Kosta and I: Manufacturing my Engagement Ring

I’ve been wanting to write about the process of getting my engagement ring (and my husband’s wedding band) for a while—mostly because I would have planned better if I’d understood the timeline from the start. More than that, though, I want to share this because working with Kosta Jewellers made a long-time dream of mine feel possible: owning beautiful, fine jewelry without paying a retail markup.

My Engagement and Temporary Wedding Band

I knew early on that I didn’t want to buy fine jewelry from a retail store. The markups are steep, and I wanted to work directly with a manufacturer. I also wanted my ring to come from South Africa—partly because it’s home, and partly because I suspected the value would be much better than what I’d find in the United States. After searching manufacturers in both the U.S. and South Africa, I found Kosta Jewellers online. The website was clear, professional, and genuinely informative (especially about lab diamonds and moissanite). Once I started comparing prices, it became obvious that Kosta’s work—and his pricing—was worth pursuing.

Kosta is based in Sandton, in the northern part of Johannesburg, just under an hour from where I live in the West Rand. His office is small and straightforward: a front desk, his office, and—just behind it—the manufacturing tools and workspace where the rings are made. He was kind enough to let my husband and me see the back area, which made the process feel even more personal. It’s one thing to talk about craftsmanship; it’s another to see where your ring is actually being made.

My husband had his wedding band made alongside my engagement ring. He wanted to wear it immediately and didn’t want to wait until we were married. He chose a classic D-shaped band in white gold—simple, timeless, and exactly his style. As for my ring, I had a clear vision: I wanted a floral basket with a cathedral setting, and I wanted a pear-shaped diamond with presence (I won’t share the exact carat weight, but it’s above one carat). Kosta sourced a beautiful pear-cut stone, and then we moved into the design process.

We started communication by email, and once we got into the design and render stage, we switched to WhatsApp. We went through about three renders (digital design images created before the ring is made) before landing on the final design. The full timeline—from first meeting to pickup—was eight weeks, largely because I wanted time to explore different design options before settling on the Laura design. I chose 9k gold because the soft pastal hue compliments my skintone. Once the design was finalized, the rings went into production, and that’s where my biggest lesson came in: beautiful rings take time. If you’re doing custom work, especially if you want to experiment with designs, start earlier than you think you need to. My practical tip is to budget at least 4–8 weeks from your first meeting to receiving your ring, depending on how quickly you finalize your design.

Now, the part people always want to know: cost. If I’d ordered my ring through Brilliant Earth, it would have cost $5,620. For that same amount, my husband and I paid for two round-trip flights to South Africa and two rings—my engagement ring and his wedding band.

What I appreciated most is simple: I received a luxury-quality ring at a very fair cost. Beautiful, fine jewelry has always been a dream of mine—honestly, even more than having a wedding—and finding Kosta now means my husband and I have a family jeweller, which just feels… correct.