Cartier Pave

[kingg]

Took my girlfreind to the mall to look at ring styles.

Unfortunately we went into the Cartier store and fell in love with the Pave setting.

I have read a lot of this forum and I am torn on what to do. Seems like I have 2 options:

1. Go with the Cartier. I went back by myself and they have a lovely 1.03ct VS2 G. $14,000

2. Buy a loose diamond and get a custom setting with pave. In which case I would go a little larger on the diamond, try to get some very good work done on the setting, and get a much better diamond. Would probably spend about the same amount of money.

My questions are:

a. Who thinks its worth getting at Cartier, my g-friend is kinda into name brands, but I think she would also like a "custom" made ring. There is a lot of defense/attack on Tifanny, but not a lot of defense of Cartier. Are their diamonds really as good as the name brand suggests? Since the diamond is at most worth on $7k is the setting and service really worth $7k?

b. Any vendors out there or can anyone reccomend a jewler that does very good custom work that I could trust with something like this? Low sitting setting with lots of sparkle is key. I can be in either NY or preferrably Washington DC, but I would want to see examples of the work first. I need the ring in early october so I only have a month to get this done.

I''m so torn, I just can''t decide! I read a theread about the Cartier 1895 and is sugested option B, but it didn''t really answer my 2 questions above.

In Summarry, I need answers:

1. Reasons for/against Cartier
2. Reputable very good Jewlers in NYC / Washington DC that do custom rings
3. Can a jewler make a high quality custom setting in 1 month

 

[Iceman]

Hey Im into name brands also. I like to have everybody look at my shirt and say I overpaid for it with that little pony sewn into the shirt.
But when you can not tell if the diamond came from a fine jewelry store to an upscale store ? Why pay out the extra $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. She will think more of you as a soon to be husband and a good steward of your money then to spend it willy nilly. Yes, you get the royal treatment at those places. Heck , For an extra $7,000 I would wipe your a$$ for you

Do what you want with your money

I would love you for a customer

My oldest son spends money like that and cant understand why they are reposessing his house ?

He wants me to bail him out

Ha! I said live with it. He has better cable tv then I do. My DVD player is a year old and he was blowing about his new one that is better and his high spead internet access. The other two kids are perfect, I dont know what happened to this one ???

You work hard for your money , be wise with it.

Even the super rich go broke!

 

[obsessive]

hi
i'm just a newbie here, but i like pave ALOT!
that being said, pave diamonds are not that expensive, so if you like a plain setting, a jewler can probably do the work for incredibly less $$$, and you can get a nicer center stone.
that is probably what i will be doing.
you can even buy the cartier, show it to your jewler and return it if you like. My friend did that with a ring from Barney's and it came out beautiful.
good luck

 

[Hest88]

I'm not a Tiffany fan, but I've loved the Cartier 1890 e-ring setting since I first laid eyes upon it. I *would* be more impressed with Cartier than with Tiffany no matter what. I don't know what their diamond quality is, but I suspect it's no worse than Tiffany. Hopefully, you'll be able to have them hunt down a decent diamond for you. You *will* be paying quite a lot for the name, of course.

If you decide to go customer, I'd try contacting Leon Mege. http://www.artofplatinum.com/ If you haven't seen the website, it's really impressive.

I dunno. I wish I knew what would please your GF more. I really think Cartier or custom will depend on which will make her happier.

 

[kingg]

She already knows I am bad at spending my money.

Luckily the money concerned isn't really that much in the grand scheme of things...

Don't really want to get into a discussion of whether or not brands in general are worth it or not because I need my questions answered:
1. Is Cartier a good indicator of a quality cut diamond
2. Is it possible to get an ultra high quality custom setting in 1 month
3. Does anyone have a reccomendation of a good jewler to do the work in Washington DC / NYC

My thoughts on Brands in case you are interested (I studied brand management at school so I do have some opinions)

1. Pony on the shirt symbolizes a level of quality. I have greater faith in a Cartier diamond that they won't try to rip me off than someone who is anonymous. This reason is diminished by my excellent research.
2. Pony on the shirt signals to other people a level of presteige. As many have said in the Tiffany discussions it isn't as applicable here b/c most people will not ask her where she got the ring (although I know where all my freinds got their rings so maybe it is) This reason is also diminished by the fact that no one can tell its from Cartier without me telling them which I would never do.
3. Signals to her how much cashola I spent. She cares but would never tell me she cares. Diminished by the fact that I will spend the same amount of cashola no matter what I do.

I realize its Stupid to buy the Cartier. I REALY don't want to. I hate being ripped off. But I'm not convinced I can get the quality I am looking for, in time. HELP...

 

[hoorray]

I don't know the answers to your custom questions. I would assume you could get a top quality custom setting made, but if I were you, I wouldn't want to rush it, since getting top quality and getting the final result right is so important.

Can you purchase just the setting form Cartier, and the stone from the internet? Seems that might get you the best of both worlds that way. Maybe buy the stone and take it in, telling them it's a "family stone", so they don't try to play games with you.

Just a thought...

 

[valeria101]

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On 9/3/2003 4:55:28 PM kingg wrote:

2. Reputable very good Jewlers in NYC / Washington DC that do custom rings
3. Can a jewler make a high quality custom setting in 1 month
----------------

Hi! Cartier is nice. Try www.jewelryexpert.com for comparison. They have been very nice to me. As for the deadline - expect alot of understanding too. The quality of the work will be as good as Cartier any day wih these guys.

Hope to hear back all good news!

 

[MR.C.U]

HEY! HAVE YOU CONSIDER A PAWNSHOP,THEY TEND TO HAVE GOOD ITEMS AT A GOOD PRICE
PLUS YOU CAN ALWAYS BARGAIN THE PRICES,UNLIKE CARTIER SHOPS,OR IF NOT JUST TAKE A TRIP TO THE JEWERLY DISTRICT.

 

[kingg]

Whats an e-ring?

 

[hoorray]

Engagement ring. (Nothing electronically related -- it took me a while to figure out that and LOL (laugh on line).)

 

[Hest88]

I don't think anyone can answer for you whether or not a month is enough time to make an e-ring--other than the jeweler itself. Did you get a chance to look at the Leon Mege site I posted? Cartier is a safe choice, and you'll get a reasonable good diamond, but it's not the most inspired choice. You can probably get a very good stone if you make them give you the stats. Someone here once made Tiffany jump through the hoops to hunt down a diamond with the light performance he wanted, so I don't see why you can't do the same.

 

[kingg]

Thanks for the advice Hest88. That site you sent looks like they do good work. Was really hoping for someone local. Will give them a call however.

Agree with the inspired comment. Don't really know how inspired I'm alowed to be however.

Do stores like cartier care if I take a picture of the ring? I wonder if they will freak out.

Someone suggested I buy a diamond and take it to Cartier. They do not do this. Like Tifany and Co. they make a lot of thier money on marking up the diamonds.

 

[aljdewey]

----------------
On 9/3/2003 6:24:57 PM kingg wrote:
Don't really want to get into a discussion of whether or not brands in general are worth it or not because I need my questions answered:
1. Is Cartier a good indicator of a quality cut diamond
2. Is it possible to get an ultra high quality custom setting in 1 month
3. Does anyone have a reccomendation of a good jewler to do the work in Washington DC / NYC

---------------

1. Yes and no. Yes in that you are pretty much guaranteed not to get a diamond equivalent to a piece of mall crap. No in that you aren't assured to get a super-duper-louper stone, either. Cartier is a retailer, and as such, you can get the same or better other places for less money if you wish to.

2. Yes, it's possible to get an ultra high quality custom setting in a month.....it's really dependent on how busy the craftsman already is/isn't. If you spend the next 24 hours asking a few of them if they can accommodate you, that would help in your decision.

3. Sorry, can't help with the last item. Don't know that area.

 

[PrettyT]

I have a pave wedding set for sale, it is gorgeous.

It is 1.04 carat, VS1, G, radiant cut diamond center stone with 81 round brilliant cut diamonds in a pave setting in white gold. I have all of the paperwork on it, the center stone is GIA rated. I will sell it to you for much less than the $14,000 they want from you. I can email you pictures of it if you like. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[Patty]

These posts are 15 months old. I doubt that king is still looking for a ring.