Any Resellers or Stone Setters here?

[FarmMom]

Just curious, who here is a re-seller, and or who sets their own stones?

I am neither yet, but I am working my way to becoming both. Solitare stores I can pick up and set for less than they charge (with some exceptions). For instance, I can pick up a 6x4 yellow sapphire of better quality than anything offered here for just under $5. They sell a 6mm round for over $300.

I take that $5 sapphire and put it into a basic 14K gold ring for just under $150. I now have a ring that cost me $155 instead of the $600+ I would have been charged.

The big exception being the cluster stone mounts. Those are harder to source mounts for and set each stone. So if I were to get into re-selling, I'd probably re-sell their cluster sets

[geminigirl]

Where did you learn to set your own stones? I would love to be able to do that as I have a few stones that I have bought over the last 20 years or so. I suppose there are videos.....

[FarmMom]

Where did you learn to set your own stones? I would love to be able to do that as I have a few stones that I have bought over the last 20 years or so. I suppose there are videos.....

Hmm.. I was trying to remember how I got on the whole idea in the first place . . . I was watching shoplc one day and they had a blue topaz ring, or maybe just the stone (don't remember) and as usual I was checking prices online on my favorite loose gem site. We had found the loose gem site last year whole researching Tanzanite (and bought our first, very lovely loose tanzanite stone). At that time we planned to have a setting made for it and then mounted by the jeweler. As expensive as that stone is I would still rather have an insured jeweler set it rather than myself, lol.

Anyway, so after checking prices on loose stones, and prices on semi mounts (mounts with no main stone), I realized it was the same, if not cheaper than SLC, and a plot began to form in my mind. Somehow I began focusing on a certain rare gemstone (since hosts read this I WILL not disclose which stone it is lest they decide to buy up everything they can find), and since the stone doesn't have much popularity at the moment I can get them dirt cheap, and create a line of jewelry around them for sale at my Christmas Tree farm. Not so much to make big bucks as to be an additional "draw" for customers, a reason to choose us over others

My husband and I have been picking away at jewelry design, etc, for instance you can buy a machine to make cabachons or a machine to facet gemstones. The facet machine is stupid easy to use now because you can program them, insert the stone and the machine pretty much does everything. You can get both together for under $500.

Going back to setting though, there ARE videos online on how to set stones, you might look for online "classes", here is one such class that walks you through creating your own jewelry from the ground up: https://lucywalkerjewellery.com/?utm_so ... 4dEALw_wcB

But as far as setting a stone, there are a few options with minimal fuss. here's one course: https://www.udemy.com/course/stonesetting/

I would certain test your skills on cheap stones first though, just to be sure

[geminigirl]

I would love to see Shop LC selling semi mounts. I suppose that really isn't their business model but maybe they will buy out a store that sells them in the future. For now, I will get a price from my local jeweler and compare that to the online stores. I bought a tanzanite for my granddaughter who was born in December. She is only two but I figured I may not be able to find or afford it by the time she is old enough.

[FarmMom]

They certainly could sell semi mounts, they do after all sell loose gems and love to bring up how "jewelers" will buy and re-sell their stuff . I think JTV does, they came up on my search results one day..

as far as the local jeweler, make sure to price shop several in your area. I had a high end jeweler quote me a LOWER price for a mount than a smaller jeweler. The smaller jeweler wanted $6,000 for a 14k mount with 2mm diamond halo and $9,000 for that same ring slightly customized. The high end jeweler had so many designs it didn't need customization and he was around $4,000. Or, I could buy a semi mount on Etsy for $1600 with 1.5mm diamonds.

Also be careful in a ring . . . SLC loves to sell stones improperly mounted. They have several tanzanites sold as tall standing solitaires. Tanzanite is very susecptable to shattering when hit, so a tall mount lends it more to hits than a lower set stone. A halo can help protect it too. Just and FYI our jeweler told us

[Shiloh]

Such bloviating from the farmer. Are you kidding us? Not all here are such easy pickins'.

[FarmMom]

Such bloviating from the farmer. Are you kidding us? Not all here are such easy pickins'.

Curious . . . you only recently joined JUST today, and only to comment back on my posts, yet offer no clear evidence of your own experiences . . .

I am a farmer, with a following of just under 100,0000 people online, lol you can throw your worst insults at me and it will just roll off my back

PS- I also major in human psychology . . .

Nice to meet you by the way, I look forward to conversing with you

[Shiloh]

Wrong. I joined way before you did, just didn't post much.

I think you have let all your "followers" go to your head.

[Shiloh]

I do a good job of shrinking my own head, thank you very much.

[Shiloh]

P.S. @FarmMom , I m not denigtating your your farm experience. It is a lot of your other questionable posting.

Plus, if you think if shoplc is so crooked, why are you here? Of course, they play shopping games. I know of no other shopping channel that does not.