Christopher Duquet Fine Jewelry — Attraction in Evanston Township

First of all, my fiancé is completely in love with the engagement ring created by Christopher. She even gets compliments on her ring from random people. Christopher was able to design a ring that was both classy and unique. She is extremely happy with the ring and in the end that is what really matters.

A friend gave a strong recommendation to check out Christopher Duquet based on my friend’s and his wife’s exceptional experience getting their jewelry there. I was already in the process of choosing a diamond at another highly rated place on Jeweler’s Row on Wabash. However, I figured I would at least check out this place since my friend recommended it so strongly. I walked in thinking that I would just look a little bit, ask about the prices, and then go back to the Wabash jeweler that I was working with. Then I could feel better knowing that I checked out more than one place and could also tell my friend that I considered his recommendation. However, once I started looking at the rings in the store I noticed some really beautiful designs in the style that I knew my fiancé would like. Christopher then sat down to talk with me and was really helpful in guiding me and working with my budget. He was really comfortable to talk with, and his passion to create the engagement ring that would make my fiancé happy made me confident to start working with him. I found his diamond prices to be very competitive, and he put a lot of effort in finding the exact stone that my fiancé and I would be happy with. He never tried to push anything on me and even when I was just a little uncomfortable with something he thought I would like, he took the time and effort to search again.

I wanted to surprise my fiancé with the ring, but still wanted her to be part of the design process so Christopher provided me with a presentation setting for the diamond that we could bring back after the proposal and use as credit for a new setting design. My fiancé was actually a little overwhelmed with the idea of designing a ring. She had some ideas of what she liked, but had no idea what she wanted the final product to look like. Once she met with Christopher, he helped bring those ideas and the styles she liked to create a beautiful ring design. He created a ring that was a classic style, but also brought in unique elements from other styles my fiancé was drawn to. There is something very special about having a ring that was created specifically for you.

Christopher doesn’t just take a diamond and pick a setting to create a ring. He creates art with his jewelry that is personalized for you, and he is passionate about it. The whole process was so enjoyable and Christopher is just a pleasant and considerate person to be around and talk to. He and his staff have listened to what we wanted and guided us to make decisions that we are really happy with. We always look forward to visiting him, even though our commute there is over an hour. We are also in the process of getting our wedding bands from Christopher. Looking back, I’m so glad I stopped in. I know that the engagement ring is much nicer and personal than what it would have been...

If you’ve never shopped for “serious” jewelry before – and even if you do it all the time, this is a great place, and no wonder they are so popular for folks looking for engagement rings. There’s a great selection of designs to try to help you narrow down what you’re really looking for, but the best part about shopping here is the ability to get what you REALLY want, customized just for your tastes. Designs to help you figure out what you like range from traditional to vintage to ultramodern and sleek.

As everyone says, the staff is so patient – they will walk you through the process and all the things you never knew about stones and metals and designs. They are never pushy and really know how to sit back, observe, listen, and ask good questions to help you decide or articulate likes and dislikes.

You can really tell Mr. Duquet loves to design…the sketchbook comes out and there’s a glimmer in the eye as the drawings start, which later get converted to 360 degree CAD drawings for approval. If it’s not insanely busy, it’s so much fun to watch him show off his newest designs and learn about the innovations he’s come up with to overcome some challenge or other in displaying a stone exactly how he’d like. He lives and loves this stuff.

My family has been going to Mr. Duquet for years and years, first asking him to innovatively set stones acquired in the course of travels, and then watching his designs continue to evolve. When my then-boyfriend wanted to get me a pair of diamond earrings a few years ago, we couldn’t find exactly what I wanted in terms of a design, and after lots of looking in the typical places, we screwed up our courage to go to the store. We needn’t have been concerned, since he’s created everything from sterling silver thumb rings to incredibly high end pieces, and every commission gets the shop’s full attention and respect without making anyone feel “low-end.”

Needless to say, he grasped what we wanted immediately (not only in terms of looks, but the mechanics of security and movement), and designed and created the most beautiful earrings that I only take off a couple times a year. Even though they’re very simple, I get frequent comments and compliments on them.

Of course we returned to decide what to do with some aquamarines I got while traveling, which led immediately into engagement and wedding ring shopping. I’m sure we would have driven a less patient or professional person crazy with our vacillating over two or three drastically different designs, but this seemed to be just another day’s work. Every step was a fun event for us – looking, designing, tweaking the design, choosing from among the stones he found for us… Again, the ring gets noticed and complimented by most folks, even those with honking rocks on their own hands. And during at least one of our visits in this process, there was a very young couple also looking for an extremely modest engagement ring – they were so excited, and were treated with the utmost patience and respect.

I can’t wait til I’ve put enough aside to start the process of choosing a vintage watch from his collection for my...

As any married/engaged man knows, the months and weeks leading up to a proposal can be a little nerve wracking. Irrespective of the proposal strategy that you choose, whether its complex or simple, you want everything to be perfect, especially the ring. I found myself in this situation a couple of months ago of when I decided to ask my girlfriend three and half years to marry me, and I was at a loss for where to begin. Thankfully, a good friend of mine connected me with Christopher Duquet Designs, and I honestly cannot say enough good things about my experience working with Christopher.

As a guy who does not own/has never really bought much jewelry I was intimidated by the idea of meeting with someone to help me design a ring. That intimidation was eliminated almost immediately during my first meeting with Christopher. He has a warm and polite style with a talent for asking the right questions to help you define what you are looking for. Moreover, I really appreciated his genuine interest and authentic responses as I took him through our story. Considering he likely hears “how we met” stories day in and day out, it would be reasonable to see how they may lose their luster after a while. Yet Christopher’s genuine interest in discovering who we were as a couple and what it could tell him about the ring we were designing made it a lot of fun for me to retell our story again.

From there we jumped to discussing what I had in mind for the engagement ring, and how I wanted to work with the heirloom setting I had brought with me. Christopher was artful in how he translated my description of my fiancée’s likes and dislikes into the beginnings of a design. As we continued to talk the design became more and more like what I had imagined in my mind, with some slight improvements per Christopher’s suggestions. Once we completed the design, Christopher gave me a quote, which was well within my original budget and totally reasonable and he walked me through what I could expect for the rest of the design process. A few short weeks later I picked up an absolutely perfect and one of a kind engagement ring. The final product was completely stunning and fit our original design discussions perfectly. It was literally exactly what I asked for and it took my fiancée’s breath away! I would strongly encourage anyone I know who is looking for the perfect ring to complete the perfect proposal to go and see Christopher Duquet. The work he creates and the way he goes about it are absolutely first class with a...