John,
I am all for the "build it as well as you possibly can" bit, but it would also be nice to be credited for the bits left out. Like not being charged for the engraving, and the fancy walnut if you choose to do without them.
Perazzi do that for you, give you a price for the basic functional gun, and quote the ornamenation on a pro rata basis, as do others.
In some client's definition of best, (and we are talking bespoke here so the client has the final say), ornamentation and fancy wood might not have a place.
To take this a bit further. There are quite a few features that can be left out and still end up with "best" in terms of quality of execution, feel and balance. To give my list- fancy wood, engraving, monogram oval, self cocking, ejectors, self opening, auto safety, chopper lump barrels. Yes I am talking about a well built, plain hammer gun with Boehler monobloc barrels, superb balance and handling and there is no way in the world anyone can convince me that 35 000 sterling is a fair price for such a gun.
