What is the average price range for a custom ring with a simple design?

You want a ballpark. I'll give you two.

For a simple custom ring - a solitaire in 14k or 18k yellow gold, standard prong setting, nothing fancy - you're looking at roughly $1,800 to $3,200 total, assuming the stone is separate and you already own it. That covers the metal, the labor to fabricate the band and set the stone, the finishing, and the rhodium if you go white gold.

If you're buying the center stone through me, add the stone cost. A decent 0.7 carat round, G-H color, VS clarity, GIA-certified natural diamond runs around $1,800 to $2,500 at wholesale right now. So a finished ring with a stone in that range lands between $3,600 and $5,700. That's a real number, not a marketing number.

For a plain band - no stones, just a hand-finished 2.4mm half-round in 18k yellow - I charge about $800 to $1,200. That includes the wax model, casting, and hand-finishing. A 14k band is about $200 less. A platinum band starts around $1,400 and goes up fast because the metal alone is heavy.

Where the money goes

About 40% of that price is metal and casting costs, 35% is bench time for fabrication and finishing, and 25% is overhead - studio rent, tools, insurance, the laser welder I bought last year, and the hour and a half I spend on every consultation that doesn't result in a sale. That last part is the one people don't see. A custom ring that takes six weeks of back-and-forth costs the same as one that takes two weeks, because I'm still working on four other pieces in parallel.

What "simple design" actually means

Simple doesn't mean cheap. A minimal solitaire with a well-proportioned shank, properly set prongs, and a finished gallery that doesn't catch on sweaters takes about 8 to 12 hours at the bench. That's more time than a standard setting from Stuller that gets cast and set in an afternoon. A Stuller head dropped into a cast shank can be done for under $600 in labor. A hand-fabricated bezel set on a tapered band that requires filing, soldering, and polishing by hand - that's a different job.

Here's what pushes a supposed "simple" ring above the range I gave:

• Mixed metals (e.g., 14k yellow shank with 18k white prongs) - about $200-400 extra
• Milgrain - $150-350 depending on whether it's done by wheel or by hand graver
• A hidden halo - adds $400-800 easily
• Hand engraving - starts around $300 and goes to $2,000 for something like Sam Alfano's work
• Any design that requires a CAD model and resin print - about $125-250

My general rule: if the design can be described in one sentence, the price stays in the range I gave. "A half-round 18k yellow band with a 4-prong head for a 1-carat round" - that's a one-sentence ring. "A tapered band with a cathedral shoulder and a hidden halo in two-tone" - that's two sentences, and about $1,000 more.

A client named Nicole came in last spring with an heirloom 0.9 carat old European cut and asked for "something simple." She meant no side stones, no engraving. What she got was a 2.2mm platinum band with a hand-fabricated basket that let light hit the bottom of the stone. That was not simple in the making - the basket alone took three hours on the bench. Final price: $2,600 for the setting, including the platinum. She was happy. I was tired.

What the online guys won't tell you

The "$500 custom ring" you see advertised - that's a pre-made blank with a semi-mount head and a CZ they'll swap for a lab-grown diamond if you pay more. It's not custom. It's catalog jewelry with a different name engraved inside. Real custom work starts when you and I sit down with a stone and a sketch and I say "that won't work because the prongs won't hold" and we draw something that will.

Email me a photo of the stone you're starting with and I'll tell you what settings actually work for it. That's free. The ring itself starts at what I said above, and I'll show you exactly where every dollar goes.