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Please help me choose a necklace/pendant
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Irvine, CA
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Berkshire, UK
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If you have some money and are looking for unique, how about going to a designer and getting something bespoke. If you care about the quality of the diamond, buy the stones loose and have an artist create something to your specifications.
The cost will not likely be much more (if at all) than buying something off the shelf from a mass-market place like DeBeers (or Tiffany, etc) and you will not see someone else at the mall wearing the same thing.
Not necessarily promoting his work, but I have a friend who is a jewelry designer and the link below shows examples of the custom work they do- again- not steering you to him- you may hate what they do and they likely aren't local to you- but to give you an idea of what can be done if you want something unique.
If I was spending that kind of $ on a necklace, I'd not want to settle for a generic design- I'd want it made for me.
Custom Designs
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Macfreak7
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Agree with Paco500, especially if you want to get more value for the money you spend. Retail will always have a significant markup when compared to a designer/manufacturer. I know because the latter is what I do for a living
However, if you absolutely have to go with one of the designs posted then I kinda like the last one with one exception that there seems to be too much gold covering the stones. The design would look a lot better if those metal prongs were rounded off to reveal the diamonds some more.
Also, I highly doubt DeBeers would give you a discount (but you can always try asking!). Usually the mom/pop kinda stores are better able to accommodate that.
HTH!
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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DeBeers does all the bargaining so you pay top dollar. Most retail jewelry stores are completely commodity establishments that are staffed with sales drones, so forget bargaining there, too. I agree that finding a jeweler who can make what you want is a good idea. There are so many existing settings that most haven't seen the light of day, and getting something out of the ordinary isn't that big a deal. But unique? There are jewelry designers who make unique items, so a few hours of internet searching is worth your time to find someone who will just sit down and help you come up with what you really want. And to get a good idea of where to start, visit a high end jewelry store like Tiffany's and look at what they have on display. It'll be an eye opener.
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
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I like the last one best but white gold/platinum would look better. Would look very nice with a V neckline top.
I wanted to like the lily, it was unique, but kind of silly shaped. Of the traditional looking settings, I liked the wildflower/5 hearts. Sweet without being pretentious.
What a nice gift!
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Irvine, CA
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Originally Posted by Paco500
If you have some money and are looking for unique, how about going to a designer and getting something bespoke. If you care about the quality of the diamond, buy the stones loose and have an artist create something to your specifications.
The cost will not likely be much more (if at all) than buying something off the shelf from a mass-market place like DeBeers (or Tiffany, etc) and you will not see someone else at the mall wearing the same thing.
Not necessarily promoting his work, but I have a friend who is a jewelry designer and the link below shows examples of the custom work they do- again- not steering you to him- you may hate what they do and they likely aren't local to you- but to give you an idea of what can be done if you want something unique.
If I was spending that kind of $ on a necklace, I'd not want to settle for a generic design- I'd want it made for me.
Custom Designs
Thanks for your and MacFreak's suggestions. I'm completely uncreative so even if someone designs something special for me, then I would know what to do about if, if that makes sense. The jewlery is somewhat urgent also so I do not desire to have to be custom made.
I do like the last one also, but kind of worried about the clarity/color of the diamond since it wasn't listed on the company's website.
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Irvine, CA
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Originally Posted by ghporter
DeBeers does all the bargaining so you pay top dollar. Most retail jewelry stores are completely commodity establishments that are staffed with sales drones, so forget bargaining there, too. I agree that finding a jeweler who can make what you want is a good idea. There are so many existing settings that most haven't seen the light of day, and getting something out of the ordinary isn't that big a deal. But unique? There are jewelry designers who make unique items, so a few hours of internet searching is worth your time to find someone who will just sit down and help you come up with what you really want. And to get a good idea of where to start, visit a high end jewelry store like Tiffany's and look at what they have on display. It'll be an eye opener.
Thanks. I went to a jeweler's yesterday at a somewhat hi-end mall and the lady offered me 30% off the bat so I was curious about bargaining. In any case, definitely worth a try to save 30%, or even 5%. I'll be hitting up some places today and update you later.
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Irvine, CA
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Originally Posted by andi*pandi
I like the last one best but white gold/platinum would look better. Would look very nice with a V neckline top.
I wanted to like the lily, it was unique, but kind of silly shaped. Of the traditional looking settings, I liked the wildflower/5 hearts. Sweet without being pretentious.
What a nice gift!
Thanks. That is what I also liked about the lily. I'm kind of torn of what to choose now. I'll head down and see what they have. Maybe they will appear to be different when I see them in person.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Macfreak7
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I could clue you in about the price being fair or not if you tell me the quality and the details of the item. Also a friend from back in jewelry school has a store down in San Diego, I can vouch for their integrity if you decide to drive out there to pick something. (edit: link to their website, designs seem to be a lot nicer than DeBeers') http://www.haroldstevens.com/jewelry/pendants
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Last edited by Macfreak7; Mar 15, 2012 at 03:37 PM.
Reason: linkage)
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