Recs please! NYC jeweler to set OEC in a stock setting

[milktoasts]

Long time listener, first time caller I recently bought a lovely OEC ~8.3mm that I'm looking to set as a right hand ring. (I'm in my late 20s and single, but wouldn't mind rocking an engagement-style ring. Can't let convention get in the way of living your best life, right?)

I'm looking for a skilled jeweler in NYC (local to me, because the idea of shipping a diamond makes me nervous and I prefer face to face communication) who can source a plain solitaire setting in 14 or 18k yellow gold and do some lightweight finishing work. By "finishing" here's what I have in mind:

• carving/sharpening the prongs to slim them down and create a slightly textured 3-dimensional look like this.
• resizing, probably, because I'm a 3.75 and I doubt stock settings come in that specific size.

I'd like to keep this under $1000 all in. I'll likely want to do a reset in the future after I've had some time to think about a forever setting. Please let me know if my budget is unreasonably limited!

Really really appreciate any recs and pointers. I've learned so much by lurking this community, but I probably wouldn't have gotten into $$diamonds$$ at all if I hadn't discovered Pricescope, so...

 

[foxinsox]

ID Jewelry or Old World Diamonds would probably be good for this. I’m on mobile so tracking down details is a little challenging but they should be pretty easy to find. Also please post pics of your new stone - we love looking at diamonds and I really love the old cuts!

 

[distracts]

ID Jewelry is who PSers most often use for this sort of thing in NYC.

 

[whitewave]

I assume diamonds by Lauren could do it.

Any of the vendors mentioned

 

[MollyMalone]

I've always been happy with the bench work done at Greenwich St. Jewelers in lower Manhattan. I've not had any work done there recently, but the prices I paid in the past for, e.g., tweaking a setting, mounting a colored gem, were reasonable imo.

Services | Greenwich St. Jewelers

Services | Greenwich St. Jewelers

www.greenwichjewelers.com

Their work is done in-house, so yes, you can have face-to-face interaction with the bench who's actually doing the work. Think all the others previously mentioned in this thread send out their bench work, don't do it themselves. Not that that's a deal breaker in my book, but it sounds like it might matter to you.

But here's a thread with a number of photos of a 1.48 OEC set in a Stuller solitaire mounting where the bench used, 4 years ago, by Adam (Old World Diamonds) did a great job of setting a stone that even its delighted owner deemed "wonky;" the bench also refined the prongs in a very pleasing way.

Introducing my wonky diamond ring!

Those of you that have been following my diamond search know that I ultimately picked a beautiful 1.48 GIA M stone I affectionately named "Wonky" because of its asymmetey. After sending it back to Adam (with OWD) on Monday, he had it set and back to me by yesterday! My boyfriend and I decided to...

www.pricescope.com

Perhaps that thread will encourage you to call Adam (he's very nice, helpful,and informative, but not a huge fan of email; better to make the first contact a phone call). He started out in the Financial District, but his office is now at 580 Fifth Ave, at W. 47th Street:

Old World Diamonds »

The World's Largest Collection of Antique Diamonds

oldworlddiamonds.com

Would you be willing to put off this project for 5 weeks or so? Every bench person -- and every one of the vendors recommended by PSers --, is going to be slammed between now and the start of the new year. So I think if you wait, it will be a more pleasant, less frenzied feeling, experience.

 

[tyty333]

Just a heads up. I asked IDJ to set an OEC for me around the holidays. They turned me down. I called at a later date about a different project and found out that they had said no because they were so busy with their own stones/settings/jewelry due to the holidays. I was in no hurry and could have waited if I'd known the reason.

If you have any patience you might wait till after the holidays or if you get a negative response be sure to ask why.

IDJ does good work at a reasonable price. I'm sure they could do what you want.

Come back with pics please!

Edit...I see @MollyMalone warned you of the timing also!

 

[milktoasts]

Thank you all! @MollyMalone and @tyty333 I really appreciate the detailed guidance and advice re: waiting till after the holiday rush. I'm impatient but NOT in a hurry I'll wait until late Jan to engage a vendor (need to decide between IDJ and OWD).

I'm not so good at taking pics but I'll try to share some tonight. Why are diamonds so hard to photograph?

 

[KristyDarling]

Definitely check out Brilliantly Engaged. They're in the same building as OWD (at least, they were a few years back the last time I checked) and Mark, the owner, has *always* come through for me with very reasonably priced, top-caliber, refined work. His bench can do cast or hand-forged, depending on what you want. He's my go-to guy in NYC.

 

[JSG2185]

I recommend Greenwich Street Jewelers in downtown NYC. I've had two rings custom made by them. One was a scapolite diamond ring and the other was a complete reset of my engagement ring. Both rings turned out beautifully. I highly recommend them.

 

[headlight]

I would recommend @Rockdiamond, Diamonds by Lauren. He can do/create whatever you need and I’ve followed him since he started coming here back in the younger days of PS. I’ve visited his website endlessly throughout the years and feel his pricing is very competitive and fair.
I have to disagree with waiting until the holiday season is over. Your job is not on the B-list. It’s a job like anyone else’s. You should be able to get your job in the queue with everyone else’s. Personally, I don’t think what you want is that complicated and yours may actually get finished before someone else’s.
Every person that comes to a jeweler is a potential loyal customer for life, and if a jeweler doesn’t understand that you should move on.

 

[MollyMalone]

@milktoasts -- given the various responses you've received, I'm thinking it would be helpful if we had greater clarification on what you're thinking of. I'd thought that you were looking for a jeweler who would order a "stock" setting from, e.g., Stuller or Unique Settings of NY and refine and resize it, if need be. But others thought you might very well be contemplating a custom creation.

P.S. re timing: if possible, I'd make contact with those you are considering on, say, January 5 or 6 as there's a bit of a lull then, relatively speaking, before the Valentine's Day orders start piling in. (Of course, you could try right after New Year's Day, but those first couple of days in January is when my father-in-law, who was in the trade here in NYC, would take a short break.)

@headlight, I don't think that IDJ's declination of @tyty333 's request was anything more than a reflection of an honest belief that they couldn't get to it in the immediate future. Not that they regarded her as a B-list customer, but rather, they weren't going to bump her up ahead of those already in the pipeline. Yes, it would have been more useful if they'd told her they would be happy to do it after the holidays, but given how zoo-y Thanksgiving-NewYear's Eve is for popular-reputable jewelers/vendors in Manhattan, I'll cut any of 'em slack for giving brief replies in response to such an inquiry.

 

[missy]

For best "bang for your buck" I second the recommendations of Adam @oldworlddiamonds and @Yekutiel at IDJ. They can skillfully do this for you and at a reasonable cost. I would call them and discuss the specifics of what you want and your budget. Good luck.

 

[tyty333]

@milktoasts -- given the various responses you've received, I'm thinking it would be helpful if we had greater clarification on what you're thinking of. I'd thought that you were looking for a jeweler who would order a "stock" setting from, e.g., Stuller or Unique Settings of NY and refine and resize it, if need be. But others thought you might very well be contemplating a custom creation.

P.S. re timing: if possible, I'd make contact with those you are considering on, say, January 5 or 6 as there's a bit of a lull then, relatively speaking, before the Valentine's Day orders start piling in. (Of course, you could try right after New Year's Day, but those first couple of days in January is when my father-in-law, who was in the trade here in NYC, would take a short break.)

@headlight, I don't think that IDJ's declination of @tyty333 's request was anything more than a reflection of an honest belief that they couldn't get to it in the immediate future. Not that they regarded her as a B-list customer, but rather, they weren't going to bump her up ahead of those already in the pipeline. Yes, it would have been more useful if they'd told her they would be happy to do it after the holidays, but given how zoo-y Thanksgiving-NewYear's Eve is for popular-reputable jewelers/vendors in Manhattan, I'll cut any of 'em slack for giving brief replies in response to such an inquiry.

They did not make me feel like a B-list customer. It was all about the timing, however, they did not state that at the time. I assumed it was because
it was an OEC but now I know that was a bad assumption. A few more questions on my part or a little more explanation on their part would have
resolved the issue.

I thought I made that clear in my explanation but thanks for clarifying.