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Bespoke Jewellery and CAD Design

Byrex Gems designs and makes one-off jewellery around its own coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds, for private clients and for the trade, from its office in Toronto. The same studio supplies CAD files and photorealistic renders to jewellers and designers who want a piece modelled before it is made. Each commission begins with the stone, filmed unedited and accompanied by its laboratory report, and ends with a final check at Suite 407. Cost and timing are quoted per brief after a consultation.

How does a bespoke commission work?

A commission runs in five steps. First, a consultation, at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, or by video, where the piece is discussed and the stone is chosen, either from Byrex's own stones or, case by case, from one you already own. Second, a CAD model of the piece and a photorealistic render that shows your actual stone in the setting, viewed from the top and from the side, so you can see how it will sit on the hand or at the neck.

Third, approval. Revisions are made until the render is right, and the design, the metal, the stone and the terms are set down in writing before anything is made. Fourth, casting and setting by Byrex's workshop partners, bench jewellers and setters who work from the approved file. Fifth, a final check at Suite 407, where the finished piece is examined, the stone is matched against its laboratory report, and the piece is handed over or sent insured.

Cost is quoted per brief after the consultation, and the timeline depends on the piece and is agreed at the same time. There is no published starting price and no standard lead time, because no two commissions are alike.

Can I start with a stone from Byrex?

Yes, and most commissions do. Byrex holds coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds, many with GIA, GRS, SSEF, Gübelin or other reports, and each one has been filmed in the office, unedited. You can choose online, then see the stone at a viewing in Toronto, or in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Dubai by arrangement, or on a video call with the stone in hand.

Starting with the stone has a practical advantage. The setting is drawn to the stone's exact measurements, so the proportions, the prong positions and the depth of the mounting are right for that stone and no other. Once a stone is agreed for a commission, it is set aside and the design begins. If the stone you want is not on the site, Byrex can source it through its offices worldwide.

A stone you already own is considered case by case. Byrex will want to see it, and ideally its report, before agreeing to design around it, because a chipped girdle, a fragile species or an undisclosed treatment changes how a stone can be set. Where it is suitable, the process is the same from the CAD model onward.

Do you provide CAD design and renders to jewellers?

Yes. Byrex supplies CAD design and photorealistic renders to jewellers, designers and workshops, whether or not the stone comes from Byrex. The deliverables are the 3D files needed for manufacture and the renders needed to show a client, with revisions by agreement. Work for the trade is quoted per brief.

The work is white-label. The jeweller's own name goes on the design and the renders, and Byrex does not contact the jeweller's client. The jeweller receives the files for their commission, and ownership of the design is agreed in writing before work starts.

A good brief shortens everything. Send the stone's measurements and its report, a sketch or reference images, the metal and finger size, and any constraints from your own bench, such as a preferred setting style or a minimum prong thickness. Byrex returns a first model for comment, then refines it until it is approved and ready for casting, by Byrex's workshop partners or by your own.

Which settings and metals do you work in?

Byrex designs in the five settings most commissions call for. A prong setting holds the stone on claws and shows the most of it, which suits a fine sapphire or a fancy colour diamond. A bezel wraps the girdle in a rim of metal and protects it, a sound choice for an emerald or a ring worn daily. A halo surrounds the centre stone with small diamonds or coloured stones and makes it read larger. Pavé covers a surface with small stones set close together, as on the monarch brooch. Channel setting runs a line of calibrated stones between two metal walls, for bands and bracelets.

The stone decides the setting more than fashion does. Emerald is softer than sapphire and often included, so it asks for protection; a vivid pink sapphire can take an open setting that lets light in from the side; a pair of stones for earrings wants settings that match each other exactly.

Pieces are made in yellow, white or rose gold, or in platinum, as the design and the stone call for. Metal colour changes how a stone reads: white metal keeps a blue or a colourless stone clean, while yellow gold warms a pink or an orange stone. These choices are made at the render stage, before anything is cast.

What has Byrex made recently?

Two recent commissions show the range. The first is a ring built around a 5.45 ct Colombian emerald in 18K white gold, designed so that nothing competes with the stone, modelled in CAD and rendered with the actual stone before it was cast. The second is a monarch butterfly brooch set with coloured stones in pavé, modelled in CAD before a single stone was set.

Both pieces followed the same five steps: consultation, CAD and render, approval, casting and setting with Byrex's workshop partners, and a final check at Suite 407 against the laboratory report. Recent work can be seen at the consultation.

To begin a commission, or to send a CAD brief, write on WhatsApp to +1 (437) 450-3786 or by email to info@byrex.com. Consultations are held on weekdays at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto, Ontario, by appointment, or by video for clients and jewellers elsewhere. Finished pieces are collected at Suite 407 or sent insured, worldwide. Byrex Gems is a member of the American Gem Trade Association and the Canadian Jewellers Association, and has supplied the trade since 1988.

Bespoke Jewellery and CAD Design: questions buyers ask

What does a bespoke piece cost?

Each piece is quoted per brief after the consultation, once the stone, the metal and the design are known. Byrex does not publish a starting price, because a plain band around a small stone and a pavé brooch are not the same job. The quotation is given in writing.

Is a deposit required before work starts?

Terms, including any deposit, are agreed in writing before work starts, at the same time as the design and the stone. Byrex does not publish a standard deposit; it is discussed at the consultation and set out in the written terms.

How long does a bespoke commission take?

It depends on the piece. A simple ring around a stone Byrex already holds is quicker than a brooch with many stones to map and set. The timeline is agreed at the consultation and confirmed in writing with the design, rather than promised in advance.

Can I bring my own stone?

It is considered case by case. Byrex will want to see the stone, and its report if it has one, before agreeing to design around it. Fragile species, damaged stones and undisclosed treatments affect how a stone can be set, so the answer follows the inspection.

Do you work with jewellers as a white-label workshop?

Yes. Byrex provides CAD models and photorealistic renders to jewellers and designers, with the jeweller's own name on the work and no contact with the jeweller's client. Casting and setting can follow through Byrex's workshop partners or through the jeweller's own bench.

Can the consultation be by video?

Yes. Many commissions begin on a video call, with the stone shown in hand and reference images shared on screen. Renders are reviewed the same way. A visit to Suite 407 is welcome at any stage, but it is not required to commission a piece.

Who owns the design and the CAD files?

The client receives the files for their commission, and ownership of the design is agreed in writing before work starts. For trade clients this means the jeweller holds the files for the piece they commissioned, under their own name.

Where is the piece made?

The piece is designed in Toronto, cast and set by Byrex's workshop partners, and finished and checked at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, where the stone is matched against its laboratory report before the piece is handed over or sent insured.

Byrex Gems, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds for the trade since 1988, and for private clients by appointment.

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