custom jewelers in Boston who work with CG?

[velouriaL]

Can anyone suggest custom jewelers in the Boston area who work with colored gems? Ideally, it would be a shop in which a customer could go in a look at a lot of settings in person and then get a custom or semi-custom piece made.

It's for a friend who wants to do a yellow sapphire engagement ring. I'd like to repeat the formula I used to help my friend who did the red spinel engagement ring. I helped him find the spinel online, and then he took it in to Sholdt and Greenlake in Seattle where he lives. He wound up going with Sholdt and the piece is in the works. These guys-- i am beginning find-- are willing to go with suggestions to shop for the gem online, but then get overwhelmed with giant macro images of tiny settings online and need to really browse and talk with an SA or jeweler in person.

Alternatively, do you know of anyone in the Boston area who has a big selection of antique rings, diamonds or CG.

 

[pregcurious]

When I lived in Boston, I was not into CSs, but I can recommend DeScenza Jewelers in downtown crossing, and Long's Jewelers in Burlington (if they still exist) in general. DeScenza specializes in diamonds, but they also have lots of nice settings. Long's has nice jewelry pieces. These are not high end places, but they have good prices, and the salespeople I dealt with were honest. I had a GIA diamond report done on a stone I bought from DeScenza over a decade ago, and the report graded it one grade higher for color, cut, and clarity, compared to the evaluation by DeScenza. I hope they are still just as good and honest. I miss them.

All That Glitters (http://www.atggems.com/) is in Methuen, but my understanding is that their store is not open to the public.

I strongly recommend against Shreve, Crump and Low. They are incompetent, snobby, and have poor customer service. I went to look at watches when I was much younger, and they refused to order me the item I wanted, and pushed the ones they had in stock. A family member gifted me the item from another store. I went back to Shreve's, and the same sales lady saw me wearing the new watch, and was so surprised that she blurted out, "I would have ordered it for you!" I reminded her that I had asked, and she just looked at me blankly. She was probably thinking of the commission she had missed.

On another occasion, I brought in a family heirloom watch, and they told me it was a fake based on a poor repair, which had added an ugly after-market wristband. The guy who gave it back to me banged it on the counter and told me, while literally looking down his nose, it's a fake. I told him I was aware that the band was not original to the watch, but I assured him that the rest was genuine, and he just turned his back on me. I brought it to another store, and they restored it to its original condition and gave me an appraisal for my insurance. Anyone who was half-way competent would have opened the case to see that the movement was genuine, but Shreve's did not even bother.

I never went back to Shreve's again after these 2 experiences. They lost a lot of sales from me, my family, and friends.

 

[velouriaL]

Thanks, Pregc! I've heard of DeScenza and Long. I was hoping for something with a little more signature style (a la Greenlake or Sholdt) but Boston does seem to have a dearth. Odd, isn't it? Good to know there are a couple of solid places, though.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Bouvier and Sons in the diamond building (Downtown crossing) is a great option. There's also E.B. Horn about a block away. Not sure if they do custom work, but they have a HUGE inventory of estate pieces, so if you're looking for more vintage style they might be an option. Also, there's a Long's in the Financial District. Daniel M is a popular vendor around these parts (you can find him on etsy) and I think he's from the Boston area. I don't think he has a shop that you can visit, but it wouldn't hurt to reach out to him and talk about your project. And there are many other companies in the diamond building that do custom work as well. B&S made my first set of wedding bands. They're great.