I wonder if Diamontrigue franchises? Or is this something you'd rather build from the ground up, Starla? Either way, I'd shop with you so I hope you're, to borrow from the old expression, in my neck of the cactus!

Yes, my first thought was actually to look into franchises - but I had never seen or heard of a Diamontrigue store until this thread! The thought of building from the ground up is exciting and scary and would take a lot - LOT - of hard work and education. And basically, a wing and a prayer, just like any other small business. A franchise would be easier, but it would take a lot of the creative aspects away. If I ever did this, I would most likely start from the ground up. I have a long way to go before I can really get serious about the idea, though.

I got a ring from Mystique way before I discovered Ashas, Wink and his stones and these forums.... Ir was close to $500 for a lightweight Tiffany setting with a 1ct EC that liiked horrible after a year of wear (when gold was around $350 an ounce), and if you see my rings, they all look pretty good, even the ones that are well worn. So basically, it was way overpriced crap.

My cheapie QVC rings looked a lot better!