Brilliant center with step cut halo?

[stepcutgirl]

I am probably writing this thread a little prematurely as I have not yet seen the Sholdt solitares that are a front runner in my setting search. However I am also really strongly considering a halo. I don't think I want a rb halo though. I was very interested in a french cut halo around my stone but that has come to prove to be a very expensive avenue to take. So, in looking for other options to get a halo but avoid the rb halo (which is not totally out of the question, I love the WF Guinevere halo) I am also taking a look at a carre cut halo, a step cut trap halo or possibly a calibre cut baguette halo.

These options are all step cuts. My stone is a brilliant cut. I decided to post over here instead of RT because I think the center being a sapphire makes it a little different than a rb diamond with a step cut halo. Maybe it doesn't. Give me your thoughts.

Here is a pic of how it might sorta look...but the center is a bit darker.

 

[Gailey]

Stepcutgirl,

Did you approach Leon for a quote for the Frenchies?

 

[stepcutgirl]

Yes, he was close to 9k. That is not even close to possible for me.

 

[Gailey]

Oh flip - that''s a lot of money.

Have you thought about what matters most to you, a halo or French cuts? Maybe the halo is uber expensive, but putting FC''s in the shoulders for instance might not be so bad. Did you get a quote from anywhere to do a RB halo?

What about a Frenchcut band like Harriet''s down the road? That''s the route I''m going to go to get my FC fix.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Well I now know I can''t afford the french cuts for a halo and while I am interested in a french cut wband, I''m not certain that I''m ready to throw in the towel on a halo that doesn''t consist of rb''s. I have gotten several quotes on several styles. Any halo made up of non rb stones is a little more than a rb halo. At first I didn''t think I wanted anything other than frenchies, but I am now interested in the step cut traps. I think it might be a similar look to the french cut. But...I''m not terribly experienced and wanted to hear from you all what you think of the contrast between the brilliant center stone with a step cut halo.

 

[PinkTower]

You want a larger halo, correct?

I have a ruby with halo, and a sapphire with halo, both are made with half pointers.
Richard Sherwood, in his appraisal, summed it up by calling the halo a very "gemmy look."
The half pointers are so small that I am not sure the difference in cuts would ever be seenclearly enough to be appreciated.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

I love the contrast of step cuts with brilliant coloured stones.

I absolutely love the Daniel K baguette halo for an Asscher, and so I tried to go down this same road for my spessartite. I enquired about baguettes, carres, french cuts, step cut traps, etc.

The quotes I received back were so far out of budget that I scrapped the idea. Which is too bad. Someday I'd love to have one.

But in my search, I did find these threads;

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/4-ct-asscher-with-baguette-halo-design-musings.53212/
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-asscher-halo-needed.43587/

 

[stepcutgirl]

Define larger. I by no means want a large halo. I was thinking one pointers, I was told if we use the step cut traps we will need to use 1.5 to 2 pointers...at least we think so. I think CADS, if we get to that point will help. I want a halo that is proportioned much like the picture in my post above.

 

[stepcutgirl]

I love those LTP! I have looked high and low as well and I can''t find any with a round stone. I think my photo shop mock up gives me a pretty good idea though.

 

[Gailey]

I''ve no idea what these cost, so I don''t know if I am making things better or worse for you, the former I hope!

Cadi traps by TRAPZ

 

[stepcutgirl]

Those are cool!

 

[ma re]

I''ve only seen a step cut halo around a step cut stone, and the look certainly is interesting and different, as I''m sure this one would be too. Maybe you could also play with the idea of step cut triangles, and arrange them so that their upper tips point to alternating directions (if you know what I mean, the tip of one pointing towards the center stone, the tip of the one next to it pointing outwards). I''m pretty sure it would be just as expensive as any other idea, but you might like the look of it more than of some of the others. Just a thought...

 

[stepcutgirl]

Thats a pretty cool idea Ma re. I like it! I will mention it.

So...maybe this is just me..but when you all use words like unique and interesting...that doesn't make me think this is a good idea. It makes me think that you all think I have flown over to the cuckoos nest.

Is it a bad idea? Am I trying to achieve something that isn't done for a reason?

 

[ma re]

LOL, you might be on to something here, but in all honesty I can''t give you any better comment on this idea cause it really isn''t something that I could relate to things I saw. But it does sound like an interesting concept, and you can''t know if it''s good unless you go down the "trial and error route" - that''s how some of the most classic designs came to be.

 

[Kismet]

Date: 3/9/2010 11:22:38 AM
Author: stepcutgirl
Thats a pretty cool idea Ma re. I like it! I will mention it.


So...maybe this is just me..but when you all use words like unique and interesting...that doesn''t make me think this is a good idea. It makes me think that you all think I have flown over to the cuckoos nest.


Is it a bad idea? Am I trying to achieve something that isn''t done for a reason?

I think it isn''t done because it''s expensive and (most likely) time consuming, not because it looks horrible or anything. You see this design often enough in reverse with antique settings (round diamond center and colored stone step cut halo).

 

[decodelighted]

No matter which section you post in, the results are going to be the same:

Long time Pscopers who have seen this attempted DOZENS if not HUNDREDS of times will tell you that its too costly & always ends in heartbreak.

Newbies will say "YAY!!! Awesome! Go for it!"

I''d guess that the other stepcut choices are going to be much closer to the cost of the Frenchie version than the RB version of a halo. Stepcut halos that I''ve seen quoted around here have all ended up being out of reach for the customers dreaming of it. Which is why I asked what your budget is. Its very hard to get your heart set on something if it is indeed PREDICTABLY going to be far out of the preferred range. And very often in the CRAZY MONEY category of fools & billionaires.

Its frustrating to see it over & over again I guess -- which is why I should stay far from this & other similar threads in the future. I see many of the folks who''ve been through this steering clear of these threads also. Will anyone be left to respond?

 

[stepcutgirl]

I didn't bring up the money issue here because while you were very correct about the frenchies (and I thank you for warning me) I have double checked and step cut traps are not out of my price range. They (with completed ring) would be between 2500 and 3k. I wasn't wondering (currently) so much about the price as I am about the look and what people think about it. A step cut halo I assume is going to look a little different from a french cut halo. I can't find a step cut halo on a round stone which leads me to ask questions about it because it makes me wonder if I'm wanting something that will look completely ridiculous.

ETA-Could you point me to threads where this was attempted dozens if not hundreds of times? I can't seem to find them.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 3/9/2010 3:10:27 PM
Author: stepcutgirl
I didn''t bring up the money issue here because while you were very correct about the frenchies (and I thank you for warning me) I have double checked and step cut traps are not out of my price range. They (with completed ring) would be between 2500 and 3k. I wasn''t wondering (currently) so much about the price as I am about the look and what people think about it. A step cut halo I assume is going to look a little different from a french cut halo. I can''t find a step cut halo on a round stone which leads me to ask questions about it because it makes me wonder if I''m wanting something that will look completely ridiculous.

ETA-Could you point me to threads where this was attempted dozens if not hundreds of times? I can''t seem to find them.

The search term "baguette halo" will lead you to many of them. And you''ve got links to a couple already in this thread -- including a quote from the Pricescope moderator saying basically "Gah! Don''t go there!" BACK IN 2006.

And what you''re trying to do is *even harder* -- because at least Octagonal halos have some straight lines (like stepcuts do naturally) -- you''re trying to put square/angular shapes into a circle! I''ll trust that your numbers for step cut traps are correct & suggest that you have someone do a photoshop of how it would looks and then shrink it to scale & see if you like it. Small step cuts are often dark & glassy looking. My own e-ring has step-cut baguettes and they basically look like a dark ribbon of glass. Traps aren''t going to be much different in the size you''re talking about. So I really fear that even if you were to succeed in getting this done within budget, you''d ultimately not be happy with the look *anyway*. Its not that it would look "ridiculous" but "blah". Unless you got extremely well cut, lively traps -- ALL OF THEM, or some will look sleepier and inconsistant. And even then, the size of the halo isn''t going to allow people to really see what''s going on inside those stones. Just a choppy, broken ring of light & dark surrounding your sapphire. JMHO.

 

[stepcutgirl]

I have seen those threads that LTP posted plus several more. I thought you meant you had seen this attempted on a round stone before.

I appreciate your opinion of why this setting would not work, or wouldn''t look great even if it can be done and I can afford it. That''s what I''ve been wanting to hear! Somebody saying this is why I think it will or will not work. I hadn''t thought of anything like you just gave me to think about. I sincerely appreciate that.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 3/9/2010 3:25:53 PM
Author: stepcutgirl
I have seen those threads that LTP posted plus several more. I thought you meant you had seen this attempted on a round stone before.

I appreciate your opinion of why this setting would not work, or wouldn't look great even if it can be done and I can afford it. That's what I've been wanting to hear! Somebody saying this is why I think it will or will not work. I hadn't thought of anything like you just gave me to think about. I sincerely appreciate that.

No problem. In thinking about why it *isn't* seen often, in addition to the trickiness/cost issue -- is that small stepcuts/traps etc are inconsistant-looking. Small rounds sort of look similar. Steps have very different personalities and when they aren't "perfectly" cut kinda just look dark with glints of light. That's what I've noticed about my own e-ring at least. Since mine are sidestones further down from my centerstone it doesn't really bother me (the larger two right near the centerstone are pretty lively and & decently matched) -- but in something as prominent as a *Halo* surrounding your centerstone, I can see it being troublesome.

When, say, carre cuts are at the size for eternity bands ... sometimes those are nice and impactful. The ring LTP is getting from Erica Grace looks awesome for example. But those stone are larger than "halo" size melee. And larger than the smallest of the tapered baguettes in my e-ring. I imagine its still very hard to find enough "like" stones cut-pattern-wise to make an attractive ring.


ETA: The "inconsistancy factor" isn't at play in the colored stone halos you see -- the ruby halo, the sapphire halo. In those what you notice first is COLOR - not cut. It's a ring of COLOR -- the faceting of the cut isn't affecting the visual impact of the halo as much as it would in a "white" stone like diamonds.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Carre cuts were an option for doing this type of halo, at the higher end of the money section but I wasn''t crazy about those.

I was really crazy over the french cut idea but assuming I don''t hit the power ball soon, it''s not even close to being an option. In theory, I like the step cut trap idea, but once I read what you wrote it made perfect sense that it more likely than not wouldn''t look irl like it looks in my head. So..thanks.

 

[ma re]

A ballerina style ring might be (kind of) similar to what you''re after and it''s a tried style, with quite a lot of examples available at antique jewellery stores. It''s less risky, so I thought you might like it.

P. S. A sapphire halo shown above doesen''t contain french cuts, more like some strange variation of a princess cut, shaped like traps and with checkerboard crowns.

 

[mousey]

SCG I LOVE your sapp. Its stunning!!!!!
Don t get discouraged. I KNOW you will find the perfect setting for your wonderful stone.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Date: 3/10/2010 3:17:58 AM
Author: ma re
A ballerina style ring might be (kind of) similar to what you''re after and it''s a tried style, with quite a lot of examples available at antique jewellery stores. It''s less risky, so I thought you might like it.


P. S. A sapphire halo shown above doesen''t contain french cuts, more like some strange variation of a princess cut, shaped like traps and with checkerboard crowns.

Thanks, I''ll do some searches on that style tonight when I get home from work.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Date: 3/10/2010 5:40:06 AM
Author: mousey
SCG I LOVE your sapp. Its stunning!!!!!

Don t get discouraged. I KNOW you will find the perfect setting for your wonderful stone.

Thank you so much. I love it too! Any updates on your end?

 

[stepcutnut]

SCG-sorry if I missed it, but are you only interested in a round halo for your round sapphire? Or are you open to an octagonal shaped halo? BTW-I think a step cut halo would be fabulous with your RB, but as stated is quite a costly venture.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Ate my *%^$#post!

SCN-For a french or step cut halo I am only looking at round halos. I am now however tossing around the idea of using half pointers to make a square cushion halo with plain band similar to Gypsys. Have you ever noticed that not only do we have nearly identical screen names but our avatars are almost identical!

I got an email from a vendor that had told me they couldn''t help me saying that they had mulled the idea over and thought they may now be able to do the french cut halo...we will see where that goes.

 

[decodelighted]

Popping back into to say that I *adore* the french cut 1.4mm Leon band that was posted today. I think those stones WOULD make a pretty halo around a circular stone (though expensive). They have more visual interest & don''t create the same "clean lines looking choppy" scenario that true step cuts might.

I see why you want what you want. Good luck with the reconsidering vendor!

 

[stepcutgirl]

Deco-You are quickly becoming one of my fav ps posters. You give me the info and opinion I am in search of. Once I got that email today I was so confused from all the step cut info that I wasn't sure this would work either! I'm very happy to hear you think it would. Now..if only it comes back in my price range...but i don't really see how it can.

 

[Indylady]

A little dust that the quote comes back in your price range!