Why does a handmade ring look slightly different from the photo?

Short answer: because the piece in the photograph is not the piece you receive. Each ring is cut, filed, set and polished by hand on the bench, and where the stone is natural, no two stones are the same. The design, the metal and the dimensions match; the grain of the stone and the exact play of light will not.

What varies

The stone. Agate is banded, tiger’s eye moves when you turn it, turquoise has matrix running through it. Those patterns are the stone’s own, and the photograph shows one example. If an even, repeatable colour matters more to you than uniqueness, look at the pieces with Created in the name — lab-created stones are far more consistent.

The oxidised shading. We darken the recesses on many designs so the pattern reads clearly. That darkening is applied by hand and sits slightly differently on every piece. It also softens with wear, which is normal.

Tool marks at close range. Look at a hand-filed shoulder under a bright light and you will find faint lines. That is what hand finishing looks like; a casting that is perfectly uniform under magnification usually means it was machine-polished, not bench-finished.

What does not vary

The silver is 925 sterling on every piece. The design, the stone type and the stated dimensions are what the listing says. The size is the size you ordered — we make the piece to it.

Photographs and screens

Studio lighting makes silver look brighter and stones more saturated than they appear on a desk at home. Screens differ from each other too. A deep red garnet can read almost black in a dim room and bright in daylight — the stone has not changed.

If the difference is more than small

Then it is not variation and we want to know. Send us a photograph with the piece in daylight next to something for scale. If a stone is the wrong type, a dimension is off, or the finish is faulty, that is on us to put right. Unused, undamaged pieces can be returned within 14 days of delivery; engraved and special-size pieces may fall outside that, which is another reason to ask us before ordering if you are unsure.

If you would like to know what a specific stone looks like before you commit, write to us — we can tell you what is on the bench and describe the actual piece.

Pieces from our collection related to this guide