Custom ring design and pricing question

[CaseyLouLou]

Hi. I am having a ring designed for my little 5.5mm lavender sapphire by an Etsy seller. It’s been a rough process compared to working with David Klass but the shop got good reviews and the prices were a bit better.

I have a CAD but it’s not quite right yet and the price has gone up $300 because I wanted the shank to be a bit thicker. The total gram weight is only going to be around 3g so that seems totally unreasonable to me. I prefer a heavier weight ring so it’s not even high enough gold weight in my opinion.

Here is the CAD. The shoulder attachment is messed up and being addressed I hope. I would prefer a prettier gallery but I’m afraid to ask!

What do you all think?

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Casey my 2 cents--- if you're already feeling like you can't ask for changes and are concerned about the design---and if you go ahead anyway but don't like the ring = money wasted.

Have you tried DanielM on etsy? His prices are very good. He can be slow (he's a one man operation) but his cads are great and I've been very happy with his work.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Casey my 2 cents--- if you're already feeling like you can't ask for changes and are concerned about the design---and if you go ahead anyway but don't like the ring = money wasted.

Have you tried DanielM on etsy? His prices are very good. He can be slow (he's a one man operation) but his cads are great and I've been very happy with his work.

Thanks. I’m definitely thinking of pulling the plug considering the price went up so much. I put down a $200 deposit that she originally said is fully refundable but not sure if she will charge for the CAD work at this point. This whole thing is stressing me out.

 

[Mreader]

Agree with Christy Danielle. Does the vendor already have your stone? I would just want to start over with someone else. Is the price with the $300 increase now closer to DK’s?

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Agree with Christy Danielle. Does the vendor already have your stone? I would just want to start over with someone else. Is the price with the $300 increase now closer to DK’s?

I didn’t get a DK quote for this one but it’s probably not far off. Maybe still a bit less.
I have so many stones I want to set and it’s pricey.

I still have my stone. I don’t want to lose my deposit either.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

If she said the deposit was refundable, hold her to it. At least on Etsy you can file a complaint if she doesn't refund.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Ya know what, yoink it.
If she said in writing it's refundable-then she'll need to honor it. You may lose 50 bucks for the CADS...
If the price hikes are happening now and you're not thrilled with the outcome, it isn't worth it.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

If she said the deposit was refundable, hold her to it. At least on Etsy you can file a complaint if she doesn't refund.

Im curious if you think 3g is a decent weight for a ring of that style? It would be 14k. I feel like it should be heavier but I’m not sure what would need to change to make it heavier.

 

[SomethingNew]

I feel your pain and totally understand the reason why you would want to go with someone more affordable. I have a couple loose stones sitting in the safe. I have great ideas to have them set but if I go to my favorite designer/setter, it would cost me at least $2K to $3K just for the setting. It just doesn't make sense for a stone that's a few hundred dollars. That's why they are still sitting in my safe.... I feel such a waste.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I feel your pain and totally understand the reason why you would want to go with someone more affordable. I have a couple loose stones sitting in the safe. I have great ideas to have them set but if I go to my favorite designer/setter, it would cost me at least $2K to $3K just for the setting. It just doesn't make sense for a stone that's a few hundred dollars. That's why they are still sitting in my safe.... I feel such a waste.

Very frustrating.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I feel your pain and totally understand the reason why you would want to go with someone more affordable. I have a couple loose stones sitting in the safe. I have great ideas to have them set but if I go to my favorite designer/setter, it would cost me at least $2K to $3K just for the setting. It just doesn't make sense for a stone that's a few hundred dollars. That's why they are still sitting in my safe.... I feel such a waste.

Same, even when the stone matches the cost of setting it's still hard to stomach. I've got my own little box of them, some cheap, some not so cheap. Still in the box. Maddening.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Same, even when the stone matches the cost of setting it's still hard to stomach. I've got my own little box of them, some cheap, some not so cheap. Still in the box. Maddening.

Yeah. Most of my stones are cheap so I expect to pay a lot more for the settings but if I ever want to set them all then there’s no way I can spend thousands on each one. I have done pretty well finding a few decent inexpensive settings but thought I would try a new vendor for this one. Oh well.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Yeah. Most of my stones are cheap so I expect to pay a lot more for the settings but if I ever want to set them all then there’s no way I can spend thousands on each one. I have done pretty well finding a few decent inexpensive settings but thought I would try a new vendor for this one. Oh well.

When you find one let me know! I'm pretty much just going to solitaire stock/lab semi set or buy Ivy&Rose semis for most of mine at some point.
See, I have a hard time even doing that. I want. It galls me!

 

[LilAlex]

You may be paying for time and not materials, as they would say in the building trade. All the back-and-forth adds up and is time they could be devoting to other customers.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

You may be paying for time and not materials, as they would say in the building trade. All the back-and-forth adds up and is time they could be devoting to other customers.

The crazy thing is it seems as though they aren’t really trying that hard with the CAD’s. The first version had all the melee the same size even though the example ring didn’t look like that at all. The only reason there has been back and forth is because they can’t follow directions. I shouldn’t be paying for that. And even then this is only the third CAD I have gotten and the only change was the band thickness.

I hope they don’t keep my deposit to pay for their time because I feel like they haven’t put any real time and attention into this at all.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

When you find one let me know! I'm pretty much just going to solitaire stock/lab semi set or buy Ivy&Rose semis for most of mine at some point.
See, I have a hard time even doing that. I want. It galls me!

I have one Ivy & Rose setting in the works. I feel like their setting fee and modification fees end up making the rings not such a good deal in the end but it’s still more affordable than others.

 

[LD]

It’s so upsetting when this happens. If the setting is not as you envisioned then it’s probably best to pull the plug now. However you mentioned having a prettier gallery? From the design it looks like the ring will lay quite flat to your finger so I don’t think you’d see the gallery but it does look a little chunky so I wonder if they shaved off some of the gold there to make thinner bars if that would also help with costs (a tiny bit I know but still a saving).

is it just the process and the hike in cost that’s making you worried or do you have other reservations about the setting?

I’m just about to use an Etsy seller for two settings that I haven’t used before so I’m wondering if it’s the same

Edit: if this were my setting there’s one change I would make - at the moment there’s a very slight gap between the shoulder design where it meets the central setting. I know this is because you have two curves meeting so it’s hard to avoid but I would either (a) make sure they’re touching with no gap or (b) have a slight redesign so the shoulders are less rounded where it meets with perhaps a curve that matches the central part - does that make sense? It will alter the overall design though x

 

[theredspinel]

The crazy thing is it seems as though they aren’t really trying that hard with the CAD’s. The first version had all the melee the same size even though the example ring didn’t look like that at all. The only reason there has been back and forth is because they can’t follow directions. I shouldn’t be paying for that. And even then this is only the third CAD I have gotten and the only change was the band thickness.

I hope they don’t keep my deposit to pay for their time because I feel like they haven’t put any real time and attention into this at all.

I think you just need to be very precise from the off about what you want. Ie I would state I want a 1.5mm band thickness that tapers to 1mm like this: show image, with 5 2mm stones on x etc etc.

For custom work I never go in vague then set the details after they offer me an image or CAD; I just describe exactly what I want down to the tee using figures (eg the 1.5mm bank thickness that tapers to 1mm thickness) for eg so their initial CAD should reflect all that.

If after full details from me their first CAD fails I say bye. If I havnt explained properly what I want though, in enough detail, and their cad needs to be tweaked - that’s on me.

I would also never ask for a quote until I’d told them of *everything* I wanted, gallery detail, how many meelee, what band thickness, overall size etc etc because if you inform them after the fact, that you want something else or more… of course it will change the initial estimated quote. The quote vendors give is based on all the facts you give, if you havnt given all the facts they can’t give you an accurate quote.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

It’s so upsetting when this happens. If the setting is not as you envisioned then it’s probably best to pull the plug now. However you mentioned having a prettier gallery? From the design it looks like the ring will lay quite flat to your finger so I don’t think you’d see the gallery but it does look a little chunky so I wonder if they shaved off some of the gold there to make thinner bars if that would also help with costs (a tiny bit I know but still a saving).

is it just the process and the hike in cost that’s making you worried or do you have other reservations about the setting?

I’m just about to use an Etsy seller for two settings that I haven’t used before so I’m wondering if it’s the same

Edit: if this were my setting there’s one change I would make - at the moment there’s a very slight gap between the shoulder design where it meets the central setting. I know this is because you have two curves meeting so it’s hard to avoid but I would either (a) make sure they’re touching with no gap or (b) have a slight redesign so the shoulders are less rounded where it meets with perhaps a curve that matches the central part - does that make sense? It will alter the overall design though x

Your shoulder description makes total sense and I had actually mentioned that it was messed up so I’m trying to get that fixed. It kind of irritates me that they didn’t notice it themselves. Maybe my expectations are too high but I would think a jewelry designer would have an eye for it.

I think it’s a little of both that’s bothering me - the price hike is not making sense to me but also trying to get the details right has been frustrating.

Please let me know how it goes with your Etsy seller. I have another one in mind too that appears to have nice settings.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I think you just need to be very precise from the off about what you want. Ie I would state I want a 1.5mm band thickness that tapers to 1mm like this: show image, with 5 2mm stones on x etc etc.

For custom work I never go in vague then set the details after they offer me an image or CAD; I just describe exactly what I want down to the tee using figures (eg the 1.5mm bank thickness that tapers to 1mm thickness) for eg so their initial CAD should reflect all that.

If after full details from me their first CAD fails I say bye. If I havnt explained properly what I want though, in enough detail, and their cad needs to be tweaked - that’s on me.

I would also never ask for a quote until I’d told them of *everything* I wanted, gallery detail, how many meelee, what band thickness, overall size etc etc because if you inform them after the fact, that you want something else or more… of course it will change the initial estimated quote. The quote vendors give is based on all the facts you give, if you havnt given all the facts they can’t give you an accurate quote.

This is all excellent advice! I sent a photo of a ring that I wanted copied pretty much exactly. I didn’t think tweaking the band thickness from what they originally had was going to increase the cost by $300. I will definitely start things off that way next time.

I almost pulled the plug when I got the first CAD because I felt they hadn’t even tried to make it look like the example. When I told them I wanted to quit, she promised to do better. Then she raised the price.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I think you just need to be very precise from the off about what you want. Ie I would state I want a 1.5mm band thickness that tapers to 1mm like this: show image, with 5 2mm stones on x etc etc.

For custom work I never go in vague then set the details after they offer me an image or CAD; I just describe exactly what I want down to the tee using figures (eg the 1.5mm bank thickness that tapers to 1mm thickness) for eg so their initial CAD should reflect all that.

If after full details from me their first CAD fails I say bye. If I havnt explained properly what I want though, in enough detail, and their cad needs to be tweaked - that’s on me.

I would also never ask for a quote until I’d told them of *everything* I wanted, gallery detail, how many meelee, what band thickness, overall size etc etc because if you inform them after the fact, that you want something else or more… of course it will change the initial estimated quote. The quote vendors give is based on all the facts you give, if you havnt given all the facts they can’t give you an accurate quote.

I ended up pulling the plug and I will get my deposit back. The seller said she was going to finish the CAD and make the ring and see how it turns out and put it in her stock. She was very nice and understood my issue with the price and the fact that this was stressing me out. I guess I can see how it looks after she casts it and decide if I want to purchase later with a bit less risk.

 

[theredspinel]

I ended up pulling the plug and I will get my deposit back. The seller said she was going to finish the CAD and make the ring and see how it turns out and put it in her stock. She was very nice and understood my issue with the price and the fact that this was stressing me out. I guess I can see how it looks after she casts it and decide if I want to purchase later with a bit less risk.

Great news about the deposit! I’m glad you ended up doing what was best for you, the associated stress with something that’s supposed to be fun is never a good sign.

I’m surprised she will still go ahead and make the ring but that’s double great news for you! At least you will be able to see exactly how it turns out and if at that point the price is fair for it, and make another decision then.

 

[dk168]

Sometimes, enough is enough, and when communications start to get tedious and frustrating, then it would be time for me to call it a day and pull the plug.

I prefer to communicate via e-mails, and some vendors are better at this form of communications than others.

My normal contact at the bench that I use based in China has built up a good rapport with me, and I have met him in person when I went to Hong Kong in 2015.

He normally gets my ideas and design inspirations and concepts. However, there had been a couple of occasions when my design concepts were difficult to grasp and translate into CADs, so I had to pull the plugs on those.

It is still easier to work with him than Vijay at Ouros/Golden Bird though, a lot easier!

DK