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Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2018
- Messages
- 6
Greetings all. I posted here once or twice while on a search for my now fiancee's sapphire engagement ring. But I read so much and gained so much knowledge from lurking here that I thought I'd make a small contribution by mentioning my experience with Inken at Enhoerning Jewelry. After working with other folks, travelling to Tucson, Las Vegas, and Hong Kong, I reached out to Inken who was well recommended on this board. She was very courteous and understanding, and very appreciative of my very particular tastes. I wanted a silky blue stone that was blackout resistant, and she showed me quite a few stones, each progressively better, over the course of a few months. As she showed me stones, we sort of refined my preferences on tone, hue, saturation, etc. She worked within my budget, but I gave her some leeway to show me stones outside my budget if they presented an extraordinary value. She came through with some very wonderful stones, most of which are on her youtube and instagram page.
In the beginning, I was sort of testing my trust in her by questioning her opinion on each stone she showed me, and she was very quick to point out what was good in each stone, but more importantly what was bad--very helpful and a clear indicator to me that she was not trying to make a quick sale. That's why I found it easier to consider the stones she showed me at a higher price point, since I never felt like I was being "upsold". Over the course of several months, we narrowed the selection down to two stones, and my then girlfriend and I made the trip to New York for her to see in person (my second meeting with Inken). She was immediately captivated by a 2+ carat Kashmir sapphire. Ouch. The price was actually reasonable for what it was, and of course there's a premium for the origin, but I didn't set out looking to pay for pedigree. Price considerations aside, I actually preferred the other sapphire (although it was MUCH bigger), because the Kashmir was cut shallow and had a window. I deliberately did not mention any stone's origin to my fiancee, and Inken agreed not to mention origin when we met in person to compare all the stones together. I wanted my fiancee to judge each stone based on visual quality, not where the little crosshairs on the AGL cert pointed.
My fiancee's top two choices (made independently) were mine as well, but the Kashmir has an indescribable hazy quality to it, and the silk had these sort of "ghost bands" to it (I read that these are "milky growth zoning" characteristic of the origin) that my fiancee loved. Not really color zoning, but sort of ripples in the haziness of the stone that could only be seen when the light hits it just right. Kind of weird that the "imperfections" were as endearing to my girlfriend as all the "good" qualities! Really hard to put in words, but the whole thing just looks like liquid on the inside, and I can't for the life of me take a photograph that captures what you see in real life. Even the studio photos Inken sent of the final product can't fully capture what you see with your eyes. For privacy reasons, I'm reluctant to post photos of the completed ring (sorry!). But here's a video of the loose stone:
The other stones also had tremendous qualities. After seeing MPC's sapphire, I think Inken has a knack for finding this kind of sleepy quality in a sapphire. My fiancee loved MPC's sapphire when I showed her the pictures--such a unique stone! I can say that the two stones Inken showed me were the best I had seen in a year and a half looking. The final choice was pretty tough for me. My fiancee loved both, but her reaction to the Kashmir at first sight was noticeably different and couldn't be ignored.
Given my reservations on the cut, Inken suggested mounting designs that could close the window. When she sent the stone to me for a second inspection period, she included a silver-cast ring mount with a closed bottom to help me visualize what it would look like when mounted. Very helpful! After I bought the stone, she handled the ring setting, and I must say I am thrilled with the end result. It's as if there was never a window to begin with (and really it makes me think I might have been too darn nit picky at first sight). More importantly my fiancee absolutely fell in love with the ring! I just can't express how pleased I am that literally every detail I asked for was incorporated into the ring, especially the low profile setting. It's a basket setting with closed bottom, less than 1mm from culet to shank--the whole ring is less than 1.5mm higher than the height of the sapphire itself. Tapered platinum band, floating basket for narrow trapezoid sidestones, gold claw double prongs tapering from the base on center stone, nearly invisible round platinum prongs on sidestones, and a slew of other detailed requests. And it was done in time to propose before Christmas! There was no "artisan ego" to deal with, but lots of guidance/suggestions on what would and wouldn't work structurally or aesthetically. I was grateful for the structural suggestions. Some aesthetic suggestions I accepted; some I did not. I know other posters have had tremendous good fortune procuring sapphires through Inken. I think I did too, but I can't say enough good things about the great result I had with the ring fabrication, too.
Anyway, maybe I'm still seeing through rose colored glasses after "she said yes", but please don't let me come off like some kind of shill. During the search process, I realized that I wasn't going to find an unheated sapphire of the quality I was looking for without working through a broker, and I worked with several, but I'm very pleased with the experience and the result from Inken. It never felt like I was dealing with a "salesman" but more like an advisor. Not to speak ill of people in sales, but I mean to say that our interests were always aligned. As in: I wanted to find a great sapphire, and she wanted to find a great sapphire, NOT "I wanted to find a great sapphire, and she wanted make some money". She showed me several stones at various price points, and each one could have been a contender, and she was open and honest about the positives and negatives of each stone and the likelihood of finding something better (according to my preferences). But my then girlfriend's reaction to the "one" at first sight was unmistakable. I may not have occasion to post on this board much anymore (at least until my future emerald search), but this board has been a great source of knowledge. I learned a lot more than I ever thought I would about sapphires through this process but I'm by no means an expert. I can at least contribute this to the board: I had a positive experience with Inken and I think you should give her a shot if you're in the market for a sapphire. Thanks!
In the beginning, I was sort of testing my trust in her by questioning her opinion on each stone she showed me, and she was very quick to point out what was good in each stone, but more importantly what was bad--very helpful and a clear indicator to me that she was not trying to make a quick sale. That's why I found it easier to consider the stones she showed me at a higher price point, since I never felt like I was being "upsold". Over the course of several months, we narrowed the selection down to two stones, and my then girlfriend and I made the trip to New York for her to see in person (my second meeting with Inken). She was immediately captivated by a 2+ carat Kashmir sapphire. Ouch. The price was actually reasonable for what it was, and of course there's a premium for the origin, but I didn't set out looking to pay for pedigree. Price considerations aside, I actually preferred the other sapphire (although it was MUCH bigger), because the Kashmir was cut shallow and had a window. I deliberately did not mention any stone's origin to my fiancee, and Inken agreed not to mention origin when we met in person to compare all the stones together. I wanted my fiancee to judge each stone based on visual quality, not where the little crosshairs on the AGL cert pointed.
My fiancee's top two choices (made independently) were mine as well, but the Kashmir has an indescribable hazy quality to it, and the silk had these sort of "ghost bands" to it (I read that these are "milky growth zoning" characteristic of the origin) that my fiancee loved. Not really color zoning, but sort of ripples in the haziness of the stone that could only be seen when the light hits it just right. Kind of weird that the "imperfections" were as endearing to my girlfriend as all the "good" qualities! Really hard to put in words, but the whole thing just looks like liquid on the inside, and I can't for the life of me take a photograph that captures what you see in real life. Even the studio photos Inken sent of the final product can't fully capture what you see with your eyes. For privacy reasons, I'm reluctant to post photos of the completed ring (sorry!). But here's a video of the loose stone:
The other stones also had tremendous qualities. After seeing MPC's sapphire, I think Inken has a knack for finding this kind of sleepy quality in a sapphire. My fiancee loved MPC's sapphire when I showed her the pictures--such a unique stone! I can say that the two stones Inken showed me were the best I had seen in a year and a half looking. The final choice was pretty tough for me. My fiancee loved both, but her reaction to the Kashmir at first sight was noticeably different and couldn't be ignored.
Given my reservations on the cut, Inken suggested mounting designs that could close the window. When she sent the stone to me for a second inspection period, she included a silver-cast ring mount with a closed bottom to help me visualize what it would look like when mounted. Very helpful! After I bought the stone, she handled the ring setting, and I must say I am thrilled with the end result. It's as if there was never a window to begin with (and really it makes me think I might have been too darn nit picky at first sight). More importantly my fiancee absolutely fell in love with the ring! I just can't express how pleased I am that literally every detail I asked for was incorporated into the ring, especially the low profile setting. It's a basket setting with closed bottom, less than 1mm from culet to shank--the whole ring is less than 1.5mm higher than the height of the sapphire itself. Tapered platinum band, floating basket for narrow trapezoid sidestones, gold claw double prongs tapering from the base on center stone, nearly invisible round platinum prongs on sidestones, and a slew of other detailed requests. And it was done in time to propose before Christmas! There was no "artisan ego" to deal with, but lots of guidance/suggestions on what would and wouldn't work structurally or aesthetically. I was grateful for the structural suggestions. Some aesthetic suggestions I accepted; some I did not. I know other posters have had tremendous good fortune procuring sapphires through Inken. I think I did too, but I can't say enough good things about the great result I had with the ring fabrication, too.
Anyway, maybe I'm still seeing through rose colored glasses after "she said yes", but please don't let me come off like some kind of shill. During the search process, I realized that I wasn't going to find an unheated sapphire of the quality I was looking for without working through a broker, and I worked with several, but I'm very pleased with the experience and the result from Inken. It never felt like I was dealing with a "salesman" but more like an advisor. Not to speak ill of people in sales, but I mean to say that our interests were always aligned. As in: I wanted to find a great sapphire, and she wanted to find a great sapphire, NOT "I wanted to find a great sapphire, and she wanted make some money". She showed me several stones at various price points, and each one could have been a contender, and she was open and honest about the positives and negatives of each stone and the likelihood of finding something better (according to my preferences). But my then girlfriend's reaction to the "one" at first sight was unmistakable. I may not have occasion to post on this board much anymore (at least until my future emerald search), but this board has been a great source of knowledge. I learned a lot more than I ever thought I would about sapphires through this process but I'm by no means an expert. I can at least contribute this to the board: I had a positive experience with Inken and I think you should give her a shot if you're in the market for a sapphire. Thanks!
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