Greenlake Experience?

[chrono]

Does anybody have either personal experience or heard/read about others' experience with Greenlake? I am considering using them for a project and want to be sure the experience will be successful (communication, workmanship, customer service, etc). It will be a custom piece not currently seen on their website so it's not a "stock" item.

 

[ieatbugs]

wow, no, but for the prices I'm curious to see. Is the $2k range about average for custom ring settings?

 

[pinkjewel]

I remember a post pretty recently about someone getting a custom setting from them and she wanted daisies on the basket- her ring turned out beautifully. I'll try to search for it.

eta- I was thinking of Dougsgirl-but I'm not sure she's received her ring yet, although she posted the final Cads awhile back.

 

[tara3056]

I haven't used them, so can't speak to that, but I will say the price quote they provided me for a recent project was very, very high. As in 2x Leon Mege and about 4x DanielM...

 

[distracts]

I just read this thread from several years ago yesterday, lol: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/review-of-greenlake-jewelry-works-custom-experience.47387/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/review-of-greenlake-jewelry-works-custom-experience.47387/[/URL]

 

[beaujolais]

I certainly don't know as I'm usually not "high end" but I think their settings are among the most beautiful, for sure.

 

[FrekeChild]

I know of someone. I'll let her know about this thread.

 

[NKOTB]

I've had two very good experiences with them. Regarding prices, what was quoted to me was lower than what was marked on the website for the inspiration pieces, and both times I ended up paying the lower end of the quote. Not as cheap as my local guy, for sure, but good for someone like me, who has trouble visualizing unless I see an image. I worked with a woman named Kristen. The communication was quick and thorough. The workmanship was beautiful. I did cut a couple of corners to save money. For example, I asked them to leave holes in the sides, and just had my local person put in diamonds later. I also got a cheap center stone put in by them, then swapped it out later. I have heard that they charge crazy amounts to set outside stones, so not sure if you could just have them make the setting, then have someone else set your stones?

 

[bluebirrrd]

I used Greenlake for my wedding set and there were several reasons, but two of the most important were:

1) Their private blog feature, which allows you to see a visible thread of every communication between you and your designer, along with all of your design inspiration photos, sketches, CAD's, photos of waxes, etc. It was important to me to see and approve every step of the process. For one thing, I'm very visual. For another, I wanted to be 100% sure the designer and I were on the same page. Here is a sample of what they call a "design page." Your own design page is only viewable by you and your designer: http://www.greenlakejewelry.com/samplepage2.aspx My own design page was much, much longer than this one.

2) At the time of my purchase, they had a policy of 100% satisfaction with the finished project or start over from scratch for free. I have not checked to see if this policy still stands, but it gave me a sense of security I didn't feel with other designers. All waxes were sent to me for approval, and I rejected two sets.

A less significant reason for choosing Greenlake was the ability to choose my casting grains, since I specifically wanted recycled palladium alloyed white gold.

Perhaps they aren't very affordable for small projects, but for important ones with higher budgets, I think they're an excellent choice. That said, they have a wide array of designers and one will be randomly assigned to you unless you somehow know which one you want and request them. My own designer was possibly not the best match for me, however thanks to the blog feature and my own perseverance in getting everything just right I'm 100% happy with our set and the decision to work with them.

 

[chrono]

wow, no, but for the prices I'm curious to see. Is the $2k range about average for custom ring settings?

Pricing is dependent on the complexity of the design (scroll work, flowers, engraving, pierce work and etc). I think the lowest price is around $1.5K up to at least $5K.

 

[chrono]

Ladies,
Thanks so much for your input and please share as much as you can, links and all. So far, I've read pretty good things about them and their guarantee is a huge plus for me since I tend to have a very set design and look in mind. If you have pics, please post them too, if you feel comfortable with that.

 

[NKOTB]

I tried to post the link to my first ring in my last post, but it seemed to just lead to the full gallery page. Here is a picture of my rings. Not the best, but hopefully gives you a sense.

 

[chrono]

NKOTB,
You had your local jeweller bezel set the little diamonds?

I can't decide between an antique style Van Craeynest inspired engraving or a slightly more modern flower + vine work. Ah...decisions....decisions.

 

[NKOTB]

I did for the ring that now has the spinel in it. The exchange rate was not in my favour at the time, and my local jeweller was cheaper even without taking that into consideration. I had them put the diamonds in the band, though (that ring was made 2 years later).

This is for which stones, again? Some pinkish ones and a spinel? One of your yummy Luc Yens that I covet?

 

[choro72]

Hi, I used them this year for my graduation project! I found them around the time we were shopping for ER. Made an account after the wedding, started collecting pictures saving their rings on the design page. Yes, their price is quite high compared with other ps vendors. This is why I've put it off for a long time saving for it. By the time I got the ring it had been about 4 years since I started collecting ideas. By the time I started this project it had been almost a year after I graduated so it became a graduation + push present. I chose GL because I wanted something floral with filigree and engraving. If I preferred something like a Tacori or halo, I may have gone with another vendor.

The person in charge of my project was Adrienne. She answered all of my questions within a day and all in all, the project went quite smoothly. I showed her two of the rings I liked on their website, she showed me her sketch, I paid the deposit, etc. One of the rings I liked was almost twice the price of the other ring, so I almost said no thank you. She asked what I liked about the rings, and she drew a sketch for me with a quote that ended up being within my budget. We went back and forth about the trellis curve angle, prongs, carving, and the position of the flowers. The entire process from the start of the communication to the arrival was a little more than a month. I used a Tsav the freke found and mailed for me. The setting price was also very high but I knew I didn't want to use a stock stone.
I had a great experience with them. I never felt pressured to okay the sketch or CAD, and felt at ease to change anything at anytime. She answered everything even if I only wanted to double check the shadow of a CAD. Whenever I was concerned I used Windows Paint to type comments with arrows, or made collages of the flowers I liked. I think that helped the communication go smoothly.

 

[chrono]

Thank you SO much for your input - it is always good to read both the good and bad about a vendor, what to watch out for and etc. I think I'll go ahead and contact Greenlake.

NKOTB,
I'm not quite sure which stone yet but it is very likely to be the big Luc Yen spinel.