Dana Walden Bridal — Local services in New York

Can I give them 100 stars?! I'm not even sure where to start this review...working with Dana and Rad to create our engagement ring was honestly one of the best decisions we've ever made! We are from Boston and I quickly knew none of the local jewelers could provide what I was looking for-- most of the rings we saw were very generic and clunky. Some of the jewelers had hundreds of options, which was incredibly overwhelming to start and then I would still realize that I didn't love any of them. We decided to start visiting some designers in New York to look for something a bit different. After combing the internet and getting recommendations from friends, we narrowed down our list and visited around five different jewelers in New York. As soon as we went to Dana Walden, we immediately knew we had found the perfect people and just dove headfirst into the process with them.

We arrived for our first appointment a bit stressed and frazzled after having been shopping for a while. Dana and Rad walked us through their design philosophy and process while showing us some of their rings so we could see what they were talking about in person. This whole meeting was incredible-- my then-bf and I really appreciated this non-rushed or distracted hour of one-on-one time with Dana and Rad themselves. Immediately after looking at a couple of their rings and hearing Dana talk about how he designs the pieces, I knew they would be the perfect match for the aesthetic we wanted. All of Dana and Rad's rings are exquisitely designed and feel incredibly light and elegant.

I quickly fell in love with their three stone ring (the Victoria-- I barely took it off my finger for the rest of the appointment and kept staring down in awe) because it was the first three stone ring I'd seen that didn't feel either really clunky or so delicate that I wouldn't be able to wear it on a daily basis. I also loved that the design would allow a wedding band to sit flush under the ring, so I wouldn't have to get one that curved around it. After settling on this ring, we came back to Dana Walden for a sourcing appointment so we could see the diamonds we could use for the ring that would fit our budget (the model had a smaller center stone than what we wanted). Before the sourcing meeting, we sent Dana and Rad a long list describing what we wanted in terms of stones (I was worried we were sending them way too much information) but it ended up working so well! My bf and I had an idea of what we should be able to get for our budget and were willing to compromise a bit on color and clarity in order to get a bigger stone. Rad understood this perfectly and sourced a range of the most incredible stones we'd seen-- all while being incredibly respectful of our budget. We loved that they pulled options all across the price range we had given them, and even one stone over our budget [we honestly couldn't tell the difference between this stone and the one in our budget, so it was even more reassuring to know that staying in our budget would actually give us the ring of our dreams and spending a bit extra wouldn't make it any better]. We were really worried that we were going to have to compromise what we could get for our budget because we were working with a fancy designer instead of a big jewelry store and came prepared to sacrifice a bit in terms of what we could get. Instead, we were thrilled that the stones Dana and Rad showed us within our budget were actually completely comparable to what we had seen at other jewelers and even online. This was a HUGE relief, as we didn't end up having to compromise size and quality of our stone to get the perfect ring design I'd been looking for. In addition to comparing the center stones side by side, Rad had also sourced two sizes of side stones so we could decide which we thought looked best with the center stone we had picked. This whole process was so cool-- we really played a big role in crafting the overall final product and ended up being able to get exactly...

I discovered Dana Walden last summer thanks to Yelp. I was planning to get my fiancée an engagement ring and wanted to do something special -- many friends had "their diamond guy who charges way less than retail" that I was supposed to get an amazing deal from, but I was consistently not impressed by those "their guy" experiences -- usually a non-stylish guy in a schlocky office building in midtown west, with nice stones to offer at a "good price" but the ring it would sit in was going to be "copied from Tiffany by one of my guys"... I've never had to buy jewelry before but this didn't feel right. It seemed like there wasn't enough focus on the craftsmanship or still of the ring itself. So I found Dana Walden (on Yelp), and based on the other reviews here, I went to meet Dana and Rad, his wife, in their studio on 5th ave. I was instantly impressed. Their space is elegant, and they spent an hour 1:1 with me walking me through the usual questions a male fiancée-to-be probably commonly has. I knew my now-fiancee loved her grandmother's engagement ring, which she wore every day -- it's a vintage art deco piece. I asked Dana and Rad if the new ring could be inspired by that one, but with an emerald cut. A few weeks later they had a mock-up for me to come see, and it was beautiful. The final piece is even more stunning than the one that inspired it -- they took influences from the migraine and balanced a main stone and two side stones. They even embedded a small colored stone on the inside, to add a personal touch for my fiancée that only she would see, as well as engraving the platinum band. For the stone itself -- they sourced a selection of beautiful pieces and they were nicer, for the same price range, as the ones that my friends' "I have a diamond guy" person could get. Our wedding is coming up and we went back in to see Dana and Rad this summer to have them make our bands. My future wife's band will now perfectly complement her engagement ring, and they did an excellent job with my ring as well. Dana and Rad are friendly, flexible with scheduling, really nice people, and fantastic designers who I found listened closely and had great instincts interpreting our wishes and crafting the pieces based on this and their own expertise as to what will look best, be balanced, and wear well over time. Thanks...

Last spring, I found myself looking for an engagement ring for the first (and hopefully last) time. I have had an idea for what the ring should represent, a specific personal symbol related to how we met, and I knew that I did not want to have a diamond ring; that's about it.

After some googling, I went to Yelp, loved what I read about Dana & Rad, marveled at their rings on their webpage, and scheduled an appointment. After the first meeting, I knew two things: I want to work with Dana and Rad and I want to bring my fiancee-to-be (let's call her M.) into the process a bit. [Well, I also showed M. their website and she loved their designs -- and I don't have to tell you that those were not the only designs she has looked at. :)] I insisted they won't mention the symbolism; to keep it a surprise until the ring is made (and they did that!).

Throughout the whole process of design, model review and final manufacturing, Dana and Rad were amazing; let me list a few of the ways; they

-- had a way of working with M.'s design directions that were often somewhat vague -- they suggested multiple ways of going about things, clearly explaining and re-explaining the balance of the ring design, warning that it could get too metal-heavy (for example) and what was technically possible and what was not (or would not be sturdy enough) -- were able to adjust the design slightly after making the model -- M. wanted to change the thickness of the prongs -- worked together extremely well; Dana focusing on the manufacturing side, Rad more on the design; yet they clearly understood the other side very well -- had a great selection of stones, including the perfect one that we eventually chose -- kept us at ease with their warm approach (I was very nervous!) -- were realistic about the timeline (when you are waiting for THE ring, you really don't want to wait any longer than you expect -- it's not a short process) -- went a bit overtime during a couple of meetings, despite their busy schedule -- did not push us away from our price range in the slightest -- were patient with our sometimes endless questions (M. is a scientist and I'm a math person; we like to understand things!)

etc.

And then there is the bottom line:

M. absolutely loves her beautiful unique aquamarine ring and we are now...