Bought more - this time retail (ouch?)

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Sam & Ana,

The above ring is a fully hallmarked, signed, and has been individually essayed for the British market. It is a Bob Weinman ring from the Generations 1912 line. It was a cheap second because some of the pink diamond chips were set askew. I paid exactly US$428.00 for it. I did not buy it for its cost-of-materials value or some other collectible feature but simply because I absolutely adore the design. About everything I can think of is different than the cookie-cutter things you see everywhere.

Zeide

[operavopera]

Hi Opera,

The surcharge for 4 diamond chips is so beyond ridiculous that I can hardly fathom it. This is not going to be a custom setting. They are just gluing the pearls into a pre-fab semi-mount. The semi-mount in 14k will cost something around US$90.00 wholesale from the Stuller catalog. That is already including 4 diamond chips that come with the setting from the manufacturer. If you want to really annoy your jeweler you buy yourself a suite of fancy color diamonds chips in a rainbow assortment from www.alphagems.com (get the phone number, ask for Balu Khatod, call him Prince and tell him Bagheera referred you) and he'll pick a whole carat worth of meleé in fine color and clarity for about US$100. Then kindly ask your generous jeweler to set their "free custom" mounting with these.

Zeide

As it turns out, I was able to get a much better deal on the same quality diamonds somewhere else. My jeweler will still set them for me and they have assured me that it is a custom, handmade setting, and that all of their jewelry is handmade and designed by the jeweler onsite. (They did design a pair of Tahitian earrings for me several years ago and they look pretty custom to me). When I get the earrings back I will post a picture! Thank you for all of the advice! You all saved me again!