Leon Mege Quote?

[cookies]

I have a colored stone to be set as a pendant. Leon Mege is one of my top choices, and I am trying to get a quote from him.

What I want is a millegrained bezel pendant slider, with a flowery & curvy basket, but no pave. How do I get a quote for something quite different from his portfolio? Shall I just put a few image numbers in the quote request form, and point out the particular features I like to have in my setting? Also, how do I attach pictures of my stone to the quote request form? Do I have to send them in a separate email? Thank you!

 

[LittleSparkle]

It might be better to just give him a call. I think it is always easier to explain what you're envisioning over the phone or in person than to rely on his piecing it together from different images you like.

 

[Hospatogi]

I agree that calling is always better but if you want to send pictures I would send him an email. [email protected]

 

[cookies]

Thanks LittleSparkle and Hospatogi. I will send him an email and then follow up with a call.

 

[cookies]

I shot Leon an email with pictures of my stone and my preferences. He replied within half an hour, asking for my budget, and I told him a number. Now I am waiting for him to get back to me. Hope my budget won't turn him off.

 

[CushionCutie]

Oooo exciting!! Can't wait to see pics of the finished outcome!

 

[cookies]

I haven't heard back yet.. maybe my $3k budget is too low for him. I thought without pave/halo, that would be plenty.

 

[mrssalvo]

I'm not sure he works over the weekend so I'd wait a few more days for a quote. If you don't hear from him by thursday I'd call and check to see what's up. 3k is a very nice budget especially for something with no sidestones/pave..

 

[cookies]

Thanks mrssalvo. I waited, and got a very concise reply last night. This four-word reply implies my budget is not too low. That's all. Nothing about my stone or the design elements. No idea how to proceed at the moment. Guess I am having a communication problem, or perhaps he is not interested in the project after all. Hmm.

 

[mayerling]

Maybe you should follow up with another email asking for more info from him.

 

[Love Street]

Definitely call him, if you can. Leon did my ring and over the four months my stone was in his possession, I almost never got a satisfactory email response - it was either dead air or non-responsive to my questions. Phone conversations, however, were very fruitful and always pleasant.

I am an email person - I like sending photos, documents, and having things in writing - so I would get irked at our inability to communicate effectively via email. But, I found that at least in my personal experience with Leon, phone calls were most productive, so long as any pertinent details were memorialized in the *work order* and nowhere else - he and Rachel were always prompt to make changes directly to the work order.

Good luck!

 

[that_someone_special]

Eeer..... I would move on. If he is already being like this.. screw it. Find someone that wants to work with you and doesn't act like you are wasting his time. There are a lot of designers that do comparable work.

 

[cookies]

I had this stone custom set recently as a pendant, but was quite disappointed by the workmanship (I vented in the Colored Stone forum). So I had my stone removed from the setting, and it is now ready for a reset. Because of that experience, I thought I'd put excellent workmanship above excellent customer service. And Leon seems to fit in that category... Anyway, I just sent him another email. Will try calling him later...kind of scary, as I am not good over the phone. If it doesn't go well, I will look for someone else who does hand-made jewelry.

 

[cookies]

I just got a surprise phone call from Leon. It was an apologetic Leon. Like Love Street said, he was very nice on the phone. We discussed the elements I would like to have in the pendant, and he said it is no problem to make something like that in platinum, and it will be well within my budget. But he said he really needs to see the stone in order to give me more suggestions on metal choice, chain type, possible pave, etc. So I will be sending my stone to him next month after he comes back from his vacation. Yay!

 

[swingirl]

That's great! Sounds like a very exciting project!! Leon and flowery. I can't imagine what he'll come up with. Keep us posted.

As an artist who has to give quotes, I get annoyed when people think a quote should be done with the snap if the finger. Figuring out an accurate quote takes time, just like good workmanship.

 

[cookies]

He explained why he is not very responsive to emails, and it made sense to me. With emails, he has to type it in, read over the sentences a couple times, make changes, etc, and it takes several emails to just get the customer's preferences clear. He said he is quite busy, and cannot respond to every email in length. With phone calls, there is interaction going on, and one phone call could make many things clear.

My conversation with him proved this is quite true.. I said I want "flowery & curvy basket", but I guess in his dictionary, a basket is a basket, it doesn't have curves or flowers. Then I said I want the kind of basket under the stone in one of the rings he made. Then he understood what I want is a "gallery" with some unique design, not a "basket". LOL.

 

[mrssalvo]

That is good news cookie. I can't wait to see what Leon comes up with and how your pendant turns out. Please keep us posted!!