Tips to Help You Get the Ring You Want (and Still Be Surprised!)
Picture this: you’re sitting with your partner, enjoying a beautiful scenic overlook after a long hike on one of your favorite trails. The weather is perfect, and the view is stunning. You lean over to rifle through your backpack for a bottle of water, and when you look up you see your partner bent on one knee, holding open a small ring box. You are stunned: you had no idea they were planning this! You peek in the box and the ring is…
Expedited Diamond Buying: How It Works With Our Team
For most clients starting an engagement ring process, the purchase of the feature diamond is the most expensive variable to the piece. Whether you are selecting a natural mined diamond or a lab created option, the center diamond is a significant element to the overall design picture. But, more often than not, it’s also the part of the process that feels the most opaque to clients at the outset. Not many people really know what goes into selecting the right diamond, and with all the marketing out there trying to convince you of a single direction, it can be hard to see through the weeds and into the right direction…
Diamond Sourcing 101
One of the most common questions we get from prospective clients is how we source our diamonds. Our answer, as with many things, is that it depends on you, your goals, and what you want to achieve from your custom piece. Here’s a quick primer on our available sourcing options for diamonds and how it might work for you in a future project..
What a Difference Metal Choice Makes!
When it comes to color choice for your setting, some people have a precise idea of what they like and some people really vary in their decision. Personally, I hold a solid preference for yellow gold in most pieces for myself. That being said, I like the look of platinum for other people and love the seamless look it brings. I also think that in most antique-inspired rings, platinum really reigns supreme. During consultations I explain to clients that a yellow gold setting will draw the eye towards the whole ring so that you notice the design as much as you do the diamond…
Sourcing Gemstones with Alx&Co.
For many clients, a design can barely begin without first figuring out the feature stone. Unless you are working with an heirloom redesign, most clients don’t have loose gemstones available to use and most designs are completely contingent upon that feature stone for everything from budget considerations to design proportion allowances…
A Minimalist Heirloom Redesign
Our featured client had an antique family ring that held some sentimental value but that unfortunately was in pretty dismal shape after multiple poorly executed repairs done elsewhere. The ring - set with a nicely-sized natural diamond in the center and flanked by a pair of synthetic blue sapphires - was stylistically not her cup of tea. Combined with the poor state of the ring in general, these factors led our client to pursue other options for resetting the stones.
A Gorgeous Idea for Loose Diamonds
One of the most common requests we get for redesign work is to reset a family diamond in a more wearable setting. Many of our clients have either inherited jewelry from family members that isn’t their style, or they come to us because they are interested in resetting a diamond setting from a previous marriage into a different - less engagement feeling - design…
Our Top Three Tips for Buying a Diamond
Starting a diamond search can be a daunting task, but we try to make the process as easy going as possible. Unlike many other jewelers, we do all of our diamond searches on a custom basis, meaning we don’t keep an inventory on hand for selling….