Before you click buy · Private San Diego jeweler
Already know the ring you want? Send me the screenshot, product page, or photo. I’ll tell you what the diamond and setting really are, whether the listing is a good deal, and whether the smartest route is a well-made existing setting, a careful modification, or a fully custom design.
I’m a private jeweler. I don’t carry inventory, so there is no stone I need you to buy. I hand-pick diamonds for each client from brokers I’ve bought from for thirty years, which is why I can usually put a better stone next to the one in your listing, and why I’ll tell you plainly when the listing is the better buy.
Andrew Gonzalez · Private San Diego jeweler · 30+ years buying and selling diamonds
Reviewed
What I’ll want to know
Before you buy
If you have a screenshot, product page, or ring you tried on, send it. I can identify the stone shape, proportions, setting construction, and the details worth keeping, then explain whether sourcing, modifying, or designing is the cleaner route.
Two diamonds can look similar on paper and different face-up. I compare outline, measurements, cut character, inclusion placement, and how the stone works in the setting. The report verifies the facts; it does not make the decision for you.
A proven setting may already have sound architecture. If a careful change gets the right look, that may be the smarter answer. I use CAD when the profile, stone fit, wedding-band clearance, or personal details truly require it.
The right amount of custom
You can begin by text, phone, video, or the form. I'll help you decide what can be sourced as-is, what should be modified, and what truly benefits from CAD. If a side-by-side comparison would improve the decision, I arrange the private San Diego meeting details directly.
1. Send the exact ring, listing, or saved photos. Tell me what feels right, what you would change, and when you hope to propose.
2. Compare the diamond choices and setting quality. I'll explain what the specifications prove and what still needs a closer look.
3. Choose a well-made existing setting, a useful modification, or a full custom design with CAD only when it adds value.
4. Review the stone, setting architecture, metal, ring size, wedding-band fit, timing, and remaining questions before production.
An insider’s view
Usually within a day, you'll get a plain answer from me on four things. What the stone actually is: the shape, the measurements, the cut character I can read from the numbers and the video, and where the clarity grade sits relative to what you'll see. What the setting actually is: stock or built, how the prongs and basket are made, how high it will sit. What the listing can't show: the side profile, how a band will meet it, how the stone reads in warm light. And what I'd do: buy it, change one thing about it, or build the same look properly.
If the stone in the listing is one I'd pass on, I'll tell you why in a sentence you can act on. A clarity grade that reads perfectly clean on a round diamond can be plainly visible on an elongated radiant, because the shape decides where you look and the grade doesn't. That kind of detail is the whole difference, and it's rarely in the product copy.
None of this costs you anything, and you don't owe me a ring for it. I'd rather you buy well than buy from me.
A screenshot is enough to start. I can look at the center-stone outline, band width, prong style, setting height, and how the wedding band may sit beside it. Then I can tell you which parts are mostly visual, which parts affect durability, and which details deserve a better comparison before you spend money.
The goal is not to copy a product number. It is to understand why that ring worked for you, preserve the parts that matter, and correct anything that could make it less comfortable or less practical to wear. Sometimes the right answer is to source a very similar ring with better proportions or construction. Sometimes the design needs to be made differently.
I may ask: Is it the stone shape you love, or the entire setting? Does the ring look too high from the side? Should a straight wedding band sit flush? Does the person wearing it usually choose simple jewelry or more detail? Those answers tell me more than a brand name ever could.
An online listing can show grades, measurements, video, and price. Those are useful facts. What it cannot do is decide which tradeoffs make sense for the ring you are actually making. Two stones that look close on paper can differ in face-up size, outline, cut character, inclusion placement, transparency, and how they sit in the setting.
I do not start with a diamond I need you to buy. I start with your ring, your priorities, and a comfortable working range. If paying for a higher grade is unlikely to create a difference you will appreciate, I'll say so. If a lower-priced stone compromises the part you care about most, I'll show you where.
The same honest comparison applies to natural and lab-grown diamonds. They differ in origin and market pricing, but neither category turns a poorly chosen stone into the right one. I can show you what each route makes possible for visible size, appearance, setting, and budget, then help you choose without pushing a universal answer.
Not every beautiful ring needs to begin from a blank screen. A well-made setting may already have the right structure. Changing the center stone, band width, prongs, metal, profile, or wedding-band clearance may get the ring exactly where it needs to be. Full custom earns its place when those changes cannot solve the design cleanly.
CAD is useful when I need to control proportions, fit an unusual stone, plan the side profile, make room for a flush band, or build a personal detail into the ring. It is a tool, not a badge of quality. What matters is whether it improves the finished ring.
Traditional jewelry-store pricing can include the cost of maintaining a showroom, carrying inventory, and a sales floor. My private process is organized differently, but that does not mean the lowest quote automatically wins. My focus is to keep your working range on the diamond, setting construction, metal, and workmanship you will actually see and live with.
It happens. A listing with a well-cut stone, an honest clarity grade, a setting that's made properly, and a price that's fair for what it is. When I see that, I'll say: buy it. I'll still tell you what to check when it arrives, and I'll still be here for the band later. But I'm not going to invent a reason to move you away from a good ring.
What I can usually do, when the listing isn't that, is show you the same look with a stone I've seen in person and a setting built for it, often at a similar number. Couples have walked in basically daring me to beat a screenshot. Side by side, the difference is visible, and you decide.
Either way you end up with the ring you were actually picturing, bought with your eyes open. That's the whole point.
In their words
“We came in with a screenshot from one of the big diamond websites, basically daring him. He sourced the same specs with a noticeably better stone, side by side you could see it, and his number was lower. Honestly didn’t expect that.”
Miguel & Sofia
Compared against an online listing
“He put two diamonds with nearly identical reports under the loupe and showed me exactly why the cheaper one wasn’t the better deal. I have never had anyone in a sales situation talk me out of spending money before.”
Priya
Radiant engagement ring
Continue the research
What the big online retailers do well, what a listing can't show you, and who answers when something's wrong.
Read moreWhy face-up size, outline, inclusion placement, and cut character still need a human comparison.
Read moreWhen a modified setting is enough, when full custom earns its place, and the decision test.
Read moreWhat CAD solves, what it shouldn't be used for, and what you approve before anything is made.
Read moreSend whatever you already have: a screenshot, product link, saved photo, grading report, or picture of a ring you tried on. Add one sentence about what you like and anything you would change. That is enough for me to begin asking useful questions.
Then I'll tell you to buy it, and what to check when it arrives. I'd rather you get the right ring than get it from me. It happens more often than you'd think, and less often than the website would like.
Often I can put a better stone in a properly built version of the same look at a similar number, because I don't carry a showroom or inventory. Sometimes I can't, and I'll say so. You'll see both side by side before you decide.
No. Sometimes an existing setting has the right architecture and only needs the correct stone or a few thoughtful changes. CAD becomes useful when we need to control the profile, proportions, wedding-band fit, or a detail that cannot be handled reliably with a standard setting.
Yes. Send me the listing and grading report first. I can explain what the specifications tell us and what remains uncertain. If an in-person comparison would add useful information, I can arrange one privately in San Diego.
I will explain how each choice affects origin, available size, and budget, but I will not push you toward one category. Neither is universally right for every couple. The better choice depends on what matters to you.
Text Andrew
Text me the screenshot, product page, or photo and tell me what you like about it. I'll help you understand the diamond, setting, and right level of custom work. If texting is not convenient, leave your number and choose whether you want a call or text back.
