jerichosmom
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Messages
- 241
This is long and I've only got a few teaser photos...it's absolutely freezing outside this weekend and I couldn't get pictures! Plus I realized that I have to wax my knuckle hairs before I post hand pics!
When I first discovered PS in 2003, I fell in love with halos....especially Reenas LM. That was "it" for me. Then I fell in love with Mara's solitaire....then I was so sure that it was going to be Yenny's SS setting.....Oy Vey, I think I drove all of the vendor's crazy. To this day I cannot walk into SS without hiding my face. I've spent so much time in there and never bought anything.
I had an epiphany....if I were to win the lottery what would I buy? I would march right into HW and buy the biggest stone I could get with tapered baguettes! Eureka! Tapered Baguettes! I've always loved step cuts! But, I wanted bullets instead...just to be a little different. I was also open to suggestions too in case some great "artiste" saw something in my stone that I hadn't....
Off to get quotes...from the usual suspects....SK, VC, LM and ERD and DBL and a few local vendors. VC and LM couldn't give me a ballpark but mentioned it would have to be custom cut (aka $$$). SK's quote felt very...automated. Like a computer would just read my quote request and just spit out an answer. It didn't feel personal. No one gave me any other options or suggestions. No one wanted a picture of my diamond. I dislike responses like...."we'll work with your budget". I guess I was really hoping to hear ..."I've got a great idea for your stone...it's perfect for it...please consider it"....
Two people stood out...
David at DBL was truly honest and said that bullets were mucho $$ and could cost between 5-10k....especially at the size I was looking for. David also had more rings featuring tapered bullets than anyone else I've seen out there....so I trust him when he says bullets are pricey.
But it was Mark at ERD who spoke to me about the different options I had. I liked his responses and communication was fast. I think we exchanged around 20 emails before I committed to him. Each response was very personal...he looked at a picture that I sent of my diamond and made a few suggestions. I absolutely appreciated the attention and time and he was never pushy...just a "we could do a halo at the low end of the budget, or a cast 3 stone",..or even"let's see if I have french cuts that could work"...!. That was exactly what I wanted to hear! I started off with tapered baguettes to keep the cost low and ended up with tapered bullets (my original plan) at just under what I was comfortable spending. In the end, I would have gladly thrown in another 2k for larger bullets! I love them big!
BTW - Mark's hand forger makes this setting for HW ...and compared to photos of an actual HW ring, I'd say it's a dupe! I'm hoping to go to a HW store soon just to compare....
My new setting makes my stone look so much more fire-y! It's soooo much more lively now that the pavillion is exposed! I've only had the ring for 2 days and so many more people notice it compared to when it was in it's low, vintage setting. So here goes...
3.55 OEC, K Vs2
.84 ct tapered bullets (I originally wanted at least 1 ct of bullets)
platinum, hand forged, size 5ish.
I'll post more pics this week.
When I first discovered PS in 2003, I fell in love with halos....especially Reenas LM. That was "it" for me. Then I fell in love with Mara's solitaire....then I was so sure that it was going to be Yenny's SS setting.....Oy Vey, I think I drove all of the vendor's crazy. To this day I cannot walk into SS without hiding my face. I've spent so much time in there and never bought anything.
I had an epiphany....if I were to win the lottery what would I buy? I would march right into HW and buy the biggest stone I could get with tapered baguettes! Eureka! Tapered Baguettes! I've always loved step cuts! But, I wanted bullets instead...just to be a little different. I was also open to suggestions too in case some great "artiste" saw something in my stone that I hadn't....
Off to get quotes...from the usual suspects....SK, VC, LM and ERD and DBL and a few local vendors. VC and LM couldn't give me a ballpark but mentioned it would have to be custom cut (aka $$$). SK's quote felt very...automated. Like a computer would just read my quote request and just spit out an answer. It didn't feel personal. No one gave me any other options or suggestions. No one wanted a picture of my diamond. I dislike responses like...."we'll work with your budget". I guess I was really hoping to hear ..."I've got a great idea for your stone...it's perfect for it...please consider it"....
Two people stood out...
David at DBL was truly honest and said that bullets were mucho $$ and could cost between 5-10k....especially at the size I was looking for. David also had more rings featuring tapered bullets than anyone else I've seen out there....so I trust him when he says bullets are pricey.
But it was Mark at ERD who spoke to me about the different options I had. I liked his responses and communication was fast. I think we exchanged around 20 emails before I committed to him. Each response was very personal...he looked at a picture that I sent of my diamond and made a few suggestions. I absolutely appreciated the attention and time and he was never pushy...just a "we could do a halo at the low end of the budget, or a cast 3 stone",..or even"let's see if I have french cuts that could work"...!. That was exactly what I wanted to hear! I started off with tapered baguettes to keep the cost low and ended up with tapered bullets (my original plan) at just under what I was comfortable spending. In the end, I would have gladly thrown in another 2k for larger bullets! I love them big!
BTW - Mark's hand forger makes this setting for HW ...and compared to photos of an actual HW ring, I'd say it's a dupe! I'm hoping to go to a HW store soon just to compare....
My new setting makes my stone look so much more fire-y! It's soooo much more lively now that the pavillion is exposed! I've only had the ring for 2 days and so many more people notice it compared to when it was in it's low, vintage setting. So here goes...
3.55 OEC, K Vs2
.84 ct tapered bullets (I originally wanted at least 1 ct of bullets)
platinum, hand forged, size 5ish.
I'll post more pics this week.
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