The Custom Engagement Ring Process at Víya

For most people, shopping for an engagement ring starts with walking into a jewelry store and looking through whatever’s already in the case. You try things on, compare a few options, and eventually find something you like enough to take home—but that’s not really how we do things at Víya.

We don’t have endless inventory for you to sort through, and we’re not interested in selling you something simply because it’s in front of you. We believe the person wearing the ring and the center stone are the foundation of the design—and everything else should be built around them.

That’s why before diving into our custom process, we actually encourage you to “shop around” a little. Try on different styles, look at different stones, and pay attention to what you love, what you don’t, and what you keep coming back to. Those preferences give us a starting point, but custom design allows us to take it so much further.

That’s what we love about custom. We’re not here to just sell you something. We’re here to create something for you. Something that works for your life, reflects your story, and feels like it could only belong to you.

We call our approach The Process, and it’s broken down into three steps:

Step 1: The Initial Conversation

Once you’ve narrowed down your preferences a bit, your first step with us is an initial conversation.

The goal is simple: to answer your initial questions and get on the same page about your vision, preferences, priorities, and budget. We’ll talk about the center stone you’re looking for, anything you already know you want or don’t want in the design, and the inspiration you’ve collected along the way.

This initial conversation can happen one of two ways.

By Phone

To schedule a 15-minute initial call, submit our Design With Us form. After submitting, you’ll receive our custom process orientation email with a link to schedule your call.

When scheduling, you’ll fill out a more detailed form covering the details above, with an opportunity to share inspiration photos or anything else that helps us understand what you have in mind. This means we can come into your conversation with as much context as possible and make the most of our time together.

In Person

If you’d prefer to get to know us and our process in person first, you can submit a General Showroom Visit request.

We’re happy to use this 30-minute visit as your initial conversation—to learn a little about what you have in mind, answer questions about our custom process, and give you a feel for Víya in person. You’re welcome to bring inspiration photos, Pinterest boards, or pieces you’ve been saving as reference.

Step 2: Stone Selection

** If you already have a loose diamond or gemstone, or you’re looking to transform an heirloom piece into something new, our process is a little different. Explore our Restoration Guide to learn more. **

Once we’ve aligned on your general direction, we'll need at least two business days to hand-select stones based on your criteria ahead of your private design consultation.

Because handpicking a personalized selection of stones takes dedicated time, we require a $250 deposit before we can begin sourcing. This deposit covers our time and expertise and is applied toward the final cost of your ring.

Your private design consultation is a one-on-one two-hour consultation with one of our designers. We'll host you in our NYC showroom or meet virtually if you’re working with us remotely. Our showroom is designed to feel more like a creative studio than a traditional jewelry store—a relaxed, intimate space where you can take your time, ask questions, get comfortable with the process, and actually enjoy making these decisions. (We’ll even have some bubbly for you if that’s your thing.)

Most couples choose to attend this part of the process together, but how involved the person wearing the ring is from here on out is completely up to you. Some couples want to make every decision together; others prefer to keep certain parts of the process a surprise.

Before we jump into showing you your curated stones, we want you to feel genuinely informed about what you’re buying and how your ring will be made. We’ll walk you through an educational presentation covering everything from our background, craftsmanship network, and production process to diamond and gemstone types, metals, materials, and the decisions that go into creating a custom piece.

Then, for the part we know you’ve been waiting for, we’ll present your curated stone selection and walk through each option together—including its individual characteristics, proportions, and pricing. Our goal isn’t to tell you which stone to choose. It’s to give you the information you need to make a decision that feels right for you.

And you don’t have to decide on the spot.

Take your time. Sleep on it. You don’t have to choose your stone during the consultation. And if none of the options feels quite right, that’s okay too. We’ll use what we learned from the first selection to refine the search and source another round of options.

Step 3: The Design

There’s no single way to approach the design itself. We can get as creative and innovative as you want, starting from a completely original concept inspired by your story. We can take an existing design and make it your own. Or, if you already have a very specific vision, we can work with you to bring that exact idea to life.

While we’re together for your design consultation, we make sure to spend time getting to know the person who will actually wear the ring. Your lifestyle, profession, relationship, meaningful places, shared experiences, and the little details that make your story yours can all influence the design—both aesthetically and functionally.

We’ve crafted rings for doctors, making sure the designs could be worn comfortably without catching or tearing gloves. For a couple who met in Greece, we created a Greek column-inspired design and we often incorporate meaningful engravings and tiny gemstones.

Those details are what make custom jewelry feel truly custom.

We’ll also begin talking through the ring itself. We’ll get your ring size, dive deeper into design preferences like band thickness, setting and basket styles, and may even play around with some rough sketches together.

But the official design process doesn't actually begin until your center stone has been selected.

This order is intentional. The center stone is the foundation of the ring. Its measurements, proportions, depth, and shape all affect how the setting and overall design need to be built.

Once we have your stone and a clear understanding of your story and design direction, our designers begin bringing everything together. And the process doesn’t end when you leave our showroom. We continue communicating with you throughout the design and production process as your ring takes shape.

Your design moves through several stages:

Hand sketches to establish the initial design
3D CAD to refine proportions, details, and functionality
Wax models to give you a physical sense of the design before production
Casting your ring in your chosen metal
Stone setting and finishing to bring everything together

And because we think the making of the ring is part of the story, we even give you a silver casting of your ring as a keepsake—a physical reminder of the piece you had a hand in creating.

Once your ring is complete, we'll have it professionally appraised, inspected, beautifully packaged, and ready for pickup or shipping.

A Custom Process Built Around You

There’s a reason we do things this way.

We don’t believe you should have to choose a ring from a wall of inventory or make an important decision simply because you’re sitting across from a jeweler. We want you to have the information, time, and space to make choices you feel genuinely good about—and to have a hand in creating a piece you’ll want to pass down for generations.

For us, the best part is getting to create something that’s not just custom in the technical sense, but meaningful in the personal one.

Because when you work with Víya, you become part of our story, while we get the privilege of becoming a small part of yours—and, hopefully, the story of the generations that come after you.