and it looks like it was worth the wait!
Michael sent me these photos and I will do my best to take more when it arrives.
The pictures touched my heart so when I saw them: the botanical vision realized.
My very first venture into the world of custom CS jewelry. (happy sigh)
Thank you! I cannot wait to get it home! Due via UPS on Thursday. I am a lousy photographer but I will give it my best. Any suggestions on how to get a decent pictures?
I take very little credit, actually. Michael interpreted any vision I had. I think it was a different type of project for him though, if you go by his website.
Thank you, MB
And thank you, Novel. I may die of impatience now though.
He did an absolutely awesome job! You know it's special when I take a look at my hands and wish I wasn't such an avid gardener... (not that I'd wear it then; it's just that my hands aren't what they used to be)
Thank you both so much!
I am not typically a YG fan but in this case, it works (and hey, YG looks better against my skin anyhow!) Need some delicate YG sparkles for my ears now.
I was wondering the other day what our choices in CS and/or jewelry say about each of us...? Hmmm.
I mean, think about it, we know each other by what we post not only in terms of commentary but obviously in terms of our gems and jewelry.
Faegrace, It's lovely! I really like the flow up the sides towards the stone and the leaf prongs, awesome design! I know what you mean about the gardening, I wear gloves but.... oh well. No one will notice your fingers anyway, they will be too busy gazing into that beautiful stone!
When checking out Michael's site, I would say to bear in mind that he is capable of many more styles than shown AND that he is up for the creative process. I found him helpful, not overbearing. That was important to me (i.e: I found he could come up with ideas as well as create CADs that beautifully interpreted my vision).
The turn-around time for my ring has been about a month, from initial concept to completion. That said, there were a few glitches along the way (e.g: the diamonds were held up in shipping due to horrendous storms on the east coast). I found Michael to be responsive any time I had a question and he definitely kept me aware of where he was at each stage of the process.
I found his prices very reasonable as he essentially used a formula of the cost of the alloy + the cost of the diamonds + intricacy of the design, to determine price. He kept it within budget, easily, w/o compromising my desires. Have a budget though. That way he can have a platform upon which to build.
Both turn-around time and cost will obviously be dependent on your specific wishes. BTW, I was EXTREMELY nervous going into this. I wasn't even sure about the tourmaline (yeah, Barry just loved all my questions with that!) Michael put me at ease with his experience and I didn't feel like one in a herd of cattle, if you know what I mean.