Dreamer and Demelza's GTG!

[onedrop]

What a gorgeous gathering of rings!!! All of these PS GTGs have provided some excellent eye candy.

 

[yennyfire]

YUMMY!!!!

 

[Kismet]

It's always fun to get together with people who share your jewelry passion! And the bling is gorgeous too!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Fantastic photo shoot! So glad you had a wonderful meet n' greet to go along with all the fabu bling ! Thanks for sharing

 

[Dancing Fire]

beautiful group of blings!!...

 

[Christina...]

Oh wow! So, the next time you bling ho's ( love it) want to get together for lunch, I'd love to play with your amazing spectacular gorgeous collections!! TDF! Thanks for the pics!!!

 

[Demelza]

Just chiming in to say how wonderful it was meeting Dreamer yesterday! We had so much fun and I can't wait to do it again soon!!

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to Dreamer, both for finding me the OEC and for helping me through the rather stressful ordeal of buying it. And a big shout out to Mara and MissGotRocks who were a tremendous help as well!

I was inspired by the photo shoot yesterday and took a few today when the sun came out briefly. Like Mara, I too am thinking about selling my H&A. I certainly don't need two solitaires almost exactly the same size, but I worry about regretting the decision and being priced out of the market. I must say, though, like so many others, I sure am smitten with these old cuts!

 

[TravelingGal]

Super gorgeous Demelza! Did the stone come with that setting? I love the entire package, however it came together.

I've always loved your solitaire too!

 

[TravelingGal]

btw Demelza, I see that your solitaire is still in the 23rd street setting (I came across your thread when I was researching 23rd street for my own project). Has it kept you happy and has it held up well? You are one of the few PSers who used them. I figure it's a good thing that it's still in there because I do remember how many times you dealt with resetting it (good and bad experiences both.) I always thought you did great with choosing the resetting of your gorgeous stone (which I am sure you will not have a problem with reselling should you decide to only keep one.)

Also, please start your own thread with that beauty!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That must have been awesome!

Demelza, I your OEC/tranny. it looks like the very (VERY) big sister to my .8 "checkers". I can only imagine how awesome it must be to ahve that kind of fiery, checkerboardy, goodness in such a large stone.

sigh/swoon/back to looking at the pictures

 

[MissGotRocks]

Hey Dem - always a pleasure to lend an ear and always a delight to see these gorgeous pictures! This new stone is just spectacular but so is your other solitaire. You're blessed with two beautiful stones.

 

[woofmama]

THUD

Beautiful rings ladies! How fun to get together and visit. Thanks for posting all those gorgeous pics!

 

[Dreamer_D]

btw Demelza, I see that your solitaire is still in the 23rd street setting (I came across your thread when I was researching 23rd street for my own project). Has it kept you happy and has it held up well? You are one of the few PSers who used them. I figure it's a good thing that it's still in there because I do remember how many times you dealt with resetting it (good and bad experiences both.) I always thought you did great with choosing the resetting of your gorgeous stone (which I am sure you will not have a problem with reselling should you decide to only keep one.)

Also, please start your own thread with that beauty!

Dem can answer for herself, but I thought I would add that I did not know who made her mount and complimented its beauty and function! It is very comfortable to wear and the prongs are divine. It looks like a well made piece too in proportion, dainty but sturdy too.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Hey Dem - always a pleasure to lend an ear and always a delight to see these gorgeous pictures! This new stone is just spectacular but so is your other solitaire. You're blessed with two beautiful stones.

Demelza was saying "I don't NEED two huge solitaires, right?" I told her she could make studs out of them

 

[TravelingGal]

btw Demelza, I see that your solitaire is still in the 23rd street setting (I came across your thread when I was researching 23rd street for my own project). Has it kept you happy and has it held up well? You are one of the few PSers who used them. I figure it's a good thing that it's still in there because I do remember how many times you dealt with resetting it (good and bad experiences both.) I always thought you did great with choosing the resetting of your gorgeous stone (which I am sure you will not have a problem with reselling should you decide to only keep one.)

Also, please start your own thread with that beauty!

Dem can answer for herself, but I thought I would add that I did not know who made her mount and complimented its beauty and function! It is very comfortable to wear and the prongs are divine. It looks like a well made piece too in proportion, dainty but sturdy too.

Cool thanks! I remember seeing it thinking, that looks as good as a Leon! Then when I went to research, I found the thread again and reread Demelza's journey and it swayed me to think 23rd street was going to be OK since she had some other good settings that didn't work out and this one seemed to hit the mark.

The one that threw me was the locke. I remember it being one of the more beautiful settings at the time (another PSer had one that I thought was amazing...she was an interesting study, actually) but Demelza's looked to be subpar. That nixed Locke for me for the future.

 

[Demelza]

btw Demelza, I see that your solitaire is still in the 23rd street setting (I came across your thread when I was researching 23rd street for my own project). Has it kept you happy and has it held up well? You are one of the few PSers who used them. I figure it's a good thing that it's still in there because I do remember how many times you dealt with resetting it (good and bad experiences both.) I always thought you did great with choosing the resetting of your gorgeous stone (which I am sure you will not have a problem with reselling should you decide to only keep one.)

Also, please start your own thread with that beauty!

Dem can answer for herself, but I thought I would add that I did not know who made her mount and complimented its beauty and function! It is very comfortable to wear and the prongs are divine. It looks like a well made piece too in proportion, dainty but sturdy too.

Cool thanks! I remember seeing it thinking, that looks as good as a Leon! Then when I went to research, I found the thread again and reread Demelza's journey and it swayed me to think 23rd street was going to be OK since she had some other good settings that didn't work out and this one seemed to hit the mark.

The one that threw me was the locke. I remember it being one of the more beautiful settings at the time (another PSer had one that I thought was amazing...she was an interesting study, actually) but Demelza's looked to be subpar. That nixed Locke for me for the future.

Hi TGal --

Yes, I'm very pleased with the quality of the workmanship on my ring and it's held up very well since I got it in 2008. As you are well aware, I went through quite a lot trying to set my stone -- some of that was me being neurotic and some of it was sub-par workmanship. My ring from 23rd Street is undoubtedly very well-made and I've had several other jewelers confirm that. I think you'll be very happy with how your beautiful 3-stone wears over the years. One question for you: Was your ring handforged? I ask because I remember seeing a CAD in your thread and I didn't think they did any casting.

Re: Lockes -- that was all just too bizarre. Shortly after my fiasco with them, they closed up shop. I, too, was very surprised by the lack of quality workmanship given that the other PSer you're referring to had a beautiful ring made by them just months before. Rich Sherwood was scratching his head too since he was the one who had appraised both it and mine.

As for the OEC, it came in the setting. It's okay -- not what I would choose as it's a bit too high -- but fine for now. I would like to find another authentic antique setting one of these days, but that will have to wait for now.

 

[TravelingGal]

btw Demelza, I see that your solitaire is still in the 23rd street setting (I came across your thread when I was researching 23rd street for my own project). Has it kept you happy and has it held up well? You are one of the few PSers who used them. I figure it's a good thing that it's still in there because I do remember how many times you dealt with resetting it (good and bad experiences both.) I always thought you did great with choosing the resetting of your gorgeous stone (which I am sure you will not have a problem with reselling should you decide to only keep one.)

Also, please start your own thread with that beauty!

Dem can answer for herself, but I thought I would add that I did not know who made her mount and complimented its beauty and function! It is very comfortable to wear and the prongs are divine. It looks like a well made piece too in proportion, dainty but sturdy too.

Cool thanks! I remember seeing it thinking, that looks as good as a Leon! Then when I went to research, I found the thread again and reread Demelza's journey and it swayed me to think 23rd street was going to be OK since she had some other good settings that didn't work out and this one seemed to hit the mark.

The one that threw me was the locke. I remember it being one of the more beautiful settings at the time (another PSer had one that I thought was amazing...she was an interesting study, actually) but Demelza's looked to be subpar. That nixed Locke for me for the future.

Hi TGal --

Yes, I'm very pleased with the quality of the workmanship on my ring and it's held up very well since I got it in 2008. As you are well aware, I went through quite a lot trying to set my stone -- some of that was me being neurotic and some of it was sub-par workmanship. My ring from 23rd Street is undoubtedly very well-made and I've had several other jewelers confirm that. I think you'll be very happy with how your beautiful 3-stone wears over the years. One question for you: Was your ring handforged? I ask because I remember seeing a CAD in your thread and I didn't think they did any casting.

Re: Lockes -- that was all just too bizarre. Shortly after my fiasco with them, they closed up shop. I, too, was very surprised by the lack of quality workmanship given that the other PSer you're referring to had a beautiful ring made by them just months before. Rich Sherwood was scratching his head too since he was the one who had appraised both it and mine.

As for the OEC, it came in the setting. It's okay -- not what I would choose as it's a bit too high -- but fine for now. I would like to find another authentic antique setting one of these days, but that will have to wait for now.

Gosh Demelza, I LOVE your setting for that OEC. I thought you had it made just for your gorgeous rock!

Thanks for the info on 23rd, and I am glad to hear it's held up well! Yes, it's hand forged. Not sure what 23rd street was like when you had your ring made, but the process was somewhat...er, nebulous, I think for a lot of people. They started doing cads so people could get an "idea." Joni said it made the process a lot less stressful for a lot of people, once they explained what the purpose of the CAD was for. For my ring, it was to show me the mathematical proportions of the flow for my stone size, ring size, etc. As you can see, that's ALL the CAD was good for, as there were some elements that were a surprise to me. Still, all I needed to know was proportions, as that was the most important thing for me.

I heard that they did cast some things? But yeah, Joni said my ring would be all handforged, and when you look at it, the "imperfections" (meaning symmetry in some places) show it was hand forged . I love it.

I had no idea that Lockes closed up shop! I just loved that other PSers ring (I can't remember when in her process it was done, but she was very picky and seemed to love it.) Yours was astounding (not in a good way)...I couldn't believe it was from the same place.

 

[TravelingGal]

btw, I just looked up your lockes thread to refresh my memory. Just wanted to note that the poster I was thinking of is NOT Sunkist. The poster I'm thinking of is long gone from here and I thought she had a Lockes after falling out with WF (Lesley was the person she dealt with at the time.)

ETA, Ah I am reading more carefully and I see that Sunkist had the same problems you did. I just skimmed the thread a couple of months ago when I was researching, but now that I know they are no longer in business, it's quite an interesting read.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I also really like the mount that Dem's OEc is in, I don't think I posted any detailed shots I missed profile pics. It has these super delicate prongs that extend all the way up the gallery. The stone is set high, though, a lot higher than the 23rd street solitaire that's for sure! But it is really pretty, if impractical to wear.

 

[junebug17]

Oh wow, what gorgeous pieces!! I love them all - and the GTG sounds like fun! Thanks for posting pics, scrumptious eye candy for sure!

 

[Demelza]

btw Demelza, I see that your solitaire is still in the 23rd street setting (I came across your thread when I was researching 23rd street for my own project). Has it kept you happy and has it held up well? You are one of the few PSers who used them. I figure it's a good thing that it's still in there because I do remember how many times you dealt with resetting it (good and bad experiences both.) I always thought you did great with choosing the resetting of your gorgeous stone (which I am sure you will not have a problem with reselling should you decide to only keep one.)

Also, please start your own thread with that beauty!

Dem can answer for herself, but I thought I would add that I did not know who made her mount and complimented its beauty and function! It is very comfortable to wear and the prongs are divine. It looks like a well made piece too in proportion, dainty but sturdy too.

Cool thanks! I remember seeing it thinking, that looks as good as a Leon! Then when I went to research, I found the thread again and reread Demelza's journey and it swayed me to think 23rd street was going to be OK since she had some other good settings that didn't work out and this one seemed to hit the mark.

The one that threw me was the locke. I remember it being one of the more beautiful settings at the time (another PSer had one that I thought was amazing...she was an interesting study, actually) but Demelza's looked to be subpar. That nixed Locke for me for the future.

Hi TGal --

Yes, I'm very pleased with the quality of the workmanship on my ring and it's held up very well since I got it in 2008. As you are well aware, I went through quite a lot trying to set my stone -- some of that was me being neurotic and some of it was sub-par workmanship. My ring from 23rd Street is undoubtedly very well-made and I've had several other jewelers confirm that. I think you'll be very happy with how your beautiful 3-stone wears over the years. One question for you: Was your ring handforged? I ask because I remember seeing a CAD in your thread and I didn't think they did any casting.

Re: Lockes -- that was all just too bizarre. Shortly after my fiasco with them, they closed up shop. I, too, was very surprised by the lack of quality workmanship given that the other PSer you're referring to had a beautiful ring made by them just months before. Rich Sherwood was scratching his head too since he was the one who had appraised both it and mine.

As for the OEC, it came in the setting. It's okay -- not what I would choose as it's a bit too high -- but fine for now. I would like to find another authentic antique setting one of these days, but that will have to wait for now.

Gosh Demelza, I LOVE your setting for that OEC. I thought you had it made just for your gorgeous rock!

Thanks for the info on 23rd, and I am glad to hear it's held up well! Yes, it's hand forged. Not sure what 23rd street was like when you had your ring made, but the process was somewhat...er, nebulous, I think for a lot of people. They started doing cads so people could get an "idea." Joni said it made the process a lot less stressful for a lot of people, once they explained what the purpose of the CAD was for. For my ring, it was to show me the mathematical proportions of the flow for my stone size, ring size, etc. As you can see, that's ALL the CAD was good for, as there were some elements that were a surprise to me. Still, all I needed to know was proportions, as that was the most important thing for me.

I heard that they did cast some things? But yeah, Joni said my ring would be all handforged, and when you look at it, the "imperfections" (meaning symmetry in some places) show it was hand forged . I love it.

I had no idea that Lockes closed up shop! I just loved that other PSers ring (I can't remember when in her process it was done, but she was very picky and seemed to love it.) Yours was astounding (not in a good way)...I couldn't believe it was from the same place.

Nope, the ring came in that setting. I assume it's original? I'm glad you think it's nice. I like it -- the engraving, milgraining, and ribbon prongs are lovely, but as Dreamer said, it's quite tall and I don't see a way to lower it. I don't foresee a new mounting for quite a long while, though, so hopefully I won't whack it on anything!

I had my 23rd Street ring made at the Santa Monica location. They weren't using CAD at that point. I basically just sent them a picture of the ring I wanted and they made it. There was not much discussion and the ring looks exactly like the one I asked for. They're certainly pricey (I think I paid 2k back in 2008, so more than Leon, I'm sure), but the customer service was solid and the product great.

I still have no idea what was going on with Lockes, but they had tons of personnel changes and then just disappeared. I don't know if they exist in some other form -- I think they were diamond siteholders -- but that ring was a beautiful design. Too bad things went south!

 

[ariel144]

Sounds like you bling sisters had a great time....thanks for sharing all that bling....the OEC is marvelous!

 

[Mayk]

Some seriously FABULOUS bling .. Ladies... so nice!!!! How nice you could get your bling together for a play date!!!!

 

[NKOTB]

(bling)Ho. Lee. Cow. Awesome.

 

[SparklyOEC]

What a great GTG! All the bling is beautiful!

 

[Lotus99]

So much sparkly goodness. Thanks for sharing!

 

[marcy]

Looks like a lot of fun and and a lot sparkles.

 

[Mara]

TG...I think you are remembering Matatora who had a Locke setting.

Dem... love those new sunlight pics. That stone is just ridiculously beautiful, so crisp and clear. And I do like that setting.

 

[Demelza]

TG...I think you are remembering Matatora who had a Locke setting.

Dem... love those new sunlight pics. That stone is just ridiculously beautiful, so crisp and clear. And I do like that setting.

Yes, I think it was Matatora who got the first Lockes??

Thanks!

Here's a sideview pic of the mounting (and a few others). You can see how high up the diamond sits. It definitely doesn't fill out the head, but I don't see a way to lower it.

 

[TravelingGal]

Nope, the ring came in that setting. I assume it's original? I'm glad you think it's nice. I like it -- the engraving, milgraining, and ribbon prongs are lovely, but as Dreamer said, it's quite tall and I don't see a way to lower it. I don't foresee a new mounting for quite a long while, though, so hopefully I won't whack it on anything!

I had my 23rd Street ring made at the Santa Monica location. They weren't using CAD at that point. I basically just sent them a picture of the ring I wanted and they made it. There was not much discussion and the ring looks exactly like the one I asked for. They're certainly pricey (I think I paid 2k back in 2008, so more than Leon, I'm sure), but the customer service was solid and the product great.

I still have no idea what was going on with Lockes, but they had tons of personnel changes and then just disappeared. I don't know if they exist in some other form -- I think they were diamond siteholders -- but that ring was a beautiful design. Too bad things went south!

I like the profile, although I can see why you think it's high.

Yeah, the process you had is pretty close to what I had. Not a lot of discussion. Just "can you do this?" and you hope that they can, lol. They are generally pricey, but my ring, for what it was, I imagine was right on par (if not cheaper in some cases) than PS vendors. However, I did pay WAY less than Joni initially quoted, as the jeweler ended up quoted a lot less than she thought. I think their CS is fine, but everything went well for my project. I tend to really judge service by how a vendor handles things when something goes awry.

Mara, yes, that is who I was thinking about re: Locke setting.