Bespoke FAQ

A little helpful information, before you begin ✨

We know that creating or caring for a special piece of jewellery can come with a few questions, and we’re here to help make the process feel as clear and comfortable as possible.

Our FAQs bring together helpful information about working with Meraki, from the responsibilities of both our team and our customers, to caring for precious stones, understanding our processes, and allowing for the reasonable timelines involved in hand-manufactured jewellery.

We encourage you to take a little time to read through this section before beginning your project. Some of the information is important to understand before placing an order, and it helps us ensure that we’re all on the same page about what to expect.

We’ve put this together to help you feel informed, prepared and confident, while also giving you a useful reference to return to along the way.

If you have any questions after reading through the FAQs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re always happy to help. :)

• Bespoke Consultation

To help us make the most of our consultation, please be sure to share the following information beforehand:

• Any reference images of ring styles or designs you love
• The required ring size
• Your preferred metal (we work in 9ct, 14ct, and 18ct Gold, as well as Platinum)
• Your stone preferences
• A rough budget range, which will help us explore the most suitable options for you
• Your preferred completion date

As each bespoke piece is individually designed and handcrafted in collaboration with our highly skilled artisans and experienced goldsmiths, using premium precious and semi-precious gemstones set in solid gold or platinum, our bespoke design process is charged for a full premium service.

This investment includes:

• Design development - CAD creation and rendered files - 3D printing and casting - Stone sourcing - Newly refined gold - Manufacturing and craftsmanship - Stone setting - Rhodium plating (where required) -Final goldsmith finishing

• Each bespoke piece is presented in a beautiful handmade, locally produced luxury ring box, packaged in our signature luxury packaging, and accompanied by a digital valuation certificate.

• Local Gemstone and Natural Diamond Sourcing

We work with a few local gemstone dealers who each have decades of good standing in our local trade. 

We don't keep gemstones in stock on our premises, but we will source the very best options available on behalf of our customers. We’re happy to have these stones sent to our studio for in-person viewing. We limit the amount of stones to be offered to a maximum of 3 options from various suppliers (if this many are available).

If a customer would like to shift the parameters of the gemstone search or would like to source from further afield, we charge a small sourcing fee. This is R150 for one request from one supplier for one gemstone type.

• International Gemstone and Lab-grown Diamond Sourcing

We work with an international stone supplier who represents small stone dealers across the globe. This gives us access to an exceptional range of high quality, carefully sourced stones, at highly competitive pricing. 

Since the vast majority of these stones are with the stone dealers/cutters in various parts of the world, viewing the item in person before purchasing isn't possible - however we can request additional videos and photographs of a stone from the dealer.  

We realise that purchasing a stone without first seeing it in real life can feel a bit concerning, but we have a few steps in place to ensure that the stone we source for you is not only exceptional quality but also what you have your heart set on.

1. Selecting from the best of the best.

It’s important to know the little details about stones to make sure you are getting the absolute best value for your money.

When we source stones for our customers, we apply the correct filters to the search so that we are only selecting from stones that have the ideal dimensions, proportions, and ratios.

This is very important to ensure that every aspect of the stone, from the angle of the facets to the overall symmetry of the cut all make the very best of the stone.

2. Transparency.

We will always send along the video of the stone that is on my supplier site. 

If you would like to see the stone's certification, I will provide this too.

If you would like to see more photos and videos of a particular stone, we are happy to ask the supplier for these and we usually receive them within a day.

3. We apply our own discernment.

If we receive a stone that we feel does not live up to our expectations - if we would be in any way disappointed ourselves to be personally paying for the stone - we will oversee the return of that stone and source a better stone for you.

We find that the price range and quality of cuts are so good for the Lab-grown Diamonds that there is often little to compare between stones and since we generally select in the colourless range, every stone looks absolutely gorgeous. 

• Quotes and Deposit payments

Due to pricing fluctuations in our trade, all quotes and invoices are valid for 7 days only from the date they are issued.

For orders over R10,000.00 we require a deposit between 50%-75% depending on the cost of the main stone being incorporated in the piece.

Only once we have received this deposit amount in our account, will we commence with the CAD production of the design process. 

Customers sending money from overseas are responsible for investigating any banking fees or charges for their international transaction, and ensuring that these are added to the expected deposit / balance amount. 

We require deposits to be transferred directly into our bank account, and we have found that Wise.com is the most time-efficient and cost-effective option that manages these costs and expenses well.

Payments from overseas can take 2-7 days to clear - it’s the customer’s responsibility to factor this into their required timeline. We cannot be held responsible for design and production delays due to customer payment delays.

While we endeavour to put reserves on stones that are noted in invoices provided, it can happen that a stone may be sold on the international market before we receive a customer’s deposit. In this instance, we will source a diamond that is equal to, or better than, the stone previously noted as no extra cost to the customer. 

Please note that we aim to complete orders within an 5-10 week timeframe, and the remaining balance becomes due once you have been notified that your ring has been completed. 

Due to shifting costs in our trade, we're unable to delay manufacturing or postpone the final invoice once production has begun.

If you realise that you need to pause on moving forward after receiving a quote or an invoice, that's absolutely no problem. We'll be more than happy to revisit your project when you're ready. At that time, we’ll recalculate the quote based on current metal and gemstone prices, and send through an updated invoice.

• CAD (computer aided design) Presentation and Approval

All our bespoke projects provide customers with beautifully rendered CAD images to approve and to keep. Please note that these images will tend to look ‘bulkier’ or ‘chunkier’ than the real-life end product. 

We will not move forward with the physical production of your design until we have received your approval of the CAD renders in writing in the email thread for your project. 

It’s important that customers requiring tight turnaround times keep abreast of our email communication and don’t delay in responding.

If any changes are required, the customer must communicate these as soon as possible and we will adjust accordingly. However, reverts and delays in communication may shift the expected turnaround time. 

By approving the CAD a customer agrees that the ring being created is in line with their expectations and final payment will be due upon the ring's completion.

By agreeing with the invoice details you confirm that the ring size, metal type, and other specifications are in line with your expectations. 

It’s important to double check your invoice and design details to ensure the details of your order are correct all the way through the process.

Please communicate with us immediately if you feel uncertain about any aspect of your invoice or design - or if you haven’t received an updated document when you should have. 

We do our absolute best to be precise and careful but we are human and small errors can slip in, we appreciate your attention to the details of your order too! 

Our clients love being able to view their design before we move ahead with manufacturing, as it gives peace of mind that we're creating exactly what they have in mind.

We also offer the option to receive your design as a 3D resin model for a small additional fee if you would like to view your ring in life-size physical form before giving your final approval to move ahead with the physical manufacturing! 

• Timelines

The turnaround time for bespoke items can vary greatly according to individual customer requirements in the initial quoting and design phase of a project. 

If a customer first needs to figure out a ring size, or there are family items to incorporate, or the design or manufacturing process is unusual, or we are required to source difficult-to-acquire stones, it can take some time before we might have all the information collated to be able to present an invoice.

However, once we have provided an invoice and we’ve received the required deposit, we expect the actual design and manufacturing process to be between 4-6 weeks depending on the design itself. 

We strongly advise customers to complete the design and manufacturing process for engagement rings before making hard proposal plans or paying for travel bookings.

When customers have tight turnaround times and hard deadlines:

We do our absolute best to meet our customers’ special completion dates, and we succeed 99.9% of the time. However, with bespoke items that are new designs to our team and crafted by a team of human hands, timelines can occasionally shift during the creation process. For this reason, we cannot guarantee turnaround times.

While we will do everything in our power to ensure we meet a customer completion date, we cannot be held responsible if a bespoke piece has any kind of unexpected delay due to unforeseen circumstances in the design or manufacturing process. 

Additionally, our workshop always prioritises quality over deadlines. Every item we produce is of the highest quality, and if, at any point in the creation process, our team sees that the piece requires extra care or time, we will prioritise this and communicate this with you. 

We trust that you understand that while we want your special piece to arrive on time, it is even more important to us that it is of exceptional quality, so it can be loved every day for years to come.

• Meraki’s intellectual rights to custom designs

We create all the designs for our bespoke customers in-house, using our own experience and personal design approach. At any point, we may draw on elements that are part of our past or ongoing projects. These designs belong to us and we reserve the right to use these in future collections. We may use a design created for a customer’s order in our own collection or in a following custom design commission. 

If a customer would like to purchase a lifetime right to the precise dimensions, contents, and structure of an item this can be negotiated. 

• Bespoke Shipping

We offer an uninsured complimentary shipping option via The Courier Guy. This service transports our online orders all over South Africa daily and the overwhelming majority have had no concerns or issues - however this service offers no insurance. You are welcome to make use of this complimentary shipping option, however any loss or damage will be at the customer's chosen risk.

Our preferred method of transporting for more valuable items, especially bespoke and custom orders, is via an insured DHL shipment. They insure the jewellery being transported while in transit. We will happily provide you with a quote for this insured shipment option, we simply require the full delivery address with the phone number and email address of the recipient. 

Customers are also most welcome to engage their own courier service. Please note that the collection from our studio can only be arranged once we have sent out notification of the piece’s completion.

This will be at the customer’s expense, it must be organised to fit with our studio opening hours, and all the details must be communicated clearly to us. We can’t be held responsible for customer arrangements that have not been explicitly confirmed via email.

• Overseas Shipping

NB: Please note that most countries will consider jewellery items to be an imported luxury product and will charge tax and customs costs for the shipment entering the country.

These fees are often paid for by the courier company so that the parcel isn't waylaid in a customs depot somewhere. The fees will then be charged directly to the customer by the courier company.

It is the customer's responsibility to find out what the costs will be for the country they are choosing to have the items sent to. 

• Overseas visitors Claiming VAT back in South Africa

If customers plan to claim VAT back for goods valued over R5,000.00 purchased in RSA at the airport when leaving SA, they will need an invoice with their residential address noted on it. 

It is the customer’s responsibility to notify us of their intention to process this kind of claim and to provide us with their residential address. This must be done in good time as we may or may not be able to assist when they are already at the airport. 

Customers must please check the requirements to ensure they have the correct information and required documents ahead of time.

• Returns and repairs

If a customer notices a problem with the metal, structure, settings, or stones in a piece of jewellery , it’s imperative that they communicate this with us as soon as possible and don’t wear the piece until we have had the chance to inspect it. 

Damage to jewellery can happen due to normal wear and tear, or through accidental knocks or bumps that a person may or may not notice in the moment. 

While our jewellery is made up in hard metals, using great quality stones, and designed with structural integrity in mind - precious metals are still malleable and gemstones are minerals with a limited capacity for environmental stresses. How our designs are worn out in the world is also beyond our control and we can’t be held liable for damage sustained once a ring has been worn outside of the Meraki studio.

It’s important to be aware of activities that may cause jewellery to be stressed or damaged - such as regularly knocking the jewellery piece against furniture, vehicles, ceramic items, cutlery, gym equipment, etc. 

We advise our customers to remove rings and earrings before exercise, hiking, swimming, sleeping, using implements or tools, washing dishes, and lifting heavy objects. 

If an item of jewellery suffers some damage, we will assess the repair requirements and then determine responsibility for costs based on the following:

1. Whether the item shows any signs of unusual stress or damage, 

2. Whether we were notified as soon as the problem was noticed and sent clear images of the concern.

3. Whether the piece was worn after the customer noticed any issues with the piece and communicated this with us. 

If we can see that the item has sustained damage, been damaged for some time, doesn’t match the images sent, or has been worn after noticing the issue, there will be a repair fee charged to the customer. This amount will be determined after inspection of the product. 

It's a good idea to check with your insurer whether they cover damage to your ring. We have helped customers successfully claim for repairs or remakes when they have accidentally knocked a claw or unwittingly caused damage to stones or the ring structure.

We advise you to have your jewellery item checked and re-valued annually to keep the ring in good condition and keep up with any market fluctuations. So feel free to check in with us again in a year to see about a ring check-up and whether it's worth adjusting the valuation total. 

• Bespoke ring sizing

We strongly advise allowing us to measure the ring size required for your bespoke ring. Every hand is unique and various compromises need to be decided by each individual.

One customer may want a ring that fits tightly over a knuckle so that it’s as snug as possible on a smaller joint. Another customer might feel very uncomfortable with a tight fit and would rather have a ring with some movement than feel restricted. 

Another consideration is that different bodies react differently to temperature fluctuations and seasonal changes. And naturally we all experience shape changes depending on the time of year and various activities and habits that might change over time. 

For these reasons, while we might make well-considered decisions about ring size in the studio it’s possible that a customer might realise they have a different preference when wearing a ring over time on a regular basis. 

For these reasons, it is not entirely possible to guarantee a ring size being a perfect fit all of the time. 

We will provide a free ring sizing in the following instance:

• If we have measured the size ourselves in person.

• If the ring is not the right fit when tried on directly after the 6-8 week standard completion period.

Any costs associated with adjusting the ring size will be at the customer’s expense in the following instances:

• If the ring size was not measured by us.

• If the ring was measured by us but tried on more than 2 weeks after the order was completed. 

In either case, we will happily resize any rings made by us and the work will be carried out by the same goldsmiths with the same care as when the item was first manufactured with us. 

If the ring needs to be shipped to our studio, customers are welcome to use their own courier option. In which case, we must be notified via email about the parcel and given the correct shipping details for the delivery.

Should a customer prefer for us to arrange the shipping, we’ll happily provide quotes for insured and uninsured shipments.

 

• General wear and tear on Diamonds and Sapphires

Please be aware that we strongly advise our customers to incorporate Diamonds and/or Sapphires in all jewellery items that will be worn frequently. These stones tend to have the greatest resistance to damage and the highest longevity of all the colourless and coloured gemstones available.

Having noted that - all gemstones will show signs of wear and tear over time if not given good quality care. While Diamonds and Sapphires are two of the hardest gemstones  - this does not mean they are the hardest material  on earth.

If these stones suffer hard knocks or significant stress they will still be inclined to show some damage.

Under normal circumstances, the odds of chipping your diamond during normal wear are quite slim. However, it is a possibility that you should be aware of so that you can take proper precautions.

We advise our customers not to wear their rings while doing strenuous physical activities.

 

• Damaged Stones

Gemstones other than Diamonds and Sapphires have a wide range of vulnerabilities. Without proper care, these stones may be vulnerable to chips or fractures, may become abraded over time, and may be less ‘sparkly’ after being worn a lot if they have a lower refractivity and aren’t properly cleaned. 

While we try to note these specific concerns for various stones in our consultation process it’s important to note that we cannot be held liable for any damage to stones or disappointment in stone appearance once a ring has been completed or worn over time.

 

• Regarding Salt & Pepper Diamonds

The very thing we love about S+P Diamonds is their unique characteristics which are a result of various kinds of inclusions which are more plentiful and noticeable than in traditional diamonds. These inclusions grow and form as the diamond develops. Over billions of years, the crystal is exposed to carbon, minerals and even other diamonds and together, these elements create lasting marks, or inclusions. This means that the very nature of the stone is to be highly included and this is what makes them more prone to fracturing than traditional diamonds.

Having said that, if the diamond is mounted carefully and treated with reasonable care, it can last for generations.

We strive to select these stones carefully and create settings that can absorb some daily shocks as we want to avoid chipping or splitting. However, these stones can sometimes have inclusions that are not visible to the eye that may result in cleavage or chipping at a later time.

When cleaning a salt and pepper diamond, avoid using ultrasonic cleaners as these can cause fractures and cracks in a more fragile stone. Use a mild soap and a soft brush to restore the brightness and sparkle of the stone, instead of using harsh chemicals and abrasive materials.

• Special Notes for Black Diamonds

Although these are diamonds and everyone expects a diamond to have superior hardness, black diamonds are actually made up of millions of smaller black diamond crystals, bound together by internal inclusions. 

These multiple fractures make black diamonds more vulnerable to breakage from sharp blows than colourless diamonds. 

For this reason, we strongly advise customers purchasing larger black diamonds for rings to wear these pieces with extra care. 

Please note that these stones have a vulnerability to chip or fracture since they may harbour an inclusion that is invisible to the eye due to their opacity.

• Using customer’s stones from old jewellery in new pieces

When we receive customer items we will have a close look to check if there are any obvious concerns at the time of receipt. However, it’s important to note that we have no way of knowing what kind of pressure the stones may have experienced in the previous setting process. Most of the time, we remove stones and everything is perfectly fine, but occasionally we find that a stone may have been chipped in the previous setting process. 

If this happens, we will notify you immediately. Our setter will then wait to receive special confirmation before setting your new item. Your confirmation to go ahead with setting, means that you understand that we are not responsible for the fault on the stone and that the stone may not react well to the pressure of setting in the new ring.

We do our best to inspect your jewellery with you in our studio, and we work with careful craftspeople who take every care with the jewellery we entrust them with. However, it can happen that faults with customer stones only come to light once the new ring is in the hands of the setters who use high powered eyewear. 

At this point in the process the ring will already have been made and the costs for this apply to the customer whether the stone/s survive the setting process or not. 

Naturally, in the unusual event that a customer’s stone with existing faults does not survive the setting process we will do our utmost to find a cost-friendly replacement. 

We will always notify the customer of any issues with their stones before setting.

• Abandoned jewellery items

Occasionally customers deliver personal jewellery items for us to keep in our safe. These items might be part of a quoting process or remainders from a previous project. 

It is the responsibility of the customer to make arrangements to collect these items from us. 

We will endeavour to communicate a reminder of items left with us via email, however should these communications go ignored and/or no arrangements be made for collection, we will consider these items no longer wanted by the customer.

Going forward from September 2026, any items left at the business for more than one year - without a customer communicating with us or responding to our communications - will be sold to defray costs.

• Caring for your piece and Meraki aftercare for our bespoke pieces

We strongly advise that our customers treat their bespoke jewellery with care. These little artworks are vulnerable to being bumped and knocked in ways that we might not realise in the middle of a busy day. 

It’s important to be aware of actions and activities that will expose your bespoke ring to extra wear and tear. You wouldn’t wear an expensive silk dress hiking or to the gym - and your bespoke jewellery deserves the same consideration. 

We suggest using a baby’s toothbrush with some tepid water and washing up liquid to clean your ring. A light ultrasonic cleaner can help to remove debris and hand cream etc from little tiny corners under stones too.

Our customers are also most welcome to visit our studio anytime in our operating hours to have their rings cleaned in our specialist ultrasonic cleaner. 

We will happily apply a light polish on all yellow or rose gold pieces. If you have a white gold item, we will advise you about updating the rhodium plating. 

We love ensuring that our gorgeous rings are kept in excellent condition!

Please always feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about your jewellery. We encourage our customers to make an appointment with us once a year for an inspection of their ring.

Customers are very welcome to request an update to their valuation certificate replacement values. We advise you to have your jewellery item re-valued annually to and keep up with any market fluctuations.