I purchased a diamond from NiceIce last October. After looking for designs, drawing my own, and looking some more, I finally decided to go for the round-top Omega style. Kretchmer was recommended by Todd at Niceice. I have already written about how great Robin and Todd are, and people here already know that, so that''s all I''m gonna say about them.
ideal cut round brillant, 0.82carat, E, VS2. Paid $6000cdn including shipping, 7%GST, 7%PST here in Manitoba.
First step I took was I called Steven Kretchmer''s office in New York to look for a Canadian dealer. They referred me to Knar Jewellery in Guelph, Ontario. I spoke to Erin Ross, who was extremely polite and professional. We agreed to communicate via Email because it was more convenient. I had a few initial questions regarding price, customs charges for shipping to New York, and Erin was very quick in her correspondance. She had made calls to SK and found out it was best to ship my stone to her in Guelph. I was hesitant at first when I found out the ring would cost $5000cdn! I thought "who buys a setting that cost almost as much as the stone?!?!" This caused me to delay my plans by two months.
During this delay, I learned as much as I reasonably could about platinum vs white gold, tension setting and Kretchmer''s background and reputation. I visited local B&M stores to ask about platinum work. It seemed as though retailers knew too little about platinum-work except where to send it to....some lab in Vancouver or Toronto. One retailer had to ask another, who was also clued out, about the purity of PT they used. I looked at the craftsmanship of some of their settings and they were crap. Another retailer said they don''t work with PT because it scratches easier and is more $$$. They preferred WG, but "we could do it in plat if you wanted."
Needless to say, I had no confidence in them. I visited Tiffany''s website to appreciate quality craftsmanship and metalwork. Their solder joints, polish, proportions, detailing was awesome. This inspired me to seek out better quality work, and not treating the setting as an afterthought, just something to hold the stone.
I was sold on Kretchmer''s Omega design when I learned about his alloy. His patented mix gives Platinum the strength it needs to clamp down on the stone as well as durability and luster that exceeds WG. One member here often quotes the hardness of various Plat alloys and the S1 mix is like 2x that of WG. SK''s alloy is along those lines. I will post here in the future to report if a patina developes or if it scratches easily. I have a feeling it won''t.
So off the stone went to Erin at Knar without a hitch. The next obstacle was whether my stone was qualified to be tension set. Kretchmer tests the stress/strain on each stone, and apparently make people sign waivers if it doesn''t pass in case the stone breaks. Thankfully, my stone was ok. There were no inclusions at the girdle, and the girdle was medium thickness.
Today, a month later, I finally have the ring in my hands. What a work of art! Each piece is custom made so that it''s proportions are maintained, whether you have a 82 pointer or 1.6 carats. I''m looking at this thing up close and I''m looking for scratches, malalignment of lines and angles, thickness of each shank, and whether if the band is even slightly ovoid instead of a circle.......... and EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. And the diamond is as brilliant as it was unmounted.
The service was perfect also. Erin answered all my questions, took the time to encourage me to get the right sizing since it CANNOT be resized, shipped on time, AND....did not increased the price since my ring was a bit bigger than the initial quote. (a $500 discount) Knar Jewellery: 519-821-7982
In my journey, I found little customer feedback and testomonials for Steven Kretchmer''s design, and virtually nothing for Canadians. I''m thinking the price is the primary obstacle and traditional tiffany style clasps are more popular. I hope my experience will help others out. Please email me if you want more info. As I''m looking at the ring in front of me, I can honestly say it was worth every penny. I was fortunate enough to own an ideal cut stone, now I can say it is also a Steven Kretchmer ring. This make the ring as rare and exclusive as she is.
Ryan
ideal cut round brillant, 0.82carat, E, VS2. Paid $6000cdn including shipping, 7%GST, 7%PST here in Manitoba.
First step I took was I called Steven Kretchmer''s office in New York to look for a Canadian dealer. They referred me to Knar Jewellery in Guelph, Ontario. I spoke to Erin Ross, who was extremely polite and professional. We agreed to communicate via Email because it was more convenient. I had a few initial questions regarding price, customs charges for shipping to New York, and Erin was very quick in her correspondance. She had made calls to SK and found out it was best to ship my stone to her in Guelph. I was hesitant at first when I found out the ring would cost $5000cdn! I thought "who buys a setting that cost almost as much as the stone?!?!" This caused me to delay my plans by two months.
During this delay, I learned as much as I reasonably could about platinum vs white gold, tension setting and Kretchmer''s background and reputation. I visited local B&M stores to ask about platinum work. It seemed as though retailers knew too little about platinum-work except where to send it to....some lab in Vancouver or Toronto. One retailer had to ask another, who was also clued out, about the purity of PT they used. I looked at the craftsmanship of some of their settings and they were crap. Another retailer said they don''t work with PT because it scratches easier and is more $$$. They preferred WG, but "we could do it in plat if you wanted."
Needless to say, I had no confidence in them. I visited Tiffany''s website to appreciate quality craftsmanship and metalwork. Their solder joints, polish, proportions, detailing was awesome. This inspired me to seek out better quality work, and not treating the setting as an afterthought, just something to hold the stone.
I was sold on Kretchmer''s Omega design when I learned about his alloy. His patented mix gives Platinum the strength it needs to clamp down on the stone as well as durability and luster that exceeds WG. One member here often quotes the hardness of various Plat alloys and the S1 mix is like 2x that of WG. SK''s alloy is along those lines. I will post here in the future to report if a patina developes or if it scratches easily. I have a feeling it won''t.
So off the stone went to Erin at Knar without a hitch. The next obstacle was whether my stone was qualified to be tension set. Kretchmer tests the stress/strain on each stone, and apparently make people sign waivers if it doesn''t pass in case the stone breaks. Thankfully, my stone was ok. There were no inclusions at the girdle, and the girdle was medium thickness.
Today, a month later, I finally have the ring in my hands. What a work of art! Each piece is custom made so that it''s proportions are maintained, whether you have a 82 pointer or 1.6 carats. I''m looking at this thing up close and I''m looking for scratches, malalignment of lines and angles, thickness of each shank, and whether if the band is even slightly ovoid instead of a circle.......... and EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. And the diamond is as brilliant as it was unmounted.
The service was perfect also. Erin answered all my questions, took the time to encourage me to get the right sizing since it CANNOT be resized, shipped on time, AND....did not increased the price since my ring was a bit bigger than the initial quote. (a $500 discount) Knar Jewellery: 519-821-7982
In my journey, I found little customer feedback and testomonials for Steven Kretchmer''s design, and virtually nothing for Canadians. I''m thinking the price is the primary obstacle and traditional tiffany style clasps are more popular. I hope my experience will help others out. Please email me if you want more info. As I''m looking at the ring in front of me, I can honestly say it was worth every penny. I was fortunate enough to own an ideal cut stone, now I can say it is also a Steven Kretchmer ring. This make the ring as rare and exclusive as she is.
Ryan
300x240.png)