Short answer:
The turnaround time is anywhere from 5 to 25 business days. I try to keep it an average of 10 business days but no more than 25 business days.
Detailed Explanation:
- I am so sorry, I am unable to give a specific time frame because of a few reasons below,
- Each piece is made to order! This means that your necklace starts out as a sheet of precious metal. Every piece starts from scratch and there are several steps to creating your pieces, such as cutting, filing, polishing several times between stages, stamping or engraving, drilling, filing again after drilling, etc. These are just some of the processes involved! I am meticulous about my work: I even put pieces of tape over the pendants between stages to protect them! It is very involved. Fro, cutting the piece of metal, to inspecting clasps, there are several processes.
- I have several trays of necklaces at different stages of creation. This is because I need to shift what I am doing on a constant basis to make sure my eyes do not get strained, but also because different processes happen all at different times. I will constant have at least 4 steps happening at once. A station for cutting your pieces from precious metal sheets, a station for necklaces getting engraved, a station for necklaces that need to be polished again after engraving or stamping because those processes leave the necklace icky and I have to polish it another time, another station where chain is being cut and clasps inspected, another station for necklaces ready to be assembled, and another station where necklaces are going through their final polishing and getting inspected one more time before it is packaged. Then, Ashley will come and package them! During this time, Rhiannon is working on graphics for me so that I can engrave the ones that are getting ready to be engraved.
- Why do so many processes happen at once? This is to ensure that I a give each piece their individual attention at each step, and to make sure that each one gets their attention. It's kind of like waiting in line at the grocery store where several lines are open! I'm basically every single cashier and I treat each step individually and each piece is created with care. I am careful to not take on too much and even close the website at times if it gets too much so I can put 110% of myself into each piece.
- I could tell you what specific stage your necklace is in, but it might not mean much to you because the handmade process varies so much. For example, if I say "Your necklace is being engraved tomorrow" might not make a lot of sense to you because it still has several more processes to go. I still have to cut the chain, inspect the clasp, and it goes through a couple more polishing sessions. Sometimes I have to re-make your piece if I am not happy with it. For this reason, I am unable to give a specific time frame because if I stop every time someone asks me where it is in queue, my answer may not make sense, and it takes time away where I can be working on your necklace.
What I can promise:
- I promise to say what I mean and mean what I say.
- I promise to be honest and transparent with what I can promise.
- I promise to only take on what I can take on, so rest assured that I am not going to rush your piece. This is why it takes so long- the handmade process takes a while! I often have to re-make several pieces if I am not happy with it before it is sent out.
- I promise to give a turnaround time that I can keep. Yes, this means that the 5-25 day is very wide of a range. I do my best to keep it at an average of 10 business days but this will vary based on how many orders are before yours. (It's like waiting in line at a grocery store!).
- I promise to not overpromise and underdeliver.
