My Excellent Experience with GOG and Mark Morrell

SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS OF MY RING

After two months of long nights on the forums, I finally have my girl's ring in hand. I'd like to thank everyone for being so helpful/patient with my questions--you were all a huge help.

The process began with the goal of creating a modern interpretation of my grandmother's ring, which my girlfriend is fond of. I wanted a platinum setting and about a 1ct stone; my grandmother's ring is gold and about 2ct. I decided that I would tackle the stone first, and then find someone to custom build the ring. My research, and your reviews, led me to Jonathan at Good Old Gold. I called him up and told him what I was looking for. Within a few hours he called me back with some options, and by that he night he had uploaded the specs on the stone that seemed to fit my needs perfectly. It looked like a winner and the price was fair so I had him ship it to Rockdoc to verify its quality. Everyone at Good Old Gold was extremely helpful and I had a great experience with them.

Rockdoc received the stone without incident and ran extensive tests on it. He produced a ton of interesting documentation on the stone and told me that the price was on par for the quality.

During this time was looking for someone to build the ring. I had some pretty specific ideas about the design, so my main priority was finding an excellent platinum craftsman. There are a number of superb jewelers on the board, but I was in love with the quality of Mark Morrell's pieces. A recommendation from Jonathan sealed the deal.

To include relevant pictures, I'm going to break the rest up into a series of posts.

I emailed Mark with an overview of what I was trying to accomplish and some pictures of my grandmother's ring.

I had tried my best to guesstimate the scale of the setting for a 1ct. stone, but it was difficult without being able to actually see anything. Finally, I fired up photoshop and created some scale models at different widths. I printed them, cut them out, taped 'em up, and I had a pretty good idea of the size that I liked.

I emailed that photo to Mark, and by the next morning he had some CAD mockups made to my specs. This was a great starting point--very exciting!

Mark suggested that we might soften the piece and make it a little more dynamic by making the setting thinner and giving it a little more concavity. He marked the changes up in CAD and I was sold.

I was thrilled with the shape of the setting, but I thought the crown was a little too edgy. I wanted something that would cradle the diamond and continue the smooth, flowing shape of the setting. Mark made a few suggestions and ultimately recommended a 6 prong crown that he would custom cast and finish. I loved the look, but I was concerned that it was a little too beefy for my stone. He assured me that the CAD drawing made it look bulky, but it would be perfect in the final piece.

I gave him the go ahead and he modelled the setting in wax. This was a thrill--we were making some headway.

Mark sent a picture of the wax crown. I got pretty nervous that it was going to dominate the diamond, but Mark sent me some before and after (wax model -> final platinum) photos that set my fears to rest.

Within a couple days this image arrived in my Inbox--now we're cookin'! Both parts of the ring cast and ready for finishing, assembly and setting.

A few days later my jaw dropped when Mark sent along photos of the final product. I was so thrilled! That night I couldn't fall asleep thinking about picking it up the next morning.

Yesterday morning it arrived--I am speechless!!! Mark did such an amazing job. The contours of the ring are so perfect and everything fits together as if it couldn't exist in any other way. It is amazing to finally hold something in my hands that had been in my head for so long.

Once again, thanks to everyone on the forums for your help. Jonathan, Rockdoc, and Mark--you are amazing! It was an excellent experience, I had a blast.

Dave

equals25,

What a beautiful ring! Your stone is so nice! Your experiences with Rockdoc and Mark Morrell ---- I echo them. They are the best! I have had work performed by the both of them. No one knows more about pet rocks than Rockdoc to say the least. He is the best! Mark Morrell is probably the finest custom designer that there is. His work speaks for itself. Kind of like when someone says Rolles Royce or Rolex. I think you get my meaning. He is number 1.

Enjoy,
chas

Thanks for the kind words Chas!

Wow. That setting is incredible. Excellent job!

Thanks shurikt!

equals25,

Beautiful ring! Love the nice thick band. I have a MWM custom setting too and I have to agree he is one of the best, if not the best out there.

Wow, very pretty!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet your fiance is very happy!

GG and Jax,

Thanks for the kind words!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark and I have worked alot together and as time moves on our own relationship has grown more and more. We share many things in common and one is that we both have a passion for what we do. equals... you have coupled the finest art in diamond cutting with your rock with the finest art in ring design with Mark Morrell. You have what could be nothing less than a timeless classic. Thanks for the kind words and also for sharing your pics. If you can, email one to Christen and we'll include that in our appraisal report which will include all the data.

Peace,
Rhino

Rhino,

Thanks for the words. GOG and Mark are definitely a sweet combo--thanks for the help.

Dave

I proposed this morning at Windansea beach in La Jolla, CA. It was simple and sweet, and my girl got the shock of her life.

Thanks again to everyone for their help.

Dave

Thanks Mara! I was just telling my girlfr...um, fiance, that I would love to do custom designs for rich guys with unlimited budgets. The process was so much fun.

Wow! I'm usually not a fan of wide bands, but that looks really good on the hand!

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On 2/22/2003 4:18

2 PM equals25 wrote:

Thanks Mara! I was just telling my girlfr...um, fiance, that I would love to do custom designs for rich guys with unlimited budgets. The process was so much fun.
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Click to expand...

That is funny.

equals25,


Great ring! What were your grandmothers thought's?

I love the construction paper mock ups that you made - a man with a true mission.

Did you post the stone specs anywhere?

Justme

My grandmother just found out that I used her ring as the inspiration. She was very flattered, but she hasn't seen any pics yet.

I've attached the Hearts & Arrows pic and here are the specs:

GIA Cert
Round Brilliant
6.28 x 3.82 mm
.914, G, VS1
Depth: 60.8%
Table: 55.7%
Pavillion Angle: 40.9
Crown Angle: 34.2
Girdle: Medium faceted
Culet: None
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None

The proportions qualify as AGS000 and it comes out to a 1.2 on the Holloway Cut Adviser.

The Brillianscope results are:
White Light Return: Very High
Colored Light Return: Very High
Scintillation: Very High

Hi Dave...


Yet another success story of making someone very happy ( not to mention the joy of being presented with such a well planned and executed purchase). For those of us who really have a mission in creating the best we can, whether it be getting the right diamond, analyzing its quality and value, or designing and setting the stone in well made jewelry item is really our joy.

I get lots of emails from fiances saying how surprised that their fiances took so much time, research and devotion to "getting it perfect". This of course, makes it even better for all. It is truly and sincerely a very reqarding part of my career to be able to see the happiness and joy doing it right is.

I know that many are just taken back with the size and details involved in this as well.

Dave, I certainly understand how you could become addicted to our business, and not to put a damper on your aspirations to design and make jewelry. But..Mark has a ton more knowledge and experience than just the art part.
He has to have metalurgical knowledge, and have the talent in his hands and eyes to be able to execute the designs made in the superior way that he does. I can tell you that many jewelers produce finished products that are are sloppy, and made with profit being foremost in the way they finish and construct the jewelry.

Back when I started, I used to deal with casting companies. Most sent me such slop that I decided to learn and cast myself back in the days when I did have a retail store.

But those who do make high quality items are truly appreciated by me. I know high quality work, and the small savings usually imparted by the "hackers" far exceed the life and future problems encountered by consumers, which is almost always the result of rushed and careless finishing and manufacture.

Yes... Mark is an exception to the jewelry discount areas that make fast, cheap and poor excuses for the art that he obviously loves so much.

Rockdoc

Rockdoc,

I'm actually pretty surprised about the reaction of friends and family to the amount of time that I put into this. It seems obvious that you'd want to be pretty thorough when you are making a decision about spending a good chunk of money on a ring that will be around for years.

Alright, alright. I guess I'll skip the metalurgical training and stick to web design.