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Oscar Heyman Custom Design?

Sparkly_Girl

Sparkly_Girl

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
99
Good Morning PS'ers!

I'm wondering if any of you have worked with Oscar Heyman to custom design an engagement ring for you?

We are considering working through a local jeweler to have a "Harry Winston The One" inspired ring designed for us by Oscar Heyman. We're just looking for feedback on anyone else's experience with OH. We looked at a cushion cut diamond they provided to us for consideration:

3.02, E, VS1, Very Good, Good, No Flour - $99,000

They also preliminarily quoted us $20K for the setting which would include 1.5 ct. Well, after actually visiting HW and seeing the ring in person, we know that the setting will most likely be between .4 - .5 ct as my fingers are a size 4.25. We anticipate that once we get the design perfected the $20,000 pricetag will be significantly reduced.

We have also secured two other diamonds that are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow that we are considering:

3.61, H, VS1, Very Good, Very Good, No Flour - $56,080
4.02, H, VS2, Ex, Ex, No Flour - $77,000

Does anyone have any feedback on the process with Oscar Heyman? Any thoughts would be much appreciated
 
They as you know only work through jewelers.

I'm a little confused why you mentioned HW.

Have you considered Oscar Heyman's stock engagement rings? They are TDF.
 
Hi there,

Yes... I know OH only works through jewelers. We are going through Graham Jewelers in Wayzata, MN.

I mentioned Harry Winston because we are having a "replica" made of the ring called "The One" by HW. We visited Harry Winston and fell in love with the ring. However, we don't want to pay $371,000 for the piece. We do want a gorgeous "inspired by" piece with the same level of craftsmanship, but at a lower price point. That is why we are going through Heyman. I did look at the OH engagement rings, but nothing spoke to me like the HW. Believe me, if money was no object, I would have the HW planted on my finger right now! We think we will be able to get a beautiful piece, albeit with a "less perfect" diamond, for between $100 - 125K. That's a significant savings!

I am most interested in hearing about anyone's experience with OH having a ring custom designed. We are at the beginning phase... they supplied us with a drawing that was a "good start" but needed significant refining. (This is a problem when dealing with a middle-man jewelry store as you can't speak with the designers themselves. We are relying on Graham to translate exactly what we're saying!) OH is in the process of creating another drawing for us to approve before they create a wax. I'm super excited, but was wondering if anyone else had experience with OH for this process. :))
 
Imdanny|1325098539|3090157 said:
They as you know only work through jewelers.

I'm a little confused why you mentioned HW.

Have you considered Oscar Heyman's stock engagement rings? They are TDF.
Click to expand...

Have you gotten a response back yet? I love online 'window shopping' and it's always a bit of a letdown when prices aren't listed!!

Good luck with your ring, sparkly!! It's going to be amazing! Please keep us posted and make sure you post lots of photos!! Inquiring minds want to know! :bigsmile:
 
This is one project I would definitely love to see the results of! Hope you'll share!

Looking at The One ring, I'm quite sure Victor Carnera can replicate it with extraordinary finesse too, but obviously Oscar Heyman has its own mystique and amazing legacy too. I'm sure you won't go wrong.
 
Perhaps it is just me .. but their pave doesn't compare to VC, SK, Leon in my opinion. They have more metal between the melee. Also, their prongs aren't as nice.
 
With names like Oscar Heyman, the mystique is the big cost factor. Leon is getting a few more mixed reviews lately (still the rare rare minority) since he isn't handling all his benchwork by himself anymore, but the other two are stellar. Victor Canera and Steven K

Still... even if the benchwork is stellar, it isn't going to be an Oscar Heyman. Same way that an Oscar Heyman isn't a Tiffany, and a Tiffany isn't a Bulgari, and a Bulgari isn't a Harry Winston.

Not in sequence or anything. Just personal brand preferences. So if you want to and you can afford to, why not. Please share pictures, thanks!
 
I can't wait to see your finished ring! Hope you find the info you want. :appl:
 
TristanC|1325149011|3090659 said:
With names like Oscar Heyman, the mystique is the big cost factor. Leon is getting a few more mixed reviews lately (still the rare rare minority) since he isn't handling all his benchwork by himself anymore, but the other two are stellar. Victor Canera and Steven K

Still... even if the benchwork is stellar, it isn't going to be an Oscar Heyman. Same way that an Oscar Heyman isn't a Tiffany, and a Tiffany isn't a Bulgari, and a Bulgari isn't a Harry Winston.

Not in sequence or anything. Just personal brand preferences. So if you want to and you can afford to, why not. Please share pictures, thanks!
Click to expand...

Leon hasn't been doing his ownwork for years. He had badreviews for years but his work is still stellar and has better flow than others. Even Victor ans Steven have bad reviews. Very important to see work first hand. I have items from Leon and Steven. Can't wait to get something from Victor.
 
To answer the question (thank you!) no, I have not followed up with the retailer yet.

I do want to add some comments to this thread.

I think with the great houses (and make no mistake- Oscar Heyman is one of them) they, like Tristan said, don't compare with each other because each is unique.

If any of you have not seen the Art Deco (and seriously, Oscar Heyman was making Art Deco bracelets of the same type during the actual Art Deco age, having been founded in 1917) bracelet (on their website- the one with the birds) you really should.

I'm confident in saying no individual jewelers anywhere could make this very, very rare and fine bracelet. Oscar Heyman were making bracelets of this style and quality back in the day branded Cartier and VC&A and they (with their own tools and lapidary, and if that's not enough, metal alloying) can make this piece today because they have never stopped being able to make it. Just incredible.

OP, if you do this, please let us know and show us! We rarely get to see Oscar Heyman's work, even on the internet. I've never seen it in person. I would be most interested in anything you get from them.

Sincerely,

Danny

Ps, this is the link to the braclet. Although the whole website will blow your mind. This piece has the usual suspects and the Art Deco's era's "4th" colored stone- black onyx. The whole thing is beyond.

I don't know if even Cartier and VC&A could have made this piece. They blow my mind too but I haven't seen them make this type of bracelet in the modern era.

http://www.oscarheyman.com/holiday.php
 
TristanC|1325149011|3090659 said:
With names like Oscar Heyman, the mystique is the big cost factor. Leon is getting a few more mixed reviews lately (still the rare rare minority) since he isn't handling all his benchwork by himself anymore, but the other two are stellar. Victor Canera and Steven K

Still... even if the benchwork is stellar, it isn't going to be an Oscar Heyman. Same way that an Oscar Heyman isn't a Tiffany, and a Tiffany isn't a Bulgari, and a Bulgari isn't a Harry Winston.

Not in sequence or anything. Just personal brand preferences. So if you want to and you can afford to, why not. Please share pictures, thanks!
Click to expand...

Tristan, I so much agree with your post. I see things all the time (and I'm talking modern not vintage, that's a whole other ballgame) from Cartier, VC&A, Oscar Heyman, and Harrry Winston (although less often- so much with their thing depends on stones and a lot depended on the man himself- everyone's come down a little in the world except strangely and ironically Heyman who used to do contract work for what today we would call the "name" brands- Harry Winston is still there in my opinion but I miss the days when Harry Winston was photographed for LIFE with his back to the viewer and his jewels on the table- what a genius that man was) that I think (and know) that none of the others could have done. It's a case of each not having the abilities, the sensibilities, and the history of each of the others. At this level- it's pretty much all unique. I'd like to add that Tiffany and Bulgari certainly belong in this class but I personally just don't know enough about them (yet) to begin to try to compare their best work with the others'. Oh, and personally I'd take a Heyman piece over Harry Winston and wouldn't spend one second second guessing myself but like you said if you can afford this kind of thing (I certainly can't) buy what you like, and please show us.
 
I gotta say, it seems perverse to me to go to Oscar Heyman to rip off... erm, excuse me, replicate Harry Winston.
 
Interesting.

Do you feel (and this is NOT a leading question) the same way about all of the Tiffany and other "repro"s(ductions)?

Personally, I do feel it is, what's the word I want, unheard of, to commission Heyman to make a "Harry Winston" piece.

For one thing, Heyman is no second rate Harry Winston. As Tristan and I just explained, they have their own thing going on.

For another, Heyman, again as I said, makes their own tools (and always has), has their own lapidary, cuts all of their own stones (except diamonds), and alloys their own platinum and gold!

I mean, honestly, if I could afford to go to Heyman, I'd go to Heyman. Well, I'd go to one of their retailers, since as we all know from my experience calling them, the fact they have their own branded pieces and website now doesn't mean they have their own stores (they don't).

They're my 3rd favorite jeweler after Cartier and VC&A. I personally think they are the best jewelers in New York, in the US, and in the Western Hemisphere.
 
Do I feel the same way about repros?

My understanding is that the original Tiffany 6 prong is no longer protected my copyright, so I don't think there is anything wrong with having it replicated. But I would never ask Victor Canera to do it. I mean... really? Why would you ask Van Gogh to forge a da Vinci? IMO it insults Van Gogh and da Vinci both.
 
I think it was Oscar Wilde who said good artists borrow and great artists steal. :lol:

I don't know very much about intellectual property law so I don't usually get into that aspect of it.

I know that Victor Canera does make a Cartier 1895 reproduction.

I mean you could call it an "homage" but really it's a Cartier 1895 for people who don't want to buy one but do want to buy his version (and Cartier is my favorite house- these two rings are very different to my eye).

I'm pretty sure that was a business decision on his part not an artistic one.

None of this bothers me. I hope the OP does this and comes back and shows us!
 
Sparky Girl- You will love the Heyman made piece. The ultimate in old world craftsmanship. Not a day will will pass that you won't feel the artistry, the passion for execution. - OH will be doing what few others can claim, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary that this institution has been around. May you reap as much enjoyment from your ring as my wife has for the past 40 years!
Best of luck!
 
Why they are a legend.

Please read this and see this link.

"Necklace Subdivisions

Meeting those challenges was non-negotiable – the client wanted enough attachments and tools so the piece could be subdivided for future inheritances. In the finished necklace, every element works by itself as well as together. Oscar Heyman kept records of each element and put a serial number and mark on each piece for easy tracking at a later date or when the piece is broken up – a service it provides to all its clients."

http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2004/jun04/0604i.html

OP, when one jeweler makes a design another jeweler is famous for or even recently credited for it's always a somewhat controversial thing. However, if anything, I sincerely hope that this thread will enable you to be even more excited about working with your jeweler and Oscar Heyman. You would be so very fortunate to have an Oscar Heyman piece, and we would love so very much to see one. Best to you.
 
Oscar Heyman - YUM!!!!!!! I adore their "Circles of Love!!!"
 
Oh, that's "all" I want, one of their Circles of Love! :love:

I want one that's platinum half set with alternating diamonds and rubies.
Or the same with emeralds.
Or maybe gold, sapphires, diamonds.
Platinum, sapphire, and diamonds look pretty good too.
You get the picture.
I can't afford one but I just want A PIECE of it.
Do you know?
It's IT!
It's got the IT factor.

It would send me into the stratosphere of jewelry love forever!

Sigh. :cheeky:
 
to the OP: the HW 'the one' ring is one that many have replicated...if you search PS you will find many HW-inspired rings. Frankiextah in particular posts many detailed comparison shots of pave settings from different jewelers. It doesn't make sense to me to go to Oscar Heyman to duplicate a HW design? Are there significant changes you want to make from the HW?
 
Do you know?
It's IT!
It's got the IT factor.

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto!

ImDanny we should have a coffee. I am so with you on this. Can't WAIT to see what happens here. SUCH a fan of Heyman for all the reasons you stated. Just one VCA and Heyman and Winston and Cartier and I'm good. :Up_to_something: :Up_to_something: :Up_to_something: :Up_to_something: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I love to watch a thread where an heirloom is being created. Best wishes and good luck creating yours Sparkly_Girl!
 
backwardsandinheels|1325350974|3092295 said:
ImDanny we should have a coffee. I am so with you on this.
Click to expand...

backwardsandinheels, you had me at hello. :bigsmile:
 
Hi Again - we aren't asking Heyman to copy the HW... we are asking them to create a piece every bit as delicate and "awe-inspiring" as the HW, with some of the same characteristics. I'm sure many people who have a piece of jewelry commissioned, have a starting off point, and "The One" by Harry Winston is ours.

Of course I will let you all know how the process goes and what the final piece looks like. We are still waiting for a second drawing from them, incorporating the suggestions we had the last time we met with our jeweler.

We did settle on a diamond, so that decision is behind us! With a wedding in St. Maarten on 3/30, we don't have a lot of time to waste!
 
We are making changes, definitely... Nothing that takes it too far away from the original inspiration, however.

I have searched for months for a non-HW halo ring, but absolutely nothing has spoken to me.

When speaking to one of the many jewelers we interviewed to have a piece commissioned, he introduced us to Oscar Heyman. While his own in-house jewelery designers could do what we were asking, he highly recommended that we consider Oscar Heyman, due to the care and attention to details, the hand-crafted tools, the way they set their platinum, the delicacy that I wanted in the piece, etc... We then attended an OH trunk show and fell in love with the beauty and craftsmanship of the pieces. At that point we were sold!
 
An Oscar Heyman trunk show? :loopy:
 
For lack of a better term, yes... a trunk show. Representatives from Oscar Heyman came to Graham Jewelers and hosted a private champagne invitation-only event to view their pieces and talk with OH reps. it was fantastic to see some of the pieces first-hand!
 
I am writing in reply to what Danny wrote. I had never heard of Oscar Heyman until he and Laurie (JewelFreak) started to discuss him in some threads I saw. Yesterday a store I was in happened to have a little Oscar Heyman corner, so I decided to see what he did. The first thing I noticed was that he worked with really beautiful, quality gems. The sapphires were a beautiful blue ( and most of the pieces contained blue sapphires). The rubies looked good, too, although only one piece (a necklace) had rubies I considered really red. Then there was a pair of large, graceful emerald earrings.

After I had seen everything else I wanted to see in the store, I went back to the Oscar Heyman area and a woman working there asked if I would like to see anything. I decided to ask to see a sapphire ring that was the same size as my new red spinel ring. It was a blue oval sapphire with two diamond sidestones set in platinum (or white gold). There were small or pavé stones set beside the sidestones which looked like small ovals. There was a lot of metal work going on along with the tiny diamonds if I recall correctly. It was pricey (as I expected) at 68K, but lovely. The woman working there told me I had good taste, which I thought was interesting given that I had chosen one of the smallest rings in the case to try on! I have to say that it was a perfect match for my red spinel ring...but I will have to pass. I am lucky that I am not in love with the name Oscar Heyman as I cannot afford to pay for it!!!

I do see why you love him, however, Danny!!!

Deb/AGBF
:wavey:
 
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