ZimochodJewellers · Guelph Visit & contact

Custom design

A piece that begins as a conversation

Engagement rings and wedding bands, gifts for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries, or a piece to mark a once-in-a-century event. Every commission is designed with you and made by hand in our own workshop.

Walter's signed design sketch of a necklace of amber-coloured stones linked with diamonds
Every commission starts on paper, signed when it’s right.

What to bring

  • Any ideas: a photo, a sketch, a piece you love, or simply the feeling you want it to have.
  • Stones or gold you would like to reuse, such as a grandmother’s ring or a single earring.
  • A sense of budget. We will tell you honestly what it can do, and offer choices of metal and stone.

We will talk it through in the private consultation room, then Walter sketches the design. Nothing is made until you are happy with the drawing.

Book a design consultation

How it’s made

Every technique, under one roof

  1. Ink sketch of a free-form pendant with set stones

    01 Design

    A consultation, then a drawing to scale. We refine it together until it’s right.

  2. A gloved hand working a small piece with a flex-shaft tool

    02 Wax & mould

    The design is carved in wax by hand, and a mould is made from it.

  3. A ring held in a setter's ball vice

    03 Casting

    The piece is cast in gold, silver or platinum, then filed, shaped and fitted.

  4. The jeweller's bench with microscope and lamps

    04 Setting & polish

    Precious and semi-precious stones are set, and the piece is polished and checked under magnification.

Engagement rings & wedding bands

A solitaire, a halo, a coloured stone, or a band shaped to sit against a ring you already wear. Matched sets are made together, so they fit.

Gifts & milestones

Anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Allow a few weeks for a made-to-order piece; ask us about timing.

Reproduction

Using an existing piece as a reference, we can make one in the same style, or a faithful copy.

The Water Survey of Canada centennial signet ring in sterling silver, with the crest on its face The ladies’ signet and pendant in yellow gold, engraved Water Survey of Canada Two gold signet rings with engraved shanks

A commission · 1908 – 2008

The Water Survey of Canada centennial ring

For the Water Survey of Canada’s 100th anniversary, we designed and made a commemorative ring: a men’s signet, a ladies’ signet and a pendant, in 14K yellow gold and in sterling silver, engraved in English and French.

Organisations, teams and families: if there is an event worth marking, we can design a piece for it, and make as many as you need.

Ask about a commission