Engagement Rings, Designed and Made in Melbourne
We design and make engagement rings at Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street, Southbank. One studio, by appointment, Monday to Saturday. Nothing in our range is bought in finished and marked up.
That shapes what we can and cannot do for you. We cannot show you two hundred rings in a display case this afternoon. We can build the one ring you actually want, show you a render of it before any metal is cut, and have it ready in four weeks.
What we make, and what we do not
We set lab grown diamonds and moissanite. We do not sell mined diamonds and we do not sell loose stones.
That is a narrower business than most Melbourne jewellers run, and it is a deliberate choice. It means we buy deeply in two stone types rather than shallowly across five, and it means the advice you get is not shaped by what is sitting in the safe.
If you already know which stone you want, go straight to the lab grown diamond engagement rings or the moissanite engagement rings. If you do not, the next section is the short version of a conversation we have most weeks.
Lab grown diamond or moissanite
A lab grown diamond is a diamond. Same carbon lattice, same 10 on the Mohs scale, same optical behaviour, grown in a reactor rather than pulled out of the ground. Every one we set is IGI certified and laser inscribed on the girdle with its report number. Designs start at AU$1,350.
Moissanite is silicon carbide. It is 9.25 on the Mohs scale, so it is hard enough for daily wear, and it has a higher refractive index than diamond, which is why it throws more coloured light. Some people love that and some people find it obvious. It is GRC certified and designs start at AU$800.
The honest summary: at the same budget, moissanite buys you a noticeably larger stone, and a lab grown diamond buys you a stone that behaves exactly like the thing everyone means when they say diamond. Neither is a compromise on durability. If you want the long version, read moissanite vs lab grown diamond.
One more thing worth saying before you spend money. Lab grown diamond prices have fallen substantially since 2020 as growing capacity scaled. A lab grown diamond is not an investment and does not hold its value the way people hope. Buy it because you want to wear it.
Custom design in Melbourne
Almost everything that leaves this studio is custom in the sense that matters: made to order, to a size, in a metal, with a stone chosen for you. There is no surcharge for that, because there is no alternative production line to compare it to.
Custom usually starts one of three ways. Someone brings in an image of a ring they cannot find in Australia. Someone wants a family stone reset into something wearable. Or someone has looked at forty solitaires and wants one detail changed, a thinner band, a lower profile, a different claw shape.
All three are the same process from our side. Talk it through, draw it, render it, get your approval, then make it.
The five steps
- Consultation. Thirty minutes, one on one, in Southbank or by video call. Shape, carat, setting, metal, budget.
- Design and render. A 3D render before any metal is cut. Changes at this stage cost nothing. Changes after casting cost a great deal, which is why we do not skip it.
- Stone selection. Certified stones sourced against your brief, with the reports in front of you. We look at cut grade before colour and clarity, because cut decides how the stone behaves in real light and the other two decide how it reads on paper.
- Making. Casting, setting, finishing. Ready in four weeks.
- Collection or delivery. Collect in Southbank, or carbon offset insured delivery with signature required, anywhere in Australia.
Visiting the studio
Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street, Southbank VIC 3006, by appointment only, Monday to Saturday. Weekday appointments generally run from midday, with late morning starts on Friday and Saturday.
Southbank is on the south side of the Yarra, a short walk from the CBD across the river, near the Arts Centre and the Crown precinct. Thirty minutes is enough time if you come prepared.
Bring a ring she already wears so we can size it. Bring inspiration images, including the ones that contradict each other, because the contradiction usually tells us what she actually likes. Bring a rough budget and say it out loud early, so we stop showing you the wrong things. Bring your questions.
To book an appointment, pick a time online, or call +61 435 232 015 if you would rather talk first.
If you cannot get to Southbank
A good number of Melbourne clients never come in, and the rings turn out the same. The remote process is not a downgraded version of the studio visit, it is the same five steps with a screen in the middle.
We run the consultation by video call. We post you a free ring sizer before casting so the finished ring fits. You approve a 3D render rather than a wax model. Delivery is carbon offset, insured, signature required.
The one thing a screen cannot do is size comparison. A 1.5 carat oval and a 2 carat oval look identical in a photograph and obviously different on a hand. If that decision is the one you are stuck on, come in.
Warranty and resizing
The lifetime warranty covers craftsmanship, which means manufacturing faults such as an unstable setting or a flawed metal finish, and it covers the optical properties of the stone: clarity, colour, fire, lustre and brilliance. It excludes normal wear such as scratches, damage from misuse or improper care, chipped or cracked stones, lost stones, theft and third party repairs. It is non transferable to a later owner.
Resizing is one free resize within three months of purchase, up to four sizes up or down, or two sizes on a pave ring. Additional resizes start at $80 and vary with the metal. You pay postage to us, we pay return postage.
We write it out in full because the shorthand other people use, resizing free for life, is almost never true once you read the terms.
What to spend
There is no rule. The three months salary line was an advertising campaign, not a tradition, and repeating it here would be dishonest.
What we can tell you is where the money goes. Carat weight is the steepest curve: the jump from 1 carat to 2 carat costs far more than double, because larger rough is rarer even when it is grown. Metal is the next largest lever, and platinum runs well above 18k gold for the same design. Setting complexity is third, and it is the one people underestimate, because a pave band can carry more stone value than the centre.
If you want a broader read on Australian prices, we wrote how much an engagement ring should cost in Australia without a single reference to salary multiples.
Melbourne engagement rings FAQ
Where are your engagement rings made?
At Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street, Southbank VIC 3006. Design, casting, setting and finishing all happen in the one studio. We do not sell finished rings bought in from a supplier catalogue.
How much does a custom engagement ring cost in Melbourne?
Lab grown diamond designs start at AU$1,350 and moissanite designs start at AU$800. Custom does not carry a surcharge here, because everything is made to order anyway. What moves the price is carat weight, the metal, and how many stones are set into the band.
How long does a custom engagement ring take?
Ready in four weeks from the point you approve the render. If you have a proposal date, say so at the first appointment and we will work backwards from it.
Do you sell mined diamonds?
No. We set lab grown diamonds and moissanite only. If a mined diamond is what you want, we are not the right studio and we will say so rather than talk you out of it.
What should I bring to an appointment?
A ring she already wears so we can size it, inspiration images, a rough budget said out loud, and your questions. Thirty minutes goes a long way when those four things are in the room.
Can you work with me if I cannot get to Southbank?
Yes. Video consultations, a free ring sizer posted to you, 3D renders before casting, and carbon offset insured delivery with signature required, anywhere in Australia.
Where to go next
If lab grown diamond is the direction, the lab grown diamond engagement rings Melbourne page covers certification, pricing and the studio process in more detail. If moissanite is the direction, start with moissanite engagement rings Melbourne.
Interstate, we work the same way by video call and insured courier with couples in Brisbane and Perth.
Or just book an appointment and bring the questions with you.