shape
carat
color
clarity

Buy a stone, have setting made?

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.

Davey Wavy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 6, 2003
Messages
10
Is it cost effective to buy a stone, say a sapphire, of the size, shape, and clarity I am looking for, and then have a setting made for it by a jeweler? Would this be a more expensive or less expensive process than buying a finished piece from a jewelry store? I found a site that sells all types of loose stones, and am just wondering what it might cost to have a white gold or platinum setting made, approximately. Thanks for any help you can give me.
 

valeria101

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 29, 2003
Messages
15,809
Having a setting made will be substantially more expensive than buying an empty setting (for example one of those sold empty for engagement rings) and have a jeweler put the stone in it. Such a pre-made setting could quite cheap and then the jeweler is not going to take that much more for just putting the stone in. If the jeweler actually MAKES the setting (this is called custom-made) is going to cost several times more. If you are offered a 'custom setting' for little money it just means that either the jeweler will use pre-made 'parts' and probably end up with something less well done than a pre-made setting (at least the simple models) or something simmilar.

Just one more word: it sounds like this is the first time you are considering a loose stone. This approach is indeed likely to save money, but is more likely to save jeweler's money (including the sellers of the stone and the setting, and the maker of the ring). After all, buying loose stones is not very straightforward, unless you do not really mind ending up with a surprise regarding either the nature of the stone or the price
sad.gif
I do get buy stones and have things made, but I had put years in learning what and where to buy (this search is my hobby!) and I have my rings and things made in Eastern Europe where a piece of art is still worth less than any trinket on the US market
1.gif
. Hope I can help!
 

Colored Gemstone Nut

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
2,326


----------------
On 9/22/2003 12:41:30 PM Davey Wavy wrote:











Is it cost effective to buy a stone, say a sapphire, of the size, shape, and clarity I am looking for, and then have a setting made for it by a jeweler? Would this be a more expensive or less expensive process than buying a finished piece from a jewelry store? I found a site that sells all types of loose stones, and am just wondering what it might cost to have a white gold or platinum setting made, approximately. Thanks for any help you can give me.
----------------

Well Valleria gives you some sound advice, but there are some other considerations to take into account.



There are some very talented jewelers who enjoy the art of making jewelry and offer competetive pricing on custom pieces verses pre-fabricated pieces which are marked up or overpriced on the retail end.



In general you can get a cheaper look alike setting of some famous line (like Tiffany) or other brand name your shooting for in replicating a similiar design by getting a custom piece made for you.



I think if you want a similiar look alike machine fabricated setting you can get one. After all mass production of a similiar style setting saves you some money but the quality and craftsmanship is not there.



Custom Pieces are unique in their own sense because they are just that "Custom"



There are several things you can take into consideration which will affect the price of your piece. Whether or not it is an original design or are you going to have the jeweler design something for you. The detail and intricate parts of the piece which include fine detail and how much has to go into the casting process or the designing of a particular wax to fit your custom needs. For the most part if you do some searching around I think you will find some very reputable professionals who are very talented who offer great prices on custom spec'ed pieces. I look at what I paid for a couple custom setting I have done in the past with a particular jeweler and realize I am really fortunate to have found a good balance between superior craftsmanship and not being overcharged. The folks who I dealt with enjoy knowing they put another beautiful piece of art out there and offered a great price. Not Cheap, but not being raped on the retail end...



Hope this helps....





-Josh Rioux



Sitka, Alaska
wavey.gif

 

garfield

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
34
Hi,

Other members gave you some sound advise. My experience was similar with buying a diamond and then have is set in a ring - and I do not mean custom made ring - that is a different kind of story - O went for a tiffany style 4-prongs which can be found mass produced almost on any jewelry store around the world- it was 14K white gold so it is strong and cost effective - the store who sold me the ring also did the diamond setting for free (it was a solitaire diamond so not too much work on their side) and - I really got a classic looking soltaire diamond ring with 30% below retail price.

I am going to do the same with a pink sapphire I ordered on-line from MultiColour - it's was a nice try for me to see what a pink sapphire looks like - and it cost me $65 for a 0.79 carat oval cut - it is on the low price range and it looks quite nice. I will set it in a similar tiffany solitaire ring 14K white gold.

My conclusion - If you go for a familiar mass-produced ring design then you are going to save money and even alot of money and having maximum freedom in the gem you are choosing. Not all stores have the gems you like - certain gems, certain colors, size, cut - buying a gem on-line (from a reliable source like www.multicolour.com) gives you the freedom of chioce:

Let's take Multicolour for example - as of today it has 1,388 different sapphire available for order ranging from 0.02 carat costing $0.52 to a 34.64 carat blue sapphire from Sri-Lankda costing $166,272 ! That gives you alot to choose from with any color, shape, cut, source, size and price - not a single jewelry store can offer something close to it.

As a known rule - you get what you pay for - you buy a $50 sapphire and you are expecting to get a lower grade gem - but at least you have the option to do so - if you like the stone - you keep it - if for some reason you do not like it - make sure that you have a no-questions-asked Full refund option - which is becoming the-facto satndard for internet gem sellers.

That's my 2 cents
 

Davey Wavy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 6, 2003
Messages
10
Thanks very much for the responses, they have been very helpful. Multicolour.com is actually the site where I was browsing around. Do they have a good reputation, and can I send them my money without worrying about receiving my product etc.? I was hoping that by buying from someone like them, who deal with mass quantities of gems, and cutting out the jewelry store middle-man with the big markup, I could get a nice,larger sapphire for less than if I went to Zales or something.
 

valeria101

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 29, 2003
Messages
15,809
Multicolor is one of the largest gem merchands around and as trustworthy as they get. Also, they are likely to answer any questions and concerns you may have (even disputing the grading of a piece, as it was my case). I do not beilieve that there are true 'bargains' among gems: Multicolour has indeed reasonable prices and very variate grades of each type of material and can serve your demand from (non-posted) stock too. So, I guess that if you like the gem, Multicolour is a good place to buy it from. Among their stuff there are a few great pieces and I have recently seen some great sapphires around there
1.gif
in all sizes. Good luck!

I do not really know that many places to have custom pieces made in the US, but I did find an impressive one: jewelryexpert.com. I beilieve they do achieve great quality for less than one might expect but there are not too many bargains in their repertoire...
2.gif
 

mike04456

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 20, 2002
Messages
1,441
I have bought a number of stones from Multicolour (though nothing really pricey), and have not had any problems. I would say that every stone I bought was as advertised, and their customer service is good. I have also heard a lot of good things about them from others in the trade. Richard Hughes, whom I know and trust, has them linked on his web site as "one of the best gem sites I've seen," and I would concur.




I have gone both ways with setting loose stones, using off-the-shelf mountings and full custom designs. The latter, naturally, is going to be a lot more expensive than the former. If you're concerned about expenses, try to get a stone that is cut into a standard "calibrated" size (which depends on the shape you're thinking of).
 

garfield

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
34
Multicolour is THE place to start your on-line gem buying experience.
I have ordered 2 sapphire (both low-price) and got them shipped in less than 24 hours - mail arrived as promised and gems as promised.

Their website is the most user friendly and walks you through with the ordering process. They always respond in time for emails and even have a special 24/7 messaging facility so you can contact them on really urgent matters.

David Weinberg" who runs the site is very responsive and I highly suggest that you contact him PRIOR to making the order. He will assist you in selecting the best looking stone for your budget - he will give you guide lines and recommendations and you can trust him to be 100% reliable.

They also offer a 10 days inspection period and David stands behind this promise as I happen to use this option.

They are especially BIG with sapphires and offer the widest range of sapphires in any price and quality available. They buy most of the sapphires from East Africa, Tanzania and THE new source Madagascar - As you can read in their library section they buy direct from Madagascar sources and therefore achieve the best prices. It is widely accepted that Madagascar Sapphires are on the same quality level as Sri-Lanka (Ceylon) so these are very high quality.

At Multicolour each gem gets a unique photo (as some other websites use the same photos for all similar gems) and these images are not manipulated by photo editing software - one note here - The images cannot do justice to the gems as they will DEFINITELY look different when you get to inspect them. Photos are 2 dimensional and cannot reproduce the real appearance of a stone - that is why a 10 days inspection period is a must.

Multicolour DO NOT sell synthetics nor do they sell diffusion treated gems- all stones on their website are 100% natural. They disclose all treating known to them in a straight forward way and their descriptions of Color grades (according to the GIA color grading system) is unique and they seem to be almost the only one who use it - it must be time consuming by it is the best way to communicate each gem color - even better than the photo some times.

Their free identification report is a nice feature and I was really surprised when I got it as it is very professional looking, printed on a quality paper and held inside a special attractive sleeve. This is good for low cost gems - for the more expensive pieces David offers a full or mini report from a reputable source AIGS - for this service and for the express mail options he DOES NOT charge you with any extra cost/markup - I have looked and AIGS and the price David is asking for a report is the same price they advertise on their website - same for EMS shipping I used - so you get a feeling you are dealing with a highly reliable person and you get what you pay for - you will not be charged with inflated sums on a cheap stone - You will always pay what this gem is worth and David knows what each stone is worth and can explain to you why it's more expensive than others.

Overall - If sapphires are what you look for - You have come to one of the better if not the best on-line source - you will be able to choose any quality sapphire that you like - just that my advise and although browsing the many sapphires and using the advance search option is quite nice and powerful, don't trust the images nor the specifications - use them as a guide to narrow your search and to get an idea on the prices - then email David directly so he will help you pick the right sapphire for your taste and budget.

Good Luck.
 

mango

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
11
My experience with my e-ring was that my custom setting ended up being comparable in price, to even less costly than the "designer" settings that I would have had to order in. And we were able to get exactly what we wanted. He made it up in wax first and we tweaked the design until it was perfect. The jeweler is in Michigan, if you want more info let me know. I'm very pleased with my setting and have received many compliments on it in the 9 years that I've had it. He also checks the setting for me and polishes it up for me whenever I am in town.

M
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top