Help me find a setting please

[bobsiv]

My mother in law's 65th birthday is coming up and I just finished cutting an amethyst I'd like to have set in a ring for her. I'm looking for a silver (argentium?) setting with a sleek, modern feel for about $200. Here's the stone, it's 10x8 mm:



My wife and I found a setting on DanielM's site that we liked, but the quote came back about twice what our budget is. To make things challenging, my wife doesn't think she'd like a simple prong setting, and I'm afraid the stone will darken too much in a bezel setting. Any ideas?

Oh yeah, here's the DanielM ring we liked:

http://www.etsy.com/transaction/59540096

 

[chrono]

Are you saying that you were quoted $400 for a setting in silver that has absolutely no diamonds or other metal work accents? I presume you inquired with Daniel M?

 

[bobsiv]

Maybe I should have left names out of this, but yes, I was told that it would be full custom with CAD work and the price would be around $400. I have very little experience with custom settings, CAD work, casting, etc. but this didn't seem totally unreasonable to me, just too rich for my blood. For what it's worth, I have had him set some stones in pendant settings for me in the past and I was very happy with his work and pricing for those.

 

[LD]

Just a question ............. are you planning on having the stone North/South or East/West in a setting like that?

The reason I ask is that North/South would work BUT it'd be a very wide ring (top to bottom) and you'd have to have straightish edges at the top and bottom. East/West it will have to be set on an angle and I think (sorry to say) it will look very strange because it has straight edges and the design you like is very curved.

Are there any other settings you like and then perhaps we can see what we can find for you.

 

[bobsiv]

I had pictured East/West in the setting I linked to, but I could be talked into North/South for something else. I'm sorry I don't have any other examples, I was hoping you all could help me with that. I'm looking for modern, without a lot of decorative metal work and no other stones.

 

[minousbijoux]

Hi Bob - no ideas re setting, but want to compliment your cutting. Unusual shape and very, very pretty stone. What kind of amethyst?

 

[Michael_E]

Are you saying that you were quoted $400 for a setting in silver that has absolutely no diamonds or other metal work accents?

The labor to make a silver ring is the same or perhaps a bit more than to make one in gold. The expectation of low cost, due to a low material cost, can change the perception of one's clients from favorable to, "Why the heck are they so expensive?" It's usually better to just say, "No thanks" than to deal with a customer turning into a detractor over price issues.

Doing anything in CAD is particularly expensive when it's being done with a silver piece because the time cost for doing the design, and making a mold are the same regardless of the material used. Most benchies can't afford the machines used in mold making, (around $20,000), and so need to have a service bureau make the mold. This is relatively expensive, (around $120 for a good, accurate mold), though the cost drops a bit every year. Add to that the time required to do the design and render it, (6 to 10 hours or so for a simple design, provided the stone model is provided to the designer), do the stone setting and finish work, plus a profit... which allows you to spend time talking with people, selling and maintaining a web presence. You can see how selling one off silver pieces at low prices can quickly drive one to the brink of the abyss.

For stones like this one, a person looking for a low priced setting in silver is better off looking at Stuller or Hugo Kohl, (they and others are selling silver settings in the same patterns as their gold pieces), and finding something which is close, maybe for an emerald cut, and then let a bench person modify the piece to fit properly.

 

[bobsiv]

Minousbijoux - Thank you, it's Uruguayan amethyst in a design by the late Jeff Graham called Signature #6. Tough to cut, but my new favorite oval.

Michael_E - I certainly don't want to come across as a detractor in any way. They weren't right for this project only because of my naivete about what I was really asking for. The pieces I've had made by DanielM in the past had really amazing workmanship, the best silver work I'd ever seen in fact. As a fellow craftsman, I have a lot of respect and sympathy for the time it takes to make things like this and the paper-thin profit margin that online selling demands.

Thanks for the tip on dealers, I will start looking around for pre-made settings. I thought maybe I would have to go pre-made to stay in my budget, luckily this stone is calibrated in a common size. I have looked at Stuller before, I thought you had to be a member of some sort to buy from them. Is that only for gold?

 

[pregcurious]

I know you said you were concerned about bezels darkening the stone, but I think these vendors are well-priced, and have been recommended by PSers. I have no personal experience with the first 2:

Onegarnetgirl:
http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?search_submit=&q=onegarnetgirl&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

Janish jewels:
This Etsy store has some 18k yellow gold bezels with silver shanks for less than $200. Yellow gold would be very pretty with the amethyst.
http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?ref=auto&q=janish+jewels&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

Julia Kay Taylor:
JKT has a minimum of $300 for each project, but I think a simple bezel in argentium silver may be within this range. Argentium silver is tarnish resistant. I have personally worked with her and can recommend her. She does beautiful bezels and is good at communicating over email. There are a lot of reviews on her work here on PS:
http://www.juliakaytaylor.com/
http://shop.juliakaytaylor.com/

The moonstone necklace she made me is in the middle of this page:
http://juliakaytaylor.blogspot.com/

For prong settings, there is a current thread about inexpensive prong settings here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/anyone-know-of-a-really-inexpensive-setting-under-200.171303/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/anyone-know-of-a-really-inexpensive-setting-under-200.171303/[/URL]

 

[Michael_E]

Michael_E - I certainly don't want to come across as a detractor in any way. They weren't right for this project only because of my naivete about what I was really asking for. The pieces I've had made by DanielM in the past had really amazing workmanship, the best silver work I'd ever seen in fact. As a fellow craftsman, I have a lot of respect and sympathy for the time it takes to make things like this and the paper-thin profit margin that online selling demands.

Oh, I wasn't thinking that anyone here would be a detractor of anyone. This was more of an explanation of why more metal smiths don't do silver, as they'd like to avoid any potential conflicts with clients who feel that the cost of custom silverwork should be really cheap, when it can't be.

Thanks for the tip on dealers, I will start looking around for pre-made settings. I thought maybe I would have to go pre-made to stay in my budget, luckily this stone is calibrated in a common size. I have looked at Stuller before, I thought you had to be a member of some sort to buy from them. Is that only for gold?

You do have to be a member of "The Trade" to buy from Stuller, but I figured that you were going to want someone to set your stone and whoever you choose would more than likely be able to buy from Stuller. If you're doing the setting yourself, you might look at Rio Grande as they will sell to anyone who wants to play. You can also buy from Stuller through an intermediary who has an account and is willing to drop ship the piece to you for a modest margin. You might ask on GO and see who'd be willing to do this as I'm sure that there are several possible conspirators.

 

[LD]

Not silver but there are some settings here. I don't think they'll meet your budget but you could ask http://www.boonerings.com/stone.htm

 

[bobsiv]

Wow, great responses. I'm excited to look through these links and see what I can find. I'm in Tucson right now hunting for gem rough, but as soon as I get home I will resume the setting hunt. Thanks pricescope.

PS: I can confirm others' reports on the Tucson show, much better deals on cut stones than on rough. Most notably rough tourmaline prices are way up, affordable spinel and sapphire are nowhere I've been able to find, and Ethiopian opal is only low quality picked over stuff.