Suggestions for a hand forged setting for my own lab diamonds?

[kb1gra]

Before I click 'buy' on a suite for an eventual 3-stone ring, I'm wondering which, if any, of our usual hand forged setting vendors will accept customer lab stones.

I know DK will and I've worked with him before, but I had some fantasies about having the "perfect" platinum setting for this ring. It's a simple round with pear sides setting but I really want that perfect liquid platinum appearance that the top makers have. Price is no real object but I would like to not wait 4-5 months for a setting if possible.

 

[vintageinjune]

Victor Canera will, sometimes, I believe.

Maytal Hannah might be worth reaching out too: https://maytalhannah.com/

"Perfect Liquid Platinum" makes me think Leon Mege, and while he doesn't work with outside diamonds, he can and does source lab grown diamonds now. He might be able to source the 3 diamonds and make the perfect hand forged ring for you for about the same cost as purchasing the diamonds separately and then having them set elsewhere.

Otherwise, DK's Uber bench could do the job well. It might be cast in pieces then assembled, but I'm not sure how dead set on truly hand forged you may or may not be for this project.

 

[kb1gra]

Victor Canera will, sometimes, I believe.

Maytal Hannah might be worth reaching out too: https://maytalhannah.com/

"Perfect Liquid Platinum" makes me think Leon Mege, and while he doesn't work with outside diamonds, he can and does source lab grown diamonds now. He might be able to source the 3 diamonds and make the perfect hand forged ring for you for about the same cost as purchasing the diamonds separately and then having them set elsewhere.

Otherwise, DK's Uber bench could do the job well. It might be cast in pieces then assembled, but I'm not sure how dead set on truly hand forged you may or may not be for this project.

I will say I have reached out for stone sourcing, and I have found the prices to be, well, surprising relative to what I could find nice stones for. I admit that those of us on this forum are light years ahead of the average consumer for being able to pick stones from, say, Ritani, but the pricing I was getting on lab stones professionally sourced was orders of magnitude more. Maybe the stones are that much better, maybe they're not, but in lab diamonds, thousands of dollars is a LOT more money.

I'm awaiting a response from DK hopefully on Tuesday, but I know he's busy.

 

[Grymera]

I will say I have reached out for stone sourcing, and I have found the prices to be, well, surprising relative to what I could find nice stones for. I admit that those of us on this forum are light years ahead of the average consumer for being able to pick stones from, say, Ritani, but the pricing I was getting on lab stones professionally sourced was orders of magnitude more. Maybe the stones are that much better, maybe they're not, but in lab diamonds, thousands of dollars is a LOT more money.

I'm awaiting a response from DK hopefully on Tuesday, but I know he's busy.

It depends on the vendor, Victor recently quoted me $2.5k for a 2ct stone for a project -- (certainly not rock bottom but within the range of what I could find on my own for similar ones in terms of color/clarity/etc at the time I was shopping for it). I think it's understandable that they're adding on a markup to hand select something (plus some of these vendors are more known for their mined diamonds, which they're now seeing less demand for).

If he's unwilling to set outside stones, try Steven Kirsch.

 

[yssie]

Leon Mege will work with outside stones - he evaluates case by case

 

[vintageinjune]

Leon Mege will work with outside stones - he evaluates case by case

Oh, that's good to know! I stand (happily) corrected.

 

[kathness]

Steven K doesn’t mind you bringing your own stone. No fuss! He has made a few items for me and it’s been amazing!