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Custom Pink Diamond setting designer?

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lily1120

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
158
Hi Ladies and gents,

I need help to be pointed in the right direction to get our dream setting made :twirl:

I have this vision in my head of a custom solitaire with an interesting basket and beautiful pink diamonds set in pink gold prongs. The issue is i don't know who to go to who would be affordable, really good and has good access to good quality pink diamonds. I currently have an LM solitaire but I don't really wanna work with him again. However, i do love his craftsmanship and I've gotten used to it so someone who is sort of up to par with him would be great. I'll consider all options though :wavey:

Thanks so much!!
 
lily1120|1334259640|3169463 said:
Hi Ladies and gents,

I need help to be pointed in the right direction to get our dream setting made :twirl:

I have this vision in my head of a custom solitaire with an interesting basket and beautiful pink diamonds set in pink gold prongs. The issue is i don't know who to go to who would be affordable, really good and has good access to good quality pink diamonds. I currently have an LM solitaire but I don't really wanna work with him again. However, i do love his craftsmanship and I've gotten used to it so someone who is sort of up to par with him would be great. I'll consider all options though :wavey:

Thanks so much!!
Click to expand...


DBL - www.diamondsbylauren.com

They specialize in coloured diamonds and also use coloured diamond melee in a number of their pieces. The pave work was clean, sharp, and precise on the many pieces I saw in-person last year, and the metalwork is fantastic. Easy to work with, too.

My ring, no pave, and I was very particular about the quality of metalwork and finish - [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-5-stone-8-prong-trellis-reset-by-dbl.170161/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-5-stone-8-prong-trellis-reset-by-dbl.170161/[/URL]
 
I don't have a solitaire, but I do have a custom hand forged setting with pink diamonds. It was made by Robinson Designer Goldsmith and the quality is simply exceptional. If you're looking for a really creative designer, I'd definitely recommend them:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/4-09ct-omb-w-rdg-pink-diamond-double-halo-pics-video-t173010.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/show-me-the-ring/4-09ct-omb-w-rdg-pink-diamond-double-halo-pics-video-t173010.html[/URL]
 
Mike R. His work is beautiful and he's a doll. Someone please link to the double halo with pinks and marquise he made... I'm on my phone. That's who I'd call.
 
Gypsy|1334272249|3169664 said:
Mike R. His work is beautiful and he's a doll. Someone please link to the double halo with pinks and marquise he made... I'm on my phone. That's who I'd call.
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Whoops I see Zahara posted hers already, that's the designer. I'd give Mike a call, like I said.
 
...I should add, don't be reluctant to contact Mike Robinson/Robinson Designer Goldsmith based on him/them being in New Zealand. They do work for clients all over the world, and regularly travel to the US to deliver pieces personally.

He really is the most lovely guy to work with. No attitude whatsoever; just pure, creative talent.
 
I'd have to vote for Mike on this one. That is about the most spectaular ring I have ever seen!
 
Thank you ladies so much! I i really really wanted to work with Mike R after seeing your ring Zahra- our stones are the same color and our love of pink diamonds makes our tastes similar so i think he would be a great fit for me. But i am really apprehensive to work with someone so far overseas and i have no experience with customs or extra payments due to that. Can you help me out with that? Are you in the U.S? or another country other than NZ? it would be nice to know how much extra cost getting the ring through customs will be and the timing of shipping..? If i could know a bit more about your experience with him that would be so great. Does he do CAD's? i know he did those drawings for you and those would be fine for me too just wondering- :wavey:
 
I live in Australia, so I think my experience with customs/shipping won't necessarily be reflective of your experience. The best thing to do would be to email Mike directly. As I said, they have a lot of international clients (including in the US), so they are well versed in the technicalities of getting a stone to them to have set.

Mike does not work with CAD at all. His work is entirely hand forged, and he provides renderings by way of the watercolour paintings that you saw he did for me. Personally I think this makes the process all the more special!

As for working with Mike - I emailed him about a year out from actually having my diamond set, and sent him literally hundreds of emails in the intervening period. He answered every email promptly and politely. I never got the feeling that I was 'just another client', or that my ring wasn't important to him. RDG also went out of their way to make the payment process easy for us, and they can definitely be flexible with your budget.

One word of warning - have you looked into the cost of pink diamonds before? They're really not cheap, and they took up a significant part of the total cost for my ring. I wouldn't have had it any other way, but it's something to be aware of before you start getting quotes. RDG don't use washed-out pinks, so the diamonds are certainly worth paying for, but make sure that when you do get quotes you get the vendors to specify the grade of pinks they would use so that you can compare apples with apples, so to speak.

Aside from that, I think that we got a my setting for a very fair price, taking into account that it was not an easy setting to make, involved lots of tiny, fiddly parts and has over 10 grams of metal in it. Given what I understand that Leon or Steven or Victor would have charged for a fairly standard Harry Winston-inspired cushion halo, I think we got a real bargain.

Lastly - if you do decide to work with Mike, be open to his ideas. He is a true artist, and if you let him, he will create something really magical for you. I went to him with vague notions of getting one of the aforementioned halo settings (and would have been thrilled with the result, I'm sure), but I am so thankful that I let him make this setting for me instead. He also doesn't recreate these unique designs, so you'll know that you'll be the only one in the world with that particular setting.

Apologies for the essay, and apologies if there are any typos in it - iPads and their autocorrects, you know?
 
Hi I am located in California. Mike of RDG is starting my spinel ring this week. The saga of getting the gemstones to him wasn't really that bad. The USPS doesn't really insure or send loose stones internationally. The trick is a temporary setting for your gems wire wrapping or silver settings will work. Once the jewelry is "set" you send it "Express International" shipping which allows you to track, insure and I believe register the package. As long as you can back up the insurance with an appraisal.

My e-ring is made by LM, he was really nice to work with but I know he didn't make my ring. It was made in his shop to his specifications by someone who works for him.

Mike R is hand making my ring by himself. He is the most gifted person I've ever worked with on a jewelry project. I hope he knows how special he is. He is a true artist and has amazing talent, I consider myself very luck to have this project on the horizon.

I don't think it matters that he is so far away. He answers emails throughly with sketches and specifics about the questions I have.

Also I believe his pink diamond melee is Argyle pink tender for all you aficionados!
 
Hi Yessie,

I meant to ask you after seeing your gorgeous ring does DBL do sketches or CAD's? how did you express exactly what you want..?
 
ok and one more question.... do any of you ladies or anyone else know of someone who works just like Mike from RDG but in the U.S? meaning that the vendor is a doll to work with and provides beautiful sketches or watercolors and has a great reputation? I am going to contact Mike to see if we can work together, i really like him just not sure about the shipping my stone overseas thing. Oh and 1 more thing.. do you ladies who have worked with him know if prices are better in NZ than the U.S? LOL it's a weird question but just wondering.

thanks!!!
 
lily1120|1334423917|3170960 said:
ok and one more question.... do any of you ladies or anyone else know of someone who works just like Mike from RDG but in the U.S? meaning that the vendor is a doll to work with and provides beautiful sketches or watercolors and has a great reputation? I am going to contact Mike to see if we can work together, i really like him just not sure about the shipping my stone overseas thing. Oh and 1 more thing.. do you ladies who have worked with him know if prices are better in NZ than the U.S? LOL it's a weird question but just wondering.

thanks!!!
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Um. Treebean's post above is what you asked for. She's in CA and he's doing her ring for her. As for pricing I don't know.
 
Gypsy , no i think my question mightve been confusing. I was asking for another vendor who works like Mike R with beautiful sketches and is as nice but who is not Mike R and is located in the US so i dont have to ship my stone overseas.
 
Without wanting to gild the lily too much, I think Mike is a very unique artist and I doubt that you will find anyone like him elsewhere in the world. If your number one priority is working with a US vendor, then you're probably better off reverting to the Leon Mege/Steven Kirsch/Victor Canera benches.
 
I'd personally go with Victor Canera if I was limited to the US.
 
lily1120 said:
Hi Yessie,

I meant to ask you after seeing your gorgeous ring does DBL do sketches or CAD's? how did you express exactly what you want..?
Click to expand...

My ring was a redo from a previous venture with a different vendor so we had a 3D model to work with. If you have specific questions I recommend you contact David directly, he is very easy to talk to.



I'm sure there are artists that do work like Mike's in the US, but 1. I haven't heard of them, 2. I haven't seen examples of their work, 3. I haven't read or heard testimonials, 4. I haven't talked to them.

If you want to work with Mike then you're going to have to find a way to work with Mike - expecting one vendor to behave and produce like another vendor is a recipe for disappointment. His pieces have a very different feel from LM/SK/VC's work, for that sort of thing I would recommend 23rd Street over all three. http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/
 
i think i've made up my mind after receiving your all your feedback ladies: i'm going with Mike :love:. i just finished emailing him! I know my heart is set on him and Yssie's point of my trying to find someone like him in the U.S i know is a recipe for disaster.I really dislike the approach of the Leon, Sk etc and i just can't imagine just trusting them to "read my mind" with a piece i want to wear for the rest of my life. Thanks so much for answering all my questions and being so kind in responding to my ignorance.
God bless you all and have a good nite : )
 
I think you are making a great decision, lily!!! Can't wait to see how this turns out! :appl:
 
Treenbean|1334365736|3170584 said:
Also I believe his pink diamond melee is Argyle pink tender for all you aficionados!
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The melee may be from the Argyle mine but all melee are too small to make it into Argyle's Tender auction.

Argyle's annual Tender auction includes only the most expensive 50 or so pinks, purples, reds, violets, or blues that Argyle produces each year.

Only in recent years (now that the mine's production is tapering off) have a number of diamonds under half a carat been making it into the Tender.
This 30 point heart was the smallest stone in 2011's Argyle Tender Auction.

30.png
 
The pinks that Mike used in my ring are Argyle 5P, but I don't recall him saying that they were from a Tender.
 
ZahraLeyla|1334549482|3172103 said:
The pinks that Mike used in my ring are Argyle 5P, but I don't recall him saying that they were from a Tender.
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You would know.
If the diamonds you bought were in an Argyle Tender Auction it would be screamed from the rooftops and the price would have been a billion zillion million bucks.
 
;))
 
lily1120|1334540498|3171983 said:
I really dislike the approach of the Leon, Sk etc and i just can't imagine just trusting them to "read my mind" with a piece i want to wear for the rest of my life.
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I'm so happy you've made a decision you that works for you. I would have made the same decision in your place. However having worked with Steven, and had good friends also work with him and with Leon. Steven and Leon are VERY different in their approaches and IMO, it's not fair to paint Steven with Leon's brush. Steven takes direction very well, Leon just doesn't. And if Steven stands behind his pieces and will remake them if there is an error and you are unhappy.
 
If you are interested in a US vendor who also does a design drawing, you might want to check out Oscar Heyman...athough it's not as artistically beautiful as Mike's drawing at RDG, but still better than nothing, right? If I remember correctly, they don't deal directly with the public, so you have to go through a local jeweler. Sparkly_Girl had them do her 5ct cushion (https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/oscar-heyman-journey.170223/ and https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-oscar-heyman-engagement-wedding-ring.172515/)l via a local jeweler, so you may want to contact Oscar Heyman and ask if they have a contracted jeweler near you for your project. I hope this helps. I can't wait for the finished product, regardless of who you choose because I L.O.V.E. pink diamonds.

Also, sorry for a related thread hijack: on RDG's website, it says they only accept projects with stones sourced by them, but obviously there's been several beautiful rings with diamonds sourced elsewhere (ZahraLeyla TDF :love: , of course). For those of you in the know, what are your thoughts/experience with Mike on this?
 
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