Suggestions on the best manufacturer of a custom setting (considering whiteflash)

[galleygal]

I always thought going custom would be more expensive then just buying a setting that was already made. Am I wrong? If that is the case, I wish my boyfriend would have custom designed my E-ring. But, I still love my HOF setting anyway.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 10/31/2007 1:43:17 PM
Author: galleygal
I always thought going custom would be more expensive then just buying a setting that was already made. Am I wrong? If that is the case, I wish my boyfriend would have custom designed my E-ring. But, I still love my HOF setting anyway.

I think it depends completely on what you want. Some settings are expensive oftentimes just because of the designer name, whereas some settings are expensive because of the labor involved, and for some settings it''s probably a little bit of both.

I don''t know much about HOF setting pricing or your setting specifically, but I would imagine that, because of the HOF brand name, your HOF setting was probably more expensive than a similar custom setting made by say, Whiteflash would have been. Again, total speculation as I don''t know what your setting looks like or how much it cost!

As far the setting esumea''s designed, it seems likely that a custom setting in platinum would be similarly priced to the original setting, which was $2600. Due to the price of platinum and labor costs, that $2600 price tag doesn''t seem super high to me, so I don''t know if going custom would take much $ off the price. Again, total speculation on my part, as I don''t work for a custom jeweler and only have my own experience and the knowledge gained here on PS to use!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 10/31/2007 1:43:17 PM
Author: galleygal
I always thought going custom would be more expensive then just buying a setting that was already made. Am I wrong?

It''s not always more expensive. It really depends on how involved your planned design is and who created the pre-made setting.

If it''s a stock piece like Stuller, etc, that might be less expensive than custom.

If it''s a designer pre-made piece like Tacori or Ritani, then it may cost about the same or more than a custom piece.

 

[Pandora II]

Even an online vendor will have overheads for benchwork, that may not be there for diamonds.

The price really is in the labour. You are talking paying for the designers time (if you need one), the CAD design, the setting costs, the inbuilt costs for all the minute changes that you may ask for, and labour costs will vary depending on the technical difficulty of the piece. And that is all before the cost of the diamonds and the metal. When you are talking a few grammes of metal, platinum doesn''t add a huge whack to the overall cost.

Have you tried emailing your design to a couple of vendors and asking for a quote?

 

[galleygal]

Well, it was just a couple hundred less than this custom setting would be. It''s pretty simply just a splint shank with diamonds. It''s the felicity splint shank. I don''t want to steal anyone''s thunder, sorry esumsea! My ring has already been bought. I guess what''s done is done. I was just wanting to know how much cusom designing cost. I just always assumed it cost more because of the time, overhead, and designing aspect. Maybe, I''ll consider custom for the wedding band.

 

[grapegravity]

Date: 10/31/2007 11:11:05 AM
Author: elmo

Date: 10/31/2007 12:33:47 AM
Author: strmrdr
I would love the chance too see this design laser cnc cut from rolled stock. Head would be seperate and welded on.

Strm, I''ve wondered along similar lines if a different bit on the standard CNC milling machine used to cut wax molds could alternately be used to cut directly from rolled stock. Laser cut would probably need less finishing work...interesting idea.

Mario, I agree with what others here say about using platinum. The heft / density makes the piece feel good to wear. The majority of the cost is still in the labor I think, even at $1500/oz.

my bf is a CNC machinest and he says that the laser cut may burn the material... And it''s best to use CNC water injector nozzles to cut... He normally uses it to cut stainless steel and tangsten material, but he is not sure if you can use it to cut other harder metals....

 

[esumsea]

Wow! Pricescope rocks! I love the commuanl support. Really thanks everyone!

Dealing with what has been said:
"If my e-ring was a violin: it''s not a true Stradivarius, but it substantially feels like one in the overall; it captures the essence of it. If you''re Ok with the notion of "almost Stradivarius", then custom will be a fine solution for you. If you want "Stradivarius", and "Stradivarius-like" won''t be good enough, then you should go to the original designer."
Yeah aljdewey, I could deal with a Stradivarius like design. I have spoken to whiteflash and am waiting for their response. I know they are reading this thread. (LSU sux!...see Traci already tore my head off

). I can be fastedious, but I also worked as a carpenter for a couple of year (a lifelong hobby) so I know how the translation between design and reality. However I know this varies with different carpenters.

Gallygal, how dare you highjack my thread for your purposes

(j.k.) Its cool, thats what these forums are for, to educate everyone.

Thing2of2: If the price difference is less than $500 (@$350) I will go with platinum. Howeve, I have found that the diffference is usually $750 and above.


Pandora: I understand everyone has overhead, but Miami is an extremely expensive place to live, the cost of living is high and coconut grove is extremely swanky ($$$) it like the beverly hills of MIA, so I doubt the overhead is even close for an office building in houston or a small space in downtown miami, or a store in seattle washington. Bottom line, is I don''t want to pay for name or location. I have emailed two vendors (Whiteflash and Green lake for the work with palladium, while whiteflash, at this time, does not) for quotes and have a price here in Miami, this should give me a firm grasp on how much it will cost and how much palladium will save me.

Thanks to all for their input!
Kind Regards,
Mario

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 10/31/2007 2:30:10 PM
Author: galleygal
Well, it was just a couple hundred less than this custom setting would be. It's pretty simply just a splint shank with diamonds. It's the felicity splint shank. I don't want to steal anyone's thunder, sorry esumsea! My ring has already been bought. I guess what's done is done. I was just wanting to know how much cusom designing cost. I just always assumed it cost more because of the time, overhead, and designing aspect. Maybe, I'll consider custom for the wedding band.

Galleygal, I think you are refering to my setting (esumsea doesn't have a split shank on his). Mine came in around $3k. There was no setting exactly like mine on the market - I know because I looked for 2 months - most are pave, not channel set, which is technically quite hard with split shanks.

The Felicity is a much easier setting as the shanks are seperate - they don't taper down into the single channel, the prongs are not the double claw which I specifically wanted and the prongs aren't pave set. The melee I chose was also H&A F VS2. All these differences are why I went custom and not stock.

Not to say the Felicity isn't a nice setting - but I wanted something totally one of a kind not a stock setting that many other people might have. A setting that I had designed with all the elements I wanted.

Basically what Esumsea wants to find

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 10/31/2007 2:57:58 PM
Author: grapegravity

Date: 10/31/2007 11:11:05 AM
Author: elmo

Date: 10/31/2007 12:33:47 AM
Author: strmrdr
I would love the chance too see this design laser cnc cut from rolled stock. Head would be seperate and welded on.

Strm, I've wondered along similar lines if a different bit on the standard CNC milling machine used to cut wax molds could alternately be used to cut directly from rolled stock. Laser cut would probably need less finishing work...interesting idea.

Mario, I agree with what others here say about using platinum. The heft / density makes the piece feel good to wear. The majority of the cost is still in the labor I think, even at $1500/oz.

my bf is a CNC machinest and he says that the laser cut may burn the material... And it's best to use CNC water injector nozzles to cut... He normally uses it to cut stainless steel and tangsten material, but he is not sure if you can use it to cut other harder metals....

Gold and plat aren't hard but they are high temp resistant and have a high temperature transfer rate.
That's why laser welders work do work very well with them, you can heat a very small area hot enough too weld it without overheating the rest of it.
They are near perfect for laser cutting, I have been researching this area.
They are however too soft for a water jet according to the experts I have talked too. (factory engineer for a company that makes them) They will smear and you wont get good cuts.
Fluid polishing is however promising and may someday replace tumble polishing on mass production pieces.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 10/31/2007 4:26:46 PM
Author: esumsea

Dealing with what has been said:
''If my e-ring was a violin: it''s not a true Stradivarius, but it substantially feels like one in the overall; it captures the essence of it. If you''re Ok with the notion of ''almost Stradivarius'', then custom will be a fine solution for you. If you want ''Stradivarius'', and ''Stradivarius-like'' won''t be good enough, then you should go to the original designer.''
Yeah aljdewey, I could deal with a Stradivarius like design. I have spoken to whiteflash and am waiting for their response. I know they are reading this thread. (LSU sux!...see Traci already tore my head off

). I can be fastedious, but I also worked as a carpenter for a couple of year (a lifelong hobby) so I know how the translation between design and reality. However I know this varies with different carpenters.

Fantastic....then it sounds like you know what to expect, in which case I really do endorse WF as an exceptional choice.

Their primary focus is making sure their clients are happy, and they really go the extra mile to make that happen.

 

[cara]

Palladium is cheaper than platinum but less common. Less common means jewelers do not have as much experience working with it (and may simply not work on it, as a matter of policy), and you will be further restricting your benchman options to those who are comfortable and skilled in working with palladium.

Have you considered the potential hassle of maintaining a palladium ring? Sizing, polishing, tighten prongs, etc? Imagine moving in future, your wife''s ring size has changed, and you walk into a local store who claims to be able to size it but has only worked on 1 palladium rings before. Or you could ship it off to whomever you buy it from to get worked on and pay shipping fees.

Maybe I am making too big a deal out of it, and it really wouldn''t be a problem. Anyone out there that actually owns a palladium ring want to chime in on maintenance issues?

Personally, I was interested in palladium for the same reasons (a cheaper, naturally white metal) but choose to go with platinum for the engagement ring once I realized how uncommon palladium was, and how difficult it would be to find a premade design of my liking or how restrictive it would be to limit myself to custom designers that specialize in palladium. My husband even tried on some palladium wedding bands, but again, not a lot of choices. I was less worried about future work on a simple band though, as it seems there is less to mess up.

 

[galleygal]

Pandora,
No I wasn''t talking about your setting. I was just answering someone else''s question about my setting. I wish my boyfriend would have gone custom, it would have meant more. Too late for that though. Oh well...

 

[esumsea]

Thanks to all!
View the finished product here:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-official-so-now-i-can-post-pics-check-it-out.75097/