mind.

Model: examine the volume

A model reveals what a flat sketch cannot: stone height, band width, wall thickness and space between adjacent elements. Ask for the dimensions to be explained and look at the ring from several sides. Also agree how you will review the model: images, or a physical sample if the project includes one.

Before production, establish which changes the proposal includes. Changing the structure after model approval may require a new model and a revised schedule or cost. Discuss the effect of the particular change with a person at STRUGA. There is no universal “last free stage.”

How does the ring become silver?

The short STRUGA silver-making sequence is wax model → silicone mold → 925 silver → hand finishing. These names mark the main stages; they are not a casting manual. A silicone mold reproduces the model. Molten metal is not poured directly into silicone.

In the general casting process, a pattern is enclosed in a heat-resistant mold, the pattern is removed, and metal fills the resulting cavity. The casting is then freed from the mold and finished. The Formlabs guide to jewelry printing describes that sequence. It explains the technology rather than specifying STRUGA's equipment or every operation in an individual project.

Hand finishing works the edges, planes and surface of the silver. How the model is produced and how much finishing it needs depend on the design. STRUGA rings for the international market are made in Bali and dispatched from there through the international storefront.

What stone can go into a custom ring?

STRUGA works with raw wild-growth stones: their natural form, without faceting. Tourmaline, aquamarine, quartz and heliodor are among the brand's materials. A particular stone has its own dimensions and outline, which matter when discussing its setting.

Instead of a stone, you can discuss Seymchan meteorite or silver combined with another metal, such as copper, brass or stainless steel. That conversation connects with MOSAIC. The material and its suitability are confirmed for the individual project; a list of materials is not a promise of availability.

If you want to use your own stone, start with an assessment. A photograph or family history cannot establish whether it can be moved into a new setting. GIA connects design and care decisions with the durability of the particular gemstone. A setting does not make every mineral equally suitable for an everyday ring.

Which surface should you choose?

Surface treatment changes how you see volume. Polish reflects light, a matte finish scatters it, and darkening emphasizes recesses. Ask to see an example of the finish you want and discuss it alongside the form.

• Oxidized. Dark areas bring out relief and the boundaries between planes.
• Polished. A smooth, reflective surface makes highlights visible.
• Matte. Tool marks or sandblasting give the surface its character. This is a finish, rather than a separate coating over the silver.

Living Silver is 925 silver without rhodium plating: it darkens and develops patina over time. This is a material property, rather than another method of creating a matte surface. Agree care for the whole ring, including its stone and inserts. A silver cleaner cannot automatically be assumed suitable for the other materials. Comparing how long finishes last also requires knowing the conditions of wear.

What can be engraved inside the band?

Anything short enough to stay legible, in any alphabet. The engraving lives on the inside of the band, so it is read by the wearer and nobody else — which is why it is usually the one line in the brief people rewrite most.

• A date — the proposal, the first meeting
• Initials of both partners
• Coordinates of a place that matters
• A short phrase in any language, Cyrillic and Greek included
• A single mark — a star, a note, an infinity sign

Two methods, and they are not interchangeable:

• Laser — holds fine type and complex marks.
• A hand graver — cuts deeper and reads as drawn rather than printed; it suits larger letters and signatures.

Workable length depends on the width of the band; the workshop confirms it against your drawing before cutting. Engraved rings are final sale.

How long does a custom ring take?

STRUGA's production guide for custom orders and DARK UNION is roughly 3–6 weeks. This is not a promised arrival date. The proposal should clarify which approval starts the production clock and when the ring can be dispatched. Shipping is added separately.

If a proposal or wedding date is close, mention it in your first message. Do not simply count back three weeks from that date: design work, sourcing and transport must fit the actual schedule. A person at STRUGA confirms whether a rush project is possible.

Stage	What to clarify before moving on
Brief	Form, material, size, budget, required date
Design	Model dimensions, stone, surface, revisions
Making	Start of the production clock and completion date
Dispatch	Finished ring, destination and shipping time

What does the price depend on?

Budget belongs in the same conversation as form. Metal, stone, construction, finishing and the terms of the work affect the proposal. At STRUGA, a person prepares an individual offer after the brief. This guide does not give a single price as if it could apply to every custom ring.

To compare options, state your budget and priorities: keeping a particular stone, width or finish. Ask what the work includes, how changes are agreed and what is charged separately, including shipping. That lets you compare defined proposals, rather than two numbers with no scope attached.

How does payment work and what happens to the deposit?

A deposit opens the project: it is what lets drawing time and stone sourcing start before the whole sum is settled. The personal estimate and the payment order are confirmed by a person at STRUGA after the brief and before production begins. The sequence itself is short:

1. Brief and estimate. The quote is written down and agreed before anything is cut.
2. Deposit. Drawing and stone sourcing begin.
3. Approval of the drawing. Metal and stones are committed to your ring — from here the project cannot be unwound.
4. Balance, then shipment. Photographs and a short video go out at completion; the ring ships once you approve.

A commission is final sale, together with engraving and non-standard sizes. That exclusion does not touch statutory rights where a piece arrives faulty, wrongly made or wrongly shipped; those cases are handled by a person at STRUGA.

When should you choose an existing model?

If the catalog already contains the form you want, start with its size and dispatch time. A custom project makes sense when you can name the change you need. It does not guarantee a lower price or a shorter wait.

For a ring needed soon, check the specific available option first. “In the catalog” does not mean “can ship today.” For a pair, the dark wedding ring guide can help you discuss shared details across two different forms.

What will the workshop not do?

Four refusals, and they are easier to hear early than late.

An exact copy of another designer's piece

Working in the same direction is possible, with STRUGA's own voice and altered geometry. Straight reproduction is not part of the practice.

Brand replicas

Tiffany Setting, Cartier Trinity, Bulgari B.zero1 and their kind are registered marks, declined outright.

Stones without provenance

A stone whose paperwork is missing, or whose trail runs into a sanctioned source, is turned down and the reason explained.

Casting from metal you send in

Alloy purity cannot be certified without melting and assaying it, so STRUGA casts only from its own vetted supply. Family stones are the opposite case — those are welcome.

What happens after the ring is finished?

Three things settle most of the questions about shipping:

• Insured for full value — every finished commission ships that way.
• Free shipping above $300 — inside the written quote; below the threshold the calculated cost is added at checkout.
• Neutral packaging — a rigid box, a suede cushion, and no wording about engagements on the outside.

For a surprise the parcel is addressed to the buyer, and it can be redirected to a hotel or a workplace.

What stays available afterwards

• Cleaning and small repairs — free while the ring is with its owner; postage in is on the owner.
• One free resize — postage in both directions on the owner.
• Patina — treated as the surface working, not a fault; removed only on request.

Silver left without rhodium darkens along the lines of contact. After a year the ring reads back how it has been lived in.

How to start

Send a brief through Custom Order. For wedding rings, paired vow rings and alternative wedding forms, there is DARK UNION. Describe the idea and its constraints, making clear if the size is unknown or the stone has yet to be chosen.

A first message can be brief: “We need a pair of rings. We want to keep a dark surface but use different widths. We are still checking sizes. We will include our budget and arrival date in the brief.” This is an example of useful starting information, rather than a finished design.

Another existing object for comparison is Signature Links V.2 Ring | STRUGA. Save the link and identify the detail you want to discuss in your own form.

Continue with the STRUGA custom jewelry route, DARK UNION rings, DARK WEDDING, and designer Dmitry Strugovshchikov.