Harry Windston doesn''t mind windows!!

[Arkteia]

Date: 1/24/2010 11:36:17 PM
Author: Revolution
Thats easy. Supply and price.

Big name places are not, in general, particularly interested in one-off pieces. They want to be able to design a piece once and sell it a number of times. Stones like we cut don''t fit that mold. Plus, even the best cutters can''t do more than one or two stones a day. There is simply no way we could supply their demand. Finally, they are not willing to pay the prices we have to charge. We pay more for our rough and expend significantly more time on each cut. How can we compete with cutting houses that have a labor investment of a few 10''s of cents in a given stone and much lower rough costs?

I also think it has to do with a certain lack of innovative jewelers. I mean, you do need to have an interested jeweler to work with precision cuts - invest time in bezeling, think of unusual setting. It is much easier to dip a native-cut piece in diamonds and sell to a happy client. I once bought a diamond in a store, and they had halo mountings. It was 3 hour drive from my home so I asked if they could do it in my presence. And they did! In a couple of hours. It looks beautiful - to those who have no idea...

 

[RevolutionGems]

I work with an art jeweler here in town and I cut stones for him from time to time. However, he uses better native cut stones as well. A lot of it depends on the piece he is working.

In his case, the stone is usually an accent to the metalwork and isn''t necessarily the focus of the piece. His pieces are all one off designs and he doesn''t sell any kind of mass produced goods.

There is another custom jeweler in town that works with higher end stones and his pieces always feature fine gems. However, he doesn''t seem to be interested in custom cuts. His focus is (in order of importance) color, color, color and cut. His designs are reasonably innovative so I can''t quite figure out why he doesn''t use more custom cut stones.

I guess its about what sells in a particular area. I don''t think our little town has the necessary taste or refinement to crave the higher end stones.

 

[Sagebrush]

There are some excellent jewelers out there but Jeff''s point is well taken!

Graff has some awfully big mediocre gems and you won''t see any sort of innovative cutting at Graff, New York. We have yet to see an image of the recut Wittelsbach-Graff but my money says the 4.45 carat recut will look a great deal like the original.

The major problem, the conservative nature of the jewelry market! Generally buyers do not support innovation and creativity. Most of what we see in jewelry stores are Art-Deco style reproductions and bad Retro design repeated ad nauseaum.

Yes, I know that American handmade jewelry is "expensive". I put that in quotes because the basis of comparison is mass-produced jewelry made in Asia by workers making 70 cents an hour, opps, sorry make the 93 cents an hour in Thailand. Imagine the nerve, U. S. craftsmen expecting a living wage!

From the investment perspective, fines stones in cheap settings is a poor strategy. They say that an automobile looses 50% of its value the minute you drive it off the lot. Despite what conservative jewelers say about traditional settings holding their value, a fine stone mounted in one of these mass-produced swayback nags is prime candidate for the glue pot the moment the setting is paid for. In most cases, scrapping and melting down is a real public service.

 

[StonieGrl]

1. Gene need not toot his own horn around here, plenty of us have set down our hard-earned cash to purchase Gene''s quality and we will toot for him! Gene is an expert cutter and he hand selects his rough, aiming for a QUALITY stone, not a stone that will garner the most profit margin and not a trendy stone that the ignorami will blindly buy.

2. "Name" jewelers like Winston, Graff, Bulgari, Tiffany, you used to be able to rest assured you were getting top quality in each and every aspect of a piece. Now, it''s SELL SELL SELL and the rest be damned.

It is a caveat emptor world out there for jewelry and this is why most of us PSers buy from a select few and create our jewelry with a select few, such as Julia Kay Taylor.

 

[Arkteia]

I know only ONE jeweller in my area who is what I would call a designer. Unformtunately, I can not work with him because he tried to sell me a couple of lapis cabochons for $ 1500 as part of a project. He said the project would be "unique", but the sum he charged was incredible, so I just left. Next time he called me "cheap". Too bad it did not work. But he is the one who I think could work with precision cutters. He also cuts his own rough.

 

[empress]

I am under the impression that selling jewelry is not where Winston makes most of their money, but mining - diamonds.

 

[LD]

I'm really surprised that people continually knock the settings that the ladies on this forum buy! Designer settings do not hold their value. If that were true, they would sell for the same (or slightly less) than you could buy them for from the designer. Re-sale depends purely on the goldweight and diamond accents. To a certain extent a named setting may command a slight premium because of it's brand but savvy buyers are more interested in buying top class gemstones than rip off brands.

I would rather have a custom, non-named piece with a phenomenal gemstone and pay the same or less than an inferior gemstone in a named setting.

 

[Sagebrush]

Loving Diamonds,

Not sure what exactly you mean by "designer settings" though you make a distinction between those and custom setting! I must disagree, as a matter of fact, not opinion, second hand "designer" jewelry, if by designer you mean Cartier, Tiffany, etc., do, in fact, sell for more than scrap value and much more than comparable generic pieces. Vintage Tiffany may deserve a premium, but a premium also applies later pieces that do not.

Contemporary designer pieces from companies like mine will not command a premium. Contemporary prices are based on parts and labor and cost more to produce (given the disparity of wages between here and China) but unfortunately get lumped in with generics at auctions. There are some exceptions: Over time as reputations grow that will change, but your children, not you are more likely to benefit. For example, the work of American studio jewelers of the 30s and 40s such as Margaret De Patta and Art Smith, jewelers who''s work would likely have been scrapped 20 years ago now command big prices at auction.

In my opinion, within another generation, 20 years, the gemstones cut by Berndt Munsteiner, Michael Dyber and Steve Walters will command substantial premiums at auction. Likewise, jewelers like Michael Zobel, Daniel Brush, Vicky Eisenfeld, to name just a few, will be recognized for their ground breaking innovation and creativity and will command prices to match.

Twenty years ago, the highest priced tourmaline on earth could be had for $500 per carat. That stone was the so-called "sapphire" blue indicolite. Compare that to prices currently topping $40,000 per carat for Brazilian Pariaba! Paraiba,just out of the ground was often that color, then it was heated. In 1990, I wrote an article for Colored Stone, entitled by the editor: "Tourmaline, A Modest Proposal" In that article I predicted that light toned tourmaline that resembled Pariaba would become the new aristocracy of tourmaline. Sound like I''m blowing my own horn? My apologies, but you can look it up! I am not claiming to be a prophet just someone who has studied the market.

Quality and creativity is eventually recognized and there is a lot of it out there if you look. American studio jewelers are some of the most creative on earth. At any given time it is difficult to navigate your way through the bewildering cacophony of hype that surrounds us. Just keep your eye on the prize.

 

[LD]

I agree that quality is essential but I disagree with some of your other arguments.

Let me clarify: Designer settings to me mean a brand name. Custom made settings are ones that I have had designed and made for me. Off the shelf settings, such as those from LOGR can also be custom made to fit gemstones but I don't regard those as custom made settings.

For example, I own a beautifully cut Zircon from Gene - am I going to put that in a custom made or designer name brand setting? No. It may be a beautiful gemstone but, to me, doesn't warrant spending more money on a setting than I did on the gem. I will happily put that in a $300 setting. It looks very pretty, I enjoy wearing it and don't feel that I've overpaid on any account. Do I expect that to increase in value? Absolutely not. This is the reason for my post above. I believe that there are many savvy buyers on this forum who are happy to put well cut gemstones that don't have a rarity value in a average or off the shelf setting - and why not? Makes absolute perfect sense to me!

Would I put one of my Alexandrites or one of my Paraiba Tourmalines in a custom made or designer name brand setting? Yes and no. If the quality of the gemstone was such that it warranted it, I would prefer to design and have custom made a setting by a local jeweller/artisan. Would I pay for a Cartier et al setting? No. I cannot ever justify paying potentially more for a setting than a gemstone. Perhaps I am not typical but I prefer the sourcing of the gemstone, designing a setting and then having the overall satisfaction of knowing that I own a unique piece. For me, handing that down to my daughter is far more precious as it's a piece of me - rather than giving her a Tiffany!

I also own inherited high quality antique pieces of jewellery. Have they increased expotentially in value because of their setting? No. In fact, in the case of an Emerald I have, the appraised value is the same today as it was 10 years ago due to market forces! Will it increase for my children? Who knows. I'd love to think so but there are never any guarantees.

At the end of the day, I don't buy for investment. I buy because I adore and love gemstones. It's my hobby and passion. If any of my possessions are sold by future generations and they make some money then that's an added bonus!

 

[chrono]

Richard,
I don’t have an issue with innovation and creativity at all, and probably neither do most forum posters here. I do not claim to speak for all but here’s my view on why it seems that way. It is not fair to compare American handmade jewellery to something that is mass produced in Asia. It makes more sense to compare mass produced jewellery made in Asia to mass produced jewellery made in the US, and also handmade jewellery made in Asia to handmade jewellery made in the US. I agree that fine stones should not be set in cheap settings but there are exceptions. For me, I refuse to pay more for the setting than I paid for the stone, no matter how gorgeous or well cut it is. I have a few Barry Bridgestock precision cut coloured stones that are pretty (not super fine), lively and inexpensive (under $500 each). I am not willing to spend more than $500 to set each stone and mass produced setting (Asian or US made) is the route I will choose. For my more expensive and very fine pieces like my Mahenge spinel, Loliondo spessartite and tsavorite, they deserve something custom made although not necessarily branded or designer settings. Again, it can be Asian, European or US made.

 

[Sagebrush]

Ladies,

Your approach price/value to making a piece of jewelry is shared by many and no one can say that it is wrong. Given the fact that you are gem collectors it makes sense. I hope I am not being misunderstood, I do not advocate either gems or jewelry and an investment in the classical sense. You won''t make money!

However, as someone who has dedicated his career to making fine handmade pieces, I refuse to reduce a fine piece of jewelry to a gem put into a setting. In a well designed piece, the gem or gems are part of and integral to the design. That is the jeweler''s art and it defines the difference between a "setting" and a "jewel".

The value of a fine, rare gemstone can not simply be reduced to price. You can buy a lot of things that are a great deal more or less valuable than the price you pay. Isn''t Gene''s zircon worth more than a poorly cut zircon of the same weight and price? This is the essence of the debate and of our disagreement. Seeing a beautiful gemstone in a cheap, mass-produced setting makes me cringe. I do admit that this is my own attitude and others may prefer, as you do, a different approach.

Auction prices for fine pieces have increased markedly over the past decade! Auction prices for mass-produced pieces tend to be break-up value. It''s pretty clear that a fine stone, even in a cheap setting will increase in value over time.

 

[T L]

I have seen hand made settings that look like crap, and I have some LOGR''s that look just as nice as some Tiffany settings I saw in their store (upgraded diamonds, custom sized, etc. . . ). Richard, before you start knocking all mass produced settings, why don''t you purchase an upgraded one from LOGR? Have you even seen one in person? I have to admit that LOGR''s photos are not the best. Dana of Mastercutgems did, and he was very impressed with the quality for the price. These are not all your run of the mill Wallmart settings with frozen spit melee, low gold weight, and shoddy casting. Not all of us can afford to set each of our gems in a Leon Mege, so for us, this is an affordable alternative that also give many of us the means to buy more gems from our favorite lapidaries.

 

[Sagebrush]

Tourmaline Lover,

My points have little or nothing to do with "handmade settings that look like crap." and my comments were not directed toward the quality of manufacture. Suggest you read my post! I don''t need to purchase an LOGR setting, I will see them by the barrel full at the Bangkok show.

Best,

 

[T L]

Date: 1/27/2010 11:12:19 AM
Author: Richard W. Wise
Tourmaline Lover,

My points have little or nothing to do with ''handmade settings that look like crap.'' and my comments were not directed toward the quality of manufacture. Suggest you read my post! I don''t need to purchase an LOGR setting, I will see them by the barrel full at the Bangkok show.

Best,

LOGR has a booth there? Or are you just lumping them in with every single Chinese manufacturer?

 

[Sagebrush]

TL,

Why are we specifically discussing LOGR? I have never mentioned the name. I say again, read my posts!

 

[Sal from Cal]

Richard,

I totally understand your point of view as someone who takes pride in what they do. I don''t think anyone is disrespecting the cutters work by placing his/her gem in a setting that may not be as it possibly could be with unlimited funds however we as consumers have to make choices. In my humble opinion I believe that many will spend more time and money on the gem to get the best one possible as this is the most important to them. I know in my case that it is what I am in the processing of doing ( I purchased a wonderful gem from Gene) and while the setting may not be exactly what I would like at least in time if I come across more funds I can always upgrade to setting that is perhaps more fitting of the stone.

However in the end it becomes what the end user believes is best for their particular case.

Sal

 

[Sagebrush]

Sal,

Absolutely! That is one approach and it makes sense given a limited budget and I think I said that. Budget aside, however, my opinion stands!

I have made a number of points in my responses to this thread in an attempt to clarify statements that I find misleading. There is a downside to choosing a cheap, mass-produced setting for a fine gem. I have tried to point that out.

The discussion also become confused when we throw around terms like "handmade", "custom" and "designer." They are not synonymous.

 

[Kismet]

Heh, I must be the weirdo in this group because only in once case (my Leon demantoid ring) has the cost of the stone exceeded the cost of the setting. The LOGR (and other ebay) settings may be nice for the price but in general they don''t overly appeal to me.

 

[Arkteia]

Take a good opera, like "Il Trovatore". The music (a beautiful stone) is paramount, but will anyone appreciate it without good voices (a jeweler''s work?).

In Richard''s website, there is a one-of-a kind piece by Thomas Munsteiner (hammered gold and green tourmaline pendant). It is awesome. Today, its price at Sotheby''s is driven by the tourmaline (hopefully I am wrong!) because Munsteiners do not own a big jewelry house and can not dictate prices.

But 20-30 years from now, both stones and gold will be mined out, and the whole piece, gold+stone+art will be a huge investment. A little bit off-tangent, but I see importance of Gene''s work also in his ability to preserve "scrapings" (cut something very small, so eventually less rough is wasted.

I am looking for a goldsmith for a very specific item. Can''t find one here - seems to be rare species.

Maybe I'' say something different if I had a daughter. My older son does not feel for nice stones and refuses to be educated in this area, so I have to set and wear everything I buy.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/27/2010 11:29:16 AM
Author: Richard W. Wise
TL,

Why are we specifically discussing LOGR? I have never mentioned the name. I say again, read my posts!

True Richard. I just bring up LOGR because it seems, by far, to be the one mass produceced setting that shows up on Pricescope for many posters. I had assumed you were specifically talking mainly about those, and not just other mass produced settings. I will admit that there are some LOGR''s I simply do not care for, even some that I own, but there are a few that are really very nice, and shocked me when I opened the box.

A hand made piece, if well made, is always very nice, but even those may not compliment a stone properly even if the best intentions were set to design it around a gem. I''ve also seen some hand made pieces that just didn''t appeal to me. I believe Leon is so popular because he makes heavy and durable settings, yet they look delicate and that adds to an elegant and refined look. Like you cringe when you see a fine gem in a mass produced setting, I cringe when I see a badly made hand made piece, and/or one that is not designed to my taste, but we all have different tastes. I respect that.

 

[Gailey]

This discussion has taken an interesting turn. I guess I am in the very small camp of people who has not had a stone set in an off-the-shelf setting since joining PS (well actually - ever).

I think it''s interesting to see how various people "choose to cut their cloth". I can''t bring myself to do the LOGR thing and not for one minute am I knocking those that do. In fact I envy them to some degree because they are wearing their beautiful stones and mine are still languishing in the box.

Yet, it was not so very long ago that I suggested to Chrono that she might consider having custom cut synthetic spinels to adorn her beautiful tsavorite until she is able to locate suitable natural stones. That''s a route I would be prepared to take if it meant getting the ring on my finger sooner rather than later. To others and probably Chrono (

), this route is abhorrent.

We are all different.

 

[ma re]

I''ll be an even bigger weirdo than Kismet (not like you''ll be surprised), cause I understand and support Richard''s viewpoint 100%. Don''t throw rocks yet.

To me, jewellery should be rare, not just gems but jewellery in general, and nowdays it is just another product from the shelf. Back in the days, jewellery was indeed rare. Not just because you needed to wait for people to arrive on horsebacks (or whatever) from the middle of nowhere in Asia to Europe to bring gems, but those who had the means to buy jewellery were really privileged and such items were therefore a thing of real rarity. Means of transportation have advanced, mining equipment as well, and we have a market where you can get any gem from any part of the world in a few days time, maximum. Not only that, but you can get online and find sites that enable you to pick a stone, choose a setting and get your ring "custom made", or better say customized, in a few minutes. Where''s the romance? Where''s the rarity? Where''s that sense of exclusivity? Nope, niet, nada, it''s just another product.

Now, don''t get me wrong ladies and gents, I''m not saying that an inexpensive, mass produced setting cannot make a nice piece of jewellery that you can enjoy for years (I''ve even admired some of my friend''s pieces of silver jewellery studded with CZ''s). But to me, such a piece can only have an aesthetic value, not the one I think of when I see a setting that was "tailored" for the stone. That really can be considered a jewel. You think those Hollywood divas look so amazing on a red carpet just because they have perfect genes? Nope, it''s more likely because they had their dresses carefully chosen by experts, who know what will bring out their best features (same goes for hair and make-up).

But we live in an age of consumerism, where people want to own as much as possible and as soon as possible. Jewelllery is most often thought of as just an accessory, just another fashion item meant to look nice with an outfit. Personal preferences differ and we can''t all like the same, I understand that and respect everyone''s right to an opinion, but this is how I state mine. I can recognize the details that separate custom made pieces from inexpensive mass produced, and that probably makes one part of my opinion (I can spot a great setting, but I can never know if that great stone is "real or fake"), but of course, those who aren''t much into jewellery will just take a glance at the piece and won''t see enough to know anything about it''s origin. Of course, there are better and worse in each of those categories, but I''m talking an average of each.

 

[LD]

I find it very interesting that a Zircon in an LOGR setting can make anybody cringe! Trust me, I''d have cringed had I spent more on the setting than the Zircon! Without any disrespect to Gene whatsoever, it''s not that good! It''s not a masterpiece. It''s not a valuable gemstone. It''s a very pretty Zircon with a nice cut. I enjoy it but it''s not a gemstone worthy of a bespoke, individually created setting. It''s just not. It''s a gemstone to be worn and enjoyed.

I recently had made a very similar setting to a "designer" piece. I didn''t like certain aspects of the design and so changed it. The cost of the designer piece to buy was over $2000 (not a huge amount). However, I replicated it, in platinum, with CADS, to my own specification, for $850. Now why would I throw away over $1000? I''d rather have that $1000 to put towards a gorgeous gemstone.

I also find it interesting that a mass produced setting can be judged without having being seen - purely on the basis that they are mass produced. Mass produced does not necessarily mean poor quality!

Let''s be frank, how many of us when we go to do our grocery shopping are bedecked in Van Cleef & Arples? How many of us go to events where we would regularly where our Graff pieces? There are certain pieces that should be reserved for the very best. For the majority of us, only a handful of pieces in our collection would warrant that type of expenditure. If you don''t work in the jewellery industry, the cost mounts up and up and up and simply it''s not affordable or warranted in this day and age!

 

[Arkteia]

My DH has bought me a 1.0 CTW diamond ring. In one of bigger department stores. White gold. DH comes from a very small village in Russia, is a genius in mathematics and can not throw away his money. This ring...apart from being very trivial, I could use it as brass knuckles for my defence!
Now I have to wear it - occasionally - so I have to think of a way to redo it into something minimally acceptable and it will cost me a lot! I wish he added these "refurbishment money" to the original sum he spent and bought me something not mass-produced.

 

[StonieGrl]

This is a very interesting discussion. Art versus commerce. Aesthetics versus function.

When I first began my interest in gemstones, I assumed that I would not pay more for a setting than I did for the gemstone. This supported my assumption that the setting existed solely to feature the gemstone. Since I don''t have much of a lust for diamonds, this assumption seemed supportable at the time.

I started buying gemstones and the above assumption went right out the window.

I began to look for settings for those gemstones. I was disappointed in the jewelers who did not seem to appreciate a good colored gemstone, had little knowledge of same, and were only interested in creating a ''custom'' piece for me using premade heads and shanks, slinging on diamonds, and calling this a "custom" piece. To boot, when I visisted jewelers I saw poor quality colored gemstones, poorly cut, being sold for unbelieveably high prices, totally unjustified. I do much better buying my own stones from the vendors we all know and love here on PS.

I looked at LOGR. A lot. Hard to argue with those prices and given the fact that I like buying gemstones on a regular basis, LOGR will give you wearable jewelry at prices that keep your gemstone buying habit going strong. I understand this. In addition, LOGR does a superior job of offering designer look-a-likes and a wide variety of settings. Most of us cannot get that in our locations.

Still, I decided to go with using a jeweler to design and fabricate custom pieces using my gemstones.

I love being part of the design process, I like supporting people like Julia and building those relationships.

 

[empress]

I think Richard, Gailey and Ma Re are discussing jewelry as art rather than stone settings.

I''ve come to a point where my jewelry that was mass produced - even high quality production - is simply a source of raw material for new pieces.

I want my jewelry to be one of a kind. I want it to be designed for the stone(s) it carries. Or sometimes, heaven forbid, with no stones at all. I design some pieces and some I work with a gold or silversmith to come to a design that makes me happy. Sometimes I buy completed pieces - but they are almost certainly one-of-a-kind.

For others, if the only interest is the gemstone, they can be happy with mass produced settings that simply hold the gemstone on a finger or chain. And I don''t argue that there is a great variation in the quality of settings available and varieties in halos, etc. to meet many tastes.

Go to an auction of fine jewelry and antiques - pieces that are marked or can be attributed sell at a premium - as art. You may find that some pieces that are simply sterling silver by an artist sell for more than pieces with gemstones that cannot be attributed. This is a different "market" than resale of "designer" settings on Ebay.

My views, anyway.

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 1/27/2010 1:14:12 PM
Author: empress
I think Richard, Gailey and Ma Re are discussing jewelry as art rather than stone settings.

I''ve come to a point where my jewelry that was mass produced - even high quality production - is simply a source of raw material for new pieces.

I want my jewelry to be one of a kind. I want it to be designed for the stone(s) it carries. Or sometimes, heaven forbid, with no stones at all. I design some pieces and some I work with a gold or silversmith to come to a design that makes me happy. Sometimes I buy completed pieces - but they are almost certainly one-of-a-kind.

For others, if the only interest is the gemstone, they can be happy with mass produced settings that simply hold the gemstone on a finger or chain. And I don''t argue that there is a great variation in the quality of settings available and varieties in halos, etc. to meet many tastes.

Go to an auction of fine jewelry and antiques - pieces that are marked or can be attributed sell at a premium - as art. You may find that some pieces that are simply sterling silver by an artist sell for more than pieces with gemstones that cannot be attributed. This is a different ''market'' than resale of ''designer'' settings on Ebay.

My views, anyway.

haven''t read every single reply in this thread but i''m with empress re wanting my jewelry to be one of a kind....and most of piecs are one of a kind. i avoid buying anything that i think is "commercial" and/or even more specifically, something i''d likely see on someone else. i think this is part of my aversion to most halos.....notice i specified "most"....there are some that i have liked; however, i will never own one because i see them everywhere. but then that''s the wonderful thing about jewelry: something for everybody and that is a good thing. everyone has their own reasons why they want what they want and its all good when it comes to making his/her project come true.

mz

 

[Sagebrush]

Ma Re,

Gotta love ya! One of the things I discovered as a jeweler is that art is process. By that I mean, you start at point A heading for point B, but along the way, the piece you are making begins to talk to you. There is a dialogue, an unspoken discussion that takes place between the maker and the object.

A similar thing occurs in writing. I spent 5 years writing The French Blue. At first I was very concerned about character development. How to make them whole persons, believable, how would they react to certain situations and so forth. As I wrote I discovered that the characters began to develop themselves, they began to take on a life of their own---they began to talk back.

My problem, TL, with mass produced settings, cheap or otherwise, is that they are mere reproductions, they lack a soul. Gene''s stone is just a zircon, would it be more if it was a blue diamond and cost 2M a carat, would that make it more beautiful? My point here, is that value is not merely a function of price. In the early 90s I sold Paraiba tourmalines for 2-4,000 per carat, today they are worth 20,000 per carat. Are they more beautiful, more desirable today than they were in 1991?

 

[Cind11]

Date: 1/27/2010 12:32:50 PM
Author: Gailey
This discussion has taken an interesting turn. I guess I am in the very small camp of people who has not had a stone set in an off-the-shelf setting since joining PS (well actually - ever).

I think it''s interesting to see how various people ''choose to cut their cloth''. I can''t bring myself to do the LOGR thing and not for one minute am I knocking those that do. In fact I envy them to some degree because they are wearing their beautiful stones and mine are still languishing in the box.

Yet, it was not so very long ago that I suggested to Chrono that she might consider having custom cut synthetic spinels to adorn her beautiful tsavorite until she is able to locate suitable natural stones. That''s a route I would be prepared to take if it meant getting the ring on my finger sooner rather than later. To others and probably Chrono (

), this route is abhorrent.

We are all different.

I agree with Kismet and Gailey. I am not casting aspersions on those who go the LOGR''s route. However, I cannot bring myself to purchase one. I would rather wait longer (and have less quantity of jewelry) if necesssary to have a stone set than go the mass produced route. And really, there are very affordable handmade settings. Look at Julia Kay Taylor whose settings are lovely.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/27/2010 1:41:17 PM
Author: Cind11

Date: 1/27/2010 12:32:50 PM
Author: Gailey
This discussion has taken an interesting turn. I guess I am in the very small camp of people who has not had a stone set in an off-the-shelf setting since joining PS (well actually - ever).

I think it's interesting to see how various people 'choose to cut their cloth'. I can't bring myself to do the LOGR thing and not for one minute am I knocking those that do. In fact I envy them to some degree because they are wearing their beautiful stones and mine are still languishing in the box.

Yet, it was not so very long ago that I suggested to Chrono that she might consider having custom cut synthetic spinels to adorn her beautiful tsavorite until she is able to locate suitable natural stones. That's a route I would be prepared to take if it meant getting the ring on my finger sooner rather than later. To others and probably Chrono (

), this route is abhorrent.

We are all different.

I agree with Kismet and Gailey. I am not casting aspersions on those who go the LOGR's route. However, I cannot bring myself to purchase one. I would rather wait longer (and have less quantity of jewelry) if necesssary to have a stone set than go the mass produced route. And really, there are very affordable handmade settings. Look at Julia Kay Taylor whose settings are lovely.

I can appreciate that. I'm at the opposite end though. I'm a gemstone person, I want to be able to enjoy the gems as the focal point of the ring. For example, I purchased a beautiful 6.16 carat Loliondo spessartite from Gene in a beautiful cut. The stone practically glows, but I put it in an very basic 18K LOGR halo, no frills setting. What looks at me is the beauty of that stone, and while I think the buttery 18K gold really compliments it, I see nothing but that stone. It's immense, makes a statement, and I doubt that if I put it in a fabulous designer piece, it would look much better because it is really the star of the show.

While I would not want a badly fabricated mass produced ring, I feel that the quality of the ones I purchase are good enough for me since I'm a gemstone lover first and foremost. Many other people are jewelry lovers, and that's perfectly fine, I can totally understand that since jewelry making is an art form. I think gemstones are mother natures art, and the art of the lapidaries that cut them. I look at my settings as pretty frameworks for the gem art I love, and the accent diamonds are beautiful as well. Chrono once said they were on 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 if ACA's are a 10, so it's not something I cringe looking at.

I was recently at the Field Museum in Chicago and I saw some unattractive gems in beautiful mountings and necklaces. To me, that's sad because I think the stone should be the most expensive part of the whole ring or jewelry piece. Some people feel the opposite, but my argument is that you can't put a price on Mother Nature. We're lucky we can buy some of these precious and beautiful colored stones, but there are only so many. Gold can be melted down, reworked, refabricated, but there are only so many fine gems in the world. Would I put the Hope diamond in a mass produced mount? No, but I think it looks just as beautiful out of it's mounting (as it stands right now in his exhibit case) as it does in it. All I see is the beauty of the gem.