Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Leon Mege or Joe Escobar Diamonds

S

sebas

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
159
Hi everyone! I'm debating where to have my setting done. I live near Joe Escobar Diamonds and they have been super helpful, but the price seems to be mid $7k for a platinum 3 sided diamond halo hand made setting. Instead, Leon Mege is mid $5k. Joe Escobar Diamonds say they use the best melee and have the best people and service. Their settings are gorgeous, but it also seems to me that Leon Mege does just as good work and has an incredibly good reputation.

What variables should I ask to understand the price difference? The melee quality? Anything else?
Is there a real difference between the two?
 
I cannot see who can justify a 2k difference between this two vendors. Leon Megé do fabulous jobs usualy.
 
I have worked with Joe Escobar and Leon Mege and have been very satisfied with both.

Leon Mege's pave is superior. Their work seems to be a bit more delicate. Escobar does beautiful work, is very nice to work with plus they are local and give great service.

Just make sure you are very clear with the style of halo you want as I have seen halos handled several different ways with a higher or lower set center stone and tilted or flat halos.
 
I got a quote from Joe Escobar before and it was a lot higher than Leon's quote. For 2K, I would go with Leon without question for his proven skill in pave and the type of design you are talking about. Ultimately, it is up to you how important it is to work with someone locally.
 
Thank you so much for all the wonderful responses. Your replies were exactly what I needed.

swingirl > you mentioned I should be clear about the style of halo. Where can I find examples of higher/lower set, tilted/flat halo? I have a particular setting in mind that they could replicate, but I guess there could be minor adjustments that would make a big difference in the look.
 
Hi sebas!

Can't wait to see your ring come to life. Have you considered working with Steven kirsch? I believe he's in the same building as LM but his work looks to be superior at not too much of a price difference.
 
If you are in CA, I would certainly recommend Victor Canera. I would choose him over the others mentioned.
 
diamondseeker2006|1352257027|3300253 said:
If you are in CA, I would certainly recommend Victor Canera. I would choose him over the others mentioned.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I definitely agree. I thought you said that you were in NY near Leon, but if you are in CA then I would definitely encourage you to consider Victor Canera.

Regarding halo tilt, check out Gypsy's response on this thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/input-requested-on-cad-renderings-please-help.174083/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/input-requested-on-cad-renderings-please-help.174083/[/URL]

If you are still looking for ideas on how the ring could look, check out the halos on some vendor sites and review all aspects of the ring to see what you like, including the pave style, struts and donut style, band style, halo & melee size, halo tilt, etc. Some sites to review:
- http://www.stevenkirsch.com/showroom/engagement-wedding-bands/halo.html
- http://www.victorcanera.com/jewelry/engagement-rings?typeofring=45
- http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/recently-sold-6-10.html

Perhaps also post a photo of the setting you have in mind and we can try and help you achieve something similar or propose some improvements?
 
So is it really a matter of taste between Leon Mege, Victor Canera, Steven Kirsch, and Escobar Diamonds? Escobar Diamonds is the only one that is local. Victor Canera is in L.A. and that is about 8-10 hours by car so it's not really local enough to justify over Leon Mege and Steven Kirsch.

The advantage of Escobar Diamonds is that I can look at a wax model and correct for things during the process. But their price is the same as Leon Mege only if they do a cast setting and then polish and set the diamonds by hand. I believe Leon Mege would do everything by hand since his quote says "hand forged platinum."

The design I am thinking is from Leon Mege's website. Victor Canera gave me a similar priced quote, but it didn't seem like he would do an exact replica (maybe copyright issues?). I have not contacted Steven Kirsch.
 
Victor Canera--I have sent diamonds across the country for him (have 4 rings made by him in the past) so 8-10 hours is not bad in terms of distance for a hand forged setting! I have had a cast setting w/ micropave before and the difference in quality/comfort/asthetic is really worth it!
 
Are the days of price matching gone? If you feel more comfortable with Joe Escobar, show him Leon's quote and see if he'll match it. Sounds reasonable to me.
 
diamondseeker2006|1352298782|3300458 said:
There is no way I would choose cast over hand-forged for a similar price. I made my decision on who I prefer based on this post. If you haven't read through it, I would suggest that you do.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/[/URL]
Click to expand...

For the new people reading this thread, I just wanted to summarize that the comparisons (pros vs cons) in the thread were very much personal preferences. As an example, Leon's halo having too much metal - I think Leon did it on purpose to create a different effect as you can see in the further away straight on hand shots. Although Leon's work looks more chunky in the photos, his rings are really dainty and I find that his workmanship is really sturdy. My Maytal halo is very dainty like the VC halo and when I compare it to the ring Leon made it ... Leon's ring feels far stronger and more secure.

Bottom line ... you can't go wrong with Leon, Steven or Victor in my opinion. Joe Escobar does great work too but for a different type of ring and I wouldn't compare him to Leon, Steven or Victor.
 
A few questions that would help:

1. Any examples of pave size for halo around a 3ct sapphire? What would be recommended so it is proportional?

2. Is full cut pave diamonds preferred for sparkle?

3. Any examples of center stone height with respect to halo? How can I specify this... girdle should be flush with halo or 1mm higher, etc.?

4. Any pictures of v-cut or royal/belgian v-cut single-row pave shank? I saw only schematics on Leon's website, but no real life examples.

5. Since all these groups have several craftsman actually making the rings, how does one make sure you don't get the least experienced? :-)

Thanks!
 
Anyone see the Leon Mege Beligan pave done by someone on here?
 
Thanks Charmypoo!
 
Does anyone have any pictures of Leon Mege's royal v-cut vs. regular v-cut shank pave?
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I went with Leon Mege hand made v-cut single row pave on shank (not sure if royal v-cut or just v-cut). See video taken with iPhone camera: http://youtu.be/hoqvHTJZeQ4
 
My 2c - as someone who owns no pave whatsoever and has no plans to acquire any -

Leon's work is sexy. Other vendors do fantastically precise pave work as well, but (again, my 2c based just on pics and the few pieces I've seen IRL) Leon's eye for curves and the sort of aesthetic that yields pieces that all but drip pheromones is unparalleled.

ETA: missed your update - congrats!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top