Meeting with Leon Mege

[Harriet]

I''m meeting the man tomorrow. Are there any pieces his vault I should see? Are there any questions anyone wants asked?

 

[Miranda]

 

[Harriet]

Don''t get too excited -- I''m asking him to set The Eye.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Wish I were going there with you. I would ask to see (and, of course, try on) everything in the vault! If there''s time, please ask him when he''s going to open a shop in Philadelphia.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 11:33:57 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux

Wish I were going there with you. I would ask to see (and, of course, try on) everything in the vault! If there''s time, please ask him when he''s going to open a shop in Philadelphia.

Come with me then! You''re not far away.

 

[elmo]

Harriet, I have a question for you not Leon. Didn''t you post a little while ago that you had spoken with him but things didn''t quite line up or "mesh" between what you wanted and what he was thinking? I had a similar experience. On one hand, he wasn''t crazy about the idea I have in mind, and he made some proposals that I wasn''t crazy about. What''s funny though is that if I ask someone else to do this, the fundamentals would mostly draw on build elements in his work. So the question I had is do I trust my own sense for a layout he wasn''t crazy about, and trust him to execute with as much care and style as he would for something he does like? I think the answer to that is yes, but I still have some nagging doubts about both

. Just wondering if you were in the same situation, or if you had come to agreement on something.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I wish I could go there with you, but things will be hectic here. Hopefully, I can go next time. Have a great time and tell us all about his shop and the goodies in it!

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 12:28:55 PM
Author: elmo
Harriet, I have a question for you not Leon. Didn't you post a little while ago that you had spoken with him but things didn't quite line up or 'mesh' between what you wanted and what he was thinking? I had a similar experience. On one hand, he wasn't crazy about the idea I have in mind, and he made some proposals that I wasn't crazy about. What's funny though is that if I ask someone else to do this, the fundamentals would mostly draw on build elements in his work. So the question I had is do I trust my own sense for a layout he wasn't crazy about, and trust him to execute with as much care and style as he would for something he does like? I think the answer to that is yes, but I still have some nagging doubts about both

. Just wondering if you were in the same situation, or if you had come to agreement on something.

Elmo, I'm afraid I can't answer your question since we are in different situations. My reservations about Leon have to do with demeanour. However, someone might be different in person than over the phone. Hopefully, I'll mesh with Mege in person.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 12:28:56 PM
Author: Madam Bijoux
I wish I could go there with you, but things will be hectic here. Hopefully, I can go next time. Have a great time and tell us all about his shop and the goodies in it!

Will do. Will I ever have the pleasure of meeting you here?

 

[kcoursolle]

Wow, what a great opportunity. I would love to meet leon. If he shows you pieces, it would be great to see some pictures!!!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I hope we''ll be able to meet soon, Harriet. I come to NY every 3 weeks or so to shop and see a show. If there is ever a Manhattan get-together, I''ll be there.

 

[anne_h]

Count me in for a Manhatten PS get-together! Talk about diamond district shopping opportunity.

I don''t "know" many of you, and do not have an extensive personal jewelry collection (yet!), but I''ve read in the past about the San Francisco get togethers and was interested...

I''m in Montreal, so it''s a short flight down to NYC.

Anne

 

[fanboy]

I was a bit put off by Leon's reluctance to make an appointment with me in the middle of June--three weeks from now. Apparently, he can only plan his schedule week-by-week. After much haggling, and explanation that my mother has to take a train up from Washington, he finally agreed to pencil me in--but I have to call that week to make sure he can still do the time.

I found his arguments that he is busy and can't be expected to know what he'll be doing in a week's time to be ridiculous.

For a operation that is by appointment only, you'd think they'd be more receptive to making appointments. I'm going to meet him, but his demeanor is discouraging. I get the sense that he doesn't need my particular business, which makes me worry.

In comparison, James de Givenchy at Taffin was more than happy to accomodate us.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

lol, the eye!

 

[starryeyed]

Date: 5/24/2007 11:04:52 AM
Author:Harriet
I''m meeting the man tomorrow. Are there any pieces his vault I should see? Are there any questions anyone wants asked?

Hi Harriet. Sounds exciting! I think Leon has a policy to limit meetings to 30 minutes - did you see that on his website? I would bend over backwards to respect his time-constraints - I wouldn''t want him to refuse my work!

Are there particular pieces you want to see? If so, it may be good to go armed with the model numbers or print-outs, in order to maximize your 30 minutes.

Can''t wait to hear how it goes.

 

[Ann]

Date: 5/24/2007 1:46:21 PM
Author: fanboy
I was a bit put off by Leon''s reluctance to make an appointment with me in the middle of June--three weeks from now. Apparently, he can only plan his schedule week-by-week. After much haggling, and explanation that my mother has to take a train up from Washington, he finally agreed to pencil me in--but I have to call that week to make sure he can still do the time.


I found his arguments that he is busy and can''t be expected to know what he''ll be doing in a week''s time to be ridiculous.


For a operation that is by appointment only, you''d think they''d be more receptive to making appointments. I''m going to meet him, but his demeanor is discouraging. I get the sense that he doesn''t need my particular business, which makes me worry.


In comparison, James de Givenchy at Taffin was more than happy to accomodate us.

Harriet, not to hijack your thread here, but fanboy, he only allows 30 minutes to design a ring? MY gosh! I spent 3 hours with Briam at WF designing my necklace (well, we did talk and look at bling) And he can''t make an appt that far out? What about us folks who need to make an airline reservation. So if I EVER want to see him, I''ll have to make an appt that week and pay out the whazoo for an airline ticket? Guess I better get my pictures all printed out and make up my mind...ha ha (now what shape of diamond???)

 

[fanboy]

Date: 5/24/2007 7:56:30 PM
Author: starryeyed

Hi Harriet. Sounds exciting! I think Leon has a policy to limit meetings to 30 minutes - did you see that on his website? I would bend over backwards to respect his time-constraints - I wouldn''t want him to refuse my work!

Are there particular pieces you want to see? If so, it may be good to go armed with the model numbers or print-outs, in order to maximize your 30 minutes.

Can''t wait to hear how it goes.

You''re kidding, right? How pompous . . .

I get my clothes bespoke from high-end firms and they give you as much time and attention as necessary to get the job done right. A pre-set 30-minute limit on consultation for a custom piece of jewelry costing thousands of dollars is ridiculous. The other jewelry designers I''ve been speaking to have imposed no such limiit

 

[surfgirl]

As much as I love LMs designs, I decided not to go with him after several phonecalls. He was nice initially but he's very opinionated and it rubbed me the wrong way because I felt like I couldn't have a conversation with him. I told him I'd be flying in to see him from the West Coast and he said he would only be able to show me two stones. When I explained that I am the type of person who wants to see as many stones as need be before I decide, he got fed up and said I should get my stone elsewhere, and then proceeded to try to make me feel bad that he only makes 1% on the stones he sells and I'm depriving him...I told him he could charge me an extra 1% if he wanted to...He also basically insulted my intelligence with regard to what I like in a stone and thought I was bizarre to not want the same things he wanted in a stone...I cant remember if I wanted better color or clarity than he was offering...And in the end i realized that I need someone who'll take the time to really sit with me and talk as much as need be. And who'll update me as needed. I knew we weren't a good fit right now. But I envy those who use him...I love nearly all his pieces. I'm sure Harriet will be able to tell within her meeting, if he's right for her. I'm interested in seeing how it goes. I get the feeling he prefers to work with larger stones.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 5/24/2007 11:04:52 AM
Author:Harriet
Are there any pieces his vault I should see?

Is the pope catholic??

Lay eyes on EVERYTHING you can!!!!

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 1:37:38 PM
Author: kcoursolle
Wow, what a great opportunity. I would love to meet leon. If he shows you pieces, it would be great to see some pictures!!!

Remember my photography genius?

 

[widget]

I feel the need to jump in here and defend poor Leon!

My impressions of him are that he is first and foremost a benchman/jeweler/artist, and probably fairly new to, and and not terribly comfortable with ''dealing with the public''. Many PS vendors hire people whose sole job is to work with the client. For those who want much more ''hands-on'' involvement, there are probably more suitable choices.

He is, never-the-less, a very nice man, and as we almost all agree, his work is superb. For those of us who absolutely trust his eye and judgement, who don''t want to micro-manage a project...he is beyond perfect.

widget

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 1:37:41 PM
Author: Madam Bijoux
I hope we''ll be able to meet soon, Harriet. I come to NY every 3 weeks or so to shop and see a show. If there is ever a Manhattan get-together, I''ll be there.

Ooh, Mamma Mia?

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 1:41:45 PM
Author: anne_h
Count me in for a Manhatten PS get-together! Talk about diamond district shopping opportunity.

I don''t ''know'' many of you, and do not have an extensive personal jewelry collection (yet!), but I''ve read in the past about the San Francisco get togethers and was interested...

I''m in Montreal, so it''s a short flight down to NYC.

Anne

Neither matters. Come on down!

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 1:46:21 PM
Author: fanboy
I was a bit put off by Leon''s reluctance to make an appointment with me in the middle of June--three weeks from now. Apparently, he can only plan his schedule week-by-week. After much haggling, and explanation that my mother has to take a train up from Washington, he finally agreed to pencil me in--but I have to call that week to make sure he can still do the time.

I found his arguments that he is busy and can''t be expected to know what he''ll be doing in a week''s time to be ridiculous.

For a operation that is by appointment only, you''d think they''d be more receptive to making appointments. I''m going to meet him, but his demeanor is discouraging. I get the sense that he doesn''t need my particular business, which makes me worry.

In comparison, James de Givenchy at Taffin was more than happy to accomodate us.

Sorry to hear that. I hope you find someone with whom you''ll click.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 7:56:30 PM
Author: starryeyed
Hi Harriet. Sounds exciting! I think Leon has a policy to limit meetings to 30 minutes - did you see that on his website? I would bend over backwards to respect his time-constraints - I wouldn''t want him to refuse my work!

Are there particular pieces you want to see? If so, it may be good to go armed with the model numbers or print-outs, in order to maximize your 30 minutes.

Can''t wait to hear how it goes.

Thanks for the heads up.

Btw, I was thinking about you this evening when I was flying into LaGuardia and saw all the boats and yachts bobbing away ...

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 4:23:34 PM
Author: iwannaprettyone
lol, the eye!

Haloed with a split-shank?

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 9:16:06 PM
Author: Ann
Harriet, not to hijack your thread here, but fanboy, he only allows 30 minutes to design a ring? MY gosh! I spent 3 hours with Briam at WF designing my necklace (well, we did talk and look at bling) And he can''t make an appt that far out? What about us folks who need to make an airline reservation. So if I EVER want to see him, I''ll have to make an appt that week and pay out the whazoo for an airline ticket? Guess I better get my pictures all printed out and make up my mind...ha ha (now what shape of diamond???)

No worries.

Boy, I should count myself lucky to live near him, eh?

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 5/24/2007 10:00:33 PM
Author: widget
I feel the need to jump in here and defend poor Leon!

My impressions of him are that he is first and foremost a benchman/jeweler/artist, and probably fairly new to, and and not terribly comfortable with ''dealing with the public''. Many PS vendors hire people whose sole job is to work with the client. For those who want much more ''hands-on'' involvement, there are probably more suitable choices.

He is, never-the-less, a very nice man, and as we almost all agree, his work is superb. For those of us who absolutely trust his eye and judgement, who don''t want to micro-manage a project...he is beyond perfect.

widget

Ditto, I found him to be very nice, and welcomed my thoughts. I hope to work with him again sometime.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 9:29:15 PM
Author: surfgirl
As much as I love LMs designs, I decided not to go with him after several phonecalls. He was nice initially but he''s very opinionated and it rubbed me the wrong way because I felt like I couldn''t have a conversation with him. I told him I''d be flying in to see him from the West Coast and he said he would only be able to show me two stones. When I explained that I am the type of person who wants to see as many stones as need be before I decide, he got fed up and said I should get my stone elsewhere, and then proceeded to try to make me feel bad that he only makes 1% on the stones he sells and I''m depriving him...I told him he could charge me an extra 1% if he wanted to...He also basically insulted my intelligence with regard to what I like in a stone and thought I was bizarre to not want the same things he wanted in a stone...I cant remember if I wanted better color or clarity than he was offering...And in the end i realized that I need someone who''ll take the time to really sit with me and talk as much as need be. And who''ll update me as needed. I knew we weren''t a good fit right now. But I envy those who use him...I love nearly all his pieces. I''m sure Harriet will be able to tell within her meeting, if he''s right for her. I''m interested in seeing how it goes. I get the feeling he prefers to work with larger stones.

Sorry to hear about your experience. We haven''t clicked over the phone, but that happens. Hopefully, things will be different tomorrow.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 5/24/2007 10:00:33 PM
Author: widget
I feel the need to jump in here and defend poor Leon!

My impressions of him are that he is first and foremost a benchman/jeweler/artist, and probably fairly new to, and and not terribly comfortable with ''dealing with the public''. Many PS vendors hire people whose sole job is to work with the client. For those who want much more ''hands-on'' involvement, there are probably more suitable choices.

He is, never-the-less, a very nice man, and as we almost all agree, his work is superb. For those of us who absolutely trust his eye and judgement, who don''t want to micro-manage a project...he is beyond perfect.

widget

If I see his artistry, I''m just handing him my stone and leaving him be.