Ah, well dunno if it helps but if your skill/merits are capped, with my build im 4 skill over 500.

Zenith crown +1 (8 Skill)
Duelist Tabard +2 (15 skill)
Duelist Gloves +2 (18 skill)
Warlock's Tights (15 skill)
Estoqueur's Hoesaux +2 (15 skill)
Colossus Torque (7 Skill)(Can use enhancing instead)
Estoqueur's cape (6 skill?)
that puts me at 504 Skill so you can drop 4 skill somewhere. So you can substitute the crown for a olympus sash, or a cascade sash and aug-earing (or grip if you dont mind resetting tp on rebuffing). But if you can swing atleast 4 skill on the head and get the rest, you will be able to hit 500 skill