Custom Jewellery & Selecting Your Diamond

MANUFACTURE & DESIGN

Whether you’ve already got a design idea in your mind or have been inspired by a ring that you have already seen but would like to adapt it to suit your own tastes, we can create your very own personalised ring using our Mervis design service.

All our engagement rings are made to order to suit your personal requirements.

Step 1 - Hand Drawn Sketch 

First, we discuss your piece and work clarify your vision.

This process might include reviewing sketches and samples, exploring photos and prepare hand-drawn and computer drawings of your ideal engagement ring, necklace, bracelet or earrings.

We explore whether the style is classical or modern, plain or baroque and work to finalise a perfect hand-drawn realisation of your dream piece of Jewellery. We will move to Step 2 only when your are completely satisfied with the final.

Step 2 - CAD Designs

Next, our gifted computer-aided design (CAD) department gets to work creating a custom layout to the exact specifications of your sketch.

This will result in a unique CAD rendering of your design. We will sit down together to review every aspect of the computer drawing and ensure it matches your original concept and expectations. Once you are satisfied, we will move into the final and most exciting stage.

Step 3 - Finished Design

The CAD design is then sent to the next department where a wax mold is printed.  This typically takes 1-2 days.

Once the wax mold is completed, the next step is casting in either gold or platinum.
The final casting is cleaned and prepared for stone setting. Our stone selecting team carefully selects every diamond and gemstone, making sure that each stone is in no way damaged and is a perfect fit. Each stone is set by hand, and the prongs are finally tipped, to complete the product.

Your custom design item is hand polished and rhodium plated before being passed to quality control where it is carefully inspected for any flaws, scratches and other quality issues. Finally, we are ready to deliver your special custom pieces. Usually the custom design process from concept to delivery takes 15-20 business days.

DIAMOND BUYING GUIDE

For most people, buying a diamond is a new experience, but that doesn’t mean it should be overwhelming.

Understanding a diamond’s quality characteristics is straightforward and simple.
However, the measure of cut, colour, clarity and carat offers a useful grading system, helping to categorise every diamond and define their beauty.

All our Diamonds from 0.30cts have a South African Certification: GIA and EGL.
Various characteristics of Diamonds are graded and categorized by the Diamond industry.

To learn about Diamonds is to first learn about the “four Cs” of Diamonds - these are the 4 characteristics which are considered the most important in determining a Diamond’s value.

Don’t rush into your Diamond purchase.

Here's what you should know about what drives the value of the diamond you're looking at:

Standard: I-J Colour SI1-SI2 Clarity
Premium: G-H Colour VS1-VS2 Clarity
Investment: E-F Colour VVS1-VVS2 Clarity

Colour Range varies from E to J. Clarity varies from VVS to SI.

All the Diamonds from 0.30cts have a South African Certification: GIA. EGL.

CUT

When we speak of cut we are more interested in the proportions of the Diamond as opposed to its shape (Round Brilliant, Marquise, Pear Princess, etc.)

Every Diamond regardless of its shape gets it brilliancy and scintillation by cutting and polishing the Diamond facets to allow the maximum amount of light that enters through its top to be reflected and dispersed back through its top.

Diamond cut is perhaps the most important of the four Cs, so it is important to understand how this quality affects the properties and values of a Diamond.

A good cut gives a Diamond its brilliance, which is that brightness that seems to come from the very heart of a Diamond.

The angles and finish of any Diamond are what determine its ability to handle light which leads to brilliance.

CLARITY

The clarity of a Diamond is determined by the amount and location of flaws, or blemishes in the diamond when viewed under 10 power (10x) magnification.

GIA rates clarity grades in Diamonds from Flawless to Imperfect 3. The Diamond Shopping Network offers you Diamonds from the Imperfect 1 grade through Flawless.

Most Diamonds contain very tiny birthmarks known as “inclusions.” An inclusion can interfere with the light passing through the Diamond.

The fewer the inclusions, the more beautiful the Diamond will be.

COLOUR

Diamonds come naturally in every colour of the rainbow. However most people are concerned with Diamonds in the white range.

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) rates the body colour in white Diamonds from D (colourless) to Z (light yellow).

The best colour for a Diamond is no colour at all.

A totally colourless Diamond allows light to pass through it easily, resulting in the light being dispersed as the colour of the rainbow.

Colours are graded totally colourless to light yellow. The differences from one grade to the other are very subtle and it takes a trained eye and years of experience to colour grade a Diamond.

CARAT

A carat is a unit of measurement and it’s the unit used to weigh a Diamond. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams, or 0.2 grams. This is the weight of a Diamond measured in carats.

As the carat weight of a Diamond increases so does its rarity and therefore its price.

One carat is divided into 100 “points,” so that a Diamond of 75 points weights .75 carats.

The carat-weight of a Diamond is the easiest measurement to determine.

Most importantly, two Diamonds can be of equal carat-weight, but their value can differ greatly due to their cut, colour and clarity.

THE FIFTH C: CERTIFICATES

The Diamond certificate, which is sometimes called a grading report, is a complete evaluation of your Diamond that has been performed by a qualified professional with the help of special gemological instruments. Each stone bears its own recognisable, individual characteristics, which is listed on the certificate.

Shopping for certified Diamonds allows you to make an informed choice about your Diamond selections and to comparison shop among various Diamond Merchants.

You can compare one Diamond with a particular weight and quality with other Diamonds of similar weight and quality to determine which Diamond is the better value — or which merchant has the best prices.

WHAT SIZE SHOULD I BUY?

Determine your budget. 

Deciding on carat size is really about striking a balance between size, quality, affordability, and personal preference. If she prefers larger jewellery items, and you are working within a budget, you can still find a larger diamond of excellent quality gem by selecting one which is graded slightly lower in terms of colour and clarity.

Remember that slender fingers make small diamonds look bigger. If she has small fingers 1-carat diamond will look proportionately large — and an even larger stone may appear stunningly big.

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