How is a custom piece priced?

Pricing depends on the stone, metal, scale, setting complexity, and finishing requirements. We walk through the economics before anything is made so you understand what is driving cost, where to spend, and where not to overpay.

Engagement rings, wedding bands, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, tie bars, signet rings, anniversary pieces, heirloom redesigns, and one-off commissions.

How does the process work?

Consultation, design brief, CAD model, client approval, production, inspection, and insured delivery. Most pieces are ready 4 to 6 weeks after design approval, depending on stone sourcing and complexity.

Natural, lab-grown, or colored stone?

We work with natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, and other colored stones.

Can I bring my own stone or heirloom jewelry?

Yes. We can design around a stone you already own or evaluate whether an heirloom piece can be redesigned into something new.

How do I get started?

Send a note with the occasion, budget range, timeline, and any references you like. We will tell you what is realistic, what design paths make sense, and whether the project is a good fit before you commit.

Private guidance for custom jewelry and significant personal purchases.

I'm Brian Jacobs. Outside of my day job, I help clients design and manufacture custom jewelry, source meaningful objects, and make expensive personal purchases with more confidence.

Based in Chicago. Available remotely too. Happy to meet face to face when it makes sense.

Custom Jewelry·Stone Sourcing·Rugs·Furniture·Antiques·Private Purchase Advisory·My Opinions on Your Personal Purchases

How It Works

The Idea

Some purchases deserve more than a checkout page.

An engagement ring, a custom piece of jewelry, a rug for your home, an antique, a piece of furniture, or another meaningful object is not a routine transaction. These purchases are personal, expensive, and often difficult to evaluate from the outside. For many people, some are once-in-a-lifetime purchases.

Most people are asked to make decisions with incomplete information. They are shown options, prices, certificates, renderings, photos, and sales language, but not always a clear explanation of what matters, what does not, and where the tradeoffs really are.

Jacobs & Company exists to bring more structure and honesty to that process. We help you define what you are trying to buy, understand the available options, source intelligently, coordinate the details, and make a decision you can stand behind.

What We Do

Custom jewelry first. Private sourcing when the purchase calls for it.

Our primary work is custom jewelry: engagement rings, wedding bands, redesigns, personal pieces, and private commissions. We help with the brief, stone and material decisions, CAD, manufacturing coordination, inspection, documentation, and delivery.

We also support select sourcing projects outside of jewelry, especially when the purchase benefits from independent judgment: rugs, furniture, antiques, art-adjacent objects, unusual gifts, and other high-value personal purchases.

Custom Jewelry

Engagement rings, wedding bands, heirloom redesigns, personal pieces, and private commissions. We help turn an idea into a finished object, with clear decisions at every stage.

Stone and Material Guidance

Natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, colored stones, gold, platinum, and client-owned stones. We explain the tradeoffs before you commit to a direction.

Manufacturing Coordination

We coordinate CAD, revisions, production, setting, finishing, inspection, and delivery through trusted manufacturing relationships.

Private Sourcing

For rugs, furniture, antiques, and meaningful objects, we help research the market, evaluate options, coordinate specialists when needed, and support the purchase process.

Private Advisory

For purchases where taste, money, and trust all matter.

The same approach we use in custom jewelry can apply to other meaningful purchases. If you are buying a rug, antique, piece of furniture, art-adjacent object, watch, gift, or unusual item, we can help bring order to the process.

That may mean market research, sourcing options, outreach to vendors, comparison of alternatives, coordination with independent specialists, review of condition or documentation, or simply a second set of eyes before you spend real money.

We are not appraisers, brokers, gemologists, lawyers, or financial advisors. When a purchase requires a specialist, we help coordinate with one. Our role is to help you think clearly, ask better questions, and manage the purchase process with more confidence.

Process

A clear process before anything is purchased or produced.

Conversation

We start with what you are trying to accomplish: occasion, timeline, budget, taste, constraints, and anything you already know you want or do not want.

Brief

We translate the conversation into a practical brief. For jewelry, that means stone direction, metal, setting style, size, budget range, and production timeline. For sourcing projects, it means category, criteria, price range, and decision priorities.

Options

We identify realistic paths. That may include stone options, design references, CAD direction, vendor options, comparable examples, or sourcing channels.

Coordination

Once the direction is clear, we coordinate the moving pieces: CAD, revisions, manufacturing, vendor communication, specialist input, documentation, logistics, and delivery.

Approval

Nothing important moves forward without your approval. You see the relevant specifications, costs, and decisions before production or purchase.

Delivery

The final piece or purchase is delivered with appropriate documentation, insurance coordination where relevant, and post-delivery support.

About

Built around judgment, transparency, and personal trust.

I'm Brian Jacobs, based in Chicago. I have a Master of Science in Finance from Vanderbilt and a professional background in financial analysis, valuation, transactions, and diligence.

Outside of my day job, I built Jacobs & Company to help people navigate purchases that are meaningful, expensive, and difficult to evaluate alone. Custom jewelry is the center of the practice, but the broader idea is simple: bring structured thinking, sourcing discipline, and honest communication to personal purchases.

These types of purchases should be fun for you, not a stressful endeavor - a celebration. You should understand what you are paying for, what drives the cost, where the risks are, and what decisions actually matter.

We are based in Chicago and happy to meet face to face when appropriate. We also work remotely with clients who want a thoughtful, transparent process.

FAQ

We help clients make meaningful personal purchases with more structure, transparency, and confidence. Custom jewelry is the primary focus, but we also support select sourcing projects such as rugs, furniture, antiques, gifts, and unusual high-value purchases.

Yes. Custom jewelry is the center of the practice: engagement rings, wedding bands, heirloom redesigns, personal pieces, and private commissions. The broader advisory work exists for purchases that benefit from the same research, sourcing, and coordination process.

Engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary pieces, heirloom redesigns, earrings, necklaces, tie bars, personal commissions, and other custom pieces where the design, stone, budget, and production process need to be thought through carefully.

No. Many clients start with only a rough idea, a budget, an occasion, or a few inspiration images. The first step is translating that into a clear brief before any sourcing or production begins.

We coordinate custom manufacturing through trusted production relationships. That can include design direction, CAD, revisions, stone sourcing, production, setting, finishing, inspection, documentation, and delivery.

Yes. We can design around a stone you already own or explore how an heirloom piece might be redesigned. If there are risks in resetting, resizing, or reworking the piece, we will flag them before moving forward.

Yes. We explain the differences in price, supply, appearance, documentation, and resale logic so you can choose the stone that fits the piece, the budget, and the reason you are buying it.

Yes. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. The main difference is not whether they are real, but how they are produced, priced, supplied, and likely to hold resale value over time.

Usually they should not be treated as a pure investment. Some natural diamonds may have stronger resale logic than lab-grown diamonds, but resale depends on the specific stone, documentation, market demand, and transaction costs.

That is part of the point. We help you understand what drives cost, what quality details matter, what is mostly marketing, and where the tradeoffs are before you commit.

It depends on the category, materials, stone, complexity, and timeline. We can usually help you think through realistic options once we understand the occasion, budget range, and priorities.

Pricing depends on the scope. Some projects are straightforward custom commissions. Others involve research, sourcing, or coordination. We clarify the structure before work begins so there are no surprises.

Yes, when the project is a good fit. A thoughtful piece does not need to be the most expensive option. The important question is whether the budget, timeline, and expectations are realistic for custom work.

Most projects require time for the brief, sourcing, CAD, revisions, production, finishing, and delivery. Timeline depends on complexity, but we discuss feasibility before the project begins.

Yes. For custom jewelry, you review the relevant design direction, CAD, renderings, specifications, and cost before production moves forward. Nothing important should be a surprise.

Revisions are part of the process before production. We work through the design while changes are still practical, then confirm approval before the piece is made.

No. We are not appraisers, gemologists, lawyers, or financial advisors. When a purchase requires a specialist, we help coordinate with the right independent professional.

Yes, where relevant. We can help coordinate the documentation needed for insurance purposes, especially after a custom jewelry piece is completed.

Yes. We are based in Chicago and are happy to meet face to face when it makes sense for the project. We also work remotely when that is easier.

No. Chicago is home base, but many parts of the process can be handled remotely through calls, images, specifications, CAD review, shipping, and documented approvals.

Yes, selectively. We help when the purchase is meaningful, expensive, hard to evaluate, or benefits from research, sourcing, vendor outreach, specialist coordination, or a second set of eyes.

No. Our role is purchase guidance and coordination. We help you think clearly, compare options, ask better questions, and manage the process. When a formal appraisal or specialist opinion is needed, we coordinate with the appropriate expert.

Yes. Not every engagement needs to be a full custom project. Sometimes the most useful work is reviewing options, explaining tradeoffs, and helping you decide whether to move forward.

Send a note with what you are considering, your budget range, timeline, location, and any inspiration or context you already have. We will let you know whether it is a fit and what the next step would look like.

Start

Tell me what you are trying to buy.

Whether you are designing a ring, reworking an heirloom, sourcing a rug, or trying to make sense of an expensive personal purchase, the first step is a simple conversation.

Tell me the occasion, the budget, the timeline, and what you are hoping to accomplish. I'll let you know whether it is a fit and what the next step would look like.