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Would you risk a Leon?

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There are a few sets of earrings that he''s designed which leaving me drooling, but the majority of rings are a bit over-the-top *for me*. They look great in all the photos I''ve seen in SMTR.

That said, I wouldn''t want to deal with a rude designer unless I decided to get one of those two pairs I''d kill for. Why financially support someone who may treat me like crap?
 
I had already made my preferences to my BF known before the latest Leon thread. He has liked Leon too, so it was a vendor we could agree on. We both get his "humor" and find it kind of funny :-)

We were both offended and upset by the last episode. I was willing to use someone else. It was actually the OP of that thread who told me not to give up on that ring if I really love it.

Regardless, my BF has not asked for alternatives, and I think the ring buying process is going to happen soon (I am not allowed to bring it up anymore). If I end up with a Leon, I will still be happy. I like his work, and I think that most people are happy with what they got.
 
Date: 10/2/2009 12:47:54 PM
Author: MC
There are a few sets of earrings that he''s designed which leaving me drooling, but the majority of rings are a bit over-the-top *for me*. They look great in all the photos I''ve seen in SMTR.


That said, I wouldn''t want to deal with a rude designer unless I decided to get one of those two pairs I''d kill for. Why financially support someone who may treat me like crap?
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ditto to the bold

I think that''s it on the nose. If he can make that ONCE IN A LIFETIME piece, you''ll be more apt to put up with some of the rudeness. If it''s just another ring, there are many other designers to choose from to eliminate a possible bad experience. But, it seems to me Leon feels this way too, at least from what I''ve read about him.
 
No way in h###, I sent him an email asking a simple question about setting a diamond for me and got a rude and obnoxious reply.
 
Date: 10/2/2009 12:39:26 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Date: 10/2/2009 12:38:08 PM

Author: tsavvy

I would use Leon. As others have posted, I think it is a matter of personalities meshing and also being able to leave things in his hands. I asked him for a quote several weeks ago and will be sending him my EC tsavorite (it will either be set in a setting similar to my grandmother''s e-ring or in the same setting that AJ has been eyeing).


In the quote request, I did let him know that as long as the ring is beautiful I could care less whether he sends it to me in a plastic baggie or high-end ring box
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Which setting is that?
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Here''s a photo of my grandma''s e-ring and Leon''s 5-stone (I''m having a hard time deciding if my EC tsav center will look anywhere nearly as nice as his radiant, though).

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recently on a trip to spain we realized that some other countries don't have the same 'customer comes first' mentality that most of the US has in spades. so if a transaction goes wrong, the attitude is generally 'oh well you are SOL'. i had such a hard time dealing with something super minor that happened to us with that same atttidue that i realized i probably can't work with people who don't value my business as a customer. if people act like they could take you or leave you, i prob wouldn't give them money. if it was a tiny amt or cash, or one that mentally i'd went into the transaction thinking i was going to lose (like gambling), that is one thing..i might be ok with that. but to bank on happiness and satisfaction for your spend, then i'd prob shy away from anything that hinted ahead of time that might be somewhat unlikely.
 
Like a few other posters mentioned, I have found that I actually don''t love many of Leon''s designs. Although he does make some truly outstanding pieces, I would absolutely not risk it with him. I wouldn''t deal well with his brand of "customer service."
 
Date: 10/2/2009 12:30:27 PM
Author: purrfectpear
Sure, why not? At most you risk some money or a bruised ego.


I've got money, and my ego is impervious
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Yep, I feel the same. My dad is a business owner so I'm used to people like Leon.. well, my dad has never been that bad, but he ultimately decides who his customers are. I should mention that my dad's business has excellent customer service, but every once in a while someone comes in who just isn't worth the trouble. In business some personalities don't mesh, I guess I just wouldn't dwell on a bad experience or if I was treated poorly. I can hold my own, I've been around similar personalities all my life.
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"Would you risk a Leon?"

No. Absolutely not. Never. No way in hell. Not if he was the last jeweler on earth.
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I actually wonder statistically on PS how many Leon rings there are and how many people were happy as opposed to not happy.
 
With so many talented options out there, why would I bother.
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No, but chiefly because my taste runs more toward Van Craeynest/Green Lake/Julia Kay''s more antique-y designs. In other words, I''m a filigree and pierced scrollwork kind of girl, so it''s easy for me to write off Leon because of his sometimes dubious attitude when I''m not in love with his designs to begin with. If he did the kind of work that made my heart go pitter-pat, I''d probably go ahead and take the plunge... because I too have a steel-clad ego and no great attachment to my money.
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Date: 10/2/2009 2:41:15 PM
Author: TravelingGal
I actually wonder statistically on PS how many Leon rings there are and how many people were happy as opposed to not happy.
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It seem pretty rare to me. But it seems like the unhappy stories are reeeeally unhappy stories and they tend to stick in the mind. Like the no soup for you one.

There''s a Leon ring I''m dying to have, but, unless there''s a cash for clunkers in the jewelry category, I can''t see spending 3/4 or more, of what I made last year on a ring, no matter how gorgeous it is. He was really nice to me when I asked for a quote, and I do find his brand of humor amusing (like the employment section of his site) but I''d be mortified if I spent that kind of money and ended up being unhappy. Now..were my gramma or mom to tell me she''d spring for an heirloom piece, yeah, I''d prolly do it. Until then, I''ll be content with using the ring as an idea for something I can afford easier.
 
Date: 10/2/2009 12:38:21 PM
Author: TravelingGal

You have no idea what is going on during the process and we all also know that Leon doesn't actually make the ring himself. I asked about this and he laughed and said, when you want to buy a Ford, you don't expect Ford to actually make it himself.
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But didn't he used to, exclusively? If I remember correctly, there were some QC issues with someone's 'Leon' piece a while back and it was discovered that Leon hadn't even touched it, which caused a bit of a ruckus.

I guess that if I was going to pay the $$$ for one of his pieces and have to deal with his artiste attitude, I'd want the artiste himself to craft it.
 
Yes, happily.

I spoke with Mr Mege a while back and found him to be funny, charming and perfectly courteous. I didn''t go ahead with the project in the end, but no reflection on him at all, it was all about my indecisiveness. I''ve thought about re-setting my engagement stone once or twice over the years but I decided in the end that I am too sentimental to change it
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So, he was polite and enthusiastic about a plain, no pave setting for my existing 1ct stone and he could not have been nicer. I liked him.


Jen
 
Date: 10/2/2009 12:11:41 PM
Author: TravelingGal

No, sure, I''m happy to post a couple of things, and I''ll repost when I have the ring. Obviously right now, the biggest missing link IS the ring.

So far, my experience with Leon has been very positive. And LIMITED. I think 1 longer call (and by longer, I mean 5-10 minutes) and 2 short 2-minute conversations (one of them was to shorten the engraving so he needed to know if that was OK). I think I''ve exchanged only a half dozen emails with him, at most, and those were very short. All were before I had the longer conversation with him about the ring style. Once I had that conversation, we did not talk again until the ring was done.

In that conversation, I essentially said, you got my stone, what do you think? He said 5 stone. I said, I love that idea, have fun! I also said, I like pointy prongs and swooplicious curves. He said, I know what you like. Again, this all took part in the ''long'' conversation.

I don''t know what the ring looks like. I have an idea of the concept, but now after sending full payment, I have NO idea what the ring REALLY looks like.

That sort of strikes me as crazy. I am probably Leon''s ideal candidate. I''m generally laid back, have no idea what I really want for a ring and am happy to leave it at the hands of the jeweler. I have no vision, but I know I like his stuff. Even after all this, when faced with the task of sending the balance of the payment by CHECK (Leon does not take credit cards in any way, shape or form), I fully admit, I had a moment of, huh? How nuts is this!

Now, if *I* (ms. ok-whatever) thought that, I can''t imagine what the average, normal person would be feeling. I fully admit to now being a bit antsy about seeing the ring. Thoughts are flitting about in my brain. I mean, don''t we all come to PS because we are savvy consumers? What savvy consumer would pay the entire balance for a product she won''t even get a picture of before she pays? Is this smart buying?

However, having been a PS member for many years, I don''t think I''m totally nuts because I''ve probably seen every Leon ring that a PSer has posted. The man has an eye, and when things have gone awry, in many cases it is because the ring owner wanted something done in a certain way (which I think he will do, even if he doesn''t think it is the best way to set the ring). I have an idea of what to expect from him and my experience with him thus far was not out of line with that expectation. I''ve taken notes from PSer experiences and made my decisions based on what I read. I''ll go more into this part when I actually see the ring and do my final review.

Therefore, with my experience with him so far (which again, is without seeing the final product), I would say that if you are any sort of type A person, it may not be a great working relationship. Now, that''s not entirely fair for me to say because I am not type A, so I don''t know how he interacts with those people. I would also say it might be OK if you could work with him IN PERSON.

If you have a solid vision of what you want, he may not be the right guy for you. He''s a designer, not a benchman. I don''t know if I''d recommend to a Pricescope noobie to work with him. If you know a thing or two about Leon, have a good feel about his work and are not a micromanager, then it probably will be a great working relationship. You also have to have a thick skin.

And finally, you have to be prepared to take the risk that the ring might not turn out to be what you want and the man has your money and you have no credit card protection. This is where I sit right now, so stay tuned for next week.
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Precisely one of the reasons he wouldn''t be the man for me to work with. I have a very difficult time parting with all of my money until I see what the piece looks like. I rather give a deposit and then pay in full on my approval of the piece.
 
I always thought I wouldn''t, but I''m coming round to the idea.

Normally I''m a mega control freak - I sent poor Wink pages of notes and drawings for my e-ring and he did a fab job with everything I wanted.

I''m planning a new ring shortly to celebrate my daughter Daisy''s birth. I''m falling into the problem area that I''m too close to the project to design the right thing and so I''m tempted to ask Leon to just make me something based on loose guidelines and trust that he will create something amazing...
 
Absolutely yes I will work with Leon again. I love his style. He just completed a halo ring for me and we met several times during the process, sometimes for 45 minutes of just sitting and discussing different options. He (or Rachel) answered my calls and emails in a timely manner. I needed to put balls in my ring this week and they did it for me in less than 24 hours. He''s been amazing to work with and if money was not an option I would definitely work with him again! In fact, I''m already saving up money for my next Leon ring
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So, one happy Leon customer here!
 
Yes...but I would be very happy with many different renditions of the 3 stone I have in mind. I trust his judgement and don''t mind the hands-off approach. I also "get" his sarcastic humor - reminds me of my brother a bit.
 
Personally I would, I''ve already sent him a few enquiries and he was nothing but polite and courteous in return even though he knew I wasn''t at the stage of buying. I don''t think I''d have a problem working with him because I''m not ''controlling'' in the sense that I''d send him detailed instructions/ images etc. I''d just tell him which design I like from his portfolio and let him get on with it and trust his judgement.
 
Sure, I would. It'd be a slight risk as to how the piece would turn out, but I'm more lax when it comes to how I want things when I go custom. I like to let the designer have more free reign. Often, I enjoy how the artist or designer interprets my requests and sometimes I don't. I figure I assume that risk when going custom with someone who has a certain vision.

If I wanted one thing and one thing only, I would go to someone else who I know would follow it to the letter. Otherwise, I think you do take on a certain risk when you go custom with creative people. Sometimes it has a delightful ending but sometimes not. It's a risk I'm willing to take because at the end of the day, one can always reset, right?
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Not any more. When I first discovered his site I thought his work was unique and I loved the claw prongs. But now 8 years have passed and I''ve realized there are other designers out there who produce exquisite work (take a look at the Spectrum Awards on AGTA); Leon''s work isn''t unique; and I''m no longer a slave to claw prongs.
 

After reading his responses & from all the complaint threads about him over the years no I would not. Instead of him saying "Your unhappiness is solely a product of your imagination. I am sorry you feel this way" how about saying I guarantee my work, I want you to love it & I will keep working on it until we both agree it's perfect. Also I don't like how he states "if you have a preference of particular airline width you should have specified it on your work order that you SIGNED." Excuse me.? How about he stop assuming & ask questions? He needs to get over himself.

 
Date: 10/2/2009 4:25:00 PM
Author: Matata
Not any more. When I first discovered his site I thought his work was unique and I loved the claw prongs. But now 8 years have passed and I''ve realized there are other designers out there who produce exquisite work (take a look at the Spectrum Awards on AGTA); Leon''s work isn''t unique; and I''m no longer a slave to claw prongs.
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Nope it is not. However, I do think for the level of work, Leon''s prices are REASONABLE.
 
No. I've been burned doing custom before and I would want to work with a jeweler I trusted implicitly if things went wrong, and one in which you get CADS or something first. From what I've seen on PS (repeatedly!) things are great if nothing goes wrong with a Leon, but if something goes haywire you're SOL and then some.

Also though I love his rings on others, and the workmanship is generally fantastic, they aren't to my taste personally so much. Also I'm a huge control freak over custom work and generally know exactly what I want in pretty much every detail. Which is definitely not Leon's thing!

I am very thankful to those brave souls who posted their full experiences with Leon, warts and all. It isn't fun to do that, but it sure does save others $$ and probably some angst too.
 
I''ve heard things here and there about his customer service and just spent the past 20 minutes reading the entire colored stones thread and for the frist 4 pages my answer would have been "yes, I would risk it because I love his work and am used to dealing with slightly difficult people" but then I got to the email on page 5 and my gosh I don''t know the last time I''ve read something that rude.

To personally attack your client with statements like that is an outrage. Wait no, to personally attack ANYONE like that is an outrage, regardless of relationship.

Idk I''ve always admired his work but after reading those statements I think everything I see of his will now be tainted.

And I don''t think its an issue of misinterpreted humor. I am an incredibly sarcastic person and can appreciate a drier sense of humor. He''s not funny, hes an ass.
 
My taste in jewelry tends to be a bit simpler than what he makes, but that doesn''t mean I haven''t drooled over the perfection of design and workmanship that I see in some of his pieces. If I get to a point where I could use (and justify) something more ornate, yes, I''d consider a Leon piece. There are times when I know exactly what I want, but there are also times when, like Tgal, I''d be happy to decide on a general direction, and let an expert work out the details.
 
Absolutely not. No way.

I think his work is beautiful, no one can really argue that...Leon is a very talented man. However, he''s rude--not only to Boom, but we''ve all read other examples of his attitude problem before as well. People give him to much slack based on his "his humor" or the fact that he''s an "artist". I say, who cares? He crosses the line time and time again at the emotional expense of paying customers.

Frankly, if I''m plopping down tens of thousands of dollars on a piece of jewelry I expect a good experience with stellar customer service. I don''t expect or desire mockery or being the butt of some "joke". Lets face it...buying a signifcant piece of jewelry is an emotional experience for the buyer--while the craftman might view it as a "business"--for the ones buying the ring, it''s a symbol of so much more...and it needs to be treated as such. Leon needs to understand that being tempermental isn''t serving well and it is costing him business...if all he cares about is the money, then it''s important for him to understand that by insulting customers he''s effecting his bottom line.

Shame on him.
 
If I really wanted a Leon I would probably still risk it. However, I would go into it knowing he would do whatever he wanted and I''d be out of luck if I didn''t love it.

Most of his stuff isn''t really my style so it will probably never come up. I love it all, but it''s just not me.
 
No, I never will. His "way", his arrogance, his nastiness, his snarkiness, his "humor" would be too upsetting to me. And if I ever paid him $5000 to reset my e-ring and I didn''t like it? I just wouldn''t be able to live with wasting that kind of money. My health would suffer for it and my husband would want to punch his lights out.
It wouldn''t be a good situation from any stand point and really and truly not worth it.
 
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