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Dem, sorry the Pearlman's ring didn't work out but better to get it just right, and really, you know when a band works with the other ring...I totally agree with MGR...If you love the one at 23rd Street, I'd call Ari at Single Stone and ask him if it's his setting as he actually makes a lot of stock rings for many places like Lang's and other high end shops nationwide that carry vintage and vintage style settings - and I know he makes up eternity bands for a few high end shops in West LA, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of his. I'd get the dimensions and stone grades and ask him what the same would be to make up for you. The french cuts are much harder to set apparently, and if they're not cut just right, they wont fit properly against the straight edge of the next stone. It's not like RBs where there's a little wiggle room in between round stone...The French cuts also come in teeny tiny sizes and from what I understand, Ari has his own guy who cuts custom sizes as per each job, so...yeah, it's time consuming to work with those stones. I think if the 23rd St. ring is high quality melee, that price is actually right on the money for what it is. But if the ring was made by Single Stone anyway, you can get it cheaper going directly to them. Just a thought...Cant wait to see pictures!
 
Pixley -- I can''t wait to post pics of my Maytal! I really do love it (although I must admit that I''m a tiny bit disappointed by the claw prongs -- they''re not even close to Leon''s...oh well, I knew that was the gamble). I too wish I could have taken pics at 23rd St. I hardly even got to look much as I had my 21 month daughter with me and she wasn''t very happy. When do you get your band? Must be any day now!!

MGR -- Point very well taken. You always have such good advice when it comes to this sort of thing. Will an extra few hundred bucks matter down the road if I have a set I love? That said, it''s possible it IS the same band in which case I''d rather go with D&D. Doesn''t seem there''s any way to find out, though. Hrmph!

Surfgirl -- That''s a really good idea! Now that you mention it, I did see some bands at 23rd Street that looked exactly like the bezel-set EC ring SS ring Pixley just bought from SS. That''s a fairly unique design. I will contact Ari tomorrow. I do wonder, though, whether his prices would be much cheaper. Last I checked, their prices were quite high.

Okay, assuming it''s between the $1800 band at D&D (which may or may not be the same ring I saw at 23rd) or the $2,200 band at 23rd Street, what would you guys do? Go for the more $$ one since I''ve seen it and love it, or get the D&D band and return it if I don''t like it? I will call 23rd Street tomorrow and see if they come down any further. In this economy, you''d think they would be willing to bargain a bit.
 
I''d ask them to match D&Ds price, but only after you talk to D&D and make sure the dimensions, stone grade and carat weight is the same. If they dont agree, I''d sleep on it and call Ari about it. Only you can say if you want/need to save the $400 difference. Personally, knowing how bloody difficult it is to get thin channel set eternity bands, especially with French cuts, I''d take the one that I know works and that I can walk out of the store with...
 
Date: 7/27/2008 11:29:22 PM
Author: surfgirl
I''d ask them to match D&Ds price, but only after you talk to D&D and make sure the dimensions, stone grade and carat weight is the same. If they dont agree, I''d sleep on it and call Ari about it. Only you can say if you want/need to save the $400 difference. Personally, knowing how bloody difficult it is to get thin channel set eternity bands, especially with French cuts, I''d take the one that I know works and that I can walk out of the store with...

Thanks, SG. Yes, I do know that the carat weight and dimensions are the same as the D&D ring. Not so sure about the stone grade. I''ll just be honest and upfront with them about finding this other ring that seems to be exactly the same and see what they say. Worst they can say is no. Or maybe they''ll take a couple of hundred off. It is quite appealing to think of just walking out of the store with it.
 
I spoke to Ari this morning. He said he is not the supplier of that particular ring, but that he could make one up very easily. His price for that ring would be about $2650. I guess $2,200 at 23rd Street is looking like not a bad deal. I''m planning to call 23rd Street this morning and see if they go a bit lower, but I do think I''ll go with them since it really did look so great!
 
Date: 7/28/2008 1:34:36 PM
Author: Demelza
I spoke to Ari this morning. He said he is not the supplier of that particular ring, but that he could make one up very easily. His price for that ring would be about $2650. I guess $2,200 at 23rd Street is looking like not a bad deal. I''m planning to call 23rd Street this morning and see if they go a bit lower, but I do think I''ll go with them since it really did look so great!
Holy shnikey! 23rd Street is indeed looking mighty niiice. Even if they don''t budge, I think it would be worth it to get something that is up to your standards, rather than taking a chance on the D&D ring which you haven''t had a chance to inspect. If it arrives and it''s not so fab, then you''re out shipping and a restock fee which would be a drag. Good luck! It''s a beauty.
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Hopefully the DH, gramma or grandpa can take your little cutie for an outing so you can get some power shopping in before you leave L.A.! My little one hates shopping and makes it so difficult to launch a retail expedition.

My band arrives in T minus 4 hours.
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Date: 7/28/2008 1:51:56 PM
Author: pixley
Date: 7/28/2008 1:34:36 PM

Author: Demelza

I spoke to Ari this morning. He said he is not the supplier of that particular ring, but that he could make one up very easily. His price for that ring would be about $2650. I guess $2,200 at 23rd Street is looking like not a bad deal. I''m planning to call 23rd Street this morning and see if they go a bit lower, but I do think I''ll go with them since it really did look so great!
Holy shnikey! 23rd Street is indeed looking mighty niiice. Even if they don''t budge, I think it would be worth it to get something that is up to your standards, rather than taking a chance on the D&D ring which you haven''t had a chance to inspect. If it arrives and it''s not so fab, then you''re out shipping and a restock fee which would be a drag. Good luck! It''s a beauty.
30.gif
Hopefully the DH, gramma or grandpa can take your little cutie for an outing so you can get some power shopping in before you leave L.A.! My little one hates shopping and makes it so difficult to launch a retail expedition.


My band arrives in T minus 4 hours.
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Woohooo! I''m so excited for you! I can''t wait to see hand pics. I saw what I assume is the exact same ring at 23rd Street and they are so gorgeous -- those bezels are just so perfect with the most delicate milgrain. Congrats!

I spoke to 23rd Street and they said they could take off an additional $200. The only problem now is that I think it might be a bit too big for me. I was first told it was a 6 (my size). It felt big, so I asked them to size it again and was told it was a 6.25. On the phone, however, I was told it was a 6.5. They did say I could buy it and take it home for a week to see how it felt. If it was too big, I could return it. They said they can''t order a new one at this price -- this price is only for whatever bands are in stock and this is the last one. The one at D&D is a size 6. Drat! I think I will try it out and see how it feels. I won''t ever wear it alone since it''s so thin, so maybe it will be fine at this size as a stacking band.
 
Demelza, what did you decide on that ring at 23rd Street? I was thinking of you because I just picked up my new antique french cut eternity band (it''s on my SMTR thread) from Single Stone on Wednesday and was thinking about you and square cut eternities...I was also thinking...it''s possible that the french cut band you were quoted at SS is a higher grade of stones? I say that because Ari had to have 3 new french cuts hand cut to fit into my antique band and they are very very fine quality stones. So perhaps that accounts for the pricing difference between SS and 23rd St.?
 
Date: 8/1/2008 7:07:24 PM
Author: surfgirl
Demelza, what did you decide on that ring at 23rd Street? I was thinking of you because I just picked up my new antique french cut eternity band (it''s on my SMTR thread) from Single Stone on Wednesday and was thinking about you and square cut eternities...I was also thinking...it''s possible that the french cut band you were quoted at SS is a higher grade of stones? I say that because Ari had to have 3 new french cuts hand cut to fit into my antique band and they are very very fine quality stones. So perhaps that accounts for the pricing difference between SS and 23rd St.?


Thanks for asking. First, I have to say that I LOVE your new band! I would be thrilled to find a band like that!

Here''s the update:

I did buy the ring from 23rd Street. They have a great return policy, so I felt comfortable buying it to try out for a few days. As nice as it looked with my ring, I found that those teeny tiny french cuts just didn''t sparkle at all. And you could hardly tell they were french cuts -- they sort of looked like dull, oddly misshapen rounds. I went back to 23rd Street to try on some other bands. I tried the Beverly K alternating round/baguette ring (like diamondnut''s), the SS mini-emerald cut ring (like Pixley''s) and a few others. I then tried on another french cut ring (same carat weight as the first one) that seemed to have better cut stones. That one was an additional 600 bucks! I tried it for a day and realized that neither ring was for me. For $2,600, I want a band that wows me. Even one of the salespeople at 23rd Street agreed that the stones in the ring were kind of dull. So, my new plan is to start hitting up antique jewelry stores to find either a baguette band or a larger french cut band. I''m really bummed that Antiquarius on Beverly had that terrible fire and is no longer open for business. It was so great to wander around there and see so much great stuff under one roof. Anyway, tomorrow I plan to check out Frances Klein in BH (probably way too $$$) and Excalibur (terrible customer service, but a good selection as I recall) at its new location. Checked out Peter Norman and XIV Karats the other day -- nothing at either of those places. Hopefully I''ll find a great band one of these days.
 
Are you only interested in step cut antique eternity bands? I ask because they're difficult to find for sure! Mine was a fluke. My shop down here has antique/vintage eternity bands...If you're open to rounds, I can call them tomorrow and see what they've got...Do you want me to do that or are you only wanting steps/bags? Plat only, yes?

I should say that I find my french cut band puts out way more fire chunks than my single cut band does. Both are great but the frenchies do have more chunky fire bursts and I know the stones that Ari had put in are fantastic quality...You saw his french cut bands in person, yes? It sounds like you already went to SS, but I wasn't sure. I saw some wonderful bands there on Wednesday...
 
Date: 8/2/2008 2:04:19 AM
Author: surfgirl
Are you only interested in step cut antique eternity bands? I ask because they''re difficult to find for sure! Mine was a fluke. My shop down here has antique/vintage eternity bands...If you''re open to rounds, I can call them tomorrow and see what they''ve got...Do you want me to do that or are you only wanting steps/bags? Plat only, yes?


I should say that I find my french cut band puts out way more fire chunks than my single cut band does. Both are great but the frenchies do have more chunky fire bursts and I know the stones that Ari had put in are fantastic quality...You saw his french cut bands in person, yes? It sounds like you already went to SS, but I wasn''t sure. I saw some wonderful bands there on Wednesday...


Thanks, SG. That''s very sweet of you to offer to call your contact. You''re right that I''m really only interested in some kind of step-cut (bags, asschers, french) band. I have several round eternity rings and I just don''t need anymore. And I really like the way step-cuts look with my EC.

I have been to SS, but not in a while. The french cut bands I saw on his website (the bezel set ones with alternating shape bezels) don''t speak to me the way your band does. I should probably call him to see if he has any channel set antique french cuts, but he didn''t mention it on the phone to me the other day. What''s the carat weight on your band? The fact that your french cuts have so much fire suggests to me that the 23rd Street bands didn''t have very well-cut stones. Or maybe they were just too small. There''s a great french cut band on the Lang''s website (my size too!), but it''s way out of my price range. Were any of the bands you saw at SS step-cuts? Which location did you visit?
 
I'm not sure about the total ct on my ring but they are small stones. I'm guessing not over .50cts? Anyway, yes, I think I saw french cut bands atSS but I cannot remember if they were bezel or channel set. But you could certainly ask him to replicate my band. If you're going to do that, tell me and I'll let him know someone's coming in to see about replicating my ring so he knows who you're talking about. Though he's only worked on one antique french cut eternity band lately so you can just say it's a PSer and he'll know who you mean. What I meant with the fire was that I think his stones - the new frenchies he cut for me - are really terrific quality and they are firey little buggers! Call him at the downtown location because his wife runs the San Marino shop and it has much less antique inventory. The downtown showroom is only antique and repro.

I'll call my place down here today but let me know ASAP, aprox. what width band are you looking for? Something under 3mm? 2mm? What? IIRC, my place here had a bag eternity but it wasn't stones set E-W, they were set N-S and stacked up next to each other so it was a big look on the finger and probably at least 4mm wide. Let me know the width you want and I'll call them today.

ETA: You're up in LA right now, yes? How much longer are you in this area?
 
Date: 8/2/2008 1:57:47 PM
Author: surfgirl
I''m not sure about the total ct on my ring but they are small stones. I''m guessing not over .50cts? Anyway, yes, I think I saw french cut bands atSS but I cannot remember if they were bezel or channel set. But you could certainly ask him to replicate my band. If you''re going to do that, tell me and I''ll let him know someone''s coming in to see about replicating my ring so he knows who you''re talking about. Though he''s only worked on one antique french cut eternity band lately so you can just say it''s a PSer and he''ll know who you mean. What I meant with the fire was that I think his stones - the new frenchies he cut for me - are really terrific quality and they are firey little buggers! Call him at the downtown location because his wife runs the San Marino shop and it has much less antique inventory. The downtown showroom is only antique and repro.


I''ll call my place down here today but let me know ASAP, aprox. what width band are you looking for? Something under 3mm? 2mm? What? IIRC, my place here had a bag eternity but it wasn''t stones set E-W, they were set N-S and stacked up next to each other so it was a big look on the finger and probably at least 4mm wide. Let me know the width you want and I''ll call them today.


ETA: You''re up in LA right now, yes? How much longer are you in this area?

I will call Ari today and see what he has in stock. I can probably go Monday if it sounds like he has something I''d be interested in. Have you ever been to Frances Klein? I assume their prices will be insane, but it''s right near my house so I might as well check it out.

I wear a size 6 and would like something around 2 - 2.5 mm. I definitely don''t want a bag band with stones set N-S. I really love the sleek lines of stones set horizontally. Thanks so much for helping me out with this! I really appreciate it.

I''m in LA till Tuesday and then SF for another five or six days.
 
I'll call and let you know ASAP. There's no sense coming down here unless they have something for you to see...

OK, my guy down here doesn't have anything like that right now. He said he's got single cuts, princess & rounds, and a marquise, but no french/EC/bags, sorry! You might look in the phone book and see where there are clusters of antique dealers and check them out? I cant remember if Larchmont Village has antique dealers or just home decor, I haven't been there in years...Or Santa Monica perhaps? I'm sure Frances Klein will be $$$ but if they have what you want...I'm telling you, it's not easy to find what you're looking for. That band that Lang's shows, I would think it would be cheaper to get SS to make you one of those. Call Ari today, he's open on Sat, and see if you can pop in today (it's much quieter driving down there on Sat.) and see what he has. Worst case, he knows my ring so he can make on up in any size...
 
Thank you so much, Surfgirl. You've been incredibly helpful.

I did call SS today and spoke to Patti. She said they don't have any vintage channel set french cut bands nor do they have any baguette bands. They do have a vintage half eternity with 10 point asschers. The width is about 4mm. I don't think it's what I'm looking for. The new french cut bands they have on their website are out of my price range and I'm not sure I'm crazy about the bezel set look with my ring. I'm hesitant to have something made without trying it out first. I'm starting to wonder if I made a mistake returning the Pearlman's ring, but it's crazy to keep something I don't love just because it's a good deal. It did look fairly nice with my ring, but it was lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm hoping to make it to Frances Klein and Excalibur at some point today. I don't think Larchmont has much in the way of jewelry. I used to live right near there and I believe you're right that it's mostly home decor. It really is a huge bummer that Antiquarius is out of commission -- that place was amazing and about 5 minutes from home! I'll be in the Bay Area next week and I'll try to make it to Lang's and Dianne's then. Thanks again for all your help. I'll keep you posted!

PS Do you know anything about Excalibur Jewelry (Kurt Rothner)?
 
Why not look up "estate" jewelers in your area and in the Bay Area and look there as well as "antique" shops? I think the bags set e-w design is more modern and you''d have more luck with that in an estate oriented shop. Also, what is it that you didn''t love about the 23rd St. band? Was it not blingy enough for you? Didn''t it have any sparkle or fire? It''s really worth just holding out until you find what you''re looking for...Why not try Ruby Lane, Go Antiques, Troucador (sp?) and other antique sites to see what they''ve got?
 
The 23rd Street band just seemed really dull. The diamonds didn't sparkle...at all. I know that step cuts (not sure if french cuts are considered step cuts) have a different kind of sparkle than a round and I love that -- the tapered baguettes on my Maytal ring have great life to them even though they don't have the brilliance of a round -- but, for some reason, the stones in the 23rd street ring had absolutely no life to them at all. It would be a great stacking band, but too much money for me given what it had to offer.

I will definitely wait till I find exactly what I want. I think I feel a bit of pressure right now because I'm only here visiting my family for a few weeks and won't have the same access to such great stores once I'm back home. That said, I'll be back in October, so there's really no reason to be impetuous about this.
 
Well in that case, take your time! If this ring you seek exists, it will find YOU. I think that's how it works...It just doesn't know you're looking for it yet. Or perhaps your ring is stuck inside some dealer's bag of tricks, trying to get out and get passed around until it gets to a shop near you...! Yes, I'm serious.

I'm not sure I'd classify french cuts as steps as they dont really have steps per se. More like a square single cut, faceted but with only a few facets, if that makes sense.

If you're back in October, I can keep looking at my guy's place, or you can call them, H. Moradi's in La Jolla. Ask for Hossein and tell him the woman who called this morning looking for a step cut eternity band for a friend referred you, he'll know who you mean! Tell him to keep on the look out and call if he finds anything and I'll let you know if I stumble across anything as well.
 
Demelza, one more suggestion...Check out The Thies Collection (thethiescollection.com) and contact Catherine. Tell her someone in San Diego referred you...She''ll know who as I just emailed her. Her site looks like new only pieces but they actually specialize in antique pieces, which aren''t yet up on their new site. They closed their shop down her last Fall and are online only now but she said she would be happy to help you try to locate a similar ring. Her family has been in the antique jewelry biz for a long time so she can call a few relatives to see if they have what you need.
 
Thank you so much, SG! What a big help you are!! I will email Catherine today.

I went to Excalibur and Frances Klein yesterday and neither place had anything I was interested in. I was actually surprised by how unimpressive the selection was at Frances Klein. They had a few stunning pieces in the window, but their bands were all quite blah. Excalibur had a big selection, but nothing especially remarkable.

I saw that the Pearlman''s ring was reduced in price by a couple of hundred dollars. That is really a fantastic deal!
 
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