Gemstone Designs Fine Custom Jewelers — Local services in Knoxville

Without a doubt, the best choice I could have made when purchasing an engagement ring.

I live in West Knoxville, and went to all of the usual places to “window shop”... Kay, Helzberg, Zales, Marks and Morgan, etc.

I saw some “pretty” rings in those places that could have worked, but in my price range, ($2000)... it seemed that all of the rings and diamonds were run of the mill, and not very unique. Nothing really jumped out at me.

I am naturally the kind of person that wants to get the absolute best for my money when I buy anything, so I continued looking.

I came across Gemstone Designs on a Google search and read these reviews, so I decided to stop by there to look.

I went on a Saturday mid-day. I was greeted by Bill Patty, who immediately made me feel welcome. I didn’t feel pressured in the least, and felt that he was genuinely trying to help me find what I was looking for.

I browsed through his rings as we were talking about what I was looking for, and about my budget. He had some beautiful rings, but some were out of my price range. In addition, I knew my fiancé likes rose gold, (which is rather hard to find )... so I was looking for something in a solitaire with diamond accents on the band, all in rose gold.

When I told him that, Bill said “I think I might have something for you”. He walked to a large safe and pulled out a ring in bag that was exactly what I was looking for. The ring was one which had been stored in the safe for another customer who had it designed a year earlier, but never returned to purchase it.

The ring was already priced at $3500, which was higher than my budget. It was rose gold, 3/4 ct Solitaire, with another 1/4 ct diamond accents in the band. Also, the clarity of the diamond was ultra clean and bright. I never realized how much better that looks compared to the other “cookie cutter” rings I had seen at the jewelry stores in the mall. And you could easily notice that the ring was uniquely designed and not like something I could buy from a Kay Jewelry catalog

Bill told me that he could do $2000 on the ring.

It didn’t take much thinking before I bought it.

When I proposed, my fiancé was ecstatic, and since then has gotten a lot of compliments on the ring, some even from strangers. It’s just a beautiful ring and it shows.

We’ve had to take it back since purchasing for sizing, and the service went without a hitch.

Just a great store with great people and great jewelry. I feel lucky to have found...

FIRST: I never leave reviews for anything but this warrants a long one. Also, I scare myself with how particular I am and secretly feared that one day when it came time to an engagement ring, I'd never find something I'd love to look at for my entire life. My boyfriend and I went ALL OVER Nashville looking for an honest, high quality jeweler that would actually listen to me, and tell me I wasn't crazy for not wanting a diamond. I kept saying "I just want to find a small, long-time, local jeweler that knows his sh*t and won't put me through a sleezy sales script, or force me to stand my ground and repeat that I DON'T WANT A DIAMOND. Every place we went to felt like a wrestling match, and I was pushed into corners constantly. It started to ruin what should have been a fun adventure, and I prepared to just settle to make it easier on us both.

THE POINT: Walking in to Gemstone Designs and encountering Bill was everything I'd hoped for and more. I wanted a white sapphire, and to make it even more complicated I wanted a perfectly imperfect grey-toned one that was 1.5 carats or around 7.5mm. He didn't push back. Never upselled. Just gave me the straight facts. He honored my wishes and never made me feel like I was making a mistake, he just educated me and helped set my expectations. I would tell him my mental picture, he would tell me what it would take and what my options were. He sourced several white sapphires quickly for me, and the one he encouraged me to come see wasn't the most expensive on the list, but it was closest to my dream and he knew it. Later, when we went in to see the final product (the ring), I teared up in front of everyone. It was beyond perfect.

2 days ago, my boyfriend proposed and now I'm unsafe while driving because I can't stop staring at it. The colors shift in different lighting and at times it's grey, blue, lavender, pink, or glassy. It's classy and timeless, yet still unique and I know I'll never see another ring exactly like mine.

Thank you Bill, and thank your sweet assistant...

Gemstone Designs came highly recommended after I asked my friends where I could get a custom engagement ring. I spoke to a gentleman named Ron about my idea and what kind of stone I wanted to use. While they didn’t have any salt-and-pepper diamonds on hand, Ron immediately went to work on finding one and tracked it down about a week later. Once we had a stone to use, I brought in a few pictures of rings my then-girlfriend (now-WIFE!) liked and he began sketching out how we could incorporate individual elements from each inspiration photo to fit the uniquely cut stone.

It wasn’t long after, Ron provided me with 3D renderings of what the ring would look like, how the custom wedding band would look on it and an idea of how big it would be on a hand. We made some minor tweaks and included her initial on the backside – it’s a part of the ring and NOT engraved! Ron kept me abreast of the entire process each time we made changes and was always very responsive to my inquiries.

It wasn’t long before a prototype was created and shortly after, the finished product was produced. Ron said most of the time when people come in asking for a custom ring they end up making the same ring as all the other guys, but this one was truly unique and is always a showstopper. She, obviously, said yes and still can’t stop showing it off to her family and friends! Thank you so much, Gemstone Designs and especially Ron! You’ve made my WIFE a very...