Custom ering, advice on builders?

[sruzhyo]

Hi all, long time lurker but searching has failed to properly answer my question.


Custom ring, I''m looking for a builder. I have a great idea of the elements I want, and am looking for advice on who to build with.

WF? BGD? Mark Morrell? Someone else?

What pieces have you had built? What kind of pricing were you looking at?

To give you an idea, I''m looking for a euro shank, split shank, up to a pear shaped diamond set in rose gold, surrounded by tiny pink diamonds also set in rose gold, surrounded by white diamonds in white gold/plat. The details I want to keep to myself for the designer, as I''m excited to see the progress and to get involved with the board

So! What say those more experienced with custom work?? Thanks in advance

 

[Ms.Goggles]

From what you've described, I think you might like Maytal Hannah! She does phenomenal, intricate, hand-made pieces and is a pleasure to work with. Check out her gallery - her style seems to be in line with what you're looking for and her prices are very reasonable.

www.maytalhannah.com

 

[sruzhyo]

Hmm, she has some beautiful pieces. I will see what she has to say, thanks for the lead!

 

[geckodani]

I''d also consider BGD, Quest, Whiteflash etc. Getting multiple quotes is never a bad thing!

 

[atroop711]

my e-ring was custom made by WF and they were WONDERFUL to work with. From start to finish it was great. What I did was give them a sketch and pics of what I wanted...they were great to work with. Very easy. They even gave me advice on what they thought would work or wouldn't. I took their advice and glad I did

 

[sruzhyo]

Wow, nice looking custom from WF!

They have been the quickest to respond yet, let''s see what they have to say about my crazy requests

 

[gemgirl]

sruzhyo, I love the ideas for your project. It sounds truly beautiful! I'm a pear owner too, who is planning a reset and I'm trying to figure out who I want to make mine too. I'm still thinking about it... but I have until next year for mine.

I've had a project done by Whiteflash, a five stone anniversary band. Their workmanship is good, I just didn't get 100% of what I asked for and that bugs me to this day. Whoever you decide to go with, please be sure that you have an easy open line of communication with them and that they're willing and anxious to give you exactly what you're asking for. Having said that, I'm going with Brian & Lesley on my next project, but it's a small one by comparison.

I think it's a good idea to run your ideas by at least two different makers to see if they understand what you're talking about and also to compare quotes.

 

[sruzhyo]

Geckodani, Quest shot me down. "we will not create a ring that copies, or even has elements from another designer''s rings" kinda thing.
In my description, there were two references to different pieces of another designer''s ring. But I am not asking for a copied piece...I guess I can kinda see where they''re coming from, since I referenced pictures, but if I had just said, "I want the ring to look like ....." then they would have been ok. Oh well, hopefully it''ll be their loss

Gemgirl, what exactly were you not happy with from WF? Did you go through the CAD/wax process? Was it from wax to final product you weren''t happy?

So far WF has been 100% enthusiastic, very responsive, and helpful with all of my inquiries.
I am waiting on more detail from BGD, and I also have a B&M guy looking into it as well.

I''m so excited! I would never have found these guys without this place, so thanks to PS as well

Steve

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

This sounds like something that Leon would do really well, but the problem is, it seems that you have a lot of particular details to incorporate, and I think he prefers to have some artistic free rein.

I haven''t had any custom work done, but based on the PS reviews, I would probably ask BGD and WF first.

This sounds like a really awesome project - good luck!

 

[swingirl]

Date: 7/2/2009 12:59:23 AM
Author: Ms.Goggles
From what you've described, I think you might like Maytal Hannah! She does phenomenal, intricate, hand-made pieces and is a pleasure to work with. Check out her gallery - her style seems to be in line with what you're looking for and her prices are very reasonable.

www.maytalhannah.com

I agree. She is very flexible with design whereas Leon creates based on his own style. He has done some beautiful pave with rose gold and pink stones. He don't use white gold, only platinum.

I haven't seen Mark Morrell do pave and nothing in rose gold.

 

[litebrite]

I really love the fluid look of Mark Morrell, and his craftsmanship is flawless. That said, if you are looking for pave, Leon Mege is the one.

 

[Gypsy]

Bridget Durnell also does pave and her work looks to be lovely (though i've never seen in it person). But your project does sound very suited to Maytal. Also Ocean Pearlman though Wink at Highperformance diamonds would be worth talking to. I personally have had custom work done by Ocean and BGD and woulld work with both again.I also would work with Durnell or Maytal for the right project. I love MWM's work, but he's not known for his pave work. As for Leon, I've seen his work in person and it's lovely. But if you are looking to be the person in the dirver's seat... he may not be the right personality fit for you. BUT, it never hurts to give him a call and talk to him.

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 7/4/2009 1:53:53 AM
Author: sruzhyo
Geckodani, Quest shot me down. ''we will not create a ring that copies, or even has elements from another designer''s rings'' kinda thing.
In my description, there were two references to different pieces of another designer''s ring. But I am not asking for a copied piece...I guess I can kinda see where they''re coming from, since I referenced pictures, but if I had just said, ''I want the ring to look like .....'' then they would have been ok. Oh well, hopefully it''ll be their loss

Gemgirl, what exactly were you not happy with from WF? Did you go through the CAD/wax process? Was it from wax to final product you weren''t happy?

So far WF has been 100% enthusiastic, very responsive, and helpful with all of my inquiries.
I am waiting on more detail from BGD, and I also have a B&M guy looking into it as well.

I''m so excited! I would never have found these guys without this place, so thanks to PS as well

Steve

Whiteflash goes from CAD to final product. I really don''t want to beat a dead horse because my ring was done more than a year ago. I just didn''t get everything I asked for and that really bugged me, and I don''t like the shape of my ring but that''s not something I would have been able to detect from either CAD or wax.

 

[mpc]

I had a split shank e-ring custom designed by Bridget Durnell. She is wonderful to work with, enthusiastic, and very responsive. She kept us updated by emailing pictures of the ring in various stages of the process. The ring turned out beautifully and the pave work is very delicate (even more than the picture shows). You can view more of her designs at her website. Good luck!

 

[beechezz]

gemgirl,

i just wanted to say that I think your 5 stone is stunning. (sorry for the threadjack)!

 

[stepcutnut]

Just one other piece of advice-make sure and ask to see samples of the designers Rose Gold, as the color can vary quit a bit. You may have an idea in your head of a color you are looking for and be very disappointed with the results if the color is off(too pink, too orange, ETC) Also, make sure you like the color of the pink melee diamonds they are going to use, that can vary extensively! If you go too light with them-they can look white in certain lighting situations.

 

[beau13]

And if by chance you''re in Canada..P&H Design (Toronto, Ontario), does BEAUTIFUL custom work. Impeccable workmanship actually!!

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 7/2/2009 8:53:12 AM
Author: atroop711
my e-ring was custom made by WF and they were WONDERFUL to work with. From start to finish it was great. What I did was give them a sketch and pics of what I wanted...they were great to work with. Very easy. They even gave me advice on what they thought would work or wouldn''t. I took their advice and glad I did

fair dinkum, annette, your set just brings out the aussie in me!

it''s a ripper, bewdy, BONZA mate!

love it!

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 7/9/2009 6:43:41 AM
Author: beechezz
gemgirl,

i just wanted to say that I think your 5 stone is stunning. (sorry for the threadjack)!

Thanks beech!

It is a pretty ring.

Now I''ll thread jack for just a tiny minute

.... Annette, your set is just fabulous!

 

[metromom]

I was about to recommend Quest as they did an absolutely amazing phenomenal job on my custom ring. But since that idea is out, I would definitely contact Lesley and Brian at BGD. I worked with them at Whiteflash and am working with them now on a few projects. The customer service is just outstanding, and they work with you through every step of the process. You can read Brian's blog to see some of the custom work they have done the last few months.

The nightingale band he just created is to die for. I want to send my eternity band to him and reset the entire thing after seeing those pics!!

 

[sruzhyo]

Thanks for all the responses everyone!! I don''t want to throw anyone under the bus about pricing and I am not 100% sure of the etiquitte about mentioning different quotes, so I''ve tried to stay away from specifics. But here is some more info.

Thanks brown.eyed.girl.

I''ve been corresponding with WF alot on this, and so far they are not only the most responsive, but also the most reasonably priced by quite a few hundred dollars.

Swingirl, I loved maytal''s pieces, however her pricing is significantly higher than WF''s.

Hi litebrite, I agree. The fluidity of MM''s work is incredible. Him being on vacation while I''m trying to get info is difficult though, as I am on a little bit of a compressed timeline. Ahh well, maybe the next peice will he from him

Thanks for the heads up Gypsy, I''ll try and get ahold of all of those people for more quotes as well


Sorry to hear Gemgirl, it''s going to be kind of a shot in the dark, no matter who I go with. Unfortunately I won''t be able to see the final product, well, until it''s completed So I''m just hoping that with all the details we''ve talked about they''ll get the right idea, so far it sounds like they have.


MPC, that''s a beautiful ring!! Does that split shank split and then stay straight, almost like a Y? Or does in continue to curve? I can''t quite tell from the picture.

Stepcutnut, those are incredible pieces of advice that could potentially ruin a great idea. Not communicating about things like that (which I would never have thought of otherwise) could be dangerous! Thanks!!

Thanks Beau, unfortunately I''m not in Canada

Metromom, it sounds like you had a great experience with them, which is re-assuring. They are a little more expensive than WF and so since I am on a limited budget I am leaning towards WF. It does make me happy though that you had a good experience with them, it sounds like BGD and WF have pretty great reputations, so I should be happy with either of them, and so many others!

 

[escapewithgems]

Definitely Diamonds by Lauren. I have seen on their website that they do custom work with rose gold and pink diamonds. I have also seen pictures of split shanks...I only know this because i wanted a rose gold ring with pink diamonds but sadly my BF''s budget won''t allow for it. Hope it helps!

 

[sruzhyo]

Well here is the stone I''m looking at.

I''m not really familiar with pears, so what do you guys think?

I''ve been assured it''s 100% eye clean.

 

[sruzhyo]

More to look at

 

[sruzhyo]

The info.

 

[sruzhyo]

Aaaand some more to look at.



What do you folks think? Help a poor guy out with some more feedback

 

[litebrite]

Yeah, I saw the bit about Mark Morrell being on vacation but I''m not sure he does rose gold anyways. I just love his work.

Does WF have a top down picture of the pear? The one they gave looks like it''s kinda from an angle so it''s harder to judge and the symmetry on the ASET looks slightly off near the center, but maybe that''s just me. (I''m no pear expert though.)

I reread your description of the ring and it sure sounds good, she''s a a lucky lady!

 

[Gypsy]

I'm not liking the pear. They can do better. Have them call in a couple of others. The shape is nice and the ratio is good. But that bow tie. Look for pears that are a little deeper maybe. Right around 63% seems to have better luck on eliminating the bow tie from what I've seen. Combined with a high crown and a small table.

 

[sruzhyo]

Thanks lite, I just hope that it all turns out ok.

Gyspy, I really appreciate the input. I am going to look into more pears today and get them to do the same.

 

[sruzhyo]

To clarify, is that bow-tie just going to be a more dull spot in the pear?