Recommend a custom jeweler/designer for me....

[archangel]

hey everyone, thanks for all the help with the diamond selection. i need help with a setting now.

please recommend me someone online or in NY who is very good in workmanship and price.

thanks..

i know about Quest jewelers but any others?

 

[neatfreak]

There are many, it depends on what you are looking for. But the best price usually doesn't equate to the best workmanship, so make sure you see finished pieces from anyone you choose that hasn't been vetted by PS members.

Some reliable people that do great work:

Mark at Engagement Rings Direct's prices are usually very good and he does beautiful work.

Maytal Hannah is in LA but also does beautiful work.

Mark Morrell does very fluid beautiful stuff, he's in MA.

Leon Mege of course isn't necessarily the best price point (or the right designer for everyone), but his craftsmanship is impeccable.

Those are a few that come to mind immediately...

 

[bgray]

Date: 10/11/2008 6:08:59 PM
Author: neatfreak
There are many, it depends on what you are looking for. But the best price usually doesn''t equate to the best workmanship, so make sure you see finished pieces from anyone you choose that hasn''t been vetted by PS members.

Some reliable people that do great work:

Mark at Engagement Rings Direct''s prices are usually very good and he does beautiful work.

Maytal Hannah is in LA but also does beautiful work.

Mark Morrell does very fluid beautiful stuff, he''s in MA.

Leon Mege of course isn''t necessarily the best price point (or the right designer for everyone), but his craftsmanship is impeccable.

Those are a few that come to mind immediately...

ERD outsources and so does Leon on much of hhis work now. it can make the process problematic for many reasons. Mark Morrell is probably a good bet in this area

 

[swingirl]

Date: 10/11/2008 9:28:31 PM
Author: bgray

Date: 10/11/2008 6:08:59 PM

Author: neatfreak

There are many, it depends on what you are looking for. But the best price usually doesn''t equate to the best workmanship, so make sure you see finished pieces from anyone you choose that hasn''t been vetted by PS members.


Some reliable people that do great work:

Mark at Engagement Rings Direct''s prices are usually very good and he does beautiful work.

Maytal Hannah is in LA but also does beautiful work.

Mark Morrell does very fluid beautiful stuff, he''s in MA.

Leon Mege of course isn''t necessarily the best price point (or the right designer for everyone), but his craftsmanship is impeccable.

Those are a few that come to mind immediately...

ERD outsources and so does Leon on much of hhis work now. it can make the process problematic for many reasons. Mark Morrell is probably a good bet in this area

Leon Mege states on his website, "All work is done on premises by the team of highly skilled artisans. We do not outsource any work to subcontractors and other shops. Leon is personally supervising every piece of jewelry made in the shop and spends a lot of time training new jewelers."

 

[bgray]

Date: 10/11/2008 9:57:01 PM
Author: swingirl

Date: 10/11/2008 9:28:31 PM
Author: bgray

Date: 10/11/2008 6:08:59 PM

Author: neatfreak

There are many, it depends on what you are looking for. But the best price usually doesn''t equate to the best workmanship, so make sure you see finished pieces from anyone you choose that hasn''t been vetted by PS members.


Some reliable people that do great work:

Mark at Engagement Rings Direct''s prices are usually very good and he does beautiful work.

Maytal Hannah is in LA but also does beautiful work.

Mark Morrell does very fluid beautiful stuff, he''s in MA.

Leon Mege of course isn''t necessarily the best price point (or the right designer for everyone), but his craftsmanship is impeccable.

Those are a few that come to mind immediately...

ERD outsources and so does Leon on much of hhis work now. it can make the process problematic for many reasons. Mark Morrell is probably a good bet in this area

Leon Mege states on his website, ''All work is done on premises by the team of highly skilled artisans. We do not outsource any work to subcontractors and other shops. Leon is personally supervising every piece of jewelry made in the shop and spends a lot of time training new jewelers.''

this is not true and i know this for a fact. he was forced to go outside when his business exploded about 4 years years ago................

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/11/2008 9:28:31 PM
Author: bgray

Date: 10/11/2008 6:08:59 PM

Author: neatfreak

There are many, it depends on what you are looking for. But the best price usually doesn''t equate to the best workmanship, so make sure you see finished pieces from anyone you choose that hasn''t been vetted by PS members.


Some reliable people that do great work:


Mark at Engagement Rings Direct''s prices are usually very good and he does beautiful work.


Maytal Hannah is in LA but also does beautiful work.


Mark Morrell does very fluid beautiful stuff, he''s in MA.


Leon Mege of course isn''t necessarily the best price point (or the right designer for everyone), but his craftsmanship is impeccable.


Those are a few that come to mind immediately...

ERD outsources and so does Leon on much of hhis work now. it can make the process problematic for many reasons. Mark Morrell is probably a good bet in this area

Just because it''s outsourced doesn''t mean that they don''t do a good job...it depends on whether the OP wants a "designer" or a skilled bench person to execute a design idea.

 

[bgray]

NEATFREAK "Just because it''s outsourced doesn''t mean that they don''t do a good job...it depends on whether the OP wants a "designer" or a skilled bench person to execute a design idea"


Of course --I agree. I said that because working closely with someone on a custom design can be more cumbersome if the work is being done elsewhere. Thats what happened with my project with LM.

 

[CharmyPoo]

We have selected to use Maytal Hannah but considered all the others mentioned in this thread. Although she isn''t in NY, we haven''t had a problem communicating with her. She has been very responsive, accomadating and sweet. I can''t comment on her work yet but she has many happy customers on PS. Her price was very competitive and she seems to have more time for us compared to the others.

 

[somehowcollide]

Whiteflash.

I win.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/12/2008 2:52:30 AM
Author: somehowcollide
Whiteflash.

I win.

Ha ha lol, beat me to it!
For price and ease to work with on custom, its hard to beat Whiteflash imo.

 

[archangel]

the design that i liked was from whiteflash but i had my own modifications for it...

i think they said it was too close to their original.. i liked their champagne design. i modified the prongs which i figured was bout 20% of the design but i guess not. i got a quote from Quest jewelers for my modifications on the ering and her band. He quoted me $1500 for the ering and $1200 for the band.. which is a domed band with a scattered pattern of diamonds... all in satin finish and platinum.

i will try maytal hannah and mark from engagement rings direct on monday. i have a feeling that that mark morrell and leon is gonna charge alot more. how is marks morrell''s pricing? is it competitive with quest?

thanks

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/12/2008 10:13:28 AM
Author: archangel

i will try maytal hannah and mark from engagement rings direct on monday. i have a feeling that that mark morrell and leon is gonna charge alot more. how is marks morrell''s pricing? is it competitive with quest?


thanks

Well, it sounds like you want a benchperson. Leon and Mark M. are both artists and probably are not good choices for someone who knows exactly what they want and how they want it unless your aesthetic matches theirs.

And yes, Mark M. is usually more expensive than others because as I said he''s a designer.

 

[archangel]

yes i have done alots of photoshop work and i know exactly what i want. so a benchperson, who would be a good choice for both price and work?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/12/2008 12:12:46 PM
Author: archangel
yes i have done alots of photoshop work and i know exactly what i want. so a benchperson, who would be a good choice for both price and work?

Yes. A GOOD benchperson!

Which IMO is exactly what Mark at Engagement Rings Direct has. I am very happy with my ring which was custom made to my specifications by one of Mark's benches.

I have also heard good things about Quest too though.

 

[archangel]

i will call him tomorrow and see what he can do..

has anyone gotten their stuff mark and have some pics?

Thanks

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/12/2008 6:43:14 PM
Author: archangel
i will call him tomorrow and see what he can do..


has anyone gotten their stuff mark and have some pics?


Thanks

The ring in my avatar is custom by Mark @ ERD. There are MANY gorgeous rings on this forum that were made by him. Do a search for ERD custom or some variation of that and I am sure you''ll have hours of fun!

 

[Harriet]

I have scoured 47th street (including jewellers who are not on the street level) and have not found anyone better than Leon Mege. In my opinion, he''s very fairly priced for the quality he delivers.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/12/2008 6:52:41 PM
Author: Harriet
I have scoured 47th street (including jewellers who are not on the street level) and have not found anyone better than Leon Mege. In my opinion, he''s very fairly priced for the quality he delivers.

True, but the OP already knows exactly what he wants and how he wants it, thus I think Leon may not be the best choice for him in this situation...

 

[Harriet]

Leon is receptive to innovation. My Tsavorite ring, for example, was not designed by him and he enjoyed the engineering puzzle that it posed. I've also brought him other designs which he was happy to execute.

 

[archangel]

since cost is a huge consideration, and what i know of leon from this forun, he might not be tha way to go... is there another place like Quest jewelers in NY with similar policy like free replacement of the melee stones and free ring resizing.

 

[bgray]

Leon is inconsistent at best both to deal with and the end result. may i suggest mctiegue and mcclelland. based out of barrington ma but they have a nyc office. best quality you will ever see. tremendous to work with--creative but no ego and very reasonable

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/12/2008 7:18:44 PM
Author: Harriet
Leon is receptive to innovation. My Tsavorite ring, for example, was not designed by him and he enjoyed the engineering puzzle that it posed. I''ve also brought him other designs which he was happy to execute.

Innovation yes. But what the OP wants is basically a slightly modified Whiteflash Champagne ring. From what I have seen and heard Leon hates nothing more than the word replica, which is really what the OP wants...

 

[Harriet]

bgray,
I''ve honestly never found Leon inconsistent as a person or a jeweller.

neatfreak,
True, true.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 10/12/2008 9:21:48 PM
Author: archangel
since cost is a huge consideration, and what i know of leon from this forun, he might not be tha way to go... is there another place like Quest jewelers in NY with similar policy like free replacement of the melee stones and free ring resizing.

archangel,
Try: http://www.vanguard-jewelry.com/ The work is done by a father-and-son pair who used to be benchmen at Tiffany (a friend who worked at Tiffany verified that). Their work and prices are good.

 

[bgray]

Date: 10/12/2008 11:09:45 PM
Author: Harriet
bgray,
I''ve honestly never found Leon inconsistent as a person or a jeweller.

neatfreak,
True, true.

that may be your experience and thats great but there are many here who have had negative experiences as well.

 

[Harriet]

And many who have had positive experiences. Let''s not turn this into a thread about Leon. We''re here to help archangel.

 

[bgray]

i said what i said based on her needs. (and i felt he didnt fit her needs) you kept responding.

 

[Harriet]

I disagreed with you on the subject of Leon exactly once. I recommended Leon to archangel until he/she said that he/she did not want to work with him, and then I provided the name of another jeweller.

Archangel,
Vanguard does not mind replicating another party''s design.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I just wanted to say both Vanguard and McTeigue & McClelland work is beautiful (at least on their website). I just went to droll at their websites. Vanguard work is so delicate and feminine. McTeigue & McClelland work is so creative and artistic. It is too bad we don''t hear about them as often on PS.

 

[kimikocat]

Date: 10/13/2008 1:04:48 AM
Author: CharmyPoo
I just wanted to say both Vanguard and McTeigue & McClelland work is beautiful (at least on their website). I just went to droll at their websites. Vanguard work is so delicate and feminine. McTeigue & McClelland work is so creative and artistic. It is too bad we don''t hear about them as often on PS.

M&M does beautiful work.

They''ve been featured in quite a few high-end fashion mags (W likes their pieces). Here''s a 2005 NY Times article about small boutique jewelers that includes references to M&M (you might have to sign in to read the piece).
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/fashion/thursdaystyles/27GEMS.html