- Joined
- Nov 21, 2002
- Messages
- 2,326
Wanted to start off by saying that the forum has been great. A great education so far, and a source of finding many different vendors who can supply quality good’s and Quality advice to consumers.
I’ll start with the beginning I wanted a nice ring for myself and decided I would spend the money and time putting together a really nice piece because after all it is going to be on my hand for the rest of my life. I decided to go with the style pictured. It will be holding 7 stones total. The setting is in 14K white gold and all the stones are gypsy set. The custom ring is being put together by Carol Ahern & Bob Brucker. Very friendly warm people with a passion for what they do. Check out some of the other custom items they have on their site (gorgeous) www.nbizz.com/robbrucker/ I also included a pic of a similar ring but in two tone white gold/platinum. The only diff with mine is it will have sapphires on the side of the center stone & a diamond as the center stone instead of the emerald. This shot shows the accent stones on the side which the sapphire ring doesn’t show..
The stones for the ring & people helping:
The center stone is a .39 carat d/vs2 certified Eightstar Diamond. I decided to go with Eightstar and have not yet seen the stone, but am excited none the less. I will say during the whole process of my initial inquiry to my final email to the company I received return emails from Richard himself voicing his concerns and answering all my questions. The emails were not just business related, but very friendly in sharing a lot of conversation I don’t think you could deal with a warmer, more sincere person. Very friendly devoted businessman to say the least.
The 2 side stones will be sapphires which will accent the center diamond. My initial questions and concerns about what I should be looking for color wise and quality wise were voiced in an email to RICHARD SHERWOOD. Richard responded with a page long version of what I should be looking for based on my initial inquiries along with 3-4 different people and companies he knew in the industry who might be able to supply me with these stones along with emails of a couple of the individuals. Very helpful and friendly person who has a great sense of humor and loves what he does. Rich did all this free of charge and was very friendly in returning answers to all my inquiries about colored gems . GREAT GUY!!!
I decided since I do not know too much about colored stones I wanted some of the best small ones for the 2 x .20 carat 3.5 mm rounds I would need for this ring. I needed someone’s knowledge and experience to be my eyes during this purchase a broker. I contacted Robin & Todd of NICEICE.COM. They returned a couple emails to me, and we went back and forth with options and they voiced concerns which I relayed to the ring maker about the sapphires being heat treated. After reassurance from the ring designer I decided to go through with this. Robin & Todd are currently in the process of sourcing me some fine stones from Madagascar. I told them I really wasn’t concerned with the price I just gave them a description of what I was looking for color and intensity wise and they told me they would get on the horn and get some stones in to be looked at for final examination and give me their thoughts before my purchase. Robin & Todd have been great and I received an email from them today informing me the stones should be in by the end of the week!
There will be 4 diamonds which accent the band which lead up to each sapphire on both sides. I wanted some of the best little accent stones out there so I contacted Lesly of WHITFLASH and she quoted me prices on 4 x .10 carat d/e color vs2 or better clarity Hearts & Arrows stones. Very friendly and helpful with her return emails. I will be purchasing these stones Friday and can’t wait to receive them. Not a real big purchase, but she made me feel like a customer who was…..
Well this is just a preliminary outlook and I wanted to bring to light the people that are helping making this happen. Not just the vendors, but everyone involved..Thank You and I look forward to posting final pic’s When the ring is finished after I receive all the stones It should take about 4-6 week for the ring to be made.
-Josh Rioux
Sitka, Alaska
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