I just spent the whole weekend meeting with different jewelers in NYC. We visited Leon Mege, Taffin (James de Givenchy), Garrard, Cartier, and Mimi So. We had some idea of what we wanted made, but were open to suggestions. As many of you might already know, the stone is a 1.93 carat Royal Asscher, D VVS2. I want the form of the setting to be very simple, with micro-pave all over. Here''s some comments on the experience, if anyone''s interested. By each name I''ve listed the approximate price asked for the design parameters I provided.
1. Leon Mege (~$5,000). I was pleasantly surprised by Leon''s very friendly and patient demeanor. His expertise and knowledge are obvious. We spent about an hour discussing the possibilities for my diamond and concluded with a few designs to think about. Of all the places we visited, he showed us the most delicate micro-pave examples (bands as thin as 1.5mm across), and, other than Mimi So, he is the only one that would create my ring on premise. Perhaps only Taffin''s work exceeded his in craftmanship. His atelier was the least fancy of all the ones we visited, but that shouldn''t really matter. His price is also by far the lowest. I''m heavily leaning toward going with Leon. However, many of his original designs do not match the aesthetic refinement of the other jewelers we visited.
2. Taffin ($10,000). Very impressive atelier. The taste level of James'' jewelry is exceptional and most in line with my own preferences. James was very helpful and showed us a few engagement rings he created. The micro-pave was the most well-finished that we saw; though Leon''s comes close, if not matching it. Of course, Taffin''s work is done off-premise in four or five workshops throughout the city. Who knows, maybe Leon does some of it? Anyway, I have no doubt that either Leon or Taffin could create the ring I want; the issue is price. Taffin''s base price for any commission is $10,000. Is a Taffin ring worth a $5,000 premium? I think there are some advantages. Leon seems like a nice, trustworthy guy, but I would trust Taffin more to handle the design details that I haven''t thought of. I trust James to steer me away from poor choices more than any of the other jewelers we met. Also, I love Taffin''s jewelry, and I know my girlfriend likes it; perhaps, it would be nice to start building a business relationship with the firm now. But is all that worth $5,000 more? I''m hoping he will budge on the price. We''ll see.
4. Garrard ($10,000+). The sales associate who met with us was very friendly but had failed to get us the adequate information we needed by the time of our appointment. For example. two weeks ago she had promised to have a few examples of the firm''s micro-pave rings and a price quote available. I checked in a few times during the interim and was assured that everything would be ready. Of course, there were no examples and no price quote, just a few computer drawings from London. The pave I saw at the atelier was frankly not up to par with what I saw at Leon''s or at Taffin. And I was a little dismayed to find out that to do micro-pave with small enough stones, they''d have to send the ring to Los Angeles to be made because they don''t have the expertise necessary in their own London workshop. Is it the case that the crafstmen most skilled in micro-pave are now in the U.S.? Plausible. But, while there was no specific quote, I was told that micro-pave like what I saw at Leon''s or Taffin would cost at least $10,000. That''s absurd. Anyway, I didn''t like any of their house designs. Very gaudy stuff. Someone should fire Jade Jagger (if she''s still in charge). The only way I''d go with Garrard is if the price is far lower than the estimate and the work is stellar.
5. Cartier (???). We dropped in on a whim, knowing that their policy is to not do work with clients'' stones, and didn''t take ''no'' for an answer. After showing the sales manager the stone and GIA report, he admitted it was quite nice and was willing to call Paris to see if they could make an exception for it. He was very friendly and promises to get back to me early this week. I have no idea what this would cost, but the micro-pave they have in store is excellent and I''d sleep a little better with Carter''s guarantee behind my ring.
6. Mimi So (???). Very rude sales associate. She just stared at me and didn''t offer any information that I didn''t have to squeeze out of her. They supposedly cannot do three-sided micro-pave on a band less than 2.5 mm across; what I saw was unremarkable. When I asked about what technique they use for their micro-pave, she had no idea what I was talking about and only remarked "What we have is what you see." Useless. When I asked her if they have an example of the kind of ring they''d for my stone as according to my preferences, she reached under the display case without looking, put a ring in front of me, and said, "Here''s what we do." When I pointed out that the ring she showed me had no micro-pave, had side stones, and was made for a round brilliant diamond, she said, "You can''t expect to see an example of a ring we haven''t made for you yet." She clearly had better things to do with her time, and so did we, so we got up and left.
Anyway that''s that. If there''s anyone else to see in NYC, I''d be happy to hear about them. The main dilemma now is to settle on a few design details: (1) rounded three-sided micro-pave band or square, milgrained three-sided micro-pave band, (2) single or double prong, and (3) micro-pave prongs or plain prongs. At least we know it can be done, no matter what I go with; it''s just a matter of picking someone to do it.
1. Leon Mege (~$5,000). I was pleasantly surprised by Leon''s very friendly and patient demeanor. His expertise and knowledge are obvious. We spent about an hour discussing the possibilities for my diamond and concluded with a few designs to think about. Of all the places we visited, he showed us the most delicate micro-pave examples (bands as thin as 1.5mm across), and, other than Mimi So, he is the only one that would create my ring on premise. Perhaps only Taffin''s work exceeded his in craftmanship. His atelier was the least fancy of all the ones we visited, but that shouldn''t really matter. His price is also by far the lowest. I''m heavily leaning toward going with Leon. However, many of his original designs do not match the aesthetic refinement of the other jewelers we visited.
2. Taffin ($10,000). Very impressive atelier. The taste level of James'' jewelry is exceptional and most in line with my own preferences. James was very helpful and showed us a few engagement rings he created. The micro-pave was the most well-finished that we saw; though Leon''s comes close, if not matching it. Of course, Taffin''s work is done off-premise in four or five workshops throughout the city. Who knows, maybe Leon does some of it? Anyway, I have no doubt that either Leon or Taffin could create the ring I want; the issue is price. Taffin''s base price for any commission is $10,000. Is a Taffin ring worth a $5,000 premium? I think there are some advantages. Leon seems like a nice, trustworthy guy, but I would trust Taffin more to handle the design details that I haven''t thought of. I trust James to steer me away from poor choices more than any of the other jewelers we met. Also, I love Taffin''s jewelry, and I know my girlfriend likes it; perhaps, it would be nice to start building a business relationship with the firm now. But is all that worth $5,000 more? I''m hoping he will budge on the price. We''ll see.
4. Garrard ($10,000+). The sales associate who met with us was very friendly but had failed to get us the adequate information we needed by the time of our appointment. For example. two weeks ago she had promised to have a few examples of the firm''s micro-pave rings and a price quote available. I checked in a few times during the interim and was assured that everything would be ready. Of course, there were no examples and no price quote, just a few computer drawings from London. The pave I saw at the atelier was frankly not up to par with what I saw at Leon''s or at Taffin. And I was a little dismayed to find out that to do micro-pave with small enough stones, they''d have to send the ring to Los Angeles to be made because they don''t have the expertise necessary in their own London workshop. Is it the case that the crafstmen most skilled in micro-pave are now in the U.S.? Plausible. But, while there was no specific quote, I was told that micro-pave like what I saw at Leon''s or Taffin would cost at least $10,000. That''s absurd. Anyway, I didn''t like any of their house designs. Very gaudy stuff. Someone should fire Jade Jagger (if she''s still in charge). The only way I''d go with Garrard is if the price is far lower than the estimate and the work is stellar.
5. Cartier (???). We dropped in on a whim, knowing that their policy is to not do work with clients'' stones, and didn''t take ''no'' for an answer. After showing the sales manager the stone and GIA report, he admitted it was quite nice and was willing to call Paris to see if they could make an exception for it. He was very friendly and promises to get back to me early this week. I have no idea what this would cost, but the micro-pave they have in store is excellent and I''d sleep a little better with Carter''s guarantee behind my ring.
6. Mimi So (???). Very rude sales associate. She just stared at me and didn''t offer any information that I didn''t have to squeeze out of her. They supposedly cannot do three-sided micro-pave on a band less than 2.5 mm across; what I saw was unremarkable. When I asked about what technique they use for their micro-pave, she had no idea what I was talking about and only remarked "What we have is what you see." Useless. When I asked her if they have an example of the kind of ring they''d for my stone as according to my preferences, she reached under the display case without looking, put a ring in front of me, and said, "Here''s what we do." When I pointed out that the ring she showed me had no micro-pave, had side stones, and was made for a round brilliant diamond, she said, "You can''t expect to see an example of a ring we haven''t made for you yet." She clearly had better things to do with her time, and so did we, so we got up and left.
Anyway that''s that. If there''s anyone else to see in NYC, I''d be happy to hear about them. The main dilemma now is to settle on a few design details: (1) rounded three-sided micro-pave band or square, milgrained three-sided micro-pave band, (2) single or double prong, and (3) micro-pave prongs or plain prongs. At least we know it can be done, no matter what I go with; it''s just a matter of picking someone to do it.
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