Custom Jewellery Q&A

with Charals Varnava of Xaralambo Designworx Studio & Co. (www.xaralambo.com)

Charals is a mechanical engineer by trade. Financially, he certainly doesn't need to take on the painstaking, meticulous work of designing and creating custom engagement rings and wedding bands for local couples. He does it because he loves it. And that's why we love him. It's also why we turned to this experienced designer for the scoop on the ins, outs and need-to-knows on getting rings to die for in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. From custom vs. retail price comparisons to what colour of gold to choose...

Q. Why do couples opt for custom designed rings?

1. Custom is as unique or as simple as you want to be. It puts you in the driver's seat and allows you to determine the outcome of your rings before they are even made. You want something a little wider here, a little narrower there and maybe an extra set of accent stones for a more balanced look? Well, that's custom design.

2. When you're investing in a symbol that will last a lifetime, you're going to want to personalize it. You want it to reflect your own style and be unique. With something that important, no one likes to hear "Oh I've seen that same ring before at a retail store".

3. It tells a story. Originally designed rings will last your entire marriage and often be passed down as an heirloom from generation to generation. The significance of custom designed rings becomes even more apparent as every story behind it is shared each time someone sees them.

Q. How do you pronounce Xaralambo?!

Xara is pronounced "Ha-rah" and Lambo sounds out like "lamb-boe". Xara means "Happy" and Lambo means "Shine". Its an ancient name that suitably describes our designs and how bride's feel wearing our rings!

Q. What trends have you been seeing in terms of popular styles and design ideas?

Trends in jewellery often change along with the fashion industry. Jewellery completes an outfit and can make or break a look if not chosen properly, and that keeps us in the design world very busy.

Brides come to me with their own ideas and what they feel is a meaningful trend to them, recently a lot of brides have gone with open top or twisted helical wedding band designs. This gives their wedding band some more flair but is carefully crafted so as not to draw too much attention away from the focal point - their engagement ring.

For grooms, it's also about comfort. They want to know they can work and play with their rings on. So a comfort-styled cross section is currently a common selection. Whether it's conservative or some real "bling" they're after, it needs to be practical and functional.

Q. What colour and types of metal are most popular?

14K white gold is popular. 18K white gold is an option still chosen with a moderate increase in value. But yellow gold is still very much alive in the jewellery world as it suits some people better than other types of metals. I am often asked about Platinum or Titanium metals too. I love creating rings from these materials, but unlike other jewellery designers we make it known that there are pros and cons to buying a more exotic metal. The best trend is always personal preference in the end.

Q. What stones are hot right now?

Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds!!

Now that we have that out of the way, I recently have found in my work that dark blue sapphires are currently a choice accent stones for diamonds. The classic look of sapphires really makes the diamonds stand out.

Still, our most popular stones other than diamonds are derived from the birth stones of the wearer - Blue Topaz, Tanzanite, Green Tourmaline  and Amethyst to name a few.

Q. If a couple came in for a custom engagement ring but had NO idea where to start, what would be your jumping off point?

Generally a good start at that point is to ask if the bride would like to have her engagement ring match or mate up to her wedding band in the future, or if they would like to design something completely from scratch on its own at that time. This helps in knowing how simple or elaborate we can go with the ring style and setting.

I also ask questions about the couple. For example, if they have any special passions they each have or share. Most of the time their wishes can be transformed into a meaningful design that lasts forever.

Other customers would rather look through our portfolio. There are hundreds of designs available that may draw ideas from what can be done and how to make theirs unique.

Next we would discuss their preference for gemstone types and colours and the type of precious metal they would like. I would then size their ring fingers to determine magnitude in which the budget could fit into. This helps decide what and how to change the design to fit all of the bride's and groom's requirements.

There are many steps in arriving to the final "ring in hand" stage but when each step is taken with utmost care and time the end result always leaves smiles on people's faces and they feel good about the decisions they've made to get there.

Q. We know first-hand your brides love, love (LOVE!) their rings. What makes you so different from other jewellery stores or custom design options?

Well to start off with, I make house calls! Do other custom jewellery designers do that?! Brainstorming in your familiar surroundings makes the flow of ideas that much easier.

I'm flexible. Couples can meet me at our design studio or anywhere that's convenient for them. 9 out of 10 couples opt for meeting at their house or a coffee shop.

I am proud to run Xaralambo as a home based business. I have many years of design experience, carry very little overhead and have a great ear for keeping in tune with what brides need to maintain our portion of their entire wedding budget.

What also makes Xaralambo different is I create the design before anything is actually made and you can view the digital design photos or 360 degree views for approval. Many other jewellery stores have a more difficult time showing you what the end result will be until after many hours have gone into actual fabrication of waxes. If changes have to be made they must start over and go back to the drawing board. Our method is quicker, more efficient and greener in its attempt to use minimal materials until the actual rings are made.

In contrast to many retail stores, we do most of our communication by email. I find it suits people's busy lives. But, we always start and finish in person. Ideas are transferred by phone as well when extra clarification is required. If you're not so tech-savvy and would like to meet again to go over any specific items, that is always a great option. Buying jewellery shouldn't be a stuffy or intimidating experience.

Q. If a couple were to buy "off-the-shelf", plain wedding bands, they'd spend about $400-$600. Give me an example of what a couple could have custom designed at Xaralambo for around $600.

An example of a recent bride was she brought in her existing engagement ring and wanted a somewhat matching wedding band with a few changes. Prior to seeing me she had gone to the retailer her fiancé bought the ring at and got some pricing and style information based on what she was looking for.

She was told that for a plain stoneless wedding band that would match the contours of her existing ring, and some added upper detail at the top, would cost $700, plus taxes.

I designed a ring for her with 10 accent diamonds and a much more complex upper detail for $650, taxes included.

The retailers' delivery time was 4 months. I designed and delivered the ring in less than 2 months. (It could have been done faster but I was finishing up other orders at the time as well and wanted to make sure each one was perfect.)

I also encourage clients to ask other retailers what is involved to get custom work done with them - and to ask about timelines and costs. The differences are pretty dramatic.

Q. And within a $1500 range?

A groom was looking for a bold looking ring and he had a size 12 US ring finger, which is a relatively large size. He also wanted a band width of 12mm, which is also huge in comparison to what you would normally see.

He knew what he wanted, had shopped around and couldn't find anything close. Once we sat down and sketched his ideas, it was obvious he was thrilled with its one of a kind look.

I also shopped around to see what was out there just for fun, I found the largest off the shelf rings that were only 10mm wide with normal designs that were selling for around $2900 plus taxes. By the time we were done with his design. he ended up with a CNC cut 28 gram 14K yellow gold custom designed ring for $1540, including taxes.

Not only was he in reverse sticker shock but sent me an excellent thank you note along with an invitation to their upcoming wedding, that was the best compliment of all!

Q. Do you have samples for customers to look at in person? If not, how do they know they can trust that this is your career, and that they're in good hands? 

Since all Xaralambo rings are tailored to client specs, I only have the rings in my possession for a short period of time. As soon as they're done, they go to the customer. And of course we don't do any physical "standard ring designs" so to speak. So it's our large portfolios of design ideas and past rings that clients generally choose from.

There are a couple of reasons for this... 
> First, we keep our overhead low so the customer is not paying for any hidden charges to run the business. 
> Secondly, if our customers just wanted "off the shelf items" they probably wouldn't be contacting me, they'd generally be searching around at local retailers to compare.

At time of order we usually take the balance of the payment so that we can secure the price of the ever fluctuating precious metal markets. This guarantees the fairest value possible.

We also offer and recommend certified ring appraisals. We keep your order on file permanently if you ever need changes or for any insurance reasons you can always contact us for all details.

Along with many other services such as resizing, rhodium plating and cleaning, you can be assured you are receiving the utmost in quality.

I have always wanted to have this type of home-based niche business and now that I've built it this far I cannot foresee ever stopping. Everyday is a new beginning.

If I were to ever run into a bride or groom in doubt, I'd be happy to provide references to our clients as most of our sales are driven by word of mouth and repeat customers. Or to read my review in The Ring.

Q. One bride told us "The story of how Charals proposed to his wife was just like out of a romance novel. You have to ask him about it!" So, we're asking...

A. Well that is a nice compliment to know that the proposal stood out so much. I went with my instinct without going overboard as I wanted it to be meaningful and memorable for her.

Kelley is into riding horses and had a regular riding time at a local riding club. I had contacted the owners and asked if they'd help me out with a little favour. I needed a horse that would be good with me as I haven't ridden much... So on a brisk February Saturday morning I made my way to the barn where she was riding, I hid out in the stables as the time got nearer then I got on a huge horse named Vegas, he was so gentle. Now I had a cowboy hat, shirt and boots on, which I borrowed, and some really dark sunglasses, hoping that this would be a suitable disguise.

Right before the end of her lesson the riding instructor opened the larger barn door and let me ride into the arena. At a distance Kelley said she saw "some guy" riding in and thought this is not a western style riding club and wondered what he was doing there (most riders are women at these places but I had no idea about that). As I got close to her she wasn't sure what to make of this "guy" until I was right beside and she just smiled, nervously laughed and said, "Charals what are you doing here?!"

I rode my horse next to hers in the centre of the arena, took off my sunglasses, held her hand, looked her in the eyes and asked her if she would give me the honour to be her husband.

She said "YES!" and was so happily nervous that she had to get off her horse as her legs were shaking so much. I somehow got off Vegas without falling and got the biggest best hug and kiss I remember. The people working at the barn all applauded and gathered around to congratulate us, they were very helpful in making sure the horses were ok and took photos for us. The rest is just history now, but it is always fun to tell this story....

Q. Is it true that that's why you got into custom ring design?

When I made Kelley's ring she was complimented on it everywhere she went, people asked her where she got it made and she answered "my husband designed it for me" and explained its significance.  I had taken three princess cut diamonds and set them is and angle fashion within a set of "D"-Rings. D Rings are the loops that hold a horses bit in their mouth. She just loved the fact that I took her passion for riding and made it into a ring for her.

So as many stories of people asking her about it came trickling back to me I thought, well I may as well make this service available to more than just family and friends and officially started the Xaralambo Designworx Studio & Co. I have been designing for many many years and once I stumbled upon ring design I realized its a passion I have and truly enjoy every part of it. It allows me to be creative and give people want they want which is hard to find in such a competitive industry.

Q. What are your plans for the future? Where do you see Xaralambo in the next 12 months?

With business systems in place and the design processes sped up, I am able to at least double the available delivery capacity. Having said that. I want to remain the same small home-based business as long as I can. I don't want to give up on being able to offer that same great one-on-one service.

Customers seem to like that all deposits made on the design portion of the work will still be made part of the final sale price when customers go ahead with an order.

BONUS! Reading this Q&A gets you 15% off all design services with Xaralambo. Just tell Charals you read about it at TheWeddingRing.ca.