This New SF Biz Gives You Everything You Waant in an Engagement Ring

Photo: Waant

Jenny Chung Seeger is the San Francisco native behind cool-girl boutiques like No. 3 and former Hayes Valley beacon Acrimony, and now she's branching into the digital jewelry business with a new custom ring venture called Waant. (Yes, that pun was intended.)

The concept: Choose your style. Pick your stone. Customize the ring that you want. And, since you're doing this online, you can save money in the process. (Most Waant rings are less than $7K.) 

Lead designer Bliss Lau created three basic styles for Waant that serve as the starting point for your ring. There are hundreds of options for jazzing up those three designs, so there’s lots of room for personalization. Once you’ve settled on specifics, Waant sends your design to a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) team to make a digital model of the ring, and then a 3D-printed wax model. Finally, they cast your actual ring in the precious metal of your choice, set the stone, and and polish everything by hand. 

When you receive the ring, you have 30 days to decide if you love it, or if you've got lingering feelings of meh. If you're not smitten, you can send it back and Waant will re-make the setting. (The stone stays the same.) There's a 15 percent restocking fee for do-overs.

Photo: Waant

Waant designs use mostly recycled golds and precious metals processed by refiners in the United States to reduce environmental impact, and all the stones are conflict-free. While Waant promotes black, grey, and champagne diamonds, as well as Montana sapphires, they can also hook you up with a traditional white diamond.

The core Waant design is a solitaire setting most commonly associated with engagement rings, but you could just as easily use the service to make a custom ring for any other occasion (or non-occasion). In other words, go play with the site, regardless of your relationship status.

San Francisco-based Anomalie has been disrupting the wedding dress market with its made-to-order custom designs; now you can add Waant's custom engagement rings to the plethora of money-saving startups springing from the Bay Area.