Would you go with local b&m or PS vendor for custom setting?

[autumnlala]

I''ve been posting a lot lately so some of you may already know that I have a ~1.2 ct marquise stone that I''m looking to set east west, probably in a halo setting similar to Jazmine''s. Thought a stock setting might work but the more I look and talk to jewelers I think custom is the way to go.

Soooo, I''ve gotten quotes from Whiteflash and am working on getting one from Quest (they''ve been kind of slow and unresponsive, contrary to reviews I''ve read here, which surprised me). Love their ideas and they both seem great to work with, v. high quality work.

I''ve also gone to a few nice, independent jewelers in my hometown (Chattanooga, TN) to see what they can offer. I really liked the one I talked to yesterday, they''ve been in business over 100 years, very upscale, I have no doubt they would take good care of me if anything went wrong and for future jewelry needs. They can custom make my piece, but they don''t do it in house, they will send it to a guy in Cincinnati.

Assuming the prices are roughly the same for the PS vendors and my local store, which would you recommend?

Pros/ cons as I see it:

Local store pros: if something goes wrong it''s easy to take and get it fixed, I know their reputation is excellent, I will have a real live person to deal with during the design process, will be developing a local relationship

Local store cons: haven''t been able to see the quality of their designer''s workmanship, if they''re sending it out anyway there''s a middleman and I won''t be as involved in the process as the store employee will likely deal with the designer, not me

PS vendors pros: tons of reviews and pictures so I have no doubt about the quality of their work, I would actually work with the designer, so no middleman, I can e-mail them day or night with thoughts and ideas, would feel a little bad calling my local store as much

PS vendors cons: dealing long distance could be a hassle since I won''t see anything in person until it''s totally done, just pictures, and if it needs to be fixed it could also be a hassle, lots of shipping back and forth gets costly and takes time

Please share your thoughts and/or experiences!!
Thanks,
Autumn

 

[mrssalvo]

personally, I would go with a PS vendor, but that''s b/c i''ve been here 3 years and have built a few relationships with vendors and trust them 100%. There is nothing wrong with going with a local business though and if you feel confident in the quality of workmanship and price then I like the idea of supporting a local business as well. I do find it interesting that your local store doesn''t even do custom work local, but if they will treat you and your ring as if it was made by them right in their store with the same warranties etc. then it might be worth a shot.

if you go with a ring like jasmine''s, i''d seriously consider using WF just b/c they''ve made it before and are used to Pricescoper''s attention to detail.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

If your local jeweler is having someone else do the work, then it would seem more practical to have a vendor do the work because you can actually talk to them. Unless you can contact the person your jeweler is hiring out to do the work, it would seem like a moot point to even go locally.

One of my custom pieces was made locally and the jeweler I spoke with was the craftsman who made the piece right there in his shop. I brought in multiple photographs and he sketched the design to make sure we were on the same page. I LOVED that approach and would choose that again if I decided to make another custom piece. I wouldn''t go with a jeweler who sent the project to another person!!!

 

[ChattyCat]

I was considering a custom setting for some stones. The jewelers in my town send out custom work. They will tweak things, like replace heads, and do repairs, but send out the things that need moldings and castings. That pretty much made my decision for me there. I might buy a pre-fab setting there, but if I''m going custom, I''m going to talk to the person actually making the ring.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/11/2008 2:12:59 PM
Author: ChattyCat
I was considering a custom setting for some stones. The jewelers in my town send out custom work. They will tweak things, like replace heads, and do repairs, but send out the things that need moldings and castings. That pretty much made my decision for me there. I might buy a pre-fab setting there, but if I'm going custom, I'm going to talk to the person actually making the ring.

same here but I found out who the person is they send it out too and can go directly too him locally so that's the route id take.