So here's my dilemma...

[FallenRox]

This might be long, so apologies for the wall of text post.

I thought I had my e-ring decided on, and just needed a stone. Fell in love with spinel and 38 days after starting my search for the perfect one, I finally found it. I think. It's on it's way here now. In the mean time, I've found 2 more "perfect" settings and have changed my mind on them. I do have a local jeweler, but I don't know him like I did the jeweler that created 4 other diamond settings for me. He's not with us anymore. =(

This next part is going to sound like a personal ad, but it's not. Just a little insight in hopes that someone might be able to point me in the direction of someone to work with for a custom ring, or maybe you might know of THE perfect one that's ready to go. Who knows, but it can't hurt to toss it out there. I do plan to see my local jeweler but am afraid he might not "get me" so I'm working on a back up plan.

I'm hard on jewelry, I'm not very traditional, my hair right now is black and platinum blonde chunked with some purple. (see avatar- lol) I'm into art and bands but I'm not all "black eyeliner gothy" by any means. I like things that are edgy and my favorite jewelry period is the Edwardian era.

That said- I'm going to have around a 3 carat very slightly elongated (north to south) pinkish-purplish asscher to set once Jerry from Gemart gets the stone cut for me. So all I've been doing is scouring the interwebz for anything and everything that I like. I put a collage together for some inspiration and to take to the local jeweler if I don't find something/someone that is a good fit.

My budget is 2K to 2,500 whether that lands me in platinum, palladium or 18K white gold isn't super important to me. I don't care about a ton of bling on the ring, but if it's the right ring then it just is. I do like filigree and open spaces. I've been married before and have had 3 different solitaires and think that's because I just don't love them, or I haven't found the right one. This time, I have the PERFECT, gorgeous, adoring, Prince charming and I want the perfect ring.

Anyway, I'm going to try to attach this collage picture and if that doesn't work, I'll link to it. Any and all thoughts are welcome and most appreciated! I've had TONS of inspiration here, and can't thank you guys enough already

**edit (second time's a charm) - here is the link to a larger image of the collage
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1140263/Kari/rings%20fav%20parts%20pieces.jpg

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

WOW I LOVE your inspiration page!!!!
I'm not much help here, but
WOW

 

[talamasca]

I love that it's not just me that's put together their 'perfect' ring design from a collage of other rings!

I'll have a nosey at pics I found as I too really like filigree and asschers so may have found something else, but from what I can see the design at the mo is lovely.

Can't help with a Jeweller though as I'm in UK

ETA: Attached are some of the filigree/ornate designs I liked, but I must've deleted most of the others when I changed my mind about adding filigree to my e-ring.

 

[NKOTB]

I used Green Lake Jewelry Works online. They also have a bunch of pics on their site that you can pick and choose elements of to create what you're looking for, but if you sent them your collage and budget, they should be able to help you. They come up with sketches first, then CAD images, which I liked because sometimes I have a vague idea in my head, but then the finished product isn't what I pictured, so this way things could be tweaked along the way. I've used them twice so far and was really happy with my experience.

Also, they work with the Stuller X-1, so I had my rings made with the 14K white gold that isn't rhodium plated. It might work well for you (rhodium plated or not) if you're tough on your rings.

 

[MrsTulip]

I highly recommend Green Lake, as well. Two of my friends worked with them for their custom wedding sets, and they haven't stopped raving about them. I haven't worked with them for a custom piece, but I've got a few future projects in mind that I would definitely go to them for. I just recently purchased a stone from them, and they really took the time to understand what you are looking for. Also, they're great with communicating by both phone and emails.

 

[FallenRox]

Shiney- Thank you! It's fun, but I'm ready to "settle down" with something.

NKOTB & Mrs. Tulip- Thank you for the recommendation on Green Lake, I'm excited to check them out!

Talamasca- let's talk about the second row - last one on the right with the purpley stone Do you remember where that one came from because from here, it looks HAWT!

 

[Arkteia]

http://www.italilambertini.com/index.htm

Now this may be a little bit less of your style and more of "my" Greek style but since you like filigree... he has non-Greek, more classical things on his website as well. He has shows in Seattle. I shall try to be there this Sunday and tell you what I saw...
Greenlake is in Seattle, too, I should probably check it out.

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

http://www.italilambertini.com/index.htm

Now this may be a little bit less of your style and more of "my" Greek style but since you like filigree... he has non-Greek, more classical things on his website as well. He has shows in Seattle. I shall try to be there this Sunday and tell you what I saw...
Greenlake is in Seattle, too, I should probably check it out.

Interesting !
These are crazy.....

 

[talamasca]

ShineyTalamasca- let's talk about the second row - last one on the right with the purpley stone Do you remember where that one came from because from here, it looks HAWT!

Yay I do - here you go http://www.jewelrydesigner.net/GUSTINS/99.html

There's only that one pic though!

Gustin's Goldsmiths, NY - http://www.jewelrydesigner.net/GUSTINS/

ETA: same design, but diff metal - http://www.jewelrydesigner.net/GUSTINS/85.html

 

[FallenRox]

http://www.italilambertini.com/index.htm

Now this may be a little bit less of your style and more of "my" Greek style but since you like filigree... he has non-Greek, more classical things on his website as well. He has shows in Seattle. I shall try to be there this Sunday and tell you what I saw...
Greenlake is in Seattle, too, I should probably check it out.

Hey! thanks for that, I'm going to check them out. I just saw the pics Shiney posted, and those are most definitely different! I hope you make it to the show, I'm dying to go to gem/jewelry show but have been to busy lately with work. I did get a chance to go through the Green Lake site and it is really really fun, especially if you enjoy art/design. I've never seen such a wonderfully interactive site in any area, so needless to say, I played on there for about 2 hours last night. And still looking

Looking forward to your update!

 

[FallenRox]

ShineyTalamasca- let's talk about the second row - last one on the right with the purpley stone Do you remember where that one came from because from here, it looks HAWT!

Yay I do - here you go http://www.jewelrydesigner.net/GUSTINS/99.html

There's only that one pic though!

Gustin's Goldsmiths, NY - http://www.jewelrydesigner.net/GUSTINS/

ETA: same design, but diff metal - http://www.jewelrydesigner.net/GUSTINS/85.html

Yippee!! thank you <3

 

[rubyprincess]

Dunno if this is even in the stadium, let alone ball park, but I found this guy and bookmarked him a while back:

http://www.filigreerings.com/

Here's a couple pics of presets...he has tons and tons of settings on his website. Seem pretty reasonable to me, I guess:


and

 

[FallenRox]

I used Green Lake Jewelry Works online. They also have a bunch of pics on their site that you can pick and choose elements of to create what you're looking for, but if you sent them your collage and budget, they should be able to help you. They come up with sketches first, then CAD images, which I liked because sometimes I have a vague idea in my head, but then the finished product isn't what I pictured, so this way things could be tweaked along the way. I've used them twice so far and was really happy with my experience.

Also, they work with the Stuller X-1, so I had my rings made with the 14K white gold that isn't rhodium plated. It might work well for you (rhodium plated or not) if you're tough on your rings.

When you started your venture with them, did you choose an artist to work with or how did that work? Their site is an absolutely blast, I must say. Quite the hands on experience I'd love to visit there, but I'll have to live vicariously through crasru.

 

[FallenRox]

Dunno if this is even in the stadium, let alone ball park, but I found this guy and bookmarked him a while back:

http://www.filigreerings.com/

Hey, thanks! I actually spoke with them and a couple of other antique reproduction vendors and the challenge for me is that the stone I will have isn't a standard size and those settings can't be manipulated enough to accommodate without compromising the integrity of the designs I've inquired about. :\ So, I'll just have to take the elements I like and figure out a way to get that accomplished in a custom setting. Funny though, that first one you listed was my favorite.

 

[NKOTB]

As far as I remember, I just asked a question about a specific ring (that was one closest to what I wanted) through their "ask a designer" feature, and a designer replied and then basically became "assigned" to me. Then in the communication on my design page, I referred to pictures of various rings I had saved. It was a fun process, especially for someone who likes getting emails (I'm in Canada, so never visited their store in Seattle either - in fact, if you read the reviews online, some of the experiences visiting the store weren't that great, but pretty much everyone seemed happy with the online process). You can actually see my ring on the site - it's the "Mountings" example at the top of the page. I've since upgraded the stone, and tried several times to start a thread on this site (because the stone I put in has started my CS addiction), to no avail.

 

[bluebirrrd]

I agree that Green Lake might be a good choice for you. We designed our rings with them on-line through a private design page. It's very interactive and extremely visual. Your page is a place to communicate back and forth with your designer and to post all your inspiration pieces. The designer will work with you to try to combine all your favorite elements into one ring. They're normally assigned to you, but you can look up each designer's work and if there's a certain person you think captures your style, you can request them specifically.

Now that our set is done, I'm limited to small projects. If I could do something really special, I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. It's a fun process and they have a really have a cool system in place. I love just browsing through their site. I'm not aware of any other that is quite so interactive.

 

[bluebirrrd]

I forgot to mention that they guarantee 100% satisfaction or you can return your piece and start the whole process over for free. To me, that was a major selling point and helped alleviate some of my worries about taking the plunge with a custom design, especially on-line.

 

[FallenRox]

As far as I remember, I just asked a question about a specific ring (that was one closest to what I wanted) through their "ask a designer" feature, and a designer replied and then basically became "assigned" to me. Then in the communication on my design page, I referred to pictures of various rings I had saved. It was a fun process, especially for someone who likes getting emails (I'm in Canada, so never visited their store in Seattle either - in fact, if you read the reviews online, some of the experiences visiting the store weren't that great, but pretty much everyone seemed happy with the online process). You can actually see my ring on the site - it's the "Mountings" example at the top of the page. I've since upgraded the stone, and tried several times to start a thread on this site (because the stone I put in has started my CS addiction), to no avail.

I must admit, I'm having a blast on that site, and what an honor to see your gorgeous creation on the top of the page! I have only clicked it about 200 times so far and I'm sure they'll be more Thank you again for the suggestion! I'm now talking to the "team" and I love the laid back process. We shall see what transpires!

Bluebirrd- I had to read that part outloud twice about redoing the entire project for free after 30 days One Time. That really is awesome and I'm glad to hear you'd work with them again. I do feel some designs seem very reasonable while others seem slightly overpriced, but we haven't gotten to the specifics of my project yet, so we'll see what happens there.

I'm a tad bit nervous, as I'm sure most are, about sending a stone that I don't even have here yet, isn't cut yet, to them... since that has been the crux of my journey with this so far. I guess you just have to have faith and go with it because the warranty on the work from what I understand is if they set your stone. I'm new to all this but I don't think I'd ever get over the uneasy feeling of shipping out one of my present or future gems to someone for the first time.

 

[alvina]

its very nice, All the best

 

[FrekeChild]

I think that this place could potentially work well for you. A certain giant pink tourmaline asscher (the gothic side view in your inspiration pics) was made by them....

http://huntcountry.com/HCJ/HCJHome.jsp

 

[FallenRox]

I think that this place could potentially work well for you. A certain giant pink tourmaline asscher (the gothic side view in your inspiration pics) was made by them....

http://huntcountry.com/HCJ/HCJHome.jsp

I think you're right
I've got them bookmarked just for inspirational stuff but if I'm going to consider an online exchange for this project, no reason not to consider them. Thank you for the reminder!