Stuller seems to be selling out of a lot of pendant and ring mountings lately. Actually a lot of items on back order in general. What other company, besides quality gold, do people use on a regular business? I am fairly new to the bench but have used Stuller for a long time but lately they seem to be dropping the ball.
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:48 am Posts: 584 Location: Odenton, Maryland
I've had a Stuller account for a while but don't use 'em much because my cut stones are always oddball sizes.
Have you tried contacting them? Perhaps they're just trying to whittle down their stock and work on a more on-demand basis? If so, they should be a little more transparent so people don't react like you did, but a call might clear it up
I will use RioGrande sometimes or Tripps when I do not make my own settings. Tripps has settings for the deeper Texas Star cuts. Since that is a popular cut here in Texas, I order those from them from time to time.
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Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:48 am Posts: 584 Location: Odenton, Maryland
Agreed--I use Tripp's for simple stuff like basket settings. Also, I love their "tourmaline" settings, just pick your stone length & culet depth and get the right setting.
Incidentally, a lot of the settings Rio sells are in fact Tripp's. So, if you have a 6, 8, or 10mm round, you can find it on Rio. If it's 5, 7, 9, 11, etc., go straight to Tripp's
I found that Stuller and Rio both carry a tool to make setting easier it's called the jooltool, or something like that. If the stone does not fit into your bezel you can grind the stone down to size. It works on both stones and metal and the cool thing is that you can see what your doing so you wont make any many mistakes.
By Rio I assume you mean Rio Grande? Does anyone know if you can request custom sizing from them? Their size options are not extensive, but they have a more diverse selection than Tripps, where most of my settings currently come from.
Yeah, I sent an email. They don't do resizing, but they will special order a size if you buy a minimum quantity to be determined when ordering. Not a great option for someone like me that does individual pieces, that's more of a reseller option.
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:48 am Posts: 584 Location: Odenton, Maryland
Robin Winter wrote:
By Rio I assume you mean Rio Grande? Does anyone know if you can request custom sizing from them? Their size options are not extensive, but they have a more diverse selection than Tripps, where most of my settings currently come from.
In my experience:
- Tripps is the best to find settings to fit precise stone sizes. Search kinda blows, but site is organized by type (pendant, ring, etc.) and stone shape. Design quality is lacking--they're best for simple baskets.
- Stuller has the best selection of designs (both in quantity and design quality), but fewer size options, and many designs also only fit one size stone. Also, their site search sucks when your question is, "what do you have to fit an 8mm round?" or similar--you have to select every "round setting" in which you're interested, then look at the individual item description to see if it'll fit your stone.
- Rio has a wide selection of styles, but fewer size options. Good search ability, though.
Stuller isn't an option for me because I can't provide the documentation they require to set up an account, I'm a hobbyist not a professional. Tripps is a good option for me except for one tiny detail, shipping to Canada is ridiculous. It's cheaper to go through resellers that have Tripps products, and they'll have the resize done for me as well for the half sizes Tripps doesn't offer on the site. Unfortunate though, none of the resellers carry their full range, and I'd like to be able to get everything done in one location.
Merry Christmas to all Wanted to ask about stuller...I currently have an account with rio grande and was wandering if the stuller prices for sterling silver mountings are in the same range? Don't want to waste my time providing all the papers and finding that they're overpriced. Better selection though(at least their photos are) Thank you
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:48 am Posts: 584 Location: Odenton, Maryland
Stuller's pendants tend to be more, but their prices are reasonable. Because most of their pendants have actually been "designed", they tend to have more metal on 'em.
Yes, their documentation is a hurdle. Basically, you'll need a sales tax collection number (Sales & Use Tax permit in Maryland), so your price of admission is a quarterly or semi-annual "no, I didn't sell anything this time either" filing
The other thing to watch out for is that Stuller automatically closes your web account after 6 months (I think) of inactivity. So if you're just browsing, you may have to harass Customer Service to unlock your account a couple of times a year.
They do have a nice selection of master alloys for karating your own gold, though
Eric, thank you for the input. I'm almost ready with the papers and will submit them all today. I liked the selection of settings and the ability to modify them. Can't find any service like this in Europe. Thanks
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 9:44 pm Posts: 711 Location: Las Vegas
I often refer clients and use ALA Casting Co. out of Los Angels CA. if you buy there catalogues you will have access to 1000.'s of mountings sold by the DWT in rough casted form. These are pattern's saved from the late 1800's to modern day. You can set up an account if you wish or just pay with a credit card. they cast in ALL precious metals at your request. they do have an online store also and sell small accent diamonds and colored stones at wholesale.
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Back for more info on stuller... i've got my account all set up, even received 20 kilos of catalogues today...but how does this stuff works? I'm looking at some crazy prices - 4gr ring setting in .925 for $64! I'm lkinda confused...are those retail prices? Later i've found that there is a "showcase setting" where you can specify your markup.Is it possible this messed my pricing? Because the settings are 4-5 times more expensive than riogrande. Tried to put different values and nothing seems to change(3x or 0) Please advise
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