Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

HELP w/a Jack Kelege setting!

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
B

bariww

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
14

I have been pining over a particular Jack Kelege setting for months but just haven't been able to convince myself to go for the 10k price. That being said, I would like to try and get it made by someone (suggestions on who can do this type of quality work would be fabulous) and was hoping to find better pictures. The Kelege style # is KPR 502 and it's made for a round stone. Here's a horrible zerox copy of the side view that may give you an idea of which one I'm talking about along with a top view of another designers ring which looks very similar(in the Kelege, the prongs sit below the face of the stone so it looks perfectly round and really pops!). If anyone has a better pic of this ring I would love to get a copy of it. Thanks in advance!



Bari


JKring.jpg
 
Kelege does amazing work but his settings are very expensive. I would suggest Leon Mege at Art of Platinum who does amazing pave work as well. He will not copy another designer but if you check out his site he does do custom work and I''m sure you could work with him to get close to the design with the elements you love in the Kelege ring.
 
Date: 3/21/2009 9:09:55 PM
Author: mrssalvo
Kelege does amazing work but his settings are very expensive. I would suggest Leon Mege at Art of Platinum who does amazing pave work as well. He will not copy another designer but if you check out his site he does do custom work and I'm sure you could work with him to get close to the design with the elements you love in the Kelege ring.
Click to expand...
Ditto mrssalvo's advice. Here's a Leon Mege style that's fairly similar to the Kelege:
link to Art of Platinum
30.gif


leonmege_r439.jpg
 
I would recommend 23rd Street Jewelers in Santa Monica, CA. They do beautiful pave work. They're quite pricey as well, but I would guess they would be cheaper than Kelege. It's worth a call.

FYI: They're not very good about answering email inquiries. If you want to send them a picture of the ring you're interested in, it would be best to call first.

www.23rdstreetjewelers.com
 
Thanks everyone! I''ve been to Leon''s website but assumed that he was going to cost 5k+ and we hope to stay at or under 3500. I guess it can''t hurt to contact both of them and see! I have 2 follow up questions...first, I live in Houston so WF is right around the corner (you should know that I am a perfectionist and super picky about my pave!) and there''s something comforting about having it done close to home. Do you think I should even consider them for? I''m buying the stone online so I suppose that I shouldn''t be so nervous about having the setting done somewhere else, just want it to be beautiful. Second, in the side pic of the Kelege setting you can see how and where the prongs sit and I''m wondering if I need to be looking for a stone with a particular type of girdle if that makes sense? I want to make sure that it looks good, but also is secure in the prongs.

BTW, thank you all so much for the help! I have learned soooo much from PS and hate to even think about what I would have ended up with had I not learned what a pavillion angle or table or cutlet or Idealscope was!

Bari
 
Leon and 23rd St. are likely to be over $5k for something like that. That being said, please don''t just go with whoever gives you the lowest quote (unless dealing with all well regarded vendors of course)-pave like that needs to be done right or else it will be a nightmare.
 
Without a doubt we won''t just go with the one who has the lowest price. If we like someone''s work better and they cost the full $3500 we have to spend vs someone who''s $2500 and we don''t like as much, we''ll spend the $3500 without hesitation. We just want to find the best person to do the job and put as much as we can into the stone (which is a whole other dilemma we''re working on). We want to find the best cut, whitest, cleanest 1.8-2.1 RB stone (prioritized in that order) on a budget of $14,500 and I''m having a hard time determining what combo of everything is going to get us what we want.

WF looks like they do some nice custom work, so I think I''m going to contact them as well...
 
WF does beautiful custom work but I have not seen any 3-sided pave. The setting you are looking at needs a real pave expert and I would be surprised to find it custom made for $2500-3500 since that seems to be the price for non-custom settings with far less detail. Are you looking for white gold or platinum?
 
Date: 3/22/2009 1:27:53 PM
Author: swingirl
The setting you are looking at needs a real pave expert and I would be surprised to find it custom made for $2500-3500 since that seems to be the price for non-custom settings with far less detail. Are you looking for white gold or platinum?
Click to expand...

I agree. $3,500 for a custom setting in that detail is going to be near impossible to find.
 
Are you going full pave around the whole shank or would you be going 1/2 or 3/4? Going 3/4 or 1/2 would bring the price down quite a bit and also make the ring a bit more practical for everyday wear.
 
Date: 3/22/2009 1:08:53 PM
Author: bariww
Without a doubt we won''t just go with the one who has the lowest price. If we like someone''s work better and they cost the full $3500 we have to spend vs someone who''s $2500 and we don''t like as much, we''ll spend the $3500 without hesitation. We just want to find the best person to do the job and put as much as we can into the stone (which is a whole other dilemma we''re working on). We want to find the best cut, whitest, cleanest 1.8-2.1 RB stone (prioritized in that order) on a budget of $14,500 and I''m having a hard time determining what combo of everything is going to get us what we want.


WF looks like they do some nice custom work, so I think I''m going to contact them as well...
Click to expand...

Is the $14,500 for just the stone or does that include the $3500 for the setting.

I agree that you will probably have a tough time finding any high quality pave maker be able to make that detailed of a setting for $3500. the labor cost alone will eat up a lot of the budget. there are also difference between rings that are handmade and cast. if I were doing a 3-sided pave ring i would opt for a designer that hand makes them.
 
To answer multiple questions at once....It is 3 sided pave but only goes 3/4 of the way around the shank, if even that (I just want it to look like the stones go all the around). Our budget for the whole thing is about 17-18. We''re planning on 14.5 for the stone and 3.5 fo the setting. Am I way off or something? I''m getting really nervous....

Bari
 
Ok, so now I need some help on how to evaluate and select the right person to make this setting which I am now totally nervous about. I''m pretty sure the Kelege setting I''m interested in is bead set since the stones on the shank are different sizes and in a single row, so I think I can describe the ring, but...

What questions should I ask of the jeweler about their custom process? Are there certain words I should use to describe what I want? What do I need to ask about the side stones? If this were you "interviewing" someone to build a ring, what would you ask and want to know?

Also, WF who is local for me is on my list of people to talk to...is there a particular jeweler there who I should work with? Thanks in advance for all your help!

Bari
 
Date: 3/22/2009 10:04:58 PM
Author: bariww
To answer multiple questions at once....It is 3 sided pave but only goes 3/4 of the way around the shank, if even that (I just want it to look like the stones go all the around). Our budget for the whole thing is about 17-18. We're planning on 14.5 for the stone and 3.5 fo the setting. Am I way off or something? I'm getting really nervous....


Bari
Click to expand...

As others have mentioned it is going to be very hard to find that ring, with that level of detail, for $3500. If the delicacy of that setting is important to you make SURE that the vendor you work with can show you examples of rings with that detail. It isn't easy to do and most jewelers can't make it look that delicate IMO.
 
Date: 3/22/2009 1:08:53 PM
Author: bariww
Without a doubt we won't just go with the one who has the lowest price. If we like someone's work better and they cost the full $3500 we have to spend vs someone who's $2500 and we don't like as much, we'll spend the $3500 without hesitation. We just want to find the best person to do the job and put as much as we can into the stone (which is a whole other dilemma we're working on). We want to find the best cut, whitest, cleanest 1.8-2.1 RB stone (prioritized in that order) on a budget of $14,500 and I'm having a hard time determining what combo of everything is going to get us what we want.

WF looks like they do some nice custom work, so I think I'm going to contact them as well...
Click to expand...
Do you know yet what you're comfortable with in regard to the center stone? What clarity you're comfortable with, what color stops being white to you etc? I did a rough search for you and it seems $14,500 may not be very reasonable as well. Of course it depends on your answers to the questions I asked first.

For example, I did a search for 1.8-2.1 ct, excellent to very good cut, F-H color, VS2-SI2 clarity, GIA and AGS only and the results only showed 4 stones with the prices ranging from $18,815 - $22,381. Dropping the color down to J produced a few more results, a couple of which would be within your target range, but I didn't know how color sensitive you are or if you'd like an I or J.
 
For a stone that is 1.8-2.1, about G-I colour, VS1-SII clarity, you''re looking at spending roughly $18,000 and up. A setting with that level of detail and individual diamonds set could easily run you double or more than your $3,500 setting budget.
 
Date: 3/22/2009 10:04:58 PM
Author: bariww
To answer multiple questions at once....It is 3 sided pave but only goes 3/4 of the way around the shank, if even that (I just want it to look like the stones go all the around). Our budget for the whole thing is about 17-18. We''re planning on 14.5 for the stone and 3.5 fo the setting. Am I way off or something? I''m getting really nervous....


Bari
Click to expand...

Bari, there is nothing to get nervous about. You have an AMAZING budget for a ring. sometimes there is just a little bit of sticker shock on exactly how much these tiny pieces of carbon really cost. You will probably end up needed to make some sacrifices to get the size of stone you want for 14.5 which is totally okay. If size is your priority you can come down in color and clarity to get a stone closer you what you are budgeting. Just don''t compromise on the cut. whiteflash is a highly respected vendor here and definitely worth meeting with since they are local for you. Then you can take a look at their custom work and settings and see what you think in person which is great.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone! $17k on a hunk of carbon and some metal is quite a bit of money in my book and after today I''m feeling pretty good about the setting. I visited a b&m here in town that I have seen and heard of for years and I was soooo impressed with their custom work! The jeweler was wonderful...he sat down with me for over an hour on a walk in appt and looked at my pics and listened to my description and pulled pieces to see if I liked this and liked that. His work was lovely...very delicate and it held up well to my picky pave taste! I''m going to talk to WF tomorrow and continue the stone search. A few of the PS vendors have sent me some lists I''m sorting through. I''ve contacted an appraiser I found on PS and I''m going to have her evaluate a few stones once I make up my mind and have them shipped in. I''m committed to buying a diamond and not a piece of paper so I''m not concerned but confident that I''ll find a beautiful stone (I''ll be asking for everyone here''s help in evaluating the stones too!). Again thanks for your help PS!

Bari
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top