Ritani Endless Love Setting--What''s the Verdict???

[reena]

Hi all,

I''ve read about 100 different threads now regarding the Ritani Endless Love setting, and I still can''t figure out whether it''s possible to buy the setting alone (i.e., without purchasing a Ritani center diamond). Some say yes, some say no, some say only if your diamond is over 2 carats! (The stone I am purchasing will be around that weight.)

Can someone who has actually attempted to do this and either succeeded or failed give me the scoop?

Thanks!

 

[alexah]

Hi Reena

I saw on Ritani's website that Saks sells their product... I could stop by there in a few hours (i take a late lunch) & ask if they'd sell the setting w/out a diamond? I could also try to get a price quote for you...

PS, As far as I know, Saks sells semi-mounts sans center stones, except for their Estate Rings...

 

[reena]

wow, alexa, you might be the nicest person ever! that's so nice of you to offer. it's funny, because i'm in manhattan (i assume you are too?), and i also work right by saks--but i just called and they said that they haven't carried ritani in the store for about a month! too bad, because they're the only manhattan retailer listed on ritani's website. anyone know of any other retailer in the area that might carry ritani?

when i came across this info, i called samuel gordon's--which is not in my area--and asked them my question directly. the woman i spoke to was so nice--she called ritani right away for me. apparently, they will custom set a stone purchased from another vendor. what i'd have to do is buy the stone, buy the setting from samuel gordon (or whomever), and send it to ritani to be custom-set. they quoted me approx $3440, which is a little more than standard, they said, because the stone I'm thinking of using is bigger than they typically use (2c) so they have to make a new mold for the setting. but still not too bad.

now my problem is, i need to see the setting before i know if i would like it!

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On 8/4/2004 12:42:28 PM alexah wrote:

Hi Reena

I saw on Ritani's website that Saks sells their product... I could stop by there in a few hours (i take a late lunch) & ask if they'd sell the setting w/out a diamond? I could also try to get a price quote for you...

PS, As far as I know, Saks sells semi-mounts sans center stones, except for their Estate Rings...----------------

 

[alexah]

I'm so glad you got your answer reena!

Btw, i spoke w a salesman in Saks last wk who said someone came in looking for the a close replica of the endless love setting -w a few slight tweaks- anyway, Saks custom-made the setting for this guy (not sure if he bought the stone thru them?) - the salesman said it came out great. We were just BS'ing (i'm getting a dif custom setting made by them) so it's not like the salesguy was feeding me a line...

Not sure how much Saks charged the guy for the setting but I'm going to ask (for my own curiousity) when I pick up *my* setting next wk...

 

[reena]

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On 8/4/2004 1:08:23 PM alexah wrote:

I'm so glad you got your answer reena!

Btw, i spoke w a salesman in Saks last wk who said someone came in looking for the a close replica of the endless love setting -w a few slight tweaks- anyway, Saks custom-made the setting for this guy (not sure if he bought the stone thru them?) - the salesman said it came out great. We were just BS'ing (i'm getting a dif custom setting made by them) so it's not like the salesguy was feeding me a line...

Not sure how much Saks charged the guy for the setting but I'm going to ask (for my own curiousity) when I pick up *my* setting next wk...
----------------

Oh, would you let me know what he says? I wonder if you have to buy the stone from them to do that.

Tell me about your ring! I think you mentioned that it is a wedding band and not an e-ring, correct? Is it plain platinum, or pave, or diamond set?

 

[Alice in DiamondLand]

I spoke with a couple people (EE Robbins and BB&B in Bellevue Washington) and got the same response: Ritani does f (or was it g) stones. their surrounding stones are also the same. so, they only want f (or g) stones in the center. You can supply your own stone, but it needs to be the same color as the surrounding stones. The jewelery store needs to send it in to Ritani and it needs to be already mounted. The stone needs to be VG-Excellent cut and should be a standard type of size (prefered to not have sometihgn obsecure like .84). Both people had only see them come from Ritani with a center stone of 1c or less.

If you've got your own stone and it's not the right color, it was recommended to get a custom job with the surrounding stones being the same color as the center.

I also heard the round solitare setting is around $1900.

That's what I know thus far.

~Alice

 

[reena]

Thanks Alice. I would much prefer to do the setting custom, truth be told, because I have yet to find a setting (other than the exorbitantly expensive Michael B setting that I was unfortunate enough to fall in love with) that is exactly what I want.

However, I'm concerned about the potential problems associated with getting a relatively intricate micropave design such as this done custom. This is mainly because I am not overly familiar with the jewelers in the area and don't yet know of any jeweler with excellent workmanship who I can trust to do this for me.

The only recommendation I've received thus far is to talk to Leon Mege--whose settings are absolutely droolworthy--but I have heard that he is quite expensive. In that case, I might as well go with the Michael B setting I wanted in the first place!

If anyone has had a custom micropave setting done and can recommend a jeweler, I would love to hear from you.

 

[quaeritur]

Drat! Wish I'd seen this thread before heading out to lunch. I was just at a jewelry store (not in your area though) that carries the Ritani Endless Love, and I was drooling over it -I could have asked the question for you! They actually had one in WG w/a center blue sapphire that was to die for.