Custom & Co Jewellery

We visited Ben in his shop a couple of times to tentatively discuss ideas for a bespoke diamond & platinum wedding ring to fit against an art deco engagement ring with a fairly complex profile (plus a bespoke gent’s ring). Ben instilled a lot of confidence that everything we discussed would be possible, and that he was the man to work with. He was always relaxed and repeatedly said to leave it until much nearer the time of the wedding, so we asked a month ahead to start the process ten weeks before needing the ring (14 weeks’ notice in total). That ten weeks mark fell mid-December, and whilst we raised how busy he might be in the lead-up to Christmas, we were told it wouldn’t be a problem for him. The design concepts didn’t appear. On chasing after Christmas, we were told how busy his Christmas business had been… We then had to chase again, this time with only 6 weeks until we needed the ring. Each time we called/emailed/visited the shop, there was always a reason why the designs weren’t forthcoming, but still with the familiar reassurance that all could be achieved within the dwindling time frame. Five weeks out, we finally got sent one design, which in no way met what had been discussed; again we were reassured, this time that another software package he had access to would provide all we’d asked for (so why not use that first time round?!). Over the next couple of weeks, our calls were ignored, and when contacted by email the email was either blank, or he gave some feeble explanations backtracking on things that were previously not going to be a problem at all. Was this all just a ploy to run down the clock and force us to buy something off the shelf and increase his margin, because we had no time left? If that’s not the case, then it must have been incompetence or procrastination when faced with a challenge, or appalling time management skills, or seemingly to us, a bit of everything. Our last communication from Ben was left open and as far as he was concerned we were still working with him, but he never attempted to follow-up or contact us despite the short time to deadline. We never heard from him again. That says it all. When we got to three weeks out, we decided that we had to cut our losses and act quickly if we were to achieve our dream of a bespoke wedding ring to fit with the tricky engagement ring. We were very fortunate to find Varoshe in West Malling; Clare & Paul took on the challenge of producing our bespoke rings with just over two weeks to get everything sorted. The experience couldn’t have been more different - the care and consistent (daily!) communication gave us so much relief, and in the end we didn’t need to compromise on anything to achieve what we’d always wanted (in fact, the creative input and good design process made the final result better than anything Ben had bothered to offer). Ben seems like a nice guy, but he’s not totally honest in his dealings, and at best what could be said is that he needs to be a lot more upfront with people and admit that either his skills or time won’t allow for more challenging jobs. Maybe he should hire someone with consultative skills to work with customers on designs, or even just someone with customer service skills to make sure customers and jobs are kept on top of; we guess his craftsmanship his very good, so maybe he should stick with what he’s good at, in the back of the shop. We just hope he gave some thought and regret to the massive anxiety and tears he caused.

Was recommended by fellow neighbours. Had an engagement ring resized here. Ben was extremely professional and his work is amazing. Ring fits perfectly and there’s absolutely no sign of where the cut was made. Thank you!

Lucy recently supplied me with some beautiful bespoke rings for my event, they were AMAZING. If you want anything designed then contact them.. From Hire Societies

I have been here many times now for repairs, polishes, and a whole new white gold shank placing on my engagement ring replacing a gold one. So so happy with every service I have received, top quality workmanship and lovely staff. I will soon be back for a replacement white gold wedding ring !

I highly recommend this place, they are so nice and helpful. I’m going back if I need anything else