Setting Your Own Stone

Last updated: November 9, 2026

We're happy to design a setting around a stone you already own: an heirloom, a stone you bought elsewhere, or one from a family piece. Because the stone is your property and not ours, a few extra steps protect both of us. Accepting a client-supplied stone is always at our discretion, after we have examined it.

Stones we accept

We examine every stone before agreeing to set it. We may decline, or accept only with a signed waiver, any stone that:

• has visible chips, fractures, feathers reaching the surface, or prior damage;
• is soft or brittle for everyday wear (for example opal, emerald, tanzanite, pearl, or most organic gems);
• is clarity-enhanced or filled (for example glass-filled ruby or fracture-filled diamond), which can be damaged by heat, cleaning or pressure;
• cannot be measured accurately, or doesn't match the measurements given for the design;
• comes without documentation where its value or identity is significant.

If we decline a stone, we return it in the condition received and refund any design deposit not yet spent on your design.

How we receive and document your stone

We receive and return client stones in person only, meeting you at a place of your choosing in the New York area. We don't accept stones by mail. Before any work begins we record the stone's condition, and you sign off on that record.

1. We weigh the stone (when loose) and measure it to the hundredth of a millimeter.
2. We photograph it under magnification, front and side, including any existing chips, abrasions or inclusions.
3. We note any laboratory report number or laser inscription, and check that it matches the stone.
4. You receive a written intake receipt listing the above. We both sign it, and you keep a copy.

When we return the finished piece, we check the stone against the intake record together with you.

The risk of setting a stone

Setting puts a stone under pressure from prongs or a bezel, and polishing, cleaning and sizing involve heat and vibration. Even with expert care, any stone can chip, crack or change, especially one with inclusions, prior damage or treatments that may not be visible.

• Client-supplied stones are set at the owner's risk. We take every reasonable precaution, but we are not responsible for damage that results from the stone's own characteristics, existing flaws or treatments.
• If a stone is damaged through our negligence, our liability is limited to a refund of the labor charges for that work.
• We do not re-cut or re-polish a client's stone unless you ask us to in writing.
• Labor and materials already used remain due if a stone is damaged because of its own condition.

Insurance

Please keep your own jewelry insurance (a personal articles policy or homeowner's rider) in force while we hold your stone. Our coverage for property belonging to clients may be limited.

Fees, deposits and fit

• Design and sourcing deposit: our standard $250 deposit applies, credited to your final price.
• Setting fee: setting a client-supplied stone carries a setting and handling fee of $250 minimum, quoted on your invoice.
• Production deposit: once you approve the design, we collect a production deposit before work starts, as with all custom orders.
• Fit: the setting is made to your stone's measured size. If the stone differs from the measurements given, or you later swap in a different stone, any re-work is billed separately.
• Changes: once the design is approved and in production, changes carry a fee.

Identity, value and pickup

• We don't certify or appraise your stone. Our intake notes record what we observe; they are not a grading report or appraisal. For a valuable stone we recommend an independent laboratory report before setting, and we can refer you to trusted independent appraisers afterward.
• Treatments: if we notice signs of a treatment you didn't mention, we'll tell you before any work begins.
• Pickup: we'll contact you when your piece is ready. Pieces not collected within 60 days of our notice incur a storage fee of $25 per month, and we'll keep trying to reach you in writing.

At intake you'll sign a short acknowledgment confirming you own the stone (or are authorized by its owner), that the condition notes are accurate, and that you've read this policy.

Questions

Call or text (646) 645-2453 or email marcm123@mm-fine.com. See also How We Work and our ring designer.