[preswine]

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The Jeweler
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I decided to pick a jeweler in New York because I wanted to view actual ring styles in person, in addition to having more flexibility for ring resizing, etc. I visited four jewelers, Mikimoto, Vancleef & Arples, Tiffany (for laughs), and American Pearl. Mikimoto told me that they won't set non-mikimoto pearls. They also told me that natural pearls don't exist. Vancleef & Arples told me that they won't set gems that aren't purchased from Vancleef & Arples (when questioned they claimed they could obtain natural pearls). The clerk at Tiffany told me that a pearl ring is not an engagement ring (with a snort). American Pearl offered to set my pearl in any ring in their inventory. They also offered to make a completely custom design if I didn't like anything in their inventory.

Needless to say, I went with American Pearl (which is unaffiliated with American Pearl Company of Tennessee). Unlike most pearl retailers/jewelers they seemed to have more selection/experience with my metal of choice (platinum), presumably due to their sister company, American Diamond. It seems that platinum isn't used much in pearl jewelery because, except in the case of very rare natural pearls, the platinum would greatly increase the price of an otherwise inexpensive piece. Most of my interactions were with the owner Eddie Bakhash, who was very accommodating and generally willing to please. He genuinely cared about what I was trying to accomplish and, although he paid careful attention to give me exactly what I asked for, he was also willing to give helpful suggestions about parameters I wasn't sure of. I decided on one of their stock designs, "Grace", which has two SI1 clarity, G color, .085 carat diamonds as side stones. I ordered it in platinum for $900 and they upgraded the diamonds to VS for free.

One small criticism of American Pearl is that they flip flopped about one minor perk. Originally they said I would get no discount for bringing my own pearl, then they said they would deduct the price of the stock pearl (~$50), and when they finally charged me they said they would not deduct the price of the stock pearl. This is obviously a minor quibble on a $900 purchase, but after the great service I received it caught me off guard. I don't hold it against them because I think I got a relatively good deal anyway and I know I was a tough customer. The service was great when I went back for a resize. They did it within a few hours and even offered to ship it to me free of charge if I didn't want to wait.