Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair K.

[SeekingClarity]

Hello PS,

Being based in Sydney, I struggled a bit with finding the perfect jeweler for an engagement ring. Eventually I ended up buying a diamond from Victor Canera and having it set (somewhat) locally by Alistair Kelsey. My fiance adores her ring and gets many compliments on it. I could also not have been happier working with both vendors.

We are now looking into wedding rings and a couple points have come up.
- My fiance is very reluctant to send her ring away for an annual inspection and/or cleaning. Putting it in AusPost makes it an even more daunting thought. She feels much more comfortable having it inspected locally where she can drop it off and pick it up in person. Which I completely understand.
- For wedding rings, she is looking for a half-eternity pave band with ~3 pointers. Given the delicacy of such a setting with many small stones, she is concerned about having this ring checked regularly and would prefer not to send her wedding ring away either.
- We spoke with Joseph at Raphael's in the Strand Arcade. He was great to speak with and very laid back, quite a different experience from, say, Tiffany's. The pave ring he showed us also seemed to have the stones set quite low in the band which was quite appealing (though I'm not sure if this is good or bad or just a preference...). He also mentioned that he's happy to inspect the engagement ring on a regular basis, if we were to get our wedding ring(s?) there.
- While it was a great first impression, my only concern was that Joseph had not heard of French cut diamonds, which I was hoping to source for my own ring. (Alistair seems to have no problem sourcing them.)
- Being able to try on different options in person was also quite helpful. Something not easily done when ordering from Alistair, unfortunately.

My fiance seems to like Raphael's quite a lot and it would be quite convenient, but I had a couple questions. This first one may be silly, but are pave rings cast? Has anyone had any experience with Raphael's? It seems the convenience and piece of mind being able to pop in to a local shop may outweigh other aspects (and we already know they have great customer service). Should I be concerned that he is not familiar with French cut diamonds and cannot source them? I'm still somewhat tied to the idea of having a french cut rectangular stone in my own ring.

Perhaps I am overthinking all of this? Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated!

Cheers,
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[arkieb1]

Re: Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair

I'm in Brisbane I think any decent jeweller can "service" ie inspect and clean your rings. I get a local guy here to do it, if any stones are coming loose you have two options get a good bench jeweller here to tighten or fix the problem, or send the rings back to the maker, as having another jeweller mess with them tends to void any warranty some of them do come with.

No I would NOT use someone who has never heard of French cuts to make a French cut ring, that seems like an obviously fraught thing to do!!!!

And bands can be handmade (like Victor does) or cast like Caysie from CVB does (look at both they make beautiful bands).

 

[Acinom]

Re: Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair

I agree with Arkieb. It should be no problem to find a local jeweller for cleaning etc. For small repairs you need to look closely at the quality that can be offered. I am located in Europe and most of my jewelry come from US or Australian jewelers. A local jeweler cleans my rings and examines the prongs as there is no way I would let my rings travel around the world...

I would not let a jeweller - who is not familiar with french cuts - create band or ring with frenchies.

 

[SeekingClarity]

Re: Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair

Thanks for your input, as always, arkieb1 and Acinom!

Apologies if I was not clear, but I certainly am not expecting someone that does not know what French cuts are to make a ring with one. I was more wondering if knowing about French cut diamonds is a reasonable proxy for how knowledgeable a jeweler is.

Very good point on having another bench do repair work on the engagement ring! We may have them inspect it regularly, but I'd prefer to send it back to Alistair if any work is required.

At this point, I think I will still get my ring from Alistair and my fiance's ring will likely come from the local shop, as Alistair already mentioned that he can source a French cut diamond for my ring .

Cheers,
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[distracts]

Re: Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair

I was more wondering if knowing about French cut diamonds is a reasonable proxy for how knowledgeable a jeweler is.

I have yet to encounter a jeweler irl who knows what french cuts are, even when they carry antique rings that have them they usually are calling them something else. I would measure their knowledge on craftsmanship on, well, knowledge of craftsmanship, rather than knowledge of antique cut names.

 

[SeekingClarity]

Re: Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair

I was more wondering if knowing about French cut diamonds is a reasonable proxy for how knowledgeable a jeweler is.

I have yet to encounter a jeweler irl who knows what french cuts are, even when they carry antique rings that have them they usually are calling them something else. I would measure their knowledge on craftsmanship on, well, knowledge of craftsmanship, rather than knowledge of antique cut names.

Thanks for that. I didn't realize French cut was a specific name for a particular antique cut. Our of curiosity, what other names do Frenchies go by? Nearly all of my understanding of diamonds comes from the forum which perhaps has led me to have some biased perceptions.

Cheers,
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[Bron357]

Re: Wedding Ring Conundrum: Local Aussie Jeweler vs Alistair

I'm in Sydney. I've been dealing with Jarret Jewellers in the Town Hall arcade for over 20 years now. They were the only ones I trusted with my engagement ring reset. They are reasonably priced (not paying Stand Arcade rents!) and do excellent work. I went to a "fancy place" and they were more interested in what they wanted to design rather than what I knew I wanted. My ring was done on a sketch and a lengthy conversation where many diamonds had been ordered in for my consideration. It turned out exactly right. For my little jobs, there's a guy at Wynyard Arcade, at the back where the old timber escalators are, he is also very good. Both shops are "owner operated" and have been around a long time.