Since there are so many in this thread who get the LM thing, I'm finally going to ask this question that's gnawed at me for years now...

What am I not understanding about his logo? All I can see when I look at it is a cat's head. Two ears at the top, a triangle nose in the center, and whiskers at the sides of each cheek. I get that there's a M tied in there, but I swear it's a cat first and an M second.

I worked with him and found it to be perfectly enjoyable. I presented him about 5 CZs and he told me that the Krupps was best and that some of the others weren't worth a grain of salt. He definitely works with Asha's and wink stones - he is very fond of the wink OECs, I believe. I'm not going to shill for him - but I think that he offers his opinions on issues and doesn't make nice with people he considers difficult. I clearly wasn't going to give LM a lot of business, and he did not charge me excessively, but I also listened to his advice and when he told me the price of my original idea was going to be out of my budget - I chose a different ring.

I wonder about some of the people on PS who have had problems with him. We found one of the struts on my ring to be too thin, my fiance asked him to fix it, and he did. It was that simple. Sometimes the e-mails people post are so overwrought and emotional, I don't blame LM for his response.

Leon's rings cost a lot, but in a lot of cases you get what you pay for. A DK ring will never be a leon. My ring from Poppy will never be the Leon. You can't e-mail him expecting to get DK prices for LM quality and brand. But those rings are really nice (I'm wearing my poppy ring right now! LOVE it!!!) and you have to do your own internal cost/benefit analysis about what you want/are willing to pay.

Hahahhaha, me too Hadley!!
He must LOVE putty tats!! lol

hahaha, I just thought it was a floral-y M, but I like the cat idea too, lol.

I'm glad you girls see a cats head.... I've always thought it looked like a artsy set of lungs... but now that you said cat... I can see that too....

hahaha. I've always seen a kitty's head too. It actually took some time for me to see it as an "M".

I don't think I'd ever work with him; word of mouth means alot and his grumpy reputation just isn't something I'd put myself in a position to ever deal with.

Here is my main problem, his comments which have been chalked up to- its just the way he is or his is a master of his craft so we deal with it or he just doesn't think before he speaks. None of these are acceptable. I don't care if you are Mozart reincarnated; there is no excuse for bad manners and customer service when you are in the business of dealing with people.

Aside from LM, I have found that there are a few people out there that act this way because they are really good at what they do. They seem to feel entitled to behave how ever they want. They won't stop until people refuse to put up with it anymore. Master of your craft or not, manners go a long way!

regarding the setting being too expensive for the stone, ive actually heard a lot of jewelers who dont get that, for them it just seems totally backwards bc most of the time the stone is the big ticket item and the setting is a fraction of the cost..like its made to display the main attraction...

if i had a $100 painting people would think im nuts to pay $800 for a frame...just seems wrong, but some of us are all for it

Elf, he's not grumpy initially. LOL! I have read all the horror stories, but my own personal interactions haven't been unpleasant at all. just my two cents.

just FYI: SK's quote came back $500 more than LM.