Has anyone here ever had diamond jewellry made? My parents gave me a pair of diamond earrings this past April. I think the total worth was around the $4000 range. Somehow somewhere the clasp (they didn’t have backings, it was this clip mechanism for pierced ears) broke or the earring got pulled off and I lost one of them.
I’m panicking (vaguely). They live across the country and I can get away with not having them on when I visit in May and July for my sister’s wedding crap but I must have them replaced by next November at the latest or I will have to tell them I lost them and a fuss will ensue even though I’m perfectly capable of replacing them (especially since I’m going back into private practice next year and anticipate a payraise).
Does anyone have any experience in purchasing loose diamonds and then having them made into a specific design? What should I look for in a gemologist? Any good websites for purchasing loose diamonds? Right now the plan is to have the remaining diamonds evaluated, purchasing them loose and having them set in the same style as the remaining earring.
The original store of purchase is in Alaska and asking my parents for the name is out anyway because I have a Sherlock Mummy who will ferret out that an earring has been lost.
A lot of people go to pricescope.com to look for diamond vendors online and diamond designers. Thats where I found all the information to buy my diamond.
Why not go to a reputable jeweler with your problem, they could get similar diamonds for you? It would save you some trouble. Maybe the jeweler who evaluates your remaining earring can also get your diamonds of similar worth and make a copy of the earring? That avenue might be worth a shot. You might run into problems if the design is trademarked to a certain company or jeweler though. (Is that the correct term?)
as an amateur jewelry maker, let me say that the whole thing isn’t necessarily as complicated as you fear. it breaks down into two components: finding a reputable diamond dealer so you will trust the stone you get as replacement, and finding a duplicate setting.
have the remaining diamond evaluated. you’re looking for size, quality, color, cut, and clarity matches. once those parameters are determined, it’s just a matter of finding a vendor who has the price you want to pay for the certified quality you wish to purchase.
and unless the setting itself is something custom-made by a particular jeweler, there are many, many catalog vendors that sell mountings. any reputable jewelry store or manufacturer should have access to ordering from mass-production vendors. it’s mostly a matter of tracking down the particular mount that you need. heck, there are a number of jewelry supply catalogs on-line; you could start doing some sleuthing yourself, since most have a “search” function, or at least group items by categories. Fire Mountain is a common supplier with good prices. Santa Fe Jewelers is a catalog i’ve drooled over, but never quite gotten around to ordering from.
once the major pieces have been acquired, it’s just a matter of getting the diamond(s) set into the new earring mountings. from your description, it sounds vaguely like you have a lever-back drop mounting, which shouldn’t be all that difficult to replace.
good luck in the search. i’ll be glad to help more if i can.
If your location is outside Cambridge MA, you can head into Boston to the Jewelery Building (Downtown crossing). I’m certain that you can find any number of great jewelers there.
Or if you like a visit to NH, there is Victorian Jewelers on Elm St. in Manchester. They made my custom wedding ring. (A claddah design, inset in cigar band ring)
Thanks everyone. Lachesis, do you mind if I email you? I think I’m going to start going about this process at the end of February-I’m busy with work until then.
If, I brought the remaining earring to the jeweller, do you think they could tell me if it’s a fairly generic mounting?
If your parents are in Alaska, surely you can do a Google search to find out the jewelry stores in their town, or is there a mall they frequent? If so, most likely the earrings are from Kay Jewelers, or another mall chain store. You might try the local branches to see if they recognize the remaining earring. (Or did the box offer any clues?)
My parents live in Massachusetts. They had gadded off to Alaska for a trip. Otherwise, I think I would know the local diamond manufacturers. My parents have the original box and diamond certificate. But as I mentioned, if I ask for them, they will know. These aren’t regular parents. They are nosey Indian melodrama parents. The earrings must be replaced sans asking them ANYTHING. Y’all have no idea what Indian moms are like. They are born with bloodhound genes.
Sorry. I thought perhaps they gave the earrings to you in the retail box. Still, how many towns did they go to in Alaska, and how many stores are there going to be that sell $4,000 earrings? Then again, possibly they were purchased from a vintage or antique shop, in which case they may be unique.
No probs man, I wasn’t being sarcastic or anything and it’s not like I post a lot here for you to know where my family lives. But
I totally thought this too but apparently jewellry is a big-ass deal up there and there are quite a few artisan type shops they could have bought it from. I know, uninhabited tundra yada yada yada but tourism is big for those few months and there’s plenty o’ places to drop that kind of money.
Ultimately, though, I think it’s easier to have it replicated than stalking down the shop and asking them for a matching earring. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
One last suggestion. It would be far cheaper to have the missing earring reproduced in India, although perhaps not as quickly. Know anyone there who is discreet enough to assist?
butler: I cry like a baby every time I leave. I grew up in Lexington (well, first I grew up in froooonch-canada, and then Lexington).
Dewey Finn: no, no one discreet enough (my relatives will definitely tell my 'rents) and I don’t know the proper sonar (goldsmith) to go to. Also, Indians tend to specialise more in 22K gold jewellry and these were set in platinum and are distinctly American in style. Would have been a good idea for purchasing the loose diamonds if not having them set, but I can’t get out there till next November. And frankly, with my desi-ness thinned down from long-time North American living, I feel like transacting long-distance with Indian jewellers would get me fleeced. I’d prefer to find a reputable jeweller/gemologist in Los Angeles.
Good advice above. I’ll only add my post to your query if one has ever done this.
I did, sort of. For my fiancee’s engagement ring. Making a long stor short, there was nothing at all in my area that appealed, so I took an airplane trip to a place where I could look at a lot of raw diamonds, select one, then select the perfect setting for her, have them put together, and still get back home late that evening. When the weekend came, I proposed over our usual weekend meal.
I got a MUCH better ring and still saved enough to pay for the plane trip twice over.
I cannot recommend enough, pick your stone, then pick the setting…but since you already have the setting, this would give you a chance to pretty-nearly match the original.
You give the broken earring to a Musketeer who will carry it back to Paris to be duplicated, at every turn they will be harassed by the evil Cardinal’s Guards. The team of Musketeers will have to be aided by a country boy who wished appointment to their ranks.
Better weather, but similar politics.