Lara is amazing! She's an independent jewelry professional and works with the National Diamond Syndicate in Chicago. NDS sells diamonds in wholesale, which helped keep the cost down without sacrificing anything I wanted! My fiance and I live in the suburbs and weren't able to meet Lara downtown so we met at her home! Even though she only works 3 days per week, she makes sure she's quick to respond and available. Not only was Lara wonderful to work with, but she made sure both my fiance and I were educated about how the process of designing your own ring works, the different C's of diamonds, and being able to recognize my diamond with a loop.Lara listened to everything I wanted and totally delivered! She went above and beyond to ensure that I was happy and had the perfect engagement ring. I can't wait to work with her again to create our wedding bands!