Meeting with Leon Mege

[Smo]

Hi there,

I am off to New York in May for a business trip (I am from Australia) and was hoping for some advice before I go. My bf and I have talked about getting married and if we did we would elope to New York and not worry about an engagement. I love Leon Mege’s creations and can see myself with an antique or antique replica EC or possibly a cushion engagement ring with a very thin band.

We aren’t ready to get married yet but have spoken out doing it our next New York trip (we usually go for Christmas but have decided to go to SF and Mexico in August/September this year instead).

I am a super freak when it comes to research and making sure I make an informed decision! As I probably won’t get another opportunity to be in New York and look at rings before our next trip together (which might be when we decide to get married) is it worth trying to set up a meeting with Leon in May even though I don’t have a diamond and am unsure about if and when it will happen?

I guess given some of the feedback on working with Leon I am nervous about how a meeting would go or whether I would be wasting my/his time?

I hope this makes sense?!! I would really appreciate any help or suggestions from people who have worked with Leon before.

 

[neatfreak]

You can always ask but I was under the impression that Leon won''t do meetings without the stone in hand. But I very well might be wrong.

I don''t want to deter you if Leon is what you want-but he often doesn''t mesh well with "research super freaks" so just beware. He doesn''t appear to love being told what to do-so if you have exact power point presentations of what you want-another vendor may be a better choice (like Engagement Rings Direct, Maytal Hannah, Ocean Pearlman, etc.)

Hope you have a great time on your trip!

 

[Deelight]

Hi Smo,
I am also from OZ always nice to see other Aussies around here .

FI and I visited Leon when we to NY last year and we set up the appointment when we got to NY - granted we were picking up the ring already so I just wanted to meet the man. We found him to be really personable and polite and really good to deal with, FI dealt with him mostly.

I think and this is just from what I know from reading here he doesn''t like to discuss project options until he has the stone in his possession, he likes to look at the stone and work ideas around that. Personally I would just drop him a line and ask and explain your situation.

Your plans sound exciting , I am *big puffy heart* in love with NY .

 

[Smo]

Thanks guys I think you are right. I was kinda thinking that it wouldn''t work and so appreciate your input.

Deelight, thanks also for your reply. I love love NY, it is my spiritual home! Wish bf was coming with me and it was a holiday and not for work! Any chance of posting a picture of your ring? I would love to see it. How did you find working with Leon?

Any suggestions for other jewellers to visit whilst I am over there?

 

[Deelight]

Your welcome Smo

I posted a bunch of pictures here https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/deelights-new-6-claw-leon-e-ring-with-gog-diamond.99750/ It is a 6-claw version of his classic solitaire - very simple the way I like it.

I didn''t get to work with Leon all that much during the process FI dealt with him the most and found really good to work with. I think FI though is one of the most laid back people when it comes to stuff (unlike me) so they gelled really well. The only hiccups we had was a week before we left FI made the call to see if the ring would be ready and Leon told him it wouldn''t be

, I burst into tears in the corner and FI was on the phone going "Oh bugger that''s a shame" turned out though like 2 minutes later he was looking at the wrong ring work order and ours was ready for pick up - crisis averted

. Our ring also was happened to be a smidge to small and Leon went out of his way to resize it really fast before we left NY.


I did like I said meet with him and found him to be really polite, laid back, and funny he asked us a few questions about Australia and what not and everything went smoothly - he made sure I didn''t hear about the details of the ring when they were talking about it which I appreciated as well - apprently he is very used to that as he told FI.


As for jewellers we had a squizziy through the diamond district but FI doesn''t like bling all that much but it is an experience massivley different to jewellery stores here. We both had a fantastic experience in Tiffany''s eyecandy galore and they are not anal about how much they have out of the case or on your finger like they are here - didn''t end up buying anything though because what I wanted on the website looked like crap on me

but if I was to get anything I would get it from there or the one in Harrods in London the service was just better then the one near me.

Shame your BF is not going though - still you will have a fantastic, awesome, super duper time .

 

[whitby_2773]

hi smo and deelight - another aussie here, but this one lives in NY. very happy here and am not planning on leaving any time soon (husband and i bought a house etcetc)

i''ve met with leon also who was very nice but struck me very much as a no-nonsense, ''dont waste my time'' kinda guy; i suspect if you''re a client or you''re doing business - he''s great. if you''re just shopping - forget it - the man''s a jeweler, not a salesman. you can call his office, however, and speak to other people there who will probably be able to answer preliminary questions, and he has a function on his web site for questions which he''s very generous about; i emailed him around 2 weeks ago regarding a change up to a ring i''m only thinking about - not planning definitely - and he answered my questions himself and got back to me (email again) the next day. so dont feel like you cant approach him at all. and you can always go into the office and have someone else there show you some designs. when all is said and done, it *is* a store, not hallowed ground! (i think...altho he *was* kinda God-like...)