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Looking for vendor recommendations for complex ring design (design illustrations incl.)

T

TheRedCat

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 10, 2020
Messages
4
Hey Y'all! Been lurking for the past decade, finally have a reason to post!

I've been working on a ring design for a long time, and have spent weeeeeeks creating a digital illustration recently. I'd like to get some vendor recommendations for who's capable of this type of work. I am absolutely the kind of person who notices slightly askew prongs, misaligned pave, etc., so a range of price points would be nice but quality work is a much higher priority than price.

Trying to create a ring that looks pretty clean from the top down and very intricate from the sides, combining modern with organic. I realize *exactly* as illustrated is unlikely, but I'm hoping to get:

- 4 tone gold (rose, yellow, green, unplated white)
- Engraving on the vines and leaves, with the baskets growing from the internal vines
- 2.5mm or thinner on the shanks (looking down from the top, with 0.7mm melee or whatever the smallest available is - curving around the shank so only 3 stones wide visible from the top).
- Milgrain around the pave and french cuts,

and... I've been considering some rainbow color variation in the melee with very faint fancy colored diamonds, but it was a bit much when i put it in the illustration.
(Currently have rainbow holo hair so...I have a thing with lots of color. If I could pick stones with 90% rainbow flashes, I would)

Exact center stones are TBD, probably lab diamonds, but I'm aiming for elongated AVCs right now. Very faint, buttery yellow (S - Z ish) center, lower color, almost creamy white sides (J/K). Definitely want elongated rectangle shape, but not a big fan of the crushed ice look in larger stones, and want the chunkier rainbow flashes. If someone has other suggestions for that, I'm open to them!

I like the 3 stone from the side the best, but I'm digging the single stone from the top, so not sure on that yet, but I suspect that's the easy part.

So, any suggestions?? I'm at the very beginning of this but I'd like to start sorting through my options. Thank you!

Completed collage resized.jpg
 
Ok, I will say that Steven Kirsch in NYC could execute this, but will you want to pay his prices? Because this piece is complicated and intense in labor. And not sure if its a match between you and him if you're a control freak. He's super nice but I've never tried to micro manage him, which I am guessing a piece like this will require. However, he does very fine hand forged work, and the quality of his pave work will probably pass muster. There is a thread on PS that consolidates his pieces. And I don't have any input on how to get all the side and melee stones you want. I am guessing he could help with those as well.
 
Oh boy.

Okay. First question. How big are you planning for those main stones?

Remember - stones are SMALL. You have finite gallery space to work with in the real world. In CAD - anything is possible! I can say right off the bat that the quantity and arrangement of melee that you've got, as well as those custom cut french cuts, are not going to be feasible in the real world. Most of your green gold design (grass?) is also unrealistic. The split is going to be troublesome with dual 2.5mm shanks, or even slightly under - three-sided pave takes up space and requires extra metal for strength.

I promise you don't want the mess of wire on the underside of the shank. That area will become a water, lotion, and other goop collection facility. Keep the underside of your shank clean.

Green gold and unplated white gold will look very similar unless your WG is a palladium alloy. Otherwise - they're alloyed with the same elements.

I'll be honest... It's just not at all realistic, as is. Unless you're planning to drop 20k+ on the mount alone, and you're planning very, very large stones, I don't think you're going to find a designer who is capable of translating your vision into something practical. You'll find plenty of designers who aren't capable of it but who'll take the project anyway. None of them will do what you want. And I'm sorry about that, because I actually totally get where you're coming from. This particular design isn't to my personal tastes but the underlying ideas... This sort of intricate almost-photorealism is exactly my aesthetic too. As is the... Let's call it Noticing Of The Details. And I know, 100% guaranteed, that every single one of the designers commonly recommended on PS will be unable to make you happy.
 
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I'm kind of confused because the rings and the top are totally different than the rings at the bottom. Looking at the profile on the top with all the different colors of gold will be a problem I think. I would only be guessing but I'd think it would cost well over $10k without the main 3 stones. I think you'll have a hard time finding an outstanding ringmaker to make it, to be honest. The ringmaker would source all the melee stones for the setting, though.

What I can comment on would be the stones. I have a Y-Z light yellow AVC. I think one that color would be so lovely for your center stone (although mine does have some yellow gold around it to help enhance the color. But it would look it's best with contrasting sides, so I'd definitely go higher than J-K. If you go with custom cut lab stones, you can actually get fancy light yellow and then maybe G sides.

Picture just to show you what Y-Z looks like.

IMG_1954.JPG
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
The only ringmaker I can think of who has done anything like this is David Michael Jewels.

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Great example of an outfigw who can execute this sort of thing. Your ask is more complex than much of what's featured on their insta (expect price to increase commensurately).
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
The only ringmaker I can think of who has done anything like this is David Michael Jewels.

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Right. Ok sorry. Scratch Steven Kirsch.
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
I'm kind of confused because the rings and the top are totally different than the rings at the bottom. Looking at the profile on the top with all the different colors of gold will be a problem I think. I would only be guessing but I'd think it would cost well over $10k without the main 3 stones. I think you'll have a hard time finding an outstanding ringmaker to make it, to be honest. The ringmaker would source all the melee stones for the setting, though.

What I can comment on would be the stones. I have a Y-Z light yellow AVC. I think one that color would be so lovely for your center stone (although mine does have some yellow gold around it to help enhance the color. But it would look it's best with contrasting sides, so I'd definitely go higher than J-K. If you go with custom cut lab stones, you can actually get fancy light yellow and then maybe G sides.

Picture just to show you what Y-Z looks like.

IMG_1954.JPG
Click to expand...

Oh my! I am loving that YZ @diamondseeker2006!
 
yssie said:
Oh boy.

Okay. First question. How big are you planning for those main stones?

Remember - stones are SMALL. You have finite gallery space to work with in the real world. In CAD - anything is possible! I can say right off the bat that the quantity and arrangement of melee that you've got, as well as those custom cut french cuts, are not going to be feasible in the real world. Most of your green gold design (grass?) is also unrealistic. The split is going to be troublesome with dual 2.5mm shanks, or even slightly under - three-sided pave takes up space and requires extra metal for strength.

I promise you don't want the mess of wire on the underside of the shank. That area will become a water, lotion, and other goop collection facility. Keep the underside of your shank clean.

Green gold and unplated white gold will look very similar unless your WG is a palladium alloy. Otherwise - they're alloyed with the same elements.

I'll be honest... It's just not at all realistic, as is. Unless you're planning to drop 20k+ on the mount alone, and you're planning very, very large stones, I don't think you're going to find a designer who is capable of translating your vision into something practical. You'll find plenty of designers who aren't capable of it but who'll take the project anyway. None of them will do what you want. And I'm sorry about that, because I actually totally get where you're coming from. This particular design isn't to my personal tastes but the underlying ideas... This sort of intricate almost-photorealism is exactly my aesthetic too. As is the... Let's call it Noticing Of The Details. And I know, 100% guaranteed, that every single one of the designers commonly recommended on PS will be unable to make you happy.
Click to expand...

I'm very glad you said this, because that was my first reaction but I felt bad saying and wsan't sure I was right.


David Michael is the only bench/company I can think of who could do something like this. But their work is extremely expensive (Although well worth it). However, I echo @yssie that the way it's drawn won't work IRL
 
yssie said:
Oh boy.

Okay. First question. How big are you planning for those main stones?

Remember - stones are SMALL. You have finite gallery space to work with in the real world. In CAD - anything is possible! I can say right off the bat that the quantity and arrangement of melee that you've got, as well as those custom cut french cuts, are not going to be feasible in the real world. Most of your green gold design (grass?) is also unrealistic. The split is going to be troublesome with dual 2.5mm shanks, or even slightly under - three-sided pave takes up space and requires extra metal for strength.

I promise you don't want the mess of wire on the underside of the shank. That area will become a water, lotion, and other goop collection facility. Keep the underside of your shank clean.

Green gold and unplated white gold will look very similar unless your WG is a palladium alloy. Otherwise - they're alloyed with the same elements.

I'll be honest... It's just not at all realistic, as is. Unless you're planning to drop 20k+ on the mount alone, and you're planning very, very large stones, I don't think you're going to find a designer who is capable of translating your vision into something practical. You'll find plenty of designers who aren't capable of it but who'll take the project anyway. None of them will do what you want. And I'm sorry about that, because I actually totally get where you're coming from. This particular design isn't to my personal tastes but the underlying ideas... This sort of intricate almost-photorealism is exactly my aesthetic too. As is the... Let's call it Noticing Of The Details. And I know, 100% guaranteed, that every single one of the designers commonly recommended on PS will be unable to make you happy.
Click to expand...

So, main stones I was aiming for...large, but not huge...let's say full width finger coverage at a size 7, so something along the lines of 11x9mm for center and 6x5mm for the two sides.

I realize what I've put into illustrator is not what will actually happen. I haven't ever attempted to create something digitally like this before so it's...an artists interpretation of what's in my head, and was an effort to get the idea onto paper. Some of the choices in the drawing were made to create the illusion (that will occur naturally at actual ring size) at a massively zoomed scale - clipped diamond images don't throw light from a computer screen. I know some of that melee and the dimensions of the french cuts will be different once scaled down to actual size, AND that the variance from the drawing will not be noticeable at that size.

Regarding the vines/leaves - I agree an actual mess of wires under there is a bad idea, I would expect them to be more...mushed together to create a solid underside. I'm posting here because I'm trying to understand details like...I need to find someone who's willing to work with palladium alloy WG to get the best color contrast, and that the shank will either need to be thicker, or need less rows of pave, etc.

So, this is a concept, and I'm trying to find a goldsmithing artist to translate it in the most practical way possible, because I only have a shallow understanding of what's truly possible at this level. I realize that a lot of designers will claim they can do something like this, it will be a mess, and that's why I need some direction. :)

My priority is to get a hand forged work of art in this setting, so I do expect to pay a pretty penny for it. I'm entirely comfortable with it costing more than the center stones, and considering there are several sparkly, durable options, the main stones are likely where I will cut costs with lab diamonds, since those can be upgraded later if desired.
 
diamondseeker2006 said:
I'm kind of confused because the rings and the top are totally different than the rings at the bottom. Looking at the profile on the top with all the different colors of gold will be a problem I think. I would only be guessing but I'd think it would cost well over $10k without the main 3 stones. I think you'll have a hard time finding an outstanding ringmaker to make it, to be honest. The ringmaker would source all the melee stones for the setting, though.

What I can comment on would be the stones. I have a Y-Z light yellow AVC. I think one that color would be so lovely for your center stone (although mine does have some yellow gold around it to help enhance the color. But it would look it's best with contrasting sides, so I'd definitely go higher than J-K. If you go with custom cut lab stones, you can actually get fancy light yellow and then maybe G sides.

Picture just to show you what Y-Z looks like.

IMG_1954.JPG
Click to expand...
diamondseeker2006 said:
Actually, here's an example of pricing, although they have done things far more expensive.

Click to expand...


Sorry, should have been more clear in my description, The bottom rings are two different options from top down view, I'm undecided on single or 3 stone, but I'm trying to get that look from the top down where all you see looking down when it's on a finger is the center stone, prongs, and pave shanks, and all of the detail is visible from the sides.

Thank you for posting your ring, that color is GORGEOUS and exactly what I'm looking for...a soft buttery yellow, not an intense one. I guess my thought on the mid-color sides was that I'd be aiming for the pave to be very white, so the color graduation would be bright white on the sides, to soft white, to buttery in the middle. But I'm gonna have to take a look at stones next to each other to really nail that down.

My goal is to have a ring that's stunning (but not insane) from the top down, but steals the show from the sides. I want a work of art made out of gold, and I expect to pay for it...I'm comfortable spending more on the setting than the center stones, and there are several sparkly durable options for those that can be upgraded as desired, so that's where I'd be looking to cut costs.

However, the drawing is an artist concept of what I've got in my head, and I KNOW I will have to make concessions on it, the level of detail I've depicted is not realistic at normal size, and variance from it also won't be visible at actual ring size.

So I guess my primary question is, who are the top 5 people capable of taking this concept and creating a realistic interpretation of it?
 
@LLJsmom I mean....you're probably right, but maybe I like headaches! ;)2
 
What’s a realistic maximum budget for the mount alone? We really can’t make recommendations without a general idea of your budget.
 
Maybe CVB? Not the same aesthetic, but the large-stones-fine-details brought her to mind. Have you seen her IG?
 
I honestly don't know of anyone who could do this kind of sculptural design other than david michael. Not to say no one else could, but none of the vendors we usually recommend do this kind of thing
 
Love the design concept but there will be difficulties converting the vision to “real life”.
Id stick with just a centre stone, otherwise too much going on.
Not sure how much color differentiation will be visually obvious on the metal work when it is ”fine”. I’d go for platinium, 14kt green, 14kt Rose and 22kt yellow to maximise the colour differences.
Those French cuts shape won’t work well with scallop curves around the melee diamonds and in any regard will have to be cut to specifically fit the setting. That’s expensive and possibly time consuming as it will involve a gem cutter who can obtain appropriate rough working with the designer making the ring.
Not sure about the “vines and leaf” detailing. Where / how will that be visible? Your “top down” image with the one centre stones shows “air space”, is this where tendrils of different gold vines show?
The idea of gem set prongs is lovely but somewhat impractical as cutting into a prong (to set a gem) reduces the structural integrity of the prong AND the gem needs to be large enough to be noticable. So you might have to have a chunky prong and that might be contrary to the ethereal aesthetic.
And how are the melee set? Are they set like in a spider web mesh structure with air gaps between or a sold rose gold piece with melee inset? With any melee it can be tricky to keep them in the setting, they are tiny and not much holds them in. A bump, a catch on something and out they can pop.
The cost of creating your dream ring will be very expensive, aside from the gemstones. It will take many many man hours to create and you might find that some designers reluctant or unable to devote the required amount of bench time to just your project. I think you will be looking at a time frame of months and a significant upfront deposit for such a project.
 
Fun project! A European based house who could do colored melée and big unconventional designs is De Grisgono. Very nice and very expensive. They don't do dainty or small, but their execution is top notch. Their pavé feels like silk it is so smoothly done.

I really like your grass design creeping up the side if the stones, but don't think the inset stones are necessary. I would prefer to see color swirling around the pavé instead. But agree with others on here, it is going to be a BIG statement ring similar to a cocktail ring with those pavé sides swooping down like that. Anywho, if you want color, they are a good house to google to see if you like that look.
20210320_083027.jpg
 
What about RDG (Mike Robinson)?
 
I have to agree with @yssie on many of her points. I will throw in another word of caution & consideration on a VERY complex design like this with so much melee. REPAIRS & SIZING will be a nightmare.

if you had to size that, repair a bent wire, deal with melee that fell out (it happens) you’re only option might be sending to the maker - even a good local bench may not be willing to touch something that complex.

I have an original OLD pre Colombian mine amethyst (when amethysts were expensive) & seed pearl ring that was my great grand mother’s, a million times less complex than your proposals but complex. Thing Edwardian and Art Nouveau had a baby - it has wires that are open, a wire based gallery, orange blossoms, scalloping, various filigree bits, mix of platinum and rose gold and IT IS A NIGHTMARE to work on. I have found one jeweler in 20 years who will work on it and the joke is she will because she young, brave and has good eye sight still.

And the design would appear to be quite wide, or maybe thick is a word, between your fingers. I’d advise finding something in the costume world to wear to see if you like the feel of that much stuff between your fingers. Personally, melee between by fingers feels like I am wearing a cheese grater, I’m not a fan. of how it feels.

And as some one with a touch of OCD that much melee would mean near super human skills to get every prong perfect. It can be done, at a price, but when you catch a prong on your sweater and bend a prong slightly, will that bother you?

Lastly here is another UV stone in yellow gold so you can see how they perform. It’s a 2 cart OMC, original cut.

As for a maker, I agree Europe might be the best bet. This is more high society, ball gown, Court style stuff. when I see your design I think Graff in London.

3716A656-2232-49B8-BF89-CDE54277F731.jpeg
 
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This sort of aesthetic reminds me of deGrisogono... not sure if they’re still making jewelry and I don’t know if they would take commissions / how out of the world expensive it would be, but it may at least provide a source of inspiration to narrow down your jewelry design ideas??

edit: the page just reloaded and I see someone else recommended deGrisogono! Def check them out.
 
This is so cool! Please keep us updated! I’ve seen a few greats mentioned — maybe also Austy Lee?
 
If not those artists already mentioned -
It would be interesting to see the take on OP’s design someone like Adam Foster would be.
 
I spent a bit of time on Katerina Perez's instagram trying to find jewelers that might be able to approach a version of what you'd be interested in:
SARAH ZHUANG JEWELLERY
SERVICE | Caratell
I like the idea of simplifying the design and going with 蔡安和藝術珠寶｜意形珠寶 | 我們的環境 (tsaianho.cc) (select piece below)
1616255247910.png
Ювелирное искусство (lizaborzaya.com)
FengJ (feng-j.com)
Haute Joaillerie | Morphée Joaillerie (morphee-joaillerie.com)
I'm not sure which or if any of these designers will work with a diamond you supply.
 
Wow that looks awesome! Your ideas are so unique, I’ve never seen anything like that. I hope someone can recreate that CAD cuz that would be one of a kind! I have no advice, I’m just here to admire pretty stuff :) Can’t wait for updates!
 
TheRedCat said:
- 4 tone gold (rose, yellow, green, unplated white)
- Engraving on the vines and leaves, with the baskets growing from the internal vines
- 2.5mm or thinner on the shanks (looking down from the top, with 0.7mm melee or whatever the smallest available is - curving around the shank so only 3 stones wide visible from the top).
- Milgrain around the pave and french cuts,
Click to expand...

First: props on your mad CAD skills! I'm seriously jealous!

Second, and as I think was mentioned above, it has given you a little too much free rein in your design. The hair-fine gold threads of varying color will be too fragile for wear. The inset stones that you give distinctive shapes to are probably << 1 mm (= invisible). The leaf-like prongs creeping up the corners of the center stone will get bashed.

I would save a few of those design elements for your next project (:cool2:) where you may have a little more room to feature them.
 
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