Harry Kotlar - worth the price?
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by mrssalvo » January 22nd, 2008, 3:38 pm
oh boy. well, i love harry kotlar settings and his cushions are gorgeous, but honestly, I just don''t think he is worth the crazy mark-up. daniel k is another one that has gorgeous, gorgeous cushions and settings including my all time if i win the lotto ring and I just cannot justify spending that kind of $ for the designer name. If it weren''t for one gal on this forum, I never would have even known who Harry Kotlar is. that said, if you are in love with his rings and nothing else will do and can afford it, then go for it. The gal on this forum actually got her cushion from Mark T at engagementringsdirect and he was able to source the kotler setting for her. He no longer is able to do this and kotler will only sell completed rings. Mark has gotten folks some amazing cushions and I''d check out www.artofplatinum.com for a look at settings. If your budget is 64K you could get one heck of a huge cushion..a la ashley judd in a leon mege setting (who made ashley''s ring) and that would probably be the direction I''d go. All that to say, no, i don''t think the kotler cushion is worth the $$...
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HI:
Here is the Kotlar setting + cushion thread MrsS was referring to: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/here-it-is-4-71-ct-cushion-in-kotlar-setting-t27423.html I love designer rings as much as the next girl--Tiffany, Cartier and HW you name it-- but have to concur with MrsS comments. cheers--Sharon |
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This is tough. His stones and settings are nice. I have seen them and once spent hours debating on a large cushion that was
brought in for a trunk showing. In the end, I didn''t get it and I an so glad I didn''t. You CAN get nice stones from Mark at ERD or other vendors. Kotlar''s markup is high and I honestly didn''t think the stones I saw warranted the high price, but that said, the stones were nice. The ring MrsSalvo is talking about was stunning and quite large, I think 5.4ish or so? Someone correct me if I am wrong. I can''t remember the poster''s name.And the setting was an interpretation of one of Kotlar''s. |
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If they say you can get the HK setting and provide your own stone, then by all means do that! I love HK rings, but it is the settings that are unique. I think you can find other beautiful cushion diamonds for much less $$$. And I agree with MrsS that if you can''t get the HK settings without their diamond, then I''d also go with Leon Mege.
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Personally, I wouldn''t be in a panic over a price hike. If they quote you a price, they should honor that price regardless of whether or not NEW pieces have increased in price...So, dont be swayed into making a quick decision on such an expensive purchase just because they''re saying prices are going up. That''s a very common sales ploy that I loathe.
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ditto this. also, if they own the ring, they paid the *old* price so should still sell it for that price. |
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hi Claudette! I''ve bene PMing w/ you at tPF
 Glad to see the gals here agree w/ what my opinion was, and I''m so glad you came to bounce your thoughts off others who have more expereince w/ this! I wonder if anyone that knows about cushions could recommend a few excellent ones for you around that 3 crt mark for you to compare? |
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Ahhh mrsS, great minds, and all that, right? Like the new avatar! |
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Unfortunately, they do not own the stock - Kotlar does. So they have to pay him the purchase price and take their profit from what''s left. The thing that annoys me is that Kotlar already purchased the rough stone that has been cut for this ring, so raising the price on stock he''s already purchased seems opportunistic. When I asked the sales women about this her explanation was "because he needs to replenish his stock as it sells". Anyhow... |
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Hi there! Yes, thanks for recommending me to this forum!! The latest development is the jeweler is bringing in more loose Kotlar cushions in 2.5 - 3 ct range as well as non-Kotlar cushions in the same sizes and specs so we can sit down and compare the stones side by side. I think this will help us determine whether we want to spend the extra money. Someone above mentioned that Kotlar will no longer make a setting for a loose diamond that isn''t his, so I''ll have to confirm that with the store. But I suppose if we save money by going with a non-Kotlar, then working with Leon Mege is not a shabby alternative! 
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Claudette, another option would be to look at daniel k cushions, they are all cut ex/ex and you can get square or rectangular ones. they are priced about the same as a non-branded cushion with equal specs and you can get the cushion w/out having to buy his setting, you just can''t do it the other way around. Glad you will get a chance to look at some other cushions too, that might really help you decide if the premuim is worth it to you. Your jeweler might very well be able to source the daniel k cushions and if so, see if they can bring in a couple of those in the size you want too.
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That is a great idea. I''ll be going in tomorrow to see all of the goodies at the jewelery store (she has six loose and 3 more Kotlar pieces) and I can ask about the Daniel K cushions. I''ve always known about his settings, but didn''t know he sold loose diamonds. |
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I probably still wouldn''t pay it. But, that''s me. here''s a pic of bostonjeff''s non-branded cushion which I would take in a heartbeat. more pics and info in this thread:
http://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/2-26-cushion-old-mine-brilliant-leon-mege-solitaire-t62389.html  then I''d get a Leon Mege setting like this: 
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claudette, it's great that they're now asking less for that ring but make no mistake, they're not giving you a deal, I'm sure they're still making a mint off that ring. To be honest, that photo isn't the best, but from what I cans see, to me it has that crushed ice look, which I dont care for. If you prefer the clearer, old school faceting like Jeff's stone, I'd go Mrs.S's route, get a stone from Mark T and have Leon set it. If you can afford to look at stones that pricey, you can afford to take a lovely, romantic ering shopping trip to NYC and view stones in person with Mark, select one, then go over to Leon's and choose a setting. I think you'd get a much more stunning ring than the one in that photo..Unless that photo is really really bad and the ring is amazing in person...
I suppose ultimately, if you LOVE that ring you're looking at and you can afford it, just get it and love wearing it. But if you're not feeling the love, dont pull the trigger on such an expensive purchase because I think you can do better elsewhere. |
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oh dear me Mrssalvo!!! That is STUNNING!!!! I also prefer the facteing of that stone. . . but this wil be yours claudette and I know you love that ring.
Here''s what concerns me. . . you get the ring adn then the comments frm here start setting in . . . and you strat wondering if you did the right thing. When that happens you ebing to regret which is really devatsting for me personally. MAKE SURE it''s the ring your heart is truly in love w/, not trying to make work because you can see it and it''s easy because it''s already done. . . . .KWIM? MrsS is right though. . . you could still have that exact ring for quite a bit less. . . |
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Thanks again for all of your feedback. We looked at several more loose stones yesterday and will go in later this week to see more. The search continues...
Thanks for posting photos of other people''s cushions. I agree the quality of the photo I posted is poor (it was taken with a cell phone camera), but if you saw it in person, it would look the same as the ring posted in the Leon Mege setting with pave halo. |
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Hello, claudette h, welcome to the forum! It looks to me like the pave in the Kotlar is small and delicate, which gives the ring a different look than the pave used in the Leon Mege mrssalvo posted, but I just wanted to let you know, in case you didn't already, that Leon has 9 different types of pave to choose from when choosing/designing your ring, so you could *probably* get a ring quite similar to the Kotlar if you went with Leon.
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