Working with local jewler vs. internet jewler on custom design

[cici]

I am in the process resetting my ring and getting a new wedding band. I THINK I know what I want, in a way. I want shared prong bands for both rings, I want the rings to sit kind of flush next to one another and I want to be able to wear my wedding ring by itself. My problem is I don''t know what I want to do with head that holds the center stone. I know I want it to sit kind of low. Like the Ritani endless love one. But I don''t like the way it has the tip exposed, don''t feel secure about it. So, in a way, I need someone kind of the lead me a bit. I know lot of you ladies here have custom designed rings. I would like to know your custom design experience, what do you think as far as working with local jeweler in comparison to work with an internet jeweler. What are the pros and con? The only think I can see right now is that working with a local one, I''d be able to see the wax and possibly try it on hand to make sure that is what I wanted. Also anyone here in Atlanta has a good custom jeweler to recommend? Thanks!

 

[gee5088]

There was a previous post that may be of some help...sorry but I don''t know how to add links. You''ll have to type in "Good Jeweler in Atlanta, GA?" in the search box above. That will take you to a thread that may give you some good info, including the jeweler I worked with. I''ve since received my ring and it''s FANTABULICIOUS-good luck!

 

[FireGoddess]

In my opinion and experience:

Internet Jeweler
Pros
The ones most frequently used by PSers are highly reputable and make very nice products
The price may be cheaper than a local jeweler
Depending on the company, turnaround time can be fairly "quick"
Some will show you the wax casting before proceeding
Cons
You won't be able to try things on to make sure you like them (but you could do this at a jewelry store first, potentially)
No face time, and if you are unsure of things, may be difficult to convey what exactly you want by email or phone

Local Jeweler
Pros
Can try on variety of styles to determine what you do and don't like
Plenty of face time and communication
Can try on/handle the wax casting
Cons
IMO, tend to take longer to complete a job
May cost more than an internet jeweler

As you may or may not be able to tell, I really don't sway one way or the other when it comes to internet versus local jeweler. Both can produce fabulous results if you get a good one. There are pros and cons to each. You must consider what circumstances come into play for you. Do you have a picture of exactly what you want? It's no problem for an internet jeweler to replicate a product like that. If you are more unsure, or want to combine various elements of different rings, etc, it may help to have face time with a jeweler. Just my $0.02!!

 

[cici]

FireGoddess, you said it perfectly. This is exactly how I feel. My problem here? Well, I think there is a design I like, the Ritani Endless Love. But I want bigger, way bigger melees. And another thing, I kept one thinking could there be something better out there, that I haven''t thought of? A combined style that looks even better?

What if I got this then I saw something better? So I guess in a way, I have a design but needs some tweak What to do?

 

[FireGoddess]

Cici,

How funny...I am in a situation very parallel to yours. I love the Ritani Endless love collection, and had my own jeweler make something sort of similar, but they made my melee HUGE---like, 4 or 5 pointers instead of the 1-pointers I wanted. Want to trade rings?!

I ended up bringing it back because I felt the melee really took all emphasis off of my center stone, and I showed them some more pictures of what exactly I wanted. In your case I might recommend having a sit down with a local jeweler to talk about your desires and concerns. I have had 2 meetings with my jeweler, each taking about 1 to 1.5 hours, where I bring my pictures in and they pull rings out of their case and we go back and forth about what I like versus what they think would look best, etc. You might really benefit from that conversation. I definitely did. I saw things that seemed to look good in pictures, but I did not like when faced with the actual ring. Good luck...a custom ring is definitely a journey..with ups and downs but hopefully the road leads to the ring of your dreams!

 

[cici]

FireGoddess,

After read what you went through, I think it might be safer for me to work with a local jeweler. I''m petite, so I don''t want my my bands to be any more than 2.5 tops! And I think the melees around the ring should definitly be smaller than the bands. The think I can''t figure out is the head. I like the Ritani ones, but I am afraid it is too difficult to reproduce, also, don''t like the exposed bottom tip part too much either. I am afraid I''ll accident chip it or something. Actually one thing I am really concerned about internet vendor is I can''t try the ring. I think my size is a bit wierd. Are you working with a local jeweler? Have you decided what you going to do with the ring? I think I have seen your ring picture somewhere, it looks lovely!!!! What kind of band are you getting with the ring?

 

[FireGoddess]

I am going through a local jeweler. I did get some online quotes, but my local jeweler''s price was competitive so rather than go the internet route, I went with the convenience of a local person. However, the entire process is taking quite a long time. (I have been without my e-ring for over a month now, because I did not like their first version of the ring...but those are extenuating circumstances since they never showed me the wax and I did not like their final product.)

I have decided to get both my e-ring reset and a new wedding band. Both bands will be 2mm wide, and the wedding band will sit virtually flush with the e-ring. Both will have 1pt melee going halfway down the shank, and milgraining. The center e-ring stone is a pear and there will be bead set melee in a halo around the pear. The pear will be prong set above the melee. There will be a small filigreed gallery so that the tip/culet of the pear is not exposed. That is what we (my jeweler and I) agreed upon last week. I am waiting for the wax casting to be made so I can take a look at it and make any adjustments if need be.

My initial setting is my avatar. Version 1 of the remake is in this thread:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mixed-feelings-about-new-pear-setting-opinions.25036/=

Version 2 should look something like a Ritani Endless Love setting, but with some personal touches (milgraining, prong set center stone, filigreed gallery, etc).

In your case I would definitely recommend talking to a local jeweler. It really helped me to bring in pictures, and then be showed actual rings with elements I was thinking about incorporating.

 

[cici]

This is too funny!! My center is a marquise and I want the wedding band sits virtually flush with the e-ring too. I am sooo excited for you! I can't wait to pics of your rings!!!

 

[snow_happy]

cel*n*gee,

To post a link is like this:

Link to my posta">

input the http://blahblahblah where it says website address
the "link to my post" is whatever text you want to display that the person clicks on
and of course remove the quotations at the beginning and end of the statement.

Also, you ring is done?! Have you posted pictures yet???


Cici--
There is someone in "Show Me The Ring" section that just had a beautiful custom ring made by Whiteflash so maybe you can email them about their experience? I think it depends on the intricacy of the design. People who have custom made shared prong eternity bands and the such have used internet dealers because the diamonds are of better quality for the same price at a brick&mortar store. Personally I feel that if the design is really intricate and you are a control freak like me, to get the work done locally. Especially if you get a recommendation from other people in the area. Sorry I don't have a personal experience with internet vs. local custom work but it's just my thoughts on the matter. Hope it helps

Joanne

 

[cici]

snow_happy, thanks. I am in a way a control freak.

. And DH is very detail oriented. So this is not going to be an easy process. That said, I don''t want an intricate design, but do want something different. But then again I do love the idea of the ACA melees WF uses. So I am soooo totally torn!

 

[Sashabella]

Cici - I am very detail oriented (and a control freak) and DF is also detail oriented. We wanted a custom ring and I am very glad we worked with a local jeweller. The entire process was very intricate. The first wax model didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to look at all despite giving the jeweller a picture. It wasn't that he did a bad job but that, because I have a small hand, the ring didn't look exactly right. It needed some minor tweaks. By working with him and being able to try on my stone in the wax model, I was able to get a ring that reflects my desires and what looks best on my hand.

If you are also detail oriented and / or a bit of a control freak I really recommend working with a local jeweller.

BTW - In the end, we went with an ENTIRELY different design than the first wax model. It wouldn't have been possible over the internet and I am really happy with how things turned out.