Leon Mege months of bad service and the 5.13 carat Pear

[justginger]

Cutting and pasting personal emails is really a new low for Leon. I'm sorry you had to deal with all the jewelry bs during such a difficult time.

I'm not sure what I did to get the "nice Leon" - I was a woman, working with a small (for his standards) outside stone, and I lived in Australia. He must have been feeling very charitable with my project or something. Despite how pleased I am with it, and his workmanship, I wouldn't ever go back to him again. It's like I've won $20k at the casino -- just walk away and never try to do it again.

 

[arkieb1]

Cutting and pasting personal emails is really a new low for Leon. I'm sorry you had to deal with all the jewelry bs during such a difficult time.

I'm not sure what I did to get the "nice Leon" - I was a woman, working with a small (for his standards) outside stone, and I lived in Australia. He must have been feeling very charitable with my project or something. Despite how pleased I am with it, and his workmanship, I wouldn't ever go back to him again. It's like I've won $20k at the casino -- just walk away and never try to do it again.

Thanks Fancygems, Misskittycat & Justginger.

I am glad you got the nice Leon, and I too in the past did greatly admire his work. It just isn't worth the childish behaviour that goes along with it.

 

[justginger]

Cutting and pasting personal emails is really a new low for Leon. I'm sorry you had to deal with all the jewelry bs during such a difficult time.

I'm not sure what I did to get the "nice Leon" - I was a woman, working with a small (for his standards) outside stone, and I lived in Australia. He must have been feeling very charitable with my project or something. Despite how pleased I am with it, and his workmanship, I wouldn't ever go back to him again. It's like I've won $20k at the casino -- just walk away and never try to do it again.

Thanks Fancygems, Misskittycat & Justginger.

I am glad you got the nice Leon, and I too in the past did greatly admire his work. It just isn't worth the childish behaviour that goes along with it.

It's gone waaaaaaay beyond childish now, and into 'criminal' territory. Blackmailing and extortion are definitely still illegal, right?

 

[arkieb1]

It takes so much courage to post this Arkieb! I know you wanted to leave this all behind you and be very discreet about it. I am glad you decided to post to warn other PS-ers who want to do business with him. The way you have been treated is beyond imagination. It's completely unacceptable what you and many others have gone through.

Now that the word is out, I hope that you can leave this behind you soon. This has taken up so much anxiety and negative energy. I am happy that a much more professional designer is creating a beautiful home for your OEC right now.

Knowing how awful the e-mail conversation was with him, I admire you for the fact that you are still handling this in a discreet as you also could have used his endless list of unprofessional replies to you to make your point.

I just read his reply on Yelp and I was shocked to see that he quoted from an email you send him. I cannot describe how low this is for a professional.

I am so glad your mum is slowly recovering. That is the most inportant thing.

Thanks Acinom, I really value your friendship and support!!!! I wrote what was a 3 line review in Yelp stating as briefly as possible the treatment I received leaving out any personal attacks and anything about my mother because I was not after the sympathy vote and I am generally a fairly private person. If Leon wishes to defend his work, his rude and condescending behaviour, and his general lack of interest in my ideas and in my project and defend why he thought it was fine to hold my stone until I complied with conditions which he set - fine, but cutting and pasting part of a personal email is a new level of low in my books. At no time there or on here have I cut and pasted his replies or the emails where he acted dumb or used a world of excuses why he took so long in giving me even the vaguest design idea. As you know, I have emails where he flat out lies and the tone in many of those emails is sarcastic and nasty to say the least.

 

[arkieb1]

Cutting and pasting personal emails is really a new low for Leon. I'm sorry you had to deal with all the jewelry bs during such a difficult time.

I'm not sure what I did to get the "nice Leon" - I was a woman, working with a small (for his standards) outside stone, and I lived in Australia. He must have been feeling very charitable with my project or something. Despite how pleased I am with it, and his workmanship, I wouldn't ever go back to him again. It's like I've won $20k at the casino -- just walk away and never try to do it again.

Thanks Fancygems, Misskittycat & Justginger.

I am glad you got the nice Leon, and I too in the past did greatly admire his work. It just isn't worth the childish behaviour that goes along with it.

It's gone waaaaaaay beyond childish now, and into 'criminal' territory. Blackmailing and extortion are definitely still illegal, right?

At the time I had a number of US jewellers and lawyers both here and there advise us that he could not hold the stone and refuse to give it back again. It was and is against the law. This was pointed out to Leon and he released it and it was sold to another jeweller who helped me a lot.

I thought the whole thing was over other than a few weeks ago some members thought I should write a review on Yelp. I did that - it was 3 lines, impersonal and to the point, no personal attacks I stated what happened. I woke up this morning and my inbox has his response to that. I don't think Leon even realises I am a P/S member to be honest, and I had intended to keep the whole thing off here, but when he posted my personal info on there this morning I made the decision to tell everyone what has happened.

I think he believes he can bully anyone than he perceives is less powerful than he is. In this case, it has backfired.

 

[Rhea]

His Yelp response to you was incredibly inappropriate and unprofessional. I read the rest of his reviews and noticed that seems to be a pattern with him. Especially in response to one of the other negative reviews-- I read this and my jaw dropped: "We wish Eric and his fiancée a wonderful and happy life together. And please remember - a marriage license is a document. Read it before you sign it."

DAYUM. Turn that sass DOWN, it's outrageously unprofessional!

Unbelievable, really.

That's unbelievable! No one is untouchable and I wonder how he got to where he is and how long he'll stay. I can't imagine saying that to anyone.

 

[Scarlett1]

Arkie, this is beyond unacceptable and I am SO extremely sorry for your ordeal and especially at the end when he refused to release your stone. I am glad when people like you and bgray have the courage to speak up, because the rest of us need to know of these situations when we decide on a vendor for our own projects. At this point, I only recommend Victor and Steven here, and now that you have posted, all I can say is, buyer beware.

+1
I can not believe you had to go through all this! How can somebody call themselves a professional when they treat clients like this! He's a bully and full of his own 'Artist' bs. Thank you so much for posting this. I had seriously considered using Leon for a RH ring project. Not a chance now. I am so glad that your Mother is recovering, I went through it myself with my father last year and it is such a stressful and emotionally draining time, you definitely did not need the added drama. Buyer beware is right

Edited to add: Have just read Leon's reply to your yelp review and I am actually beyond words The cheek

 

[Slickk]

Wow, arkieb! That is an unbelievable story! Sorry about your mom and happy she is on the mend. I know the stress, having lost both parents 6 weeks apart
I cannot even believe the unprofessional attitude with which he operates. I will definitely visit yelp again and mark it useful. I cannot imagine how you dealt with that and your moms health at the same time! What stress! You are a very strong woman and deserve much better and I am happy you found relief via another vendor. He will most certainly lose customers over this.
Most of all, thank you for sharing and preventing someone here from being subjected to this type of behavior.
Blessings to you and your family!

 

[chrono]

I am very sorry about your mum's health and Leon's unprofessional handling of your project. Sadly, this is not the first time I'm reading about how he treats his customers with sarcasm and rudeness and also how he makes fun of them publicly as well. He has been known to insult a customer's design ideas and talk down to women. Holding a stone hostage, however, is a new low. I am sure your future projects with other benches will be a far cry from this one.

 

[Acinom]

[quote="arkieb1
Thanks Acinom, I really value your friendship and support!!!! I wrote what was a 3 line review in Yelp stating as briefly as possible the treatment I received leaving out any personal attacks and anything about my mother because I was not after the sympathy vote and I am generally a fairly private person. If Leon wishes to defend his work, his rude and condescending behaviour, and his general lack of interest in my ideas and in my project and defend why he thought it was fine to hold my stone until I complied with conditions which he set - fine, but cutting and pasting part of a personal email is a new level of low in my books. At no time there or on here have I cut and pasted his replies or the emails where he acted dumb or used a world of excuses why he took so long in giving me even the vaguest design idea. As you know, I have emails where he flat out lies and the tone in many of those emails is sarcastic and nasty to say the least.[/quote]

Thank you Arkieb!!!
I am really upset that you had to go through this.
Earlier this year I really wanted to have a ring made by Leon and I consider myself lucky that I ended up choosing for Victor instead. While Leon was not unpleasant with me, it was absolutely clear that he didn't want to work with my stone as he immediately started to push on selling me a diamond from his own collection. When I made clear that I love my stone and wanted to work from there he tried to sell the 3 stone french cut ring. Also, there was a difference of $ 4.000 between his quote and the quotes of Steven and Victor. It was an odd experience. After hearing so many negative reviews and now his appaling behaviour towards you I will definitely not give him my business. Ever.

I hope you can leave this all behind you soon.

 

[soxfan]

[quote="arkieb1
Thanks Acinom, I really value your friendship and support!!!! I wrote what was a 3 line review in Yelp stating as briefly as possible the treatment I received leaving out any personal attacks and anything about my mother because I was not after the sympathy vote and I am generally a fairly private person. If Leon wishes to defend his work, his rude and condescending behaviour, and his general lack of interest in my ideas and in my project and defend why he thought it was fine to hold my stone until I complied with conditions which he set - fine, but cutting and pasting part of a personal email is a new level of low in my books. At no time there or on here have I cut and pasted his replies or the emails where he acted dumb or used a world of excuses why he took so long in giving me even the vaguest design idea. As you know, I have emails where he flat out lies and the tone in many of those emails is sarcastic and nasty to say the least.

Thank you Arkieb!!!
I am really upset that you had to go through this.
Earlier this year I really wanted to have a ring made by Leon and I consider myself lucky that I ended up choosing for Victor instead. While Leon was not unpleasant with me, it was absolutely clear that he didn't want to work with my stone as he immediately started to push on selling me a diamond from his own collection. When I made clear that I love my stone and wanted to work from there he tried to sell the 3 stone french cut ring. Also, there was a difference of $ 4.000 between his quote and the quotes of Steven and Victor. It was an odd experience. After hearing so many negative reviews and now his appaling behaviour towards you I will definitely not give him my business. Ever.

I hope you can leave this all behind you soon.[/quote]

$4000?????????? wow. I don't see where he is worth the extra money!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Acinom]

Hi Sox!! Well, perhaps it was just his way of saying he did not want to work with me

 

[dk168]

This and other threads do not show LM in good light. Although I had been a long-time admirer of his work, I am not sure if I would be able to work with him for my EC re-set/upgrade, as I have strong likes and dislikes and am unlike to gel well with someone with dictatorial tendencies.

DK

 

[Niel]

so heres my experience.

When i got my round, i was really into it as a solitaire at the time, I had enough money to get a hand forged solitaire or the reset 5 stone i eventually went with.

I emailed VC, SK and LM. LM was the only one of the three that actually contacted me back

So i HAD more respect for him that the others for a little while, as i felt my little project seemed too small for the other two... I didnt continue with them as his price seemed high, and i was waiting to hear back from the other two an just never did

but dont have it now.

I dont know what makes a bench decide they want to like or dislike you and your project.

 

[tweeter8177]

Yikes! I am really sorry about your experience with Leon! Thanks for posting, this definitely convinces me to never work with him. I wish the best for your Mom and her recovery! I can't imagine how hard this has all been for you!

 

[rileyl]

The ultimate cautionary tale!

I also marked the review as helpful, and hope others do the same. I'm sure LM didn't realize you were a PS member when he chose to cut and paste from your email. Talk about overplaying one's hand!

I hope others will think long and hard before working with this "artist". It's not like there is any shortage of reliable, reputable vendors to deal with, most of whom would provide infinitely superior and more professional service than LM.

Best wishes for continued good health for your mum!

 

[hathalove]

This is crazy!!! I really don't have any words...

 

[hathalove]

so heres my experience.

When i got my round, i was really into it as a solitaire at the time, I had enough money to get a hand forged solitaire or the reset 5 stone i eventually went with.

I emailed VC, SK and LM. LM was the only one of the three that actually contacted me back

So i HAD more respect for him that the others for a little while, as i felt my little project seemed too small for the other two... I didnt continue with them as his price seemed high, and i was waiting to hear back from the other two an just never did

but dont have it now.

I dont know what makes a bench decide they want to like or dislike you and your project.

Wow. This is crazy too and disappointing to hear. I almost thought about reaching out for a quote from the powerful trinity for my "little" diamond. Glad I didn't waste my time.

 

[GreenBling]

Sorry for what you had to go through, especially during a time when you needed support the most. I admire LM's work and thought about buying one of his pieces someday. After reading your and others' yelp reviews, I've decided that I'd never spend a dime on him - not only because I don't need the stress and drama also because by doing business with him, we are endorsing his behaviours.

Wish your mum speedy recovery and good health.

 

[Scarlett1]

so heres my experience.

When i got my round, i was really into it as a solitaire at the time, I had enough money to get a hand forged solitaire or the reset 5 stone i eventually went with.

I emailed VC, SK and LM. LM was the only one of the three that actually contacted me back

So i HAD more respect for him that the others for a little while, as i felt my little project seemed too small for the other two... I didnt continue with them as his price seemed high, and i was waiting to hear back from the other two an just never did

but dont have it now.

I dont know what makes a bench decide they want to like or dislike you and your project.

Wow. This is crazy too and disappointing to hear. I almost thought about reaching out for a quote from the powerful trinity for my "little" diamond. Glad I didn't waste my time.

I think it's more than the size of the stone tbh. Steven is making my ering upgrade at the moment for a .91ct center stone. I was after a 'different' design so I think that appealed to him. I also contacted Victor who at the beginning didn't want to do my design because center stone was too small for the design I was after ( and appreciated his honesty). But I then re approached him with a design based on one of his current ones with a twist which he would have been happy to do but his quote came in $1500 more than Steven so that made the decision easier. I think Steven also 'got' my aesthetic more and finding him very easy to deal with. Both vendors answered all my emails promptly, but if they hadn't, I probably would have moved my business elsewhere.
Sorry for the threadjack

 

[Niel]

so heres my experience.

When i got my round, i was really into it as a solitaire at the time, I had enough money to get a hand forged solitaire or the reset 5 stone i eventually went with.

I emailed VC, SK and LM. LM was the only one of the three that actually contacted me back

So i HAD more respect for him that the others for a little while, as i felt my little project seemed too small for the other two... I didnt continue with them as his price seemed high, and i was waiting to hear back from the other two an just never did

but dont have it now.

I dont know what makes a bench decide they want to like or dislike you and your project.

Wow. This is crazy too and disappointing to hear. I almost thought about reaching out for a quote from the powerful trinity for my "little" diamond. Glad I didn't waste my time.

I think it's more than the size of the stone tbh. Steven is making my ering upgrade at the moment for a .91ct center stone. I was after a 'different' design so I think that appealed to him. I also contacted Victor who at the beginning didn't want to do my design because center stone was too small for the design I was after ( and appreciated his honesty). But I then re approached him with a design based on one of his current ones with a twist which he would have been happy to do but his quote came in $1500 more than Steven so that made the decision easier. I think Steven also 'got' my aesthetic more and finding him very easy to deal with. Both vendors answered all my emails promptly, but if they hadn't, I probably would have moved my business elsewhere.
Sorry for the threadjack

I'm sure it was the size of the stone. Just frustrating as I had wanted something that specifically let them design something unique and would have let them gave free range. But oh well I guess. Alls well that ends well. Problem is I have an itch to do something with my marquise but I don't know what they would say. I assume I could call them. Just doesn't feel the best when your project feels beneath them.

 

[TC1987]

I remember Reena's ring, and how gorgeous it was. But iiirc, soon after PS business started flocking to Leon, there was a story on here about how he was very rude someone on this board who inquired about getting a setting made for a J colored diamond, and Leon blew up over the J color, saying that it was too low of a color for him to besmirch his reputation with, or something like that. And he wrote something on his blog about it, too, I think. But I don't know if the blog post was about the same J color issue or something else that set him off on a rant.

The man sounds like he has either a mental illness or a sever substance abuse problem. Either way, it seems to be worsening with age.

 

[AprilBaby]

I read the yelp review yesterday while the link was still up. I had a bad feeling for him before that but now, disgusting. If I remember he said his English was bad? What is his primary language?

 

[kenny]

Ella, why has Pricesope not fired Leon Mege as an advertiser?
Don't you have any standards of conduct for your advertisers?
What does a vendor have to do to get fired?
Is money so important to PS that you will allow Leon Mege to get away with this kind of behavior?

Am I the only one who thinks continuing to allow Leon Mege to advertise here really makes Pricescope look bad?

 

[rileyl]

Ella, why has Pricesope not fired Leon Mege as an advertiser?
Don't you have any standards of conduct for your advertisers?
What does a vendor have to do to get fired?
Is money so important to PS that you will allow Leon Mege to get away with this kind of behavior?

Am I the only one who thinks continuing to allow Leon Mege to advertise here really makes Pricescope look bad?

With the greatest of respect, I don't think it is PS's job to appoint itself as judge and jury and police its advertisers accordingly.

LM has a bad attitude, and terrible customer service. If people have found him horrible to deal with, they are free to write about their experiences here. The rest of us are free to make our choices about whom we deal with based on what we have heard/read.

Ultimately, I think karma will take care of LM. PS doesn't have to.

 

[Scarlett1]

so heres my experience.

When i got my round, i was really into it as a solitaire at the time, I had enough money to get a hand forged solitaire or the reset 5 stone i eventually went with.

I emailed VC, SK and LM. LM was the only one of the three that actually contacted me back

So i HAD more respect for him that the others for a little while, as i felt my little project seemed too small for the other two... I didnt continue with them as his price seemed high, and i was waiting to hear back from the other two an just never did

but dont have it now.

I dont know what makes a bench decide they want to like or dislike you and your project.

Wow. This is crazy too and disappointing to hear. I almost thought about reaching out for a quote from the powerful trinity for my "little" diamond. Glad I didn't waste my time.

I think it's more than the size of the stone tbh. Steven is making my ering upgrade at the moment for a .91ct center stone. I was after a 'different' design so I think that appealed to him. I also contacted Victor who at the beginning didn't want to do my design because center stone was too small for the design I was after ( and appreciated his honesty). But I then re approached him with a design based on one of his current ones with a twist which he would have been happy to do but his quote came in $1500 more than Steven so that made the decision easier. I think Steven also 'got' my aesthetic more and finding him very easy to deal with. Both vendors answered all my emails promptly, but if they hadn't, I probably would have moved my business elsewhere.
Sorry for the threadjack

I'm sure it was the size of the stone. Just frustrating as I had wanted something that specifically let them design something unique and would have let them gave free range. But oh well I guess. Alls well that ends well. Problem is I have an itch to do something with my marquise but I don't know what they would say. I assume I could call them. Just doesn't feel the best when your project feels beneath them.

Well that is frustrating. I did get the impression alright that Victor prefers working with larger stones. I was a 'reject' too until I asked him for a quote on a design very similar to one he had already made Well it was their loss and our gain because your five stone is one of the nicest rings on ps
Ps looking forward to see what you end up doing with your marquise

 

[distracts]

Man, I'm long past the point where I'd ever consider Leon for a project but this is just despicable. I'm so sorry you had to go through it!

 

[dk168]

I remember Reena's ring, and how gorgeous it was. But iiirc, soon after PS business started flocking to Leon, there was a story on here about how he was very rude someone on this board who inquired about getting a setting made for a J colored diamond, and Leon blew up over the J color, saying that it was too low of a color for him to besmirch his reputation with, or something like that. And he wrote something on his blog about it, too, I think. But I don't know if the blog post was about the same J color issue or something else that set him off on a rant.

The man sounds like he has either a mental illness or a sever substance abuse problem. Either way, it seems to be worsening with age.

I vaguely remember a lady by the name of Harriet who had a J stone set by LM, and there was a lot of hoo ha about the stone's colour, and it needed to be re-assessed by another lab or something like that. Not sure if that was one and the same.

DK

 

[kindred]

arkieb1 - I am SO glad to hear that your mother is doing better. Luckily and thankfully, that is the most important part to this story. BUT, awful, awful, AWFUL treatment and service by Leon. Thanks for sharing. The world of PriceScope and anyone else this story might reach, NEEDS to know about this.

I could not agree with more with this post.

Thank you so much for posting about your experience, arkieb1. There was a time when a Leon Merge was my holy grail ring. I even showed his website to my husband and let him know that I wanted a Leon Merge ring someday if we could afford it. I would never have even known that Leon existed if it weren't for this forum, so I am very thankful to members of this forum who have shared terrible experiences with him. I would have been heartbroken to have commissioned a ring by him and then had a terrible experience like others have, and it sounds like I may have even lost money in the process. Leon is now off my wish list and Steven is probably at the top of it.

Thanks again, arkieb1! Also, I am so glad that your mother is doing better!

 

[arkieb1]

Thank you everyone once again for your support. I wish to clarify a few things. Firstly many of us have had both good and bad experiences with vendors. I agree that it is not our job to be judge, jury and executioner. I had not intended to post my experience with Leon on here as I did not wish to dwell on what was, at the time, an extremely stressful situation. I am also a fairly private person and I deeply resent having part of one of my personal emails cut and pasted on a public forum with the intention of defending this vendors behaviour towards me.

For every one person who has received dreadful customer service and treatment from Leon there are many more who have been happy with his work. Does that excuse slow, rude, condescending and inappropriate behaviour, in my case no, it does not. He has won many awards and his creative talent is undisputed and amazing, but this does not give him a free rein to make rude sarcastic and inappropriate comments or run his business by intimidating customers or carrying on illegal acts such as refusing to give back diamonds owned by clients or refusing to fix or repair items which he or his staff have damaged and then claimed no liability for. I also don't accept excuses like poor English for this behaviour, because you cannot be sarcastically fluent at writing scathing attacks against people and other vendors one moment and then claim English is your second language in order to excuse yourself from a situation that you have created.

I think it is a shame that any vendor has to act this way towards customers and other vendors. His work does speak for itself, there is no need to undermine it by rudeness and bad behaviour.