Custom Settings in Maryland

[PortableGoogle]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section as it relates to custom settings. I know from what i have heard from a lot of people that most of the money you spend on an engagement ring should be on the diamonds and not the setting, which i agree with cause if you upgrade and the new diamonds don''t fit you have wasted all that money on the setting. So i am asking for advice on places to go to get a custom settings made that is quality but not overly expensive. I''d like it to be platinum cause i''d like her to feel the weight and always know if its not on as well as her not having to worry as much about taking it off since the scratches can be buffed out without losing any of the metal and i have heard platinum is more likely to be a ring you can pass on to your children. The only reason i want a custom settings is because my girl loves having all the side diamonds in addition to the 3 stone ring and she has her moms old 1 ctw wedding band and we decided to skip having a wedding band and just put those diamonds as the side accent diamonds. I don''t have the ring in front of me but i believe there is either 8 or 10 stones on it, though i think one of them may be chipped on the table. I have not gotten the 3 primary stones yet as id like to find a jeweler i can work with first as ill be buying the 3 diamonds online, with the pricescope experts help of course. I am also unsure of the ratings of the diamonds in the current ring, and don''t want to end up making those look yellowish by having too white of diamonds to go with it. I am open to suggestions. I am trying to spend about 6k total on everything but would like as close to a 1 ct main diamond as possible while still keeping the 2 main side diamonds larger than the accent diamonds so i figure i have about 1.5k max to work with for the setting. My girl also hates yellow gold with a passion, so if i went with white gold it would have to be high quality that wouldn''t turn yellow as the plating wore off.

 

[PortableGoogle]

Also the type of setting i am looking at would something like http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-ring-platinum_5923 but not pave settings as from what i read they don''t do will with ultrasonic cleaning.

 

[stone-cold11]

err... what is your question?

 

[PortableGoogle]

sorry i can be long winded and ramble on. I am looking for a quality jeweler in Maryland or not too far from Montgomery county that can create custom jewelry for a reasonable price, preferably one that has the proper tools and training to work with platinum.

 

[taterbites]

Hop on the Beltway and go visit the folks at Quest in the Falls Church/Vienna, Va. area. They do great work.
Link to Quest site

 

[oldminer]

I believe James Allen is in Maryland and likely could sell you the diamonds and have such a special mounting made or altered from existing styles.
www.jamesallen.com
Maybe because they are local to you, you could actually go to their office to see items physically, but I am not sure about that.

 

[PortableGoogle]

thanks, i will see what they can do. Only thing that sucks is there was a good chance i was gonna order the diamonds from jamesallen but i didn''t know they have a place in Maryland meaning i would have to pay 6% sales tax on a 5-6k purchase increases my costs by 300-360 bucks. O well, at least i would have the comfort of not having to order the diamonds then take them somewhere else to be set, i would just walk away/receive in the mail a ready to go ring.