HOME... A UNIQUE ETHOS » COLLECTIONS » ORDERING INFORMATION » PRICING GUIDE

Pricing Guide ... plus Information on Precious Metal / Stone Options, Genuine Hand-Crafting and Finishing.

All prices are in Euro. If you would like to know the current rate in your own currency please check on the XE.com Universal Currency Convertor (opens separate page)

SILVER / SILVER WITH GOLD COLLECTION PIECES:
Prices of currently available silver or silver with gold designs are accurate in relation to the actual piece shown. If a Collection piece containing stones has already been sold it is unlikely that it can be repeated. However, a similar design can sometimes be based on a previously sold collection piece, therefore the price shown next to a sold piece will give you a rough guide price. (Please note that we do not repeat bespoke pieces especially designed for and purchased by individual customers.)

Band rings and pieces without stones are usually repeatable.

Please also remember that each design crafted around natural uncut stones is unique, and this means no two pieces are the same. Because of this, requested prices for similar pieces may vary to those shown as examples. Pieces without stones are closely repeatable to examples seen in the website photos.

Many pieces can be made to order in either silver or gold variants (yellow, rose and white) also platinum and palladium. Costs vary considerably according to the recycled precious metals requested and subsequently used.
For ethical, economic and secure reasons, Laibach does not stock gold and acquires from the recycling refiner only the amount necessary for an individual piece or bespoke order.

GOLD PIECES:
Gold pieces are not priced on the website as these are hand made to order and are valued based on the current gold price and the final weight of the finished piece.

PIECES WITH LAB-CREATED DIAMONDS:
Prices for pieces with lab-created diamonds available on request. Please note we do not stock any kind of diamonds. A lab-created diamond is specially bought in - only for inclusion in a customer's piece on request.

Laibach Precious Metals Principle

Kerstin Laibach only uses recycled precious metals and not new-mined, so no environment / habitat displacement, no animal-derived products and is cruelty-free.
What is the difference between recycled gold and new-mined gold?

For ethical, economic and secure reasons, Laibach does not stock gold and acquires from the recycling refiner only the amount necessary for an individual piece or bespoke order.

Gold Colours

The colours of precious metals and non-precious metals on the Laibach website should be viewed as a general guide only. Computer screens vary and can affect the hue of images.

For example, the yellow gold often illustrated in our on-line collections is relative to 18 carat (750) hallmark. The gold colours shown on the picture of the Laibach Path Rings above indicate white, yellow and rose.

However, Kerstin Laibach collection and bespoke pieces can include many precious metal options which are chosen to create harmonic contrasts in her designs, and because she does not galvanise, she works with the natural colour of recycled pure precious metals and alloys. For example the deco style Laibach rejuvenated marriage ring with reclaimed diamond seen above is a mix of 14ct yellow gold and 14ct white gold. The yellow gold is matted to a certain grade to achieve a desirable effect.

Alloying for your Choice of Gold Grade

Although Laibach traditionally works in higher gold grades, 14ct can be orderd on request. 14ct may also be used when achieving design contrasts (as described above).
When ordering please tell us what shade of gold you require. I.e. natural white gold, yellow gold, rose or red gold ... or platinum. You may wish your piece to combine white and yellow gold, and all such variations are possible.

The price can vary considerably when using different colours of gold because the alloying mix dictates the cost of these precious metals. For example, white gold is gold with palladium (platinum metal)*.

Recycled Precious Metal Options

We only ever use precious metals (always recycled) of the absolute highest quality and none contain nickel.

Atelier Laibach's precious metal crafting options include:

• Platinum
• 24ct Gold (Fine gold for various techniques)
• 18ct Yellow Gold 750/-
• White Gold (either 14ct or 18ct)
• 18ct Rose Gold 750/-
• 18ct Red Gold 750/-
• 14ct Gold 585/- (Lighter Yellow)
• Pd 950 Palladium*
• Pd 500 Palladium*
• Sterling Silver
• Fine silver (for various techniques)
• Combinations of precious metal options are also available

For any other alloying wishes relating to the creation of your bespoke Laibach piece please get in touch. Gold alloys lower than 18ct which contain more copper may tarnish. If you have pieces with alloys containing higher copper mix all you need to do is clean them more regularly to maintain their original appearance.

* MORE ABOUT PALLADIUM
When gold prices are high and a piece made entirely of gold seems a little too far to stretch, Palladium can be a more affordable option. Palladium is from a group of elements called platinum group metals. Palladium 500 is a dark silvery grey colour, followed by Palladium 950 with a lighter colour (because it has more Palladium and less silver). Because of the darker grey colour of palladium against silver, the contrast with 18ct yellow gold detail can look very attractive. For example, a piece such as a ring with a Palladium base and 18ct gold detail could be an ideal choice. A positive characteristic of Palladium is that it doesn't tarnish like silver and is more durable as well. Palladium 950 also gives a closer appearance to white gold than silver.

Left: Unpolished Palladium 500 on the left side and unpolished Sterling silver on the right side with a strip of unpolished 18ct gold laid on top.

Electroplating

Based on our ethical principles we do not electroplate our jewellery. Instead, our natural hand-finishing gives each collection piece its own individual essence and lasting character.

Jewellers use the process of electroplating, which involves the use of cyanide or other toxic chemicals. Although these can be neutralized, in practice there is still a considerable negative environmental impact.
Electroplating on precious metals is what gives new jewellery that extra depth of colour, and it often soon wears off ... especially on rings. When this happens a piece can look quite different to the radiant item you originally bought - especially on white gold and 14ct yellow gold.
We feel that the process is completely unnecessary on our new pieces and we liken electroplating to an artificial flavouring.

All Laibach Precious Metal Work is Entirely Handmade Including Chains and Closing Mechanisms

The following analogy makes a fascinating argument why you should expect a jewellery maker claiming to be handmade ... should actually be handmade:

"When a village tea shop sells "homemade" cakes you expect the cake to be entirely made by the cake maker. So if the cake maker bought fruit and sponge cakes from the supermarket and simply covered them with icing and decoration, you would either a) probably not know the difference or b) feel cheated.
You would imagine that when a jewellery designer and maker creates his or her own individual jewellery piece that the all the crafting work was handmade by the "maker". But this is often not the case. The more intricate pieces that go into a piece of jewellery, which require a lot of skill and effort to make by hand, are now made by machines in factories. These are called findings. Findings are bought as ready-made stock and include chains, closing mechanisms, earring backs, clasps, cufflink mechanisms and even entire rings (called blanks). In many cases findings can make up as much as 50% of the entire piece of jewellery and with band rings almost 100%.
There are however one or two aspects of fine jewllery making which may require specialist skills of another hand or caster, such as some precious stone setting, certain engraving techniques and casting from wax designs for more commercial jewellers to produce repeats; and these are (up to a point) an accepted part of jewellery creation outsourcing.
But using findings as a way to cut complex or laborious corners and to even deceive the customer into thinking the piece is handmade is not a practice entertained by genuine goldsmiths offering entirely hand-produced pieces ..."
Excerpt from "Made Local?" published with permission of Looking-Glass.co.uk

See here for Kerstin Laibach's handmade chains

*Palladium is from a group of elements called platinum group metals. Palladium 500 is a dark silvery grey colour, followed by Palladium 950 with a lighter silvery grey colour. Because of the dark silvery grey colour of palladium 500 the contrast with detail in yellow gold (18ct) can look very attractive. A positive characteristic of Palladium is that it doesn't tarnish like silver and is slightly harder than silver. It also gives a closer appearance to white gold than silver.

Back to the Collections Main Menu

MORE INFORMATION

How to Order a Piece
Delivery / Shipping Information
Returns
Sending Us Items

For all enquiries please see our contact page