Wholesale Class Ring, I Am Looking For Unique Jewelry . ?

Q: I would like to find unique Jewelry for the Online store I am starting. Please see: http://www.mindspring.com/~ewillard I would like to add you to my Fine Designs section. As you will notice it is under construction, Please respond and tell me about your Fine Designs.

A:I hate the class rings that Yale has to offer, which are probably typical of most class rings. The large, ugly stone is a piece of blue glass that is so obviously synthetic. However, I do like the designs on the shanks (I think that's what they're called) of the ring. The artwork on the shanks is fairly complicated (the Yale bulldog, the tower, M. S., etc) so I want that. I could have the ring ordered without the stone set so that the ring would arrive with a large open cushion-shaped hole where the cushion-cut stone would have been. Jewelers here in CT have told me that it is impossible to fill this hole with gold while preserving the rest of the ring. Additionally, I want the top of the ring to be gold and have a "Y" carved in the center and burnished small (maybe 2.5 mm round) blue sapphires set in the "Y". I can order the ring in 10K, 14K or 18K, if that makes a difference. Does anyone know if this is possible? I would have the jeweler make the ring from scratch but I don't think the designs on the shank will be easily replicated. I must say I've had good luck on two occasions with merchandise I purchased from the Home Shopping Channel. I ordered a 2 ct Ceylon sapphire ring set in 14K wih 6 .01 ct diamonds. Their original selling price was $299, I bought it from their bargathon and had an additional coupon for 15% off, so I paid $169.15. I opened the box and was shocked. The sapphires were gorgeous (four .5 ct sapphires) ... deep blue, well-cut and only one had a minor inclusion. I looked at the stones under my loop and they were clean. Of course, the diamonds were translucent and horrible quality, but I bought the ring for the sapphires, not the diamonds. A jeweler friend in New York City told me the ring was worth about $500 (the setting wasn't a shabby, light setting) and an independent jeweler in CT (Harstans) appraised it for $800. I also bought another Ceylon sapphire ring with a center 1.5 ct blue sapphire surrounded by purple sapphire baguettes (.75 cttw )for $187.33. Again the quality was excellent. I thought for sure that the HSC made

a mistake (or that I got one of the good ones). The ring was appraised for $900. Now for the horror stories and why I won't give HSC anymore business. I also had to return 6 or 7 pieces because of the poor quality. I bought a .5 ct white sapphire ring in 10K gold for $59. The stone was flawed from on end to the other, and the ring was so thin that I could bend it with two fingers. I tried their tanzanite and it was so light it looked like aquamarine. Their andalusite was so poorly faceted that the oval stone was closer to a misshapen trillion. The stone fell out in my hand when I opened the box because it couldn't be set properly due to the irregular shape.