Use your own diamond in a ring.

Making a ring with your own diamond

A custom-design engagement (or right-hand, or eternity) ring around a centre stone you already own. The work is the design and the manufacturing, not the stone, we do not charge a centre-stone margin on something you already have. It is one route into our wider bespoke jewellery, made to order across every kind of piece, not only rings.

What we will tell you about your stone, before we design

For any stone we did not cut, the first 30 minutes of the commission is honest. We confirm what the GIA report says (or grade it ourselves if there is no current report); we identify the inclusions on the plot; we tell you, candidly, what you actually have. If the stone is excellent, we say so. If it has been overgraded by an out-of-trade laboratory, we say so. If the cut is materially below modern targets and a re-cut would change the ring meaningfully, we discuss it.

This conversation is part of why people commission with us rather than with a generalist setter. We sell stones for a living, so we read them honestly when you bring one in.

The brief

• The stone (or its GIA / EGL report number, plus shape, weight, dimensions if you have them).
• Photograph of the stone if possible (loose stone preferred; a current ring is also fine).
• The new ring vision: solitaire, halo, three-stone, hidden halo, bezel, east-west, cathedral. Reference imagery welcome.
• Metal: platinum, 18 kt white / yellow / rose. Mixed metals possible.
• Wearer’s ring size (or send us an existing ring, or use our free SA postal sizing-ring set).
• Budget band for the design and setting. Deadline.

The process

1. Wk 1

   Stone evaluation

   You bring (or insured courier) the stone. We grade and read it; you see the report and the inclusion plot match under loupe.

2. Wk 1-2

   Design brief

   Two-way conversation about the design direction. We sketch on the same notepad we use for stone reads.

3. Wk 2-3

   CAD & revisions

   Up to two CAD revisions included. Resin or wax fit-check available on request for complex profiles.

4. Wk 3-7

   Bench manufacturing

   Setting made; centre stone set; finishing; polish. Lead time depends on metal and complexity.

5. Wk 7-8

   Hand-over

   Inscription match under loupe; cert signed across; manufacturing-defect guarantee lodged; care instructions provided.

Price

Stone-You-Own Customs starts at R 14,000 design and setting, before metal cost. Total investment depends on metal weight (18 kt white / platinum) and design complexity. Typical complete commissions sit in the R 22,000, R 60,000 band, exclusive of the centre stone you own.

What is included

• Stone evaluation and (where applicable) GIA grading at our cost.
• Up to two CAD revisions before bench start.
• Standard sizing on the finished ring (±2 sizes) at no extra cost.
• 24-month manufacturing-defect guarantee on the bench work.
• Insured national courier dispatch.
• Care guide and complimentary year-one inspection.

Honest disclosures

• If your stone is not what its certificate says. We will tell you. Some stones graded by lower-tier laboratories carry colour or clarity grades that GIA would not give the same stone. We do not change the design to compensate; we tell you the truth, and we let you decide whether to proceed, re-grade, or trade the stone.
• If the cut grade is materially below target. We will tell you whether re-cutting is worth doing for the budget you have, and what the weight loss and benefit would be. Most stones are not worth re-cutting; the few that are gain real face-up performance.
• If we suspect the stone is treated or undisclosed-lab-grown. We are equipped to test for this and will say so before taking the commission. Prodiam is a natural-only house; we will not knowingly set an undisclosed lab-grown stone into a ring that could be mistaken for natural.

Using your own diamond, common questions