Custom setting vs. semi-custom

[mickel]

My GF fell in love with a setting from H.Stern however they are soooo expensive. The ring is beautiful though with many little intricacies such as small slits under trillions ( trillians ?) , a really low profile, a nice shape to the basket. Check it out:

http://www.hstern.com.br/site/loja_virtual/comum/colecao3.asp?col_cod={328A0238-ADDD-4CBD-899A-0A6BD4674141}


The B&M jeweler I have been talking to says that doing something custom with wax will not yield the same level of polish and that this needs to be done by hand. I assume he means that this would use a semi-custom. Does this sound right? Should I be looking for someone to do this with wax instead?

If so, can anyone recommend someone to make a setting who is either in San Francisco or somewhat near by

Thanks!!!!

 

[kcoursolle]

Hi Mickel! I''m afriad your link didn''t work. I think semi-custom actually refers to a process where a jeweler takes parts they already have puts them together, versus creating a completely new ring from scratch. If you fix the link, I''m sure others will be able to say whether it would be a feasible custom job or not, and whether it would be expensive.

 

[FireGoddess]

Is this it? I had to play with the link to get it to work.

 

[mickel]

Thanks for publishing the picture - that is in fact the ring!

 

[FireGoddess]

Mark Morrell is known for his exquisite polish, but I''m not sure if he''s backlogged and not taking on new clients at the moment. It couldn''t hurt to ask. The design is not intricate or difficult, but requires a skilled benchman to get that beautiful polish.

http://www.mwmjewelry.com/

 

[kcoursolle]

Mark Morrell would do a fantastic job, but it looks like on their website that they are backed up. I had a custom ring made by knox jewelers www.knoxjewelers.biz and was very happy with it. I think that they could nail the design and save you some money. Brian knox was incredibly patient and very attentive to detail, I would definitely go back again. If you really want that "designer look" of perfection, another possibility would be leon mege at artofplatinum.com. However, his custom work is fantastic, but not inexpensive.