Custom Jewelry Lab — Local services in Charlotte

I had been thinking about a 10th year wedding anniversary gift for my wife well over a year and a half in advance of our anniversary. I reached out to Katie at Custom in 2011 just to break the ice on what some of my ideas were and the process. I spent the next year mulling over what I wanted, while seeing more and more of what was coming out of the Custom shop. Since our wedding bands are from Tiffany’s, I perused Tiffany’s current collections, but I kept being drawn back to Custom, their quality, their friendliness, and their attention to detail to their one-of-a-kind pieces. I reached out to Katie again in April of 2012. She walked me through the entire procedure and gave me a crash course on the design, metal, and precious stone costs and selection process.

Both Lee and Katie with Custom took time to meet with me and discuss my options without the hint of a commission or expectation of a consultation fee. We settled on a pair of platinum solitaire diamond earrings and two sets of jackets for the studs, one of the sets of jackets being themed to our wedding.

Custom spent the next 1.5 months working over the design for three pieces that assembled this gift. Lee patiently took the time to tweak the design and meticulously created 3d renderings for me to review. I was able to remotely work and talk with Lee over the phone and through email to keep this gift a surprise.

Lee is a true artist. How he can take just a few rough sketches and transform them into a beautiful and lasting piece of wearable art is truly inspiring. He even molded the exact snowflake design from our wedding onto the backs of the jackets. I cannot say how much that meant to us. For Custom to be such a small shop, their extensive collection of one-of-a-kind “custom” pieces trumps any piece of metal stamped with “Tiffany’s.” Custom truly created a gift worthy for my wife, and for that I am forever thankful.

I also must commend Custom and particularly Lee on his jewelry repair skills. He was able to repair a family heirloom masterfully. My wife and I cannot recommend...

Lee at Custom has made several pieces for me over the years. The first pieces were gold copies of items I already owned in silver. One piece was particularly difficult because it was a very small (3/4" x 1/2") working abacus to which each tiny bead had to be individually added. Everything came out beautifully!

Lee also gave me a great deal on the gold. He showed me the market price, how much he would have to pay and how much he would charge in comparison to other retailers.

Based on previous experience, I was confident in going back to Lee to have him design and build a much more complicated piece - a broach in the shape of a ribbon with raised gold lettering and encrusted with tiny, pink stones. Lee showed me several designs until we though we had it right, had a wax model cut so I could get an exact sense of the size and look of the piece, and finally cast the piece and set the stones. It took some time to complete, but I was happy to wait given how much input I had along the way and how willing Lee was to fine tune the design until it was perfect. It is more beautiful than I imagined and every time I wear it receive several compliments.

I will definitely use Custom again. Lee is a great artist, very reasonably priced, willing to work with his clients, and truly wants to create beautiful pieces that match the unique vision of each of...

When my fiance proposed, he used a family ring that his mother passed on to him - a gorgeous emerald that I love. However, he didn't want that to be my every day ring (emeralds are soft and more prone to be damaged than other stones). We started a search to find something that would match my taste, be symbolic of our relationship, accommodate for my ridiculous nickel allergy, and also be able to withstand my tendency to be a little rough on jewelry.

We popped into Custom because we love that it's local, and I'd picked up a pair of silver earrings there that I loved - beautiful roses. We ended up talking to Lindsay, and got a price for what a custom setting would cost us - not only was it reasonable, it was way more reasonable than some of the off-the-shelf rings we'd been looking at with plain settings.

I knew I wanted something feminine, with an edge, and that I love both roses and the art of HR Giger. Lindsay put together a gorgeous ring that's both beautiful and unique, and worked with us every step of the way. Every design we saw was gorgeous, but she really worked with us until everything was exactly perfect. She is SO patient and talented.

Both my fiance and I LOVE my ring, and will be coming back to get our wedding bands done here, as well. I HIGHLY recommend going with Custom for any jewelry need, and Lindsay...