Height of Leon Mege 3 stone ring?

[mrs-b]

@mrs-b PS the ring in your avatar is gorgeous!

Thank you so much, @ordinaryrainbow! It's a stone cold beauty, in my opinion. I had a 4.01ct I VS1 ACA diamond, and went down in size to 3.05ct to get this stunningly white, F colored beauty! Price was almost identical. It has 2 x .62ct ACAs on the sides - so 4.3ctw. The setting, which I think is perfect, is by David Klass Jewelers in LA - who I will be visiting in about an hour!

I really do wish you well with Leon. He made me a gorgeous eternity band and it's never gone out of style; that boy does well with the classics!!

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

@ mrs-b Truly gorgeous. Goes to show a smaller stone can be more stunning and beautiful (not that I would call your centre stone small!).

Thank you! I think I will just bite the bullet and send him a quick note about setting height. The worst that can happen is he says no, right? (And then I know.)

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

Haha - I got what I think is a very Leon response! Basically, he said he will try to talk me out of it but will ultimately work to my preference. I am very happy! Thank you everyone for all your help!

 

[yssie]

@yssie Thanks! Answers to your questions:
1. Dimensions are 10.9 x 8.9 x 5.5
2. Definitely N/S
3. Unsure, although I am leaning towards step traps. (The centre stone is step-cut.) Maybe baguettes, or even pears. This is something else I would need guidance on from the vendor.
4. Happy to leave it up to the vendor, although I have seen sides ranging from 04.ct to 0.6ct in person that look nice (although I could be convinved to go smaller/larger)
5. Size 5 - I have slim, long fingers.

That's a sizable stone on a smaller finger! Which works out well in terms of winding up with a naturally "open" gallery with some height to the sidestone components

Sounds like you had a good convo - glad to hear it! I'll see if I can find any photo comps.

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

@yssie thanks! And thanks so much for all your help and guidance.

 

[msop04]

@Rockdiamond thanks! That setting look to be a nice height to me.

This is the Harry Winston emerald setting that I think is a good height:



compare to this VC example, which is too low for my taste:

Both of these settings are made to accommodate the height of the center stone... notice that the culet of each is in the exact same spot with regards to the shank.

 

[msop04]

I also wanted to add that LM is known for doing super low settings... and not wanting to change them.

 

[SimoneDi]

I would never pay a retainer and definitely not a $400 one to meet with a vendor, that sounds like a not-so-funny joke. I am interviewing the vendor for my business, not the other way around.

For anyone that appreciates LMs low set settings, he might be a great fit. However, OP has very specific wishes for a medium to high set ring, why on earth would she even bother with LM considering that he won’t even provide her with any feedback prior to meeting?? OP, reach out to SK & even meet with him in person and just watch how easy it is to communicate with a vendor, who is also an artist.

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

@msop04 thank you! I think, to yssie’s point earlier, I now realise I didn’t select the photos well as they don’t really show what I’m after. I later posted a picture of a HW ring that has a smaller centre stone, that clearly shows a few mm gap between the bottom of the stone and the top of the band. But thank you for your feedback on LM.

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

I had trouble communicating with LM when I did a ring with him in 2010. I went with the low setting, it was OK but I understand why you want it higher. I recently had a custom ring made by SK which was beautiful and the communication was very good as well. I also recently did a ring with HPD (the 2.66 CBI w/ the tapered baguettes) and my ring height at 7.4 mm falls visually between the 2 you have pictures of above, closer to the lower height one. I suppose it depends on the height of the center stone and how much space you want below the culet? You can link from my avatar to the threads about the new rings if you are curious. Maybe 8-8.3 mm is the right "height" for you if you want medium high? 9 mm is very high IMO... You definitely will not get that from LM unless he has a different opinion of settings now...

Thanks! When you mention you had trouble communicating with LM, do you mind explaining a little more about what you mean?

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

You also might try Maytal Hanna. She does lovely work and I think* she is open to your request (vs other vendors). Anyway, she is worth a call
https://www.maytalhannah.com/#design

Her work does look very pretty. I can see a lot of halo work posted in her site and insta, but not many three stone settings. I will keep looking. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

It's funny how different things appeal to different people... I actually think the VC ring is the perfect height... very elegant and much more comfortable for daily wearing, IMO.

True! My mum and my grandma both have high settings on their rings, so it’s what I grew up with and what I’m used to. I can see why some people choose low set rings (and the high settings can have a tendency to look outdated or clunky sometimes), but I just love what I love, I guess.

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

I had trouble communicating with LM when I did a ring with him in 2010. I went with the low setting, it was OK but I understand why you want it higher. I recently had a custom ring made by SK which was beautiful and the communication was very good as well. I also recently did a ring with HPD (the 2.66 CBI w/ the tapered baguettes) and my ring height at 7.4 mm falls visually between the 2 you have pictures of above, closer to the lower height one. I suppose it depends on the height of the center stone and how much space you want below the culet? You can link from my avatar to the threads about the new rings if you are curious. Maybe 8-8.3 mm is the right "height" for you if you want medium high? 9 mm is very high IMO... You definitely will not get that from LM unless he has a different opinion of settings now...

And thank you for the mm guides - I found those really helpful. My stone is 5.5mm high and my preference is to have the bottom of the cutlet sit a few (maybe 3-5mm?) above the top of the band. I hope I am describing that correctly. Did your LM sit flush with the band? I went back through your old
LM post about the height but couldn’t find a picture.

 

[lydial]

Thanks! When you mention you had trouble communicating with LM, do you mind explaining a little more about what you mean?

It turned into an ordeal. I remember I felt he was condescending and somewhat unwilling to answer questions when we spoke. He was a diva. And: Rushed, curt. I only talked to him maybe 2 times. I did have to pay his retainer even back then. That is BS. No one else requires that. He thought my diamonds were junk when he saw them, and not worth resetting even though they were special to me. I was naive or I would not have stood for it but I took it so I could get my setting.

And: I did not initially get the ring the way I ordered and he had to remake it completely. The shank and overall setting was so thin, 1.3 mm shank, the metal was hair thin. I ordered 1.8-2 mm. And: He initially denied it was the ring he sent me when I returned it! One of his minions must have made it. I dreaded calling him to replace it. When he agreed for me to send it back he called me in disbelief that it came from him! I lost it at him, then he apologized. I do think the replacement setting I had was actually made by him, at least he said so.

Also this is not something I share here but you should know. My engagement diamond also was noted to be broken when he (or his bench) unset it to remake my setting. I never blamed them and he swore it was like that, that it was already chipped under the prong. I admit that I once fell while wearing it and slid down a slippery rock so it could have happened and there was a tiny cavity somewhere but I am not sure that was where it broke. Who knows. I never got it back. I just had to have my insurance replace it. He sent it straight to them. To this day I do not know if I believe it was already broken.

That replaced diamond also was a fiasco. I ended up with an angry husband who made me buy the replacement from a local jeweler, even though there were bigger ideal diamonds available from the “internet” he had zero trust and would not agree to it because he was so pissed the diamond was broken out of state with a stranger. The one I bought also had an issue (a girdle chip) and I could not get a refund from the local jeweler, just a replacement, so I ended up with another stone altogether that I never liked. So it was another fiasco and I just never loved my replaced second diamond. Neither did LM FYI.

Thus the reason I again replaced it, and the setting needed to be completely remade as well.

And the LM was also very fragile I will add, and my wedding band partially wore out the prongs. So, in short I did not really enjoy the process with LM, but the ring did turn out well the second time with the replaced stone. It was a good outcome in the end. Just a short time wearing it, only 8 years I wore it.

I do strongly recommend Steven Kirsch. He just made my cluster ring. Easy going and easy to design with and easy to communicate with.

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

It turned into an ordeal. I remember I felt he was condescending and somewhat unwilling to answer questions when we spoke. He was a diva. And: Rushed, curt. I only talked to him maybe 2 times. I did have to pay his retainer even back then. That is BS. No one else requires that. He thought my diamonds were junk when he saw them, and not worth resetting even though they were special to me. I was naive or I would not have stood for it but I took it so I could get my setting.

And: I did not initially get the ring the way I ordered and he had to remake it completely. The shank and overall setting was so thin, 1.3 mm shank, the metal was hair thin. I ordered 1.8-2 mm. And: He initially denied it was the ring he sent me when I returned it! One of his minions must have made it. I dreaded calling him to replace it. When he agreed for me to send it back he called me in disbelief that it came from him! I lost it at him, then he apologized. I do think the replacement setting I had was actually made by him, at least he said so.

Also this is not something I share here but you should know. My engagement diamond also was noted to be broken when he (or his bench) unset it to remake my setting. I never blamed them and he swore it was like that, that it was already chipped under the prong. I admit that I once fell while wearing it and slid down a slippery rock so it could have happened and there was a tiny cavity somewhere but I am not sure that was where it broke. Who knows. I never got it back. I just had to have my insurance replace it. He sent it straight to them. To this day I do not know if I believe it was already broken.

That replaced diamond also was a fiasco. I ended up with an angry husband who made me buy the replacement from a local jeweler, even though there were bigger ideal diamonds available from the “internet” he had zero trust and would not agree to it because he was so pissed the diamond was broken out of state with a stranger. The one I bought also had an issue (a girdle chip) and I could not get a refund from the local jeweler, just a replacement, so I ended up with another stone altogether that I never liked. So it was another fiasco and I just never loved my replaced second diamond. Neither did LM FYI.

Thus the reason I again replaced it, and the setting needed to be completely remade as well.

And the LM was also very fragile I will add, and my wedding band partially wore out the prongs. So, in short I did not really enjoy the process with LM, but the ring did turn out well the second time with the replaced stone. It was a good outcome in the end. Just a short time wearing it, only 8 years I wore it.

I do strongly recommend Steven Kirsch. He just made my cluster ring. Easy going and easy to design with and easy to communicate with.

Oh wow. That does sound difficult, stressful, and overall a really unpleasant experience. Thank you for sharing: I appreciate your candour. I hope you love both the diamond and the SK setting you have now - after all you went through, you most definitely deserve it.

 

[fenestrate]

I'm working with Leon on a bracelet right now. It's a slow burn sort of project - I'm not in a rush, he's got to find the right stones which will take some time... I have to say that he's been fantastic to work with so far. Very easy to communicate with - providing his opinions and soliciting my feedback, asking me to send my thoughts and ideas his way, going over them with me.

He's had several insights that I would not have come to myself, and he's been able and happy to back his recommendations up with fact and objectivity, so I've asked that he find ways to execute my wants within the parameters of those recommendations.

Different sort of project than an E-ring, of course, but I have to say that I personally feel any concerns I may have had about working with him were misplaced. But I've also learnt to listen to my vendors - something I can't say my younger self had much of a predisposition for

@yssie, does he know you are pricescoper and if so how long you’ve been posting etc? I ask because if that was the case it might affect his treatment of you in a positive manner and therefore might be unrepresentative of how he deals with the public at large. Of course he mayn’t know anything of the sort, and it would be nice if he had mellowed somewhat. I know it’s not possible to precisely determine why he’d treat one person in one way and another in a different way but more info would be useful to me in considering whether to work with him.

 

[yssie]

@yssie, does he know you are pricescoper and if so how long you’ve been posting etc?

Yes. But as someone else said - I don’t think he cares at all. Being active on PS is certainly not a plus the way it might be for other vendors!

I ask because if that was the case it might affect his treatment of you in a positive manner and therefore might be unrepresentative of how he deals with the public at large. Of course he mayn’t know anything of the sort, and it would be nice if he had mellowed somewhat. I know it’s not possible to precisely determine why he’d treat one person in one way and another in a different way but more info would be useful to me in considering whether to work with him.

I personally hesitated to reach out to him. Not because I had any personal experience, but because his reputation here on PS is part fame and part infamy. And after I spoke with him (this was two years ago - different project) I just felt silly for the angst. That’s why I posted in this thread - talking with a vendor shouldn’t be something that’s worth angsting over!

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

Will start a new thread because I will need your recommendations for an alternative vendor, but wanted to close the loop and explain why.

Leon followed up to ask when he could expect the retainer, and when I responded that I had recently purchased the stone and was waiting for a certification, he said he didn’t want to work with a stone I didn’t “own”. (I’m not sure I understand him because I do own it: perhaps he meant he doesn’t want to work with a stone I bought recently.). In any event, I will need recommendations for a vendor. Will start a new thread shortly!

 

[arkieb1]

Will start a new thread because I will need your recommendations for an alternative vendor, but wanted to close the loop and explain why.

Leon followed up to ask when he could expect the retainer, and when I responded that I had recently purchased the stone and was waiting for a certification, he said he didn’t want to work with a stone I didn’t “own”. (I’m not sure I understand him because I do own it: perhaps he meant he doesn’t want to work with a stone I bought recently.). In any event, I will need recommendations for a vendor. Will start a new thread shortly!

Honestly I think that when is he is the only vendor that expects a "retainer" up front for nothing or at best 20 minutes of his time either in person or on the phone where he tells you how he wants to make your ring, and he said he wanted to talk you out of that height, then it was always going to end badly. Take it as a sign and work with Steven who used to actually be one of Leon's head bench guys, or David Klass or Caysie or someone willing to actually listen to their clients and not charge them a cent for it. Steven is in the same building and used to work for Leon, you want Leon's look without the drama that's a good option, Maytal is a good option, Caysie is a good option, David and his best bench guys all good options.

 

[ordinaryrainbow]

@arkieb1 thank you! Yes, I think it is a blessing in disguise, and I’m lucky it happened before I paid the retainer. I’ve reached out to Steven based on the recommendations and he replied promptly, gave me a ballpark quote upfront, and couldn’t have been nicer. I can’t recall if I mentioned this in this thread but it is a green emerald, and (unlike a diamond perhaps) i thought it was totally normal for an owner to get their own independent cert after purchase, but he really did seem to flip out when he found out: made me wonder what other minor things he may have flipped out about.