What Happens Between Your Order and the Ring Arriving

Education

Seven stages, and the two where a decision is genuinely irreversible.

Written by the Mapple Gems workshop, Surat · Updated 8 September 2026

Short answer

A custom ring goes through brief → CAD → wax or resin model → casting → setting → finishing → despatch. Everything is changeable up to casting and very little afterwards, so the CAD approval is the decision point — that is where profile height, shank thickness and prong placement are fixed. Bench time is typically a week or so; the rest of any quoted timeline is transit and, on international orders, customs.

“Made to order” is a phrase people accept without much sense of what happens inside it. Knowing the sequence matters for one practical reason: it tells you when to ask questions, because the window for changes closes earlier than most people expect.

The seven stages

Stage	What happens	Changeable?
1. Brief	Specification agreed — stone, metal, dimensions, size	Fully
2. CAD	A 3D model built to those numbers, sent for approval	Fully — this is the decision point
3. Model	Printed in wax or castable resin	Yes, but it means restarting
4. Casting	Metal poured into the mould; the ring becomes physical	No — geometry is now fixed
5. Setting	Stones placed and secured by hand	Stones can change; structure cannot
6. Finishing	Filing, sanding, polishing, plating if required	Finish only
7. Despatch	Final check, documentation, insured shipping	No

Stage 2 is the only stage that matters for you, and it is the one people rush. A CAD approval usually arrives as a top-down render, looks like the ring, and gets a “yes, lovely” within the hour. But approving that render fixes profile height, shank thickness, prong placement and the total width across the setting — and three of those four are invisible from above. After casting, none of them can be changed without remaking the piece. So the useful thing to do at stage 2 is slow down and ask for the side elevation and the numbers in millimetres. It costs a day. Discovering the height at delivery costs a remake.

What actually takes the time

People assume the bench work dominates. It rarely does.

CAD and approval: one to three days, plus however long you take to respond. This is the most common source of delay, and it is on the customer’s side.
Model and casting: a day or two.
Setting and finishing: the skilled work, and the majority of bench hours.
Total bench time: around a week for a typical piece.
Transit and customs: frequently longer than the making, on an international order.

This is why production time and transit time should always be quoted separately. A single figure at checkout is a transit estimate, and a made-to-order piece has to be built before it can ship.

The stages where things go wrong

A vague brief. “Something like this but a bit different” produces a CAD that is nearly right, which costs a revision cycle. Numbers — millimetres, karat, thickness — produce a CAD that is right.
Approving a top-down render. Covered above, and the most consequential.
The size. Given late, given in a converted system, or measured on a cold morning. Send inner diameter or circumference in millimetres, measured at the end of the day.
Duties and delivery. Not knowing whether the price is landed, or letting a parcel be left without a signature. Both are settled with one question before despatch.

Why change requests get expensive late

A revision at CAD is a file edit. A change after casting is not a change at all — it is a new ring, because the geometry lives in the metal.

Some things remain possible afterwards: resizing within a range, swapping a stone before setting, altering the finish, adding engraving. What cannot change is profile height, gallery design, prong placement, shank thickness and the fundamental shape. Those are decided at stage 2 whether or not anyone discussed them.

What to ask at each stage

At brief: the full specification in writing — stone millimetres and material, metal karat, shank width and thickness, accent count and size, gram weight.
At CAD: the side elevation, the profile height in millimetres, and confirmation that every point and corner has a prong over it.
Before casting: confirmation of the finger size in millimetres and how many sizes the design can be resized.
Before despatch: whether the price is landed, whether it is signature required, and what is declared on the customs paperwork.
On arrival: check it against the written specification, and photograph it including inside the shank.

Keep reading

Frequently asked questions

What are the stages of making a custom ring?

Brief, CAD, wax or resin model, casting, setting, finishing, despatch. Everything is changeable up to casting and very little afterwards, so CAD approval is the real decision point — it fixes profile height, shank thickness, prong placement and total width across the setting.

At what point can I no longer change a custom ring?

Casting. After that the geometry lives in the metal, so profile height, gallery design, prong placement, shank thickness and the fundamental shape are fixed. Resizing within a range, swapping a stone before setting, altering the finish and adding engraving all remain possible.

How long does a custom ring take to make?

Around a week of bench time for a typical piece, plus one to three days for CAD and however long approval takes. On an international order, transit and customs are frequently longer than the making — which is why production time and transit time should always be quoted separately.

What causes most delays on a custom order?

Waiting for CAD approval, and revision cycles caused by a vague brief. Giving numbers at the start — millimetres, karat, thickness — and responding promptly at the approval stage removes most of it. A late or converted ring size is the other common cause, since it can mean a resize after delivery.

Take a day over the CAD.

Ask us for the side elevation and the numbers. It is the only stage where changes are free.

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