Most design processes start with a complimentary consultation appointment so we can learn more about you and your project. If we all feel good about moving forward with the project, a design deposit is collected to start the process. That deposit is non-refundable but it is applied to the final payment when you pick up your finished piece.

If your project features a center stone or other unique stones that we will be sourcing, we will often start with that stone sourcing process (more on that below). 

If we are reusing your stones to create new pieces, we often need to unset those stones to get accurate measurements and check for pre-existing damage to the stones. We will ask your permission before we take this step, as putting the stones back into the original jewelry is not an option.

Once you have paid a design deposit and met with someone at Balefire to go over your project, the next step is for us to send you flat designs. These might be sketches created by hand or digitally, but they will give you an idea of design direction, scale, etc. Depending on what you are looking to create, we will send anywhere from 1 - 4 flat designs. From there we will discuss what appeals to you and leverage your feedback to provide one or round of updated designs and on some occasions, one more additional round of edits before the final flat design is selected.

After we have a flat design selected, we then take that design to our CAD designer to create a 3D mockup of your design (if it is not being hand fabricated, that is). You will then be able to review that CAD for final approval. We can make small tweaks to ensure the design is just right, but any additional design or major design changes at this stage may incur an additional fee.

When the design is finalized and the total price is nailed down, we will invoice you for 50% of the cost of production, which you can pay via an emailed invoice or in person in our gallery. Once that final deposit is paid, your custom jewelry item goes into production with our caster and the physical creation process begins. After your design is cast, we then clean up that casting, do any hand fabrication work that the design may call for, set the stones, and then do the final polishing and finishing work.

Once the work is all done, you will be notified that your item is ready for pickup or shipping. You will pay the final 50% (minus your design deposit) and receive your one-of-a-kind creation. If you would like to have an appraisal done in order to insure your jewelry, we can provide that as well free of charge.