“When my friend got engaged, her fiancé didn’t just give her the biggest diamond you have ever seen, he went down the mine to get it himself!” commented a bridezilla wannabe at a party recently, thus sparking a palpable sense of awe, fused with a dash of jealousy amongst fellow hopefuls and thus proving that in the 21^st Century ‘pretty’ isn’t enough … those significant pieces of jewellery have to be perfect.

Thanks to the proliferation of high street chains, the intellectual value of bespoke products is at an all-time high, and nowhere could that be a more sought after asset than amongst those significant pieces of jewellery.

What is a little trickier to find however is a bespoke service that you wouldn’t have to be Donald Trump to finance, and that is exactly what Perfect Collection does.  A diamond expert from South Africa, proprietor Dirk Odendaal is the man with all the connections to produce jewellery at half the price of famed Bond Street retailers: “I don’t make the goods,” he says; “but I know diamonds – I have a designer, a setter, and I get the stones direct from the source, so there is no middle man and because of the people I work with you can design pieces to match the items you have bought before – wedding rings that compliment engagement rings, necklaces, bracelets and so forth.”

Always jovial, and instantly likeable, at the core of Odendaal’s ethos is his utter pragmatism – “size matters when it comes to diamonds, but most people are on a budget, so I will always promise to get you the biggest and best stone for your money; balancing size, clarity and colour.  Also, people are busy so I will always come to a client at a time and place that’s convenient for them – which is particularly important when men are looking to buy an engagement ring.”

The entire service that Odendaal offers is very much tailored to individual clients, with a few extra assurances thrown into the equation such as the traceability of all the diamonds he uses along with appear work so you know they have been ethically produced; but what we are ultimately interested in is the end product, and with a sparkle in his eye you know that this is his favourite part too: “What I love the most is that what I do when I work with clients is always a one off – you buy it and you know I am not going to go into a back room and get another identical one out.”

So bridezilla’s boy can sleep easy – he doesn’t have to go down a mine, he can produce that perfect diamond ring without having to stray beyond the boundaries of his own office if he doesn’t want to, safe in the sparkly knowledge that whatever he asks Dirk Odendaal to produce, it will be absolutely perfect.

Perfect Collection is giving Spabreakers the chance to win a diamond ring worth £2000 … keep an eye out for the competition next week!