A special request for any arts and crafts, especially a handcrafted jewel is a tremendous challenge in order to meet client needs. The most valuable approach to fulfil a request is trying to understand them and to listen to them, so the artist can see the vision. The creation in the jewellery industry is very delicate. The creator has to face and dissect client personality and its fashion. Actually this kind of challenge is not a problem for handcrafters; they enjoy creating something exceptional for customers and share their delight and ecstasy when they collect a little piece of created art.
A lot of information has to be gathered, such as dimension, length for necklace and bracelet, size for ring and more. No details can be neglected. Clients often wear unusual and unique pieces of jewellery. Price is discussed early on and an approximate provided. The artist does not know the quantity of silver or gold the piece would use or how many hours it would take to complete the item. At first everything seems to go in the right direction, the client expresses their desire, you note down their requirements, send the order to the workshop, and mobilize your team. Completing the sale depends on the client and their level of satisfaction about the ordered jewel.
Unfortunately the achieved result sometimes does not satisfy the client: a necklace is not as big as they wanted, a bracelet without enough precious stones… or the price is too high. If the problem is the price you cannot do a lot, you can insist on the fact that the price you had originally quoted was an estimate and reasonable for the amount of work given into the small piece of art i.e. ring, pendant, earrings or accessory. The good side is even if the client does not buy the ordered item they often leave from workshop with another item instead. For example, a recent client ordered an XL bling ring but left with a beautiful filigree bracelet from my display.
A harsh reality is that there is always a number of unique jewellery pieces abandoned. They were created to be exhibited, worn and not to catch dust in the store. Maybe the creator should insist on a deposit for the created items they have been commissioned to make.