ORÉA MAISON

A piece of gold made for one stone and one hand.

It begins with a conversation and ends at the bench. Nothing is made until you are certain.

Eight to fourteen weeks

From the approved drawing to the finished piece. We agree a schedule at the first conversation and keep to it.

Nothing until you are certain

A firm quotation comes with the drawing, before anything is made. Half on approval, the balance on the reveal. Decide against it and you owe nothing.

Your stone, or ours

Choose from the vault, or bring your own. Heirloom stones are examined with the same care and, where useful, reported before we draw.

Six steps, one bench.

Most commissions take eight to fourteen weeks. We agree a schedule at the first conversation.

  1. A hand writing notes in pencil in an open notebook across a pale table, a folded gem paper and a loupe set down beside it, the other person's hands resting still opposite

    01The conversation

    Complimentary and without obligation, in private, by video, or wherever suits you. We listen first: the occasion, the hand, the life the piece will lead.

    You receiveA clear sense of direction, a budget band and a schedule.

  2. The same orange pink cushion cut stone held close in tweezers, lit through so the colour glows

    02The stone

    A short selection from the vault, each with origin, treatment and report, viewed in daylight and under the loupe. Or your own stone, examined with the same care.

    You receiveYour stone, held for you while the design is drawn.

  3. A hand drawing a ring in pencil on cream paper, the plan view half finished, dividers and a steel rule to one side and the loose orange pink cushion cut stone resting at the top of the sheet

    03The drawing

    A pencil sketch made in front of you, then a rendering painted to the stone's measurements. Up to three refinements until it is right.

    You receiveThe rendering, and a firm quotation.

  4. A bone white resin proof of the ring held between finger and thumb, its claws cut but unset, the finished gold ring set with the orange pink stone resting on the sweep behind

    04The model

    A wax or resin proof of the design to try on for proportion and fit. For larger pieces, a metal maquette.

    You receiveConfidence in the scale, before any gold is cut.

  5. A goldsmith's hands closing a claw over the orange pink cushion cut stone in a gold ring held in a pale wood clamp, a steel pusher in the working hand, gold filings and a hallmark punch on the sweep beside it

    05The making

    Forged, set and finished by hand at one bench. You are sent images as each stage is reached. Independently hallmarked, and struck with the house mark.

    You receiveProgress you can see, and a hallmark you can read.

  6. The finished gold ring, set with the orange pink cushion cut stone, in an open charcoal suede box with the house's card lying beside it

    06The reveal

    In person or by video. The piece arrives with its laboratory report, an insurance valuation, and care for life.

    You receiveThe piece, its papers, and our continued care.

Questions.

What a first enquiry usually asks. Anything not answered here, ask us.

Begin a commissionSend a full brief

  • Six steps. A first conversation, complimentary and without obligation. A stone, chosen from the vault or brought by you. A pencil drawing, then a rendering made to the stone's measurements. A resin model to try on. The making, by hand at one bench. The reveal, with the papers.

  • Typically eight to fourteen weeks from the approved drawing to the finished piece. A schedule is agreed at the first conversation and kept to. Larger or more complex pieces take longer, and the estimate is given in writing before anything is made.

  • Prices are not published, because every piece is different. A firm written quotation comes with the drawing, before anything is made. Half is taken as a deposit on approval and the balance on the reveal. A client who decides against it after seeing the drawing owes nothing.

  • Yes. An heirloom or a stone bought elsewhere is examined with the same care as one from the vault and, where it is useful, sent for a laboratory report first. The drawing is then made to that stone's own measurements.

  • 18k yellow gold only. No white or rose gold, no plate, no silver, and no gold below 18k. Every piece is forged, set and finished by hand at one bench and hallmarked by an independent Assay Office before it is delivered.

  • Yes. Bands, chains, cuffs and signets in gold alone are drawn, forged and finished exactly the same way as a piece that carries a stone, and go through the same six steps.

  • Yes. The house buys natural coloured stones it would be glad to keep, with or without a laboratory report. The sell a stone page asks for what the stone is, where it came from, what a laboratory has said and a few photographs, and one of us replies within a working day.

  • Every stone is natural. The house does not deal in lab-grown or synthetic stones. Each carries a report from a laboratory the trade recognises, and origin and treatment are quoted in that report's own words rather than described in the house's.

  • No. The house is based in London, works globally, and does not publish an address. Appointments are private, arranged individually in a place that suits you, or held by video with the stones under the lamp, at a time that suits you.

  • The laboratory report for the stone, an insurance valuation, and the hallmark struck by the Assay Office. Care and cleaning are included for the life of the piece, and any resizing or resetting is done at the same bench that made it.