David Klass, Colored Stones, and Insurance

[gasdark]

I'm working with Mr. Klass to make an engagement ring, and need to ship my stone from NY to him in CA. Has anyone had any bad experiences with his setting of colored stones, along the line of damage?

I'm assuming he's insured but I don't have any proof of such an insurance, should I be concerned about this?

He seems like a very customer service heavy guy and trustworthy based on everyones experiences I've seen, so I'm tempted to send the stone just to make finishing the final product that much faster once we have a CAD we like. But the extremely protective person inside me is saying I shouldn't mail the stone off without either having my own policy or a copy of Mr. Klass's.

 

[D&T]

I've had many mountings made by him, and several that he's set with sapphires, and garnet. Ive not had one problems with him damaging any of my stone. I only had one incident where I asked him to remove a couple of diamonds from a mounting and somehow the box was damaged during shipment, David made it right - all good and I still work with him. I'm sure if its his fault, he'll make it right. However, with that said, I've only had one diamond which is appraised over 16k insured and all the rest were not. Its up to you for piece of mind, have your own separate policy on the gem. But I think its a little over the top to ask him for a copy of his policy I recommend him.

 

[lorrissey]

David Klass is great! I had him remove a sapphire from a JbEG Julia Bezel ring. I even told him it would be ok with me if he had to crack the sapphire to get it out. He removed it from the bezel with out harming the bezel semi-mount OR the stone.

He typically sends appraisals with his finished work, but I would ask for one just in case. I do have my jewelry insured. It does give me peace of mind and I enjoy wearing my pieces a little more without worry.

 

[marymm]

He set a Spinel for me (open bezel), and while the bezel itself was beautifully done, the metal work underneath the bezel and the joinders to the shank were very poorly executed - and the poor workmanship was very obvious at first glance. He refunded me 100% but offered no explanation or apology for the poor craftsmanship and/or lack of quality control. (So in this case, the Spinel was set, and then un-set, without any damage - and I louped it after Klass returned it)