Is anyone going to the Infinity Diamonds "Meet the Cutter" events?

[Lula]

Crafted by Infinity Diamonds is holding its yearly "Meet the Cutter" events at stores across the U.S. It's a chance to see some Infinity bling, meet other diamond-crazy folks, and enjoy drinks/appetizers.

I'm attending the Chicago event. Are any other PS'ers going?

Here's a link to the site with the list of the jewelers hosting events:
Meet the Cutter event locations

 

[Cehrabehra]

I''m not, but I wish I could. Wink''s BBQ sounds like it would be a lot of fun!

 

[Lula]

Yeah, Cehra, DH thought the BBQ sounded like fun, too!

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Obviously, I will be there. And John will attend a few of them too.

 

[iheartscience]

Oooooh I want to go! I might have to make the trip to one!

ETA Paul-any idea what time you'll be at The Gem Gallery in Roanoke, VA?

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Roanoke-VA: I will fly in in the morning, so expect me to be at the store from 2PM onwards.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Really enjoyed the event at Wink''s. Unfortunately, no Pricescopers, since most of Wink''s PS-customers are from out of state. Then again, it was a very enjoyable meeting, and I look forward to the events in the next days.

Live long,

 

[hoofbeats95]

What are these about? How do they work? There''s one fairly close to me this week. I had no idea!

 

[Lula]

Date: 10/5/2009 12:05:00 PM
Author: hoofbeats95
What are these about? How do they work? There's one fairly close to me this week. I had no idea!

Hi, hoofbeats, it's a chance to meet Paul Slegers, the owner/designer/cutter of Crafted by Infinity diamonds, and view the Infinity RB's and Princess cuts in person. When I spoke to John Pollard, the U.S. rep, last week, he said Paul also does a demonstration on some CZ of the polishing (I think) process, and there is an additional presentation on how the rough is sold and cut.

Of course, it's also a chance to meet other diamond lovers, and eat/drink!!

Click on "more information" and "attend" for the event you're interested in, to register. There's no charge.

ETA: I'll be at the Chicago event with a friend of mine; Fly Girl, another PS'er said in another thread she'd be at the Minneapolis event. Any other PS'ers out there planning to attend?

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/5/2009 12:13:23 PM
Author: sarap333

Date: 10/5/2009 12:05:00 PM
Author: hoofbeats95
What are these about? How do they work? There''s one fairly close to me this week. I had no idea!

Hi, hoofbeats, it''s a chance to meet Paul Slegers, the owner/designer/cutter of Crafted by Infinity diamonds, and view the Infinity RB''s and Princess cuts in person. When I spoke to John Pollard, the U.S. rep, last week, he said Paul also does a demonstration on some CZ of the polishing (I think) process, and there is an additional presentation on how the rough is sold and cut.

Of course, it''s also a chance to meet other diamond lovers, and eat/drink!!

Click on ''more information'' and ''attend'' for the event you''re interested in, to register. There''s no charge.

ETA: I''ll be at the Chicago event with a friend of mine; Fly Girl, another PS''er said in another thread she''d be at the Minneapolis event. Any other PS''ers out there planning to attend?

My wife decided that I should BBQ some fresh salmon rather than chicken and burgers and she was right, it was a hit. We met at 5:30 and I was expecting by 7:30 dinner would be over and people tired of talking about diamonds and gone.

WRONG!

The ladies passed their diamond rings around and the guys and ladies both peppered Paul with questions so that he hardly had a moment to eat. About 9:30 people started realizing that some of them had to work today and by 10:00 the last couple headed out the door leaving Paul, Resa (my wife) and I to clean up the dinner dishes and get ready for bed.

Although we had diamonds there to share, the ladies ended up sharing their rings instead and we never got our diamonds or our diamond viewing tools out. Both Paul and I had intended to make it more of an educational event, but our clients and guests wanted to hear more about the story of Infinity and how it came to be and how Paul came to be qualified to be Paul. One of the husbands is a trial lawyer and he grilled Paul as if he were in a pre-trial discovery session and then every one got into that "let''s learn about Paul" mode and it was very interesting.

I may get some pictures done a little later, but I might not too, it is just hard to make the time.

All I can say is that it was a TON of FUN and I am glad that I was able to do one of these events. None of my Pricescope clients were able to make my event, but Sara is going to be at the one in Chicago, which is going to be exciting for her and her friend.

Wink

 

[Lula]

Paul must have the patience of a saint!
Sounds like fun, though -- salmon from the Pacific Northwest? Yum.

I really want to give a shout-out to Isaac from Dimend Scaasi. Yes, I bought my Infinity from Wink, but when Wink and John Pollard found out that I wanted to go to a Meet the Cutter event, they contacted Isaac in Chicago, and Isaac was very gracious about me attending his event.

Wink explained that all the Infinity dealers consider themselves part of a family and help each other out when they can. This is just so rare, I think, in this time of economic stress and cut-throat competition between businesses.

So, thanks, Wink and John, and thanks especially to Isaac, who I am looking forward to meeting on Wednesday.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Ack I really want to go to the Chicago event, but I have class until 6 that night, and it takes me about 30 min to get to Dimend Scaasi

ETA: If only the Pawleys Island event had been a couple weeks ago! Darn timing

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/5/2009 4:45:17 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
Ack I really want to go to the Chicago event, but I have class until 6 that night, and it takes me about 30 min to get to Dimend Scaasi

ETA: If only the Pawleys Island event had been a couple weeks ago! Darn timing

That should not be a problem I think, according to the listing it is from 5:30 until 8. You can get there at 6:30 or even 7 and have plenty of time...

Wink

 

[Ellen]

I am lucky enough to get to meet Paul, John P., and a St. Louis jeweler (at his place) on Thursday evening. I am honored to have been invited, and excited as well!

And Wink, while I would never pass up admiring someone elses jewelry, I can''t believe you guys were never prompted to bust out the stash!

If I had been there, you can believe I would have been doing this ----->

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 10/5/2009 6:12:28 PM
Author: Ellen
I am lucky enough to get to meet Paul, John P., and a St. Louis jeweler (at his place) on Thursday evening. I am honored to have been invited, and excited as well!

And Wink, while I would never pass up admiring someone elses jewelry, I can''t believe you guys were never prompted to bust out the stash!

If I had been there, you can believe I would have been doing this ----->

LOL! We fully expected to, but as the evening went it was just never appropriate. The ladies were all about admiring each others rings, and the guys, well, they just wanted to quiz Paul. You would have had to have been there to have fully appreciated the complete meshing of the minds at the table. Poor Paul got little time to breathe and practically no time to actually take a bite of food...

Wink

 

[MissGotRocks]

Date: 10/5/2009 6:12:28 PM
Author: Ellen
I am lucky enough to get to meet Paul, John P., and a St. Louis jeweler (at his place) on Thursday evening. I am honored to have been invited, and excited as well!

And Wink, while I would never pass up admiring someone elses jewelry, I can''t believe you guys were never prompted to bust out the stash!

If I had been there, you can believe I would have been doing this ----->

You are indeed a lucky girl and we will expect a full report!

You can bet I would have been tapping my toe as well - if I had a chance to look at those Infinity stones I would have been moving that dinner right along!!

 

[mercoledi]

To borrow a phrase, Please come to Boston!

How is it that Infinity has no reps in the Bay State? How much business to we have to manufacture to get one?

The ladies of Boston are always game for a challenge!

 

[Kaleigh]

I wish you would come to Philly. You could meet many Ps''ers and hang with oldminer... Maybe in the future??

 

[hoofbeats95]

Ellen - are you local to StL? I''m on the IL side. I don''t think I will be attending the event though

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/6/2009 9:12:48 AM
Author: hoofbeats95
Ellen - are you local to StL? I''m on the IL side. I don''t think I will be attending the event though

I''m actually on the IL side too, slightly north of St. Louis. I''m sorry I won''t get to meet you.

MGR''s, I promise to give you a full report! *salutes*

And yeah, I would have probably just skipped dinner altogether. You can eat anytime.....


Wink, sounds like it was memorable!

 

[hoofbeats95]

Date: 10/7/2009 12:18:32 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 10/6/2009 9:12:48 AM
Author: hoofbeats95
Ellen - are you local to StL? I''m on the IL side. I don''t think I will be attending the event though

I''m actually on the IL side too, slightly north of St. Louis. I''m sorry I won''t get to meet you.

MGR''s, I promise to give you a full report! *salutes*

And yeah, I would have probably just skipped dinner altogether. You can eat anytime.....


Wink, sounds like it was memorable!

Ellen - you must confess - what town? I''m east of StL.

Do they have these every year and how often is StL one of the stops?

 

[Ellen]

I live in Alton. And I "think" Paul is now doing this every year, but am not certain. Nor am I certain of how often he will come to this area.

Maybe he will chime in here to let you know.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

It was very nice meeting you yesterday, Ellen.

We will continue to organize such events, keeping in mind that I am only human, and it must remain bearable. In this week, Boise, Minneapolis, Chicago and St-Louis have been great, but 6 of these in merely 9 days is about my limit.

We will probably do another tour in Jan or Feb.

Live long,

 

[Ellen]

Paul, sorry, I am just now seeing your post! It was great to meet you too, we had a really nice time.

I am late in reporting back, as hubby has been on vaca so we''ve been busy, and I was waiting for some pics and info.

The event was held at Summa Jewelers in Kirkwood MO. Jim Summa is the owner, and a really great guy with an interesting background. He started making jewelry at the age of 14 (!) after his sister gave him a jewelry tool kit. In highschool he took classes in silver fabrication and casting. After graduating he went on to the Penland School of Arts and Crafts in NC, where he apprenticed in silversmithing.

Following that, he traveled through Asia, where he found out he liked working with gemstones. He eventually ended up at Los Angeles and the GIA where he earned his Graduate Gemologist credentials. He maintains his certification as a gemologist through AGS. He then came back to the St. Louis area where he worked for a jeweler for several years before branching out on his own. In 2000 he bought a historical building and totally renovated it. It turned out really nice!

He is in the process of going online, his site should hopefully be up in the next few weeks. Be sure to take a peek!


I''ve got several pics to post. The first few are in Jim''s workspace upstairs. I wish we had gotten an overall view, it''s such a great space, with the coolest balcony/sitting area overlooking the street.

First one is the main work station.

 

[Ellen]

*playing with fire* Don't try this at home kids!

Jim decided to heat up a piece of Platinum for us, to illustate just how hot it needs to get before you can start working on it (I really want to think he said this got to about 3000 degrees, is that right?).

 

[Ellen]

Taking torch to metal.

 

[Ellen]

 

[Ellen]

*afterglow* After getting it that hot, it still hadn''t done anything to the Plat.

 

[Ellen]

We then went back downstairs for the presentation by John and Paul. Afterwards came the diamonds. First up is an Infinity Princess.

 

[Ellen]

Princess and round. The round is a 2.45 I think.