Whitakers Jewellers Custom Design Rings

On the right hand side of John Whitaker's desk is a piece of paper covered with shapes and sketches. He can often be seen drawing, mulling over shapes and design in his mind. Creativity is something John believes is cultivated; precision art in its purest form. It's not just about the jewellery - it's about creating something truly honest which will evoke a feeling.

Many people John has worked with in designing custom pieces hope to express a moment or acknowledge someone special. The collaboration is as much about a desire to create something deeply meaningful as it is about the jewellery.

John's also worked with people who had an idea of the kind of ring they wanted, but hadn't been able to source the right one. John can combine aspects rings you do like with other elements that are important for you, to help craft a ring which perfectly balances the vision you have with practical considerations such as the size of a woman's finger or her natural preference.

John's favourite part of custom designing rings is getting to hear people's stories and interpret them into a design which makes a customer feel something. He believes a genuine connection between a customer and designer is the x-factor in creating a piece which truly reflects a story. It's this belief that makes John one of the rare individuals who can design something aesthetic and unique which integrates sentiment just as much as elements of design.

Gareth & Christine's Custom Design Story

Creating a memorable and personal engagement experience is something most couples consider to be very important. Whitakers customers Gareth and Christine were certainly like this in every step of their journey. (Their wedding consisted of a show they wrote and performed for family and friends!) So though it came as a surprise to Christine, John wasn’t shocked that Gareth wanted to custom design a ring as unique as their relationship.

When Gareth first came in to see John, he had an idea of what he wanted, but wasn’t confident anyone would be able to create it. Armed with a lot of information from the web and having done research online, Gareth has a picture of the ring he wanted to surprise Christine with. Not only was the design symbolic and original, the materials needed were going to be hard to source.

The ring needed coloured stones, cognac and yellow, which John was able to source and scale to balance the tessellated setting.

Christine had always liked the idea of a custom design ring, but she wasn’t prepared for the huge surprise when Gareth gave her the one that he had co-created with John Whitaker.