Our Process

Step 1. Stones exquisitely matched

The foundation of any custom piece of jewelry are the gemstones that will be featured in your design.  Whether we are matching stones to highlight a precious family heirloom you’d like to have redesigned or a commissioned piece starting from scratch, the expert gemologists at Boudreaux’s will provide stones that match perfectly for color, brilliance, and beautiful consistency.

 

Step 2. Cutting Edge Computer Design…(or not)

For most custom projects, we utilize the most cutting edge technology to create your piece, from engineering and design software to 3D printers, but sometimes the old ways of hand-fabrication  or wax carving are the best ways to manufacture a piece.  Our expert team will assist you in determining the best method to produce your piece ensuring the highest quality method of production.

Step 3. Precision Wax Model

As listed before, most projects utilize our cutting edge 3D printer to create a three dimensional wax model of your piece for approval.  At this stage, we can show you the exact dimensions of your piece and make any alterations if necessary.  If the design of your project calls for hand-carved wax model, we will sculpt the piece from a solid block of wax so that you can view the piece before casting.

Step 4. Casting

When you approve the 3D wax model of your piece, we go directly into production.  At this stage, we take painstaking care to guarantee that the metal is ethically sourced, clean, and free from any contaminants like solder that can cause weakness or pitting in a piece of jewelry.  When the casting stage is complete, one of our master jewelers inspects the raw casting to make sure it passes our 10 point inspection for quality.

 

Step 5. Stone Setting

This is where your piece will truly come to life.  Each bit of gold or platinum under the diamonds or gemstones receives a full polish before setting to make sure the stones are as bright and lively as possible.  The diamonds or gemstones for your custom piece of jewelry will be expertly set into metal by one of our master jewelers.  During this process we stop several times to check for a flush and secure fit.

 

Step 6. Final Polish

The final polish of a piece of jewelry can often be the most overlooked part, but is one of the most important.  We fully polish using several different stages of polishing compound and different techniques to achieve a perfectly smooth mirrored finish.  For any design involving milgrain detailing or engraving, we carefully add those personal touches at this final stage.