Got really high ring quote...how to proceed?

[needhelpoh]

I've been lurking here for a while but this is my first post. I searched the forums pretty extensively and did not find any thread that could answer my question. I will try to keep it as short and to the point as possible.

After talking with my fiancé I am confident I know exactly what she wants. It took a lot of research, but eventually I looked into Leon Mege after reading/seeing his work extensively here. The problem is, I got a quote from him that was much higher than I expected. Here's a summary of my situation:

1.) I submitted a price quote request for a Tulip (LM's interpretation of the classic Tiffany 6 prong setting). The quote included both ring and diamond and was what I expected price-wise. I called Leon to iron out some details and asked about him setting a diamond bought from somewhere else. He encouraged me to get a diamond through him and explained the perks of going that route.

2.) I ended up getting a loose round diamond on my own. A family friend/acquaintance is in the diamond importation business and I got a deal on a GIA diamond that I knew could not be beat (significantly less than Pricescope's average price per carat).

3.) I submitted a second quote request to LM, this time just for the Tulip setting itself, no ring. For a custom made platinum ring from somebody with LM's reputation I was expecting to pay $1500-$1800. I won't give the exact number as I think that would be uncouth. Since a ballpark number is necessary for everybody to understand the situation, I will just say it was in the ballpark of 100% more than I expected.

My question now is, how do I proceed? I was so set on LM and his work that I am honestly considering still moving forward.

Is it insulting to haggle on price with a custom setting like this? (Normally I wouldn't hesitate to haggle, but this isn't a mass produced product like a car, I just feel it would be insulting to his work, as if I was saying "ehhh I don't think your artistry is worth that much").

I know this is prime e-ring buying season so I am sure he is swamped with orders right now. I am in a position where I can wait...should I email him back asking if his prices are affected by the season or his workload?

The basic question is, how can I ask about LM's price (will he budge on it, could I get a better price a couple months from now, etc.) without being insulting?

Sorry for writing such a novel, I just felt everything I included was necessary information. I look forward to hearing what experienced buyers have to say!

 

[Dancing Fire]

2.) I ended up getting a loose round diamond on my own. A family friend/acquaintance is in the diamond importation business and I got a deal on a GIA diamond that I knew could not be beat (significantly less than Pricescope's average price per carat).

3.) I submitted a second quote request to LM, this time just for the Tulip setting itself, no ring. For a custom made platinum ring from somebody with LM's reputation I was expecting to pay $1500-$1800. I won't give the exact number as I think that would be uncouth. Since a ballpark number is necessary for everybody to understand the situation, I will just say it was in the ballpark of 100% more than I expected.

I think his least expensive is like > 3k?

 

[marymm]

Yeah, these days $2.5-3K+ is the norm for a platinum solitaire-type setting by Leon Mege, Victor Canera, and Steven Kirsch (three vendors frequently grouped together).

Many diamond/setting vendors will give you a percentage-off the price of one of their settings if you are also buying the center stone from them.

And, Leon Mege does not haggle; of course you can try, but I can almost guarantee he'll reply in the negative, very sarcastically.

 

[Gypsy]

Yeah, these days $2.5-3K+ is the norm for a platinum solitaire-type setting by Leon Mege, Victor Canera, and Steven Kirsch (three vendors frequently grouped together).

Many diamond/setting vendors will give you a percentage-off the price of one of their settings if you are also buying the center stone from them.

And, Leon Mege does not haggle; of course you can try, but I can almost guarantee he'll reply in the negative, very sarcastically.

Call ERD-- Brilliantly Engaged and do a CAD version.

 

[needhelpoh]

Ha wow all that typing and I forgot to ask the most relevant first question, "is that price reasonable?". The consensus seems to be that is completely reasonable. My own price estimate was generated by looking over multiple forums (including this one heavily) and seeing what other people have historically mentioned they paid for custom solitaires. Of course the problem with that method is that many price points were from threads that are 5+ years old...I tried to factor in inflation but obviously did a poor job of that. Thanks for the responses guys. I will be proceeding with LM.

 

[chrono]

If the price is a lot higher than what he quoted you before, it is his way of encouraging you to purchase both the stone and setting from him.

 

[arkieb1]

That is Leon being Leon, having said that most of the other vendors will discount a setting a bit if you purchase the stone of them as well, because you didn't in this case that is why the setting is now much more expensive. Brian Gavin does a wonderful Tiffany repo or alternatively as the other have suggested ERD will also make a similar style of ring. Alternatively Steven Kirsch used to work for Leon, email him for a quote, and Victor does a pretty 6 prong as well email him for a quote too.

 

[needhelpoh]

Just wanted to clarify a thing or two.

1.) I do not know how the second quote for the setting compares to the first quote setting only. The first quote included a diamond and the entire cost was lumped together. It was not itemized, i.e. it didn't separate the price of the diamond and the price of the setting. The only reason I even mentioned the first quote was to paint the full picture of the situation.

2.) I am fully aware it is a regular process to mark up a setting if you are only buying a setting (or putting it another way, getting a discount on a setting when buying a diamond as well). My initial concern was that the price was too high to simply attribute it to that markup. That opinion has since been corrected, thank you.

3.) I have two opinions on marking up settings when not buying the diamond as well. The idealist in me says that there should be no mark up. I am not buying the diamond through them, so unfortunately for them, they will not be getting that margain from me. Not adding that markup into the setting price is the best way to cultivate repeat customers. The realist in me realizes that they are shooting for certain profit margains and will get them whatever they can. And hey, when you're one of the best in the world at what you do, you have that luxury. I hold absolutely no ill will for the practice, I will never begrudge somebody for making as much money as they can. I am trying to save as much money as I can. I this case, he is in the power position and I deemed his product worth the price. Maybe one day he will need a car (I work in the auto industry) and the roles will be reversed

 

[artdecolover71]

I have never heard of a LM quote in the 1500 range, at least double and up.

Many other choices out there though...

 

[Harpertoo]

In the limited research I have done I see certain vendors quote punishingly high numbers when an outside stone is involved.
They really want to capture both parts of the sale.
If the setting must be hand forged, shop the other benches but I'm not sure you will find anything in your desired budget.
good luck.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

There are a lot of vendors out there. I'd say find another that falls in line with your budget.

Not everyone can afford a custom or hand forged piece. There are also casting companies ( Stuller, Adwar, Unique Settings of New York, just to name a few) that you can check also. Many vendors are able to obtain these kinds of settings. They may not be perfect settings but a good bench will be able to finish the pre-cast product well. Porosity is another issue but overall..is a good alternative for a nice product for not a lot of money.

 

[LLJsmom]

Just wanted to clarify a thing or two.

1.) I do not know how the second quote for the setting compares to the first quote setting only. The first quote included a diamond and the entire cost was lumped together. It was not itemized, i.e. it didn't separate the price of the diamond and the price of the setting. The only reason I even mentioned the first quote was to paint the full picture of the situation.

2.) I am fully aware it is a regular process to mark up a setting if you are only buying a setting (or putting it another way, getting a discount on a setting when buying a diamond as well). My initial concern was that the price was too high to simply attribute it to that markup. That opinion has since been corrected, thank you.

3.) I have two opinions on marking up settings when not buying the diamond as well. The idealist in me says that there should be no mark up. I am not buying the diamond through them, so unfortunately for them, they will not be getting that margain from me. Not adding that markup into the setting price is the best way to cultivate repeat customers. The realist in me realizes that they are shooting for certain profit margains and will get them whatever they can. And hey, when you're one of the best in the world at what you do, you have that luxury. I hold absolutely no ill will for the practice, I will never begrudge somebody for making as much money as they can. I am trying to save as much money as I can. I this case, he is in the power position and I deemed his product worth the price. Maybe one day he will need a car (I work in the auto industry) and the roles will be reversed

I realize that in this thread you are referring to your experience with Leon Mege. I am only sharing my impression with dealing with another hand forged jeweler. I myself work in the service industry, and I charge by the hour. I don't really look at the "mark up" the way you do, I think. Any "profit" that I am paying aside from covering all his material and overhead costs are an intangible cost of his personal time and labor and artistic aesthetic, which all has Value, although not as easily quantifiable as the cost of platinum or office space. I thought a lot before proceeding down the custom hand forged route and it took me a long time. In my case, I don't think that he is getting as much as he can. In fact I think he could charge quite a bit more, and would still retain a significant amount of his business. I think what I am paying is fair. Not to disagree with your opinion about what you are paying for. I'm just saying that not all those that are top tier jewelers will or are making as "much profit" as they can, just based on my personal experience. I do hope that you will feel you are getting your money's worth for your piece. I hope you will post pics when you receive it. Leon's wok is get beautiful. And for what it's worth, I saw a jeweler who quoted me 60% more than what your price from Leon was on an all platinum hand forged setting, no diamonds. I almost went with it too, but in the end it just wasn't me. Good luck!

 

[needhelpoh]

I realize that in this thread you are referring to your experience with Leon Mege. I am only sharing my impression with dealing with another hand forged jeweler. I myself work in the service industry, and I charge by the hour. I don't really look at the "mark up" the way you do, I think. Any "profit" that I am paying aside from covering all his material and overhead costs are an intangible cost of his personal time and labor and artistic aesthetic, which all has Value, although not as easily quantifiable as the cost of platinum or office space. I thought a lot before proceeding down the custom hand forged route and it took me a long time. In my case, I don't think that he is getting as much as he can. In fact I think he could charge quite a bit more, and would still retain a significant amount of his business. I think what I am paying is fair. Not to disagree with your opinion about what you are paying for. I'm just saying that not all those that are top tier jewelers will or are making as "much profit" as they can, just based on my personal experience. I do hope that you will feel you are getting your money's worth for your piece. I hope you will post pics when you receive it. Leon's wok is get beautiful. And for what it's worth, I saw a jeweler who quoted me 60% more than what your price from Leon was on an all platinum hand forged setting, no diamonds. I almost went with it too, but in the end it just wasn't me. Good luck!

I agree, he probably could charge more and retain the majority of his customers. Value is relative. I value a one of a kind, hand made, perfectly finished piece of jewelry very highly. Thus, I will pay what he's asking.

The first point of this thread should've been me asking if that quote was reasonable given the level of product. While I am fully willing to pay the quote amount, I am not willing to pay drastically above market value. "Market value" is of course very hard to determine with unique products like this. Once it was confirmed that the price was reasonable for what is being offered, I have no problem paying it as it is within my budget. Hopefully that makes sense. I am doing a terrible job of putting what I'm thinking in to words here.

Again, thanks for all the help and informative responses. Good information like this is why I will continue to come back to this forum in the future.

 

[Gypsy]

This the reason to always ask for an "Itemized" quotation when you request one. Also in case there is any confusion as to what that means, ask them to specifically to break down setting and stone costs separately and to list any discounts that are applied.


If a vendor won't provide you with the above, pass IMO.