Custom Design Process

DO YOU DO CUSTOM WORK?

Yes. Custom Nautical Jewelry Design is our forte, anything you can dream up we can bring to life with your direction and vision.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GO CUSTOM?

For semi custom jobs, which include designs that are slight alterations from our original designs, the minimum  design charge is $150. For fully custom, or extremely ornate jobs the artwork and design is estimated by the hour at a rate of $75 per hour, we have works that have far exceeded 10 hours in design, but average custom design times are 3-4 hours.

HOW DOES THE CUSTOM DESIGN PROCESS WORK?

The process usually starts one of two ways; computer animated design in CAD or hand carved by Louie the Fish himself. Before we begin it’s good to have an overall idea of what the final product will look like, overall composition, scale in inches and millimeters (HxWxD), and a general gustoimation of metal weight as well as budget. Based on your parameters, I can formulate the best strategy for bringing you commissioned work of art to life. Not all creations are possible in hand carving due to the limitation of the art of bone and shell carving as the material is very fragile at limited tolerances. However it is possible to hybridize a creation with an original hand carving and adding fine details using computer graphics which usually brings the highest quality renderings to life, although it is a more complicated process.
And the third option which we have mastered is straight computer animated graphics (CAD) in 3D software.
At this time, I will begin by getting a quote for you. If the price sounds good and is within your budget, part one is the design which will be paid for in advance based on one of the 3 methods of art: 

Options: 

  • Hand Carving by none other than Louie the Fish
  • Hybridized design starting with a custom hand carving that is digitally 3D scanned into stereolithography and imported into one of our design softwares
  • Or straight computer animated CAD design

The next step is to move on to the manufacturing process, and we require a 50% deposit for the final piece up front. This allows us to reserve your metal at market price the day we commit to the job and  for your design to begin production. Once the design is complete and I receive your deposit, I will email you 2D renderings of your Pendant design for final approval. One free revision is included and we can tweak the design until it is to your liking. After the initial revision, there is a fee for revising, but it is usually best to go back to the drawing board if we are not on the same page design wise. It usually does not get to that point. Once the manufacturing process begins the average delivery time is 2-3 weeks until your piece is completed. Your balance will be due upon completion, and we cannot hold processing orders over 15 business days, if final payment is not made the metal will be melted down and recycled and the deposit will be lost.  

 CAD JEWELRY DESIGN

It is widely known that computers have changed the landscape of almost every industry, and few have seen a greater impact than industrial and jewelry design using CAD.
While CAD jewelry design does not replace the need for jewelers who cast, polish, solder and weld gold and silver, or the gem setters who seat precious stones, it does allow the creation of new prototypes that can be rendered as three dimensional designs in software. Creations that were once designed completely by hand in bone, shell, or wax carvings are being slowly phased out by CAD. Renderings are now developed on computer screens by artisans using state-of-the-art software and equipment that transforms their thoughts and keystrokes into works of art. Modern sculptors of today’s jewelry design use a keyboard and mouse instead of rotary tools, grinding wheels, spatulas, files and wax pens to create their work. These artisans still require an abundance of artistic vision, coupled with a strong comprehension of extremely complicated software applications aside from their in-depth understanding of jewelry fabrication and manufacturing. In many cases only some of the tools have changed to reach desired results as demand for more complex designs, shapes and forms have increased. Today, It takes a culmination of both old world skills and the technologically advanced artisans to bring twenty first century design to the Jewelry industry.
Post automated design process, the files are sent digitally to 3D printers or wax cutting mills where they will be transformed from data to a 3-D wax or resin form. Once in wax there is a post production process to clean the wax and it is then inspected and hand retouched when necessary.  After inspection the form is then sprued into a wax tree and prepared to be embedded into the plaster investment that is poured into a flask. The flask with the wax tree encased by plaster is then placed in a furnace to incinerate the wax models. Now that the plaster is cured and the wax is incinerated the flask will be filled with molten gold or silver by centrifugal or vacuum casting where the negative of your design is transformed into precious metal. Post casting, the casting is removed, the sprues are cut and your individual piece of art is free to begin the silversmithing or goldsmithing fabrication and assembly work performed by skilled bench jewelers. Once cleaned, handworked, and machine tumbled the piece will move on to the jewelry polishing team to prepare it for gemstone setting.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A CUSTOM DESIGN?

The timeline can vary depending on material availability and design complexity but on average, custom design takes about 2-3 weeks from start to finish. Because Hand carvings are shipped from Hawaii where Louie the Fish lives and carves it is possible that design times for carving and hybrid models may be postponed due to circumstances beyond our control (example: mail, shell or bone availability, or natural disaster), under these circumstances it may take up to 4 weeks.  Alternatively if we are only making small changes to an existing design it can take as little as a week. 


IS MY CUSTOM DESIGN TRULY ONE OF A KIND?

In a sense, yes.
While Nautical Treasure Jewelry owns the rights to all of our designs, if your custom design is made uniquely for you and very distinct, we are not going to duplicate it exactly. However, for more simplified designs, (example: mahi jumping, or tarpon rolling) we cannot guarantee that a similar Pendant will not be recreated but as a courtesy to you we will always try to make appropriate alterations.


CAN I MAKE REVISIONS TO MY CUSTOM DESIGN?

After discussing the full composition of your design, with consideration to weight, scale and budget. I will send you 2D computer renderings of your piece. This includes 1 free revision. After that, there is a fee for designing. 
If we change the design completely after the first full design plus 1 revision, there will be an additional $150 charge plus any fees for additional design time. 


WHAT ARE THE CUSTOM DESIGN TERMS?

All custom orders are final.

  • After the $250 deposit the creative phase of the process begins
  •  Once renderings are accepted and signed off by the customer a second payment for 50% of the balance of the piece will be required.
  • The creative design phase averages 7-10 business days.
  • The final manufacturing phase takes 7-10 business days  

-When purchasing a silver or gold chain, we offer set discounts for collection pendants.
-All jewelry is covered under warranty for life against manufacturer defects. Normal wear and tear and abuse/accidental damage is not covered under this policy.
-All custom orders are nonrefundable.
-Once jewelry is completed, balance is required upon completion. All late payments will accrue additional charges (10% of balance for the first month), at which point the piece may be melted down for scrap and the deposit be forfeited unless alternate payment arrangements are made in advance.

CAN I CUSTOMIZE A NAUTICAL TREASURE PIECE?

We happily customize our art to fit our clients needs whether it is scaling sizes, changing bale sizes or going deeper into changing the composition of the art in a style that resonates with our customers. We specialize in custom jewelry design and hate to see when our artwork imitated, copied, or replicated.  so we wouldn’t want to do that to another jewelry designer. We do not copy designs from other stores as it is illegal to copy another artist’s work. However, if you see patterns, designs or motifs that you would like to capture in your custom design, we can design something similar to meet your expectations. 

CAN I ASK ANOTHER JEWELER TO COPY A PENDANT FROM YOUR WEBSITE?

No. Nautical Treasure is a Registered Trademark, and our designs  are Copyrighted. Copyright infringement is illegal and can be prosecuted under U.S. law.