Hiring a consultant?

[drewcwsj]

I am interested in creating a special engagement ring. It will feature a 3 carat plus Princess cut in a 3 stone setting with 1 carat side stones in a pave platinum band. Obviously this will not be inexpensive. I am trying to educate myself via this site and others but I am still uncomfortable. I would be interested in hiring a consultant to help me create the best possible ring at a competitive price. Is this a common practice at this price range? If so how do I find a consultant? Or should I just work with a top notch retailer. I am in Chicago and there are several great jewlers here.

Thanks

Drew

 

[solange]

I know that Whiteflash does have a custom design department. Several people on this site have bought stones from them and had Brian help them design a setting. You might want to try them. I bought my stone and setting from them and was very pleased.

 

[denverappraiser]

Drew,

It sounds like you are looking for a general contractor who works with jewelry.

This is a lot of what custom jewelers do on a daily basis. It''s sometimes a little difficult to determine how much you are paying for their services but a good jeweler will be pretty straightforward about what services they are offering and what their charges will be. Most jewelers are accustomed to being paid in the form of markup on the various materials and a labor fee for the assembly and/or the design. ‘Free’ things, like customer education, warranties, financing and the like are built into the formula. For the most part this is a pretty effective system that suits most customers because, in the end, it’s probably less expensive (although also less transparent and therefore possibly less satisfying to some customers). It shouldn’t be all that hard to find a jeweler that will agree to serve as a consultant for an hourly fee to help you to put together a bundle of parts, labor, financing, warranties, design, insurance, etc. but it’s a pretty unusual request. Shop your area custom jewelry houses and see if you can find someone with the appropriate skills and temperament and make them an offer.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[valeria101]

Why is having a "consultant" any different from placing an order for a ring with an understanding jeweler?

You will get a line up of 3 carat princess cuts, the sides to play with and a longer chat over the design to complete a drawing. And lots of controll along the process, if you os wish. Nothing out of the ordinary for hand made jewelry

Working with a jeweler is no different than contracting out to a small consultancy, IMO. Done both.