A solid 18K gold piece with hand-painted enamel, on dark cloth

COMMISSION · IN GOLD

Solid 18K gold.

Not plated — gold all the way through, with nothing to wear off. Enamel on solid gold is how miniatures survive centuries: it is the material we use when a piece is meant to outlast everyone who remembers the day it was made. From $2,000, quoted in writing before you owe anything beyond the design fee.

The metal your grandchildren hold is the metal you held.

Why gold, in one sentence
A solid 18K gold piece with hand-painted enamel, in the hand
The same piece under magnification — brushwork in fired enamel

Ch.02 — her mother's peony, made to be handed to a daughter.

What the material buys you.

  • Finer detail

    Gold takes a higher working temperature than silver, which widens what the painter can do — finer lines, deeper layering, more of the face in the same inch.

  • Nothing to wear

    There is no plating, so there is nothing to thin with the years.

  • Repairable, for life

    A solid gold piece can go back into the kiln. If it is ever chipped — this decade or three from now — it can usually be repaired. Plated pieces cannot survive the fire; this one has nothing in it to lose.

  • Made to be handed down

    Enamel does not fade, and solid gold does not wear. Together they are the closest thing jewelry has to permanence — which is why the miniatures in museums are so often exactly this pairing.

Hand-drawing the design for a gold commission

THE PROCESS

Six steps, two approvals.

  1. 01

    Pay the $150 design fee.

    It covers the painter's time to design your piece, and it is credited in full toward your total. It is the only thing you owe until you've approved a design and a price.

  2. 02

    We design. You approve it.

    Changes at this stage are free and unlimited — including trying a different photo. Your approval locks the shape: the carving and mold are made from it.

  3. 03

    We quote you, in writing.

    The full price, before you owe anything beyond the $150. What moves it: size, gold weight, the complexity of the painting, and stones if you want them.

  4. 04

    You pay the balance.

    Nothing is cast, painted, or fired until it's settled.

  5. 05

    We make it. You approve it again.

    Painted under the microscope, fired between layers, photographed in the studio for your final approval before it ships.

  6. 06

    It ships.

    Tracked and insured, worldwide. We give you the date when we quote you.

The fine print, in plain language

COMMISSIONED IN GOLD

Begun for someone. Kept by their family.

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See all commissions

It starts with a photo and $150.

Send us what you have in mind. We'll design it, quote it in writing, and nothing further happens until you've said yes to both.

Start your design →