How hard is it to get on Mark Morrels project list?

[MP]

I contacted him a number of weeks ago by mail and layed out a very specific type of setting that I would like based on a custom one he did in 2006. I have yet to hear back from him, I did hear back from Kathy. I know he''s swamped with making wedding bands for the upcoming season, but does anyone have any idea afer working with him previously?

Aaron

 

[mrssalvo]

have you called? I don''t think it''s that hard to get on his list, when he''s taking on new projects which he seems to be currently doing. I just think calling and trying to talk him directly is always the best way to go.

 

[rainydaze]

i did get a better response by calling than by email. sometimes email took a week or two to hear back. the first time i finally called he picked up the phone and spent about 45 minutes speaking with me!

in the beginning of july 07 i contacted him for a very specific three-stone project by email. he emailed back (kathy did actually) that he was busy and they could put me in a file. if i checked back in august they could look at my file then and see if he wanted to take on my project. the first week of september 07 i called and spoke directly with him. he was still swamped and said the earliest he could take a serious look at it would be in october, but then he said he had had many similar requests to mine so rather than take me on as a custom client, he would mull over design ideas and if i liked what he came up with i could go with it or not, but i wouldn''t be paying him anything (kind of like his sunburst, he has the design you just have to opt for it or not). my husband tried to convince him to take us on, for sure, as custom, but it didn''t work. we were worried it could be a year or two before he came up with a design, but he said oh no, we''d have something by december and to keep in touch for progress. a few weeks later i (gently) checked back by email to see if he was mulling and if he wanted any of my input, and i was told by email, from kathy, that he would not review new projects until at least january of 08 and referred us to greenlake jewelers! i really liked speaking with him and would still love a piece by him, but it got very confusing and we kept getting pushed off. i was so disappointed, but i wound up finding something already designed that worked for me. so i went that route, rather than continuing to wait and not knowing if i''d ever see anything.

i would most definitely call him about your project, he is very kind and easy to speak with. i think maybe by checking back by email, i lost that connection with him, when really i was just trying to be inoccuous. hopefully you''ll have better luck getting your project on board than i did!

 

[MP]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I went ahead and called him last night and caught him as he was winding down the shop. He was great to talk to on the phone and it was very nice of him to take 20 minutes to talk to me while he was ending what I'm sure was a very long day. Apparently he's swamped right now with orders for Valentines Day. I told him what I was thinking about for a custom single diamond halo cushion solitaire with diamonds going down the band and he was excited about it. Basically I told him that I loved the one cushion solitaire that I found on his website, but would like to see what he could come up with for a diamond halo around the center stone along with diamonds running down the band. One thing that I made clear to him was that he is the artist and I would give him my criteria and let his imagination produce the design he thought would be the most beautiful. He was very appreciative of that.

So FYI make sure you don't nit pick the design and want total control over it. Send him some reference pics of things you like on other designs and a good solid idea of what you want then let him run with it. Using a quote from him he simply stated, "That's how you get my best work!"

As soon as I buy the right diamond I will contact him and start the process of getting a one off Mark Morrel piece that no one else on planet earth has.

 

[mrssalvo]

good luck. if it doesn''t work out with Mark, I''d seriously consider Leon Mege. I just think he is master when it come''s to pave and associate him with it. I''ve never seen Mark''s pave work in person but it doesn''t have the same feel in pictures at least that Leon and some of the other pave masters have. either way, any piece by Mark Morrell will certainly be wonderful, i''m sure of that!

 

[MP]

I have heard of that designer but never seriously considered him. Just for reference how expensive are we talking about when it comes to Leon Mege? I looked over his website and I really like his micro pave ring that's number r906.

I'd love to see more images of it from both an underside and sideview.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 2/7/2008 9:25:44 AM
Author: MP
I have heard of that designer but never seriously considered him. Just for reference how expensive are we talking about when it comes to Leon Mege? I looked over his website and I really like his micro pave ring that''s number r906.


I''d love to see more images of it from both an underside and sideview.

leon doesn''t do other views on his website but there are plenty of gals here who own Leon rings and have posted tons of pics here. Leon is less than the big names like michael b, daniel k etc, but more than designers like scott kay and ritani. he''s actually very reasonable for the handmade rings he makes IMO. I believe his solitaire and Mark Morrells are about the same price so their pricing is probably similar. here''s a thread with a bunch of leon rings made for pricescopers...


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/leon-mege.24698/