Custom jewelry is usually quoted as "four to six weeks" or "six to eight weeks." That range hides the milestones that actually determine whether the order lands on time. Buyers who understand the gate structure can chase the right item at the right week, instead of emailing "where is my order" with no leverage. The clock also does not start when the inquiry lands; it starts when the factory has a usable brief.
Week 1: Brief and reference gathering
A usable brief includes reference images, metal and karat, stone sizes and types, sizing, finish, and intended quantity. Orders that arrive as "a ring like this" spend their first week in back-and-forth instead of design work. Buyers who send a complete brief move to CAD faster. The factory at this stage also flags design problems that would be expensive to fix later: a prong that is too thin, a shank that cannot be sized, a stone that does not fit the chosen setting. These flags are free at week one and costly at week four.
Week 2: CAD modeling and first approval
The CAD designer builds the piece from the brief and sends rendered images from three angles. This is the first approval gate. Changes at this stage are cheap: moving a stone, adjusting a shank width, or changing a profile takes minutes in software. Changes after the CAD is approved are expensive, because they mean re-printing wax or re-casting. A professional factory will push back on last-minute CAD changes and explain the cost in writing, rather than quietly absorbing the rework and slipping the delivery date without telling you.
Week 3: Wax printing and model approval
Once CAD is approved, the wax is printed and inspected. For high-value or complex pieces, many factories send the physical wax to the client for sign-off before casting. This is the last moment to change size, stone seat depth, or shank thickness without scrapping a casting. Clients who skip the wax approval gate sometimes discover, after casting, that the model reads differently in 3D than it did in render. The wax approval is also where weight estimates become accurate: the factory can weigh the wax, apply the metal density, and tell you the expected finished weight before a single gram of gold is poured.
Week 4: Casting and finishing
The wax tree is invested, burned out, and cast. Finishing then runs through the grit progression and pre-polish. This is the stage buyers hear least about, and it is the stage most likely to slip if the factory's casting day is full. A factory running at 90 percent capacity can push your casting by a week without telling you; ask which casting day your flask is scheduled for. A transparent factory will name the day; a vague answer is a warning sign. Defects found at casting mean a re-cast, which adds roughly a week to the schedule, so a realistic custom timeline should always carry a small buffer for one re-cast.
Week 5: Stone setting and plating
Finished mounts move to the setter. Stones are seated, prongs closed, and the piece returns for a touch-up polish. Pieces requiring rhodium or color plating go to the plating line. Certification cards (where applicable) are paired with the piece at this stage. Setting is where a rushed schedule shows up first: a setter asked to double their daily output will close prongs faster and inspect less, which translates into stones that loosen in the customer's first month of wear.
Week 6: QC, packing, and shipping
Final inspection measures dimensions, checks prong tightness, confirms finish and engraving, and verifies that the right stones and certs are paired. The piece is packed and shipped. A realistic six-week timeline assumes no CAD revisions and no casting defects; a custom run with one revision gate realistically lands at seven or eight weeks. Buyers who need a hard date should ask the factory to commit the delivery week in writing at brief approval, not at order placement.
Rush orders and what they actually cost
When a client needs the piece faster than the standard six weeks, factories can compress the timeline, but not by compressing every stage. CAD and wax approval gates cannot be rushed without risking a defect. What can be compressed is batching: the factory runs a dedicated flask for your order instead of waiting for a shared batch, and the setter prioritizes your pieces. Rush surcharges reflect that dedicated capacity, not the labor itself. Buyers who accept rush pricing should still insist on the CAD and wax approval steps; skipping them to save a few days is how rushed custom pieces arrive with design errors that cannot be undone.
Where the timeline actually slips
Slippage almost never happens at casting or setting, which are scheduled tightly. It happens at the approval gates: clients take a week to respond to the CAD render, or two weeks to approve the wax. Buyers who want a predictable delivery should commit to a 48-hour turnaround on each approval. You can see how we structure briefs and gates on our custom process.
The Wikipedia article on rhodium explains why rhodium plating is applied to white gold and silver jewellery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ring sizes can you supply in bulk?
US sizes 5–12 including half sizes. Send a size breakdown with your order and we cast to that curve; comfort-fit inner bands reduce resize requests.
Can I order a mixed size run instead of one size?
Yes. Mixed runs are standard for wholesale: specify quantity per size and we pack and label by size at no extra labor cost.
What is the MOQ for custom ring designs?
50 pieces per design for existing molds; 100–300 pieces when a new mold or CAD model is required.
How should I price rings for retail margin?
Most partners use a 3–4x markup on FOB cost for sterling and 2.5–3x for moissanite solos, which keeps landed cost under 30% of retail.
