Bespoke jewelry and watches

Owning a unique timepiece, a jewel at our image is often the dream of the watch lover or the jewelry lover. Special orders, bespoke watches, personalized jewelry are all terms that designate the same concept: to offer jewelry or timepieces faithful to the dream of its owner. Artisan specialized in the manufacture of jewelry and custom watches, I travel arround the world to meet your needs. 

Here is the list of know-how that the house puts at your disposal:

The Art of Glyptics:

It is the art of sculpture and / or engraving on fine stones or hard stones. We are in direct confrontation with the material. We create the work as we go. The sculptor artist works in direct carving. The final piece can be associated with a work of fine arts. Fine stones and hard stones are worked by wear using an iron, bronze, copper or even wood support and an abrasive. Today the abrasives used are often diamond powders. These powders are calibrated according to the desired result. We use a grain more or less fine, more or less coarse depending on the smooth or polish that we want to obtain. The bulk of the sculpture will be done using diamond tools.

Regarding the choice of the stones, the house has a large lithotheque: Chalcedony, agates, opals, vitrified woods, etc. This lithotheque is the fruit of a long search for particular stones, inspiring by their materials and their shapes. We will find them at the large Tucson mineral fair for example (Tucson Gem and Mineral Show) in the United States or at the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines mineral fair. The Art of Glyptician will be to seek in the raw material chosen the right color, the right veins but also sometimes the dichroism for certain more precious stones such as morganite, aquamarine or even rubellite.

By affinity, the Workshop will tend to favor projects that require figurative work: the plant and animal world. I can travel to present the roughs that we could use for your project. 

The Art of Lost Wax Casting:

Lost wax is a precision casting process that produces a metal sculpture from a wax model. This ancestral technique is over 6000 years old. The main stages of this technique are as follows: The piece is sculpted and modeled by hand in wax. This wax is then trapped in refractory plaster. We put the plaster in the oven. The wax melts and leaves its mark. This imprint is filled with precious metal. The workshop is fully equipped for carrying out these different stages in-house.

Small illustration of the process in pictures: 

I. The prototype is made by sculpting and / or modeling the wax

II. A casting cone is added to the wax prototype

III. We cast the prototype in a refractory plaster

IV. The mold is heated so that it hardens and the wax melts

V. The molten metal is introduced into the mold

VI. The mold is broken in order to free the metal prototype

VII. The casting cone is cut

VIII. We will then do all the repeats: File, weld, hole, polish, adjust, etc.

Between the end of stage I and stage VII, it takes 12 hours to build a quality foundry. It is possible to melt several pieces at the same time however I prefer for complex pieces to only put one per mold for an optimal result.

The Art of Jewelry and / or Watch Design:

The design of jewelry and / or watches is an Art that requires years of practice. It is an important asset to put down on paper your ideas for jewelry or watches. This allows me to be from the start of the project as close as possible to the final result and to avoid unfortunate disappointments. It is one of the key assets of the house. 

The particular case of Watchmaking:

Thanks to the know-how described above, I can make unique cases, dials and buckles. The rare practice of direct carving allows the most complex shapes to be produced, animal, floral or even geometric shapes. This also possible for the dial or the buckle. The materials chosen are always the most noble: 316L steel, rhodium silver, Argentium, 18K gold, 9K gold, platinum.

As French watchmaking has lost its legendary movements over the years, the house mainly incorporates movements made in Switzerland. Usually these are automatic mechanical movements such as ETA 2671, ETA 2824 or even purely mechanical calibers such as ETA 6498 or ETA 6497. However, it is of course possible to fit other types. of movements. I am equipped with the equipment to produce the highest quality casing: Watchmaker's lathe, Milling machines, etc. In order to present the different possibilities to you,

The particular case of Jewelry:

Thanks to the know-how described above, I can make unique rings, bracelets and necklaces. The rare practice of direct carving allows the most complex shapes to be produced, animal, floral or even geometric shapes. The materials chosen are always the most noble: Rhodium silver, Argentium, 18K Gold, 9K Gold, Platinum. I also put at your disposal a wide choice of precious stones, semi-precious or semi-precious stones: sapphires, emeralds, Australian opals, etc. I can travel to present you the different possibilities to you. 

• The budget and the terms of payment to have a tailor-made watch or jewelry made

It is of course extremely difficult to give an idea of ​​the budget as it depends on the complexity of your project, however I can give you some guidelines:

For watches: For the simplest watch comprising a standard 316L steel case with sapphire crystal above below, an automatic mechanical movement made in Switzerland in high finish and the manufacture of a fully personalized ring (part the movement and the case) , it will take a minimum budget of 2500 Euros. In the case of a more complex watch: fully personalized case, dials and buckle will require a budget of 5500 Euros. In the specific case of aid for the development of a new watch brand, as there is a transmission of know-how, the budget is at least 15,000 Euros. For the realization of your watch it will take 6 to 12 months depending on the workshop schedule. For the payment it will be 50% when ordering. The watch will be delivered to you directly.

For jewelry: For the manufacture of a tailor-made jewelry it will take a minimum budget of 250 Euros excluding materials. The material prices are as follows: 5 Euros per gram for Silver 925, 60 Euros per gram for 18k Gold and 100 Euros per gram for Platinum 950. To this, do not forget to add the price of fine or semi-precious stones if your project requires them. In the specific case of aid for the development of a collection for a jewelry brand, as there is a transmission of know-how, the budget is at least 1000 Euros per piece of jewelry. For the realization of your tailor-made jewelry it will take 1 to 2 months depending on the workshop schedule. For the payment it will be 50% when ordering. Your jewelry will be delivered to you directly.

• How can I do a free estimate online?

I take care of your evaluation requests: Free and without obligation / Professional estimate and based on project data / Convenient and secure. In order to be able to do your evaluation correctly, please send me the following:

- Quality photos of the sketches of your project (See the 10 tips for taking good photos at the bottom of the page)

- An estimate of general dimensions

- The budget you want to respect

- A list of your artistic influences, your musical influences, your passions, etc.

I allow myself to insist on these points because I have a lot of requests and I cannot allow myself to remind everyone, thank you in advance!

Please do not hesitate to send me all the information you deem necessary.

In a few minutes, fill out the online form, upload some photos of your project: your request is made! You will receive an answer by email within a few days.

To directly access the form click on the button below.

TO NOTE:

- The free estimate has no legal value, it is a first contact

- It does not commit you to have us manufacture the jewel (s), the watch (s), the object (s).

- If I am interested in your object, jewelry or watch project, I will let you know in the reply email. In this specific case, we will invite you to seek a counter-offer from a colleague.

- It may happen that we have to call in an expert or an outside specialist. In this case we will let you know.

• Fight against the theft of jewelry and / or watches

I do not modify jewelry and / or watches that are not of my manufacture. I do not fund "family jewels" for two reasons: the first is that provenance is rarely justifiable, the second is that this gold may create problems during the foundry. So I always advise to sell your gold close to a third and pay the difference to have higher quality grain gold for a quality foundry.

• 8 tips for taking good photos

1. Remember to select the best possible image definition on your camera
2. Place the object on a neutral background (sheet, white wall, etc.)
3. Prefer natural or indirect lights to the camera flash => You will get better contrasts and better respect for colors, which is essential for a painting for example
4. Photograph the object from different angles (front, profile, back)
5. Do not hesitate to photograph its asperities and other marks. Take close-ups of the signature, number or even monogram
6. Remember to take pictures of the parts of the object that particularly catch your attention. There is surely a very good reason
7. To facilitate authentication, photograph the object with a ladder. A double decimeter, a key, a coin or any other common object will do very well.
8. Keep the photos in a folder away from the object's location. They may be useful to you in the event of a claim