Leon Mege style rings?

[MSUdawgs163]

I really love how square stones sit in his rings and the claws too. However, its not within my budget to buy from him. Who would you guys recommend as a good alternative? Thanks

 

[neatfreak]

Unfortunately I haven''t seen a truly good alternative to LM. You just can''t get that kind of work without paying his prices. His solitaires are very reasonable though if that is what you are considering...

 

[Ellen]

I would have to agree with neat that his prices are not bad, for solitaires. To find someone to do it for less would not be impossible (but with metals rising, not as easy as you might think) and the level of quality would be doubtful. Also, very few can execute the prongs as well. Have you actually gotten a price quote from him?

 

[Pandora II]

Never seen anyone who can do claws like his - believe me I looked!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I agree that his prices for platinum solitaires aren''t that much more than any other quality brand. It depends on the size of the stone, but it seems like the last price I saw quoted was around $1600 plus shipping. I think it is worth it for a ring that hopefully will be worn for a lifetime.

 

[Isabelle]

Date: 6/6/2008 11:33:46 PM
Author:MSUdawgs163
I really love how square stones sit in his rings and the claws too. However, its not within my budget to buy from him. Who would you guys recommend as a good alternative? Thanks

Isn''t Leon Mege''s work incredible? I love it too. But since it isn''t in your budget, perhaps you should call Sheerah at Whiteflash and talk about the option of doing claw prongs on some of their settings? I am having a platinum solitaire made just as I write this that I will hopefully get late next week. I will post pictures of it once it is done, and you can see the workmanship for yourself. One thing though: I went with heart prongs. Before you roll your eyes though, (LOL!), let me just tell you that IRL you can''t really see "hearts". They are just really simple and make the stone look almost perfectly round.--At least that was what I saw in their offices. IMO, well-executed hearts are as nice as well-executed split prongs. It''s really about the overall aesthetic created by the setting, and the prongs are a big part of that. (I know the people who own Leon agree!). When they don''t detract from the diamond, and look like they were made for that diamond, well that is what you hope for, but rarely see. Anyway, if you can wait a while, you can see what mine looks like.

 

[MSUdawgs163]

Well my gf won''t go for the solitaire look...although she does think his solitaires are gorgeous. I just want to find a ring that shows off the stone in a similar way......its a daunting task I know.

 

[Ellen]

Maybe if you told us what style she''s after, the setting experts could recommend someone to you. Budget would be good to know too, if you don''t mind.

 

[MSUdawgs163]

Well I''m planning on spending around 2k on a square stone and didn''t want to spend more than 1500 on the setting. It just seems dumb to spend as much on the setting as the stone so the cheaper the better. Here are some things we like.



We actually saw this one in a local jewelry store and liked it a lot and its around $500 so thats good. However the head is not perfect and a surprise diamond would be ideal.

This one is pretty much perfect except for the fact that a stone that fits the setting is out of my budget. And having it custom made would add $500 so it''d be right over (its right around $1100 as is).


This one is ok except it looks to sit up too high and the floweredy looking surprise diamonds are not for her.

Bacchus''s ring is beautiful too. Just love how the diamond sits in the ring, but obv too expensive.

I like how the stone sits in this one, but its too expensive. And the lack of filigree or millgrain is a negative, but the head is nice.

Sorry for the long post and lack of images. I hope the links will suffice. As you can see, the antique look is a preferred. However, she doesn''t want the stone to sit up ''too'' high and the budget is very limiting. Any thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[Ellen]

I thought of Knox, for one. They have nice rings priced reasonably. I''ll link you to the Antique section under Engagement rings, but there are several other categories too.

http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/index.htm?crn=203

 

[MSUdawgs163]

Yeah one of the rings I posted was from Knox. Most of their setting fit a bigger stone than I was planning on buying. So custom work would be needed

 

[mrssalvo]

I''d check out beverley k rings at pearlmans too. they make some very lovely settings many of which are in your pricerange. several pricescopers have recently purchased beverley k rings from them and attest to the workmanship being very high quality which is important when getting a pave setting.

link to beverley k

 

[lesco]

I have priced settings left and right and my conclusion is that LM''s prices are quite reasonable in comparison to other vendors ( for designer and non designer settings).

His quote for a solitaire setting was actually cheaper than other non-designer settings. I also priced a halo solitaire with him and again, prices were quite reasonable in comparison.

I have seen some of his work in person and the craftsmanship its superb. I am saving myself for one of his settings.

 

[blackpolkadot]

With a limited budget, have you thought about just getting a simple (though not solitaire) setting and upgrading later?

 

[MSUdawgs163]

That is an option that I''m considering.

Do you guys think that Timeless Designs would customize the above ring to have double prongs?

Just wondering if companies do that sort of thing.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/8/2008 9:22:29 PM
Author: MSUdawgs163
That is an option that I'm considering.


Do you guys think that Timeless Designs would customize the above ring to have double prongs?


Just wondering if companies do that sort of thing.

The problem is that double prongs need to be made that way, they can't usually just be cut to be double...so I think you'd have to go custom to get that option. Also, usually doubles just look overwhelming on small stones. Leon won't do them for small stones at all, so you aren't missing out on anything there!

But it's worth an ask! And who is timeless designs? I am not familiar with them...

 

[MSUdawgs163]

Here is Silverkae''s .8 X-Factor WF ring with double prongs and I don''t think they overwhelm at all.

I do think that if the prongs are bulky they will look bad, but dainty double prongs are gorgeous. And custom is not in the budget.

Here is a link to Timeless Designs website. Link

 

[neatfreak]

Those are very different than Leon''s double prongs, which are like claws...just something to note if we are using Leon''s prongs as a benchmark.

And it''s worth a call to TD, but I''ve never heard of them so am unsure on their policies. You never know though!

 

[MSUdawgs163]

Well ideally I'd like them to be like Leon's but that seems out of the question with my budget. I know that Leo Ingwer makes an identical one to the Timeless Designs model....I know they do custom work but not sure if they could change the prongs out without changing the entire head (I like the milgrain on the side of it). Here is the Ingwer ring.