Did You Wait to Find the Perfect Setting BEFORE you Purchased your Diamond?

[jewelgal]

How much did your setting play a part in the purchase of your diamond? Did you wait to find
the perfect setting BEFORE you purchased your stone??

That seems to be a huge hurdle I need to get over - I need to find the perfect setting.

I can''t see myself buying a stone and not having the perfect setting, because to me
I really believe that the Setting itself is "the ring." Say about 50%+ of "the ring" - the total look.

If you think about it a diamond solitaire is great if you have a huge diamond, but I will probably
be getting somewhere in the 1.40 RB range / 1.60 Radiant range (not sure which yet) and
I definitely want some halo "underneath" the diamond to accentuate the stone and definitely
millgrain and pave (is that the same) diamonds -
Basically I want a very interesting setting, something that is antiquey-old fashioned looking
and the center stone i want to sit about 1/4" off finger. I like the set i have now (see avatar)

Anyway, sorry about blabbing: Back to my Question: How much did your setting play a part in the purchase of your diamond? Did you wait to find the perfect setting BEFORE you purchased your stone??

 

[mrssalvo]

I have been all over the map with my settings choices so I will probaby get my new stone first. Some people get both at the same time. Some get choose the setting then find the stone. A lot would have to do with what''s available when you''re looking and if you find the perfect stone that you just can''t live without. I''d probably focus more on the stone because that''s where the most $ is going to be spent and the main attraction.

 

[BrownEyes]

You may want to check-out www.firenzejewels.com - - they have a great selection of settings including many like what you describe. They''re located in the NYC Diamond District and are GREAT to work with ... if you don''t wind-up working with Firenze , their website is still a good place to start for some setting ideas.

 

[Diam100]

I think your in NY so if you are than be brave & just spend a few hours trying things on at the shops on 47th. Now here's the catch.. Leave your credit card, check & cash home that way you can ogle & try things on without falling prey to an impulse purchase - works for me (lol).

Now you probably should search for the stone first but hey I couldn't follow my own advice & looked at settings in the beginning. I have now switched to focusing on the diamond purchase & I'll leave the setting madness for later. Good luck.

 

[jaz464]

I had to pick the setting first. I had no idea what shape I wanted. I just knew I didn''t want a marquise or a princess. I strongly considered cushions, radiants, EC, and pears. And then one day, I walked into a jewlery store and saw the setting of my dreams. And guess what? It had a marquise in it! I was shocked but I knew without a doubt that I had to have that ring (actually, I had a copy made). I figured that when I found the setting of my dreams, I would love the diamond shape that went with it. That worked for me.

 

[dbgaap]

Given the way you feel, I would definitely look for the setting first.
Just draw the line in the sand and give yourself time to find the ring that you love.

There is such a wide range of stones available, though not necessarily all at the same time. Even if you have to wait for the right stone in your price range, I just think you will be happier in the long run.

Something I really wanted to do, when I got engaged, was to get the diamond & a simple inexpensive solitaire. I wanted to wear it for a year, then get the setting for our first anniversary.
I wanted time to figure out what I liked.

FH wanted me to get ''something nice'' right off the bat.
I really had no idea what I wanted and he had very strong opinions about everything.
He suggested the Tiffany Etoile and I said, OK I''ll wear that alone- only one all-purpose ring for engagement and wedding ring.
He wanted to see 2 rings on my hand, not one.

OK, two, rings, let me see ....I was attracted to platinum covered with pave or a halo. I LOVED Mara''s ring. He liked yellow gold. pave doesn''t look that great in yellow gold to me....
On and On and On !!!

Now that we''ve been married a while, I realize none of his opinions are written in stone. When I disagree or do something different, he is over it in a HEARTBEAT. He''s just making an effort to engage in the process. He is offering opinions so I''ll think he is involved & cares about the decision. He actually just wants me to get what I like. (He has flat out told me this.)
Okayeeee

And guess what happened - on the 2nd anniversary of our engagement, I swapped out the original setting for something I like better!


Just curious - what does your FH say and how does that influence you?

 

[jewelgal]

I love Firenze Jewels online store - I actually went there a couple of months ago and they had NOTHING to see
because it was a Saturday and "everything is in the vault" - why they were open then, I don''t know... Would like to go back though..........pretty settings online! I Love Natalie K style ...

Dh thinks I should get all white gold or plat. bec. stone will appear whiter. However, I am considering D stones. and I like the contrast between the gold and the diamond; and most people have platinum nowadays and I like to be different.
When I got engaged 10 yrs ago I chose a 50''s style setting because back then it was different - you couldn''t find "antique" styles ANYWHERE. Platinum was just coming "in" but not IN like it is now.... So but we both definitely like the same types of settings, antique - detailed - pave -......

 

[FireGoddess]

I bought the stone first, and then had the setting custom made. There were no pear settings I fell in love with that were prefabricated, so mine had to be custom made from a montage of pictures I brought to my jeweler.

Halos are more common now so it may be possible to find a cast setting that you love. But personally, while I know the setting is very important (think of it as the throne that the queen sits on), I think the stone is more important. What if you find a great setting but it takes a long time to find the right stone to go in it? Or you have to compromise on color because you found a well cut stone that fits in the setting but the color is H? Since you want a D, it may be hard to find one in the right dimensions to fit the setting, etc. I feel like it makes sense to find your dream stone, and then go forth with settings, or have one made if you don''t find exactly what you want. But that''s just my opinion.

 

[dbgaap]

That firenze site is pretty inspiring, especially the engagement ring mountings.

Maybe you could do something two-toned with rose colored gold (with small pink diamonds or pink sapphires set in).

I like having something different, too.
For that reason, I am glad I went with the yellow gold.

And even though I was not too sure about the Tiffany Etoile he suggested 2 years ago, now I would take it in a heartbeat (and wear it alone).

You''re in good shape with your DH (not only do you share similar taste, you know each other pretty well after 10 years! So, congratulations!!

)

Here''s a another ring my husband liked but I balked at.
Now I actually like it a lot.
I real just like everything. That is the basic starting point for me!

 

[dbgaap]

Here''s the one I was thinking of-
pink stones in rose gold

 

[SuzyQZ]

I love that semi-bezel two-tone setting. I like to mix two colors in my rings, since I wear mostly yellow gold, but want the white to surround the diamond as much as possible so that it will "pop".

I purchased the diamonds for both my rings first. Then I had custom settings made. I knew I liked square shaped diamonds, so it was easy to shop until you find "the one" without any restrictions to size measurements. Then I had the settings custom made for the diamonds. I like simple modern settings that let the main attraction be the diamond, so that''s what I shop for first,the diamond.

On the other hand if the setting was the most important element of a ring for me, then I would definintely pick out the setting first.

 

[jewelgal]

Those rings are gorgeous!

I thought of a custom ring, but would want to be able to change the wax mold and make sure I like it first.... I think if I get the setting first it will help me determine the size (mm) to fit in the center....that will help me make my decision too, since I''m very indecisive........ Now I have to decide Round or Radiant? and find a setting...
My mom thinks I should get a Round because she thinks that radiants are a fad and i should go classic. - if I get a round
I am definitely 100% putting it in a square/rectangular mounting anyway - so still not sure what to do....

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 4/8/2006 7:57:48 PM
Author: jewelgal
I thought of a custom ring, but would want to be able to change the wax mold and make sure I like it first....

That''s the benefit of the wax mold, of course you can have it redone if you don''t like it. I went through 3 wax molds before my final custom piece was cast.

 

[jewelgal]

I spoke to GOG and they said if i get the setting first, they would have to take a MM measurement of the center area
and then gauge it from there - as far as searching for a diamond.

 

[Gypsy]

I could NOT find a setting I liked when we got engaged... halo''s weren''t ''in'' then, so they were bulky and expensive. So I got the cheapest safest setting I could find (200 bucks), and decided to get the ring re-set when I found the right setting. This also enabled us to get a much nice stone in terms of color and clarity because all of our budget went to the center stone.

There was one down side to this: I didn''t know that my ascher shouldn''t be bezel set for maxium light return. Especially with the size being just over a carat. And I love the look of pave set stones. In hindsight I would eiteher have gotten a square radiant (which was a less expensive cut then-- asschers were ''hot'') or a square cushion cut (ditto).

But you sound like you know what you want in terms of a setting already... so my advice would be... if you''re going to have it custom made... have them do a wax until it looks right... then tell them to wait till you find the right center... then adjust the wax just enough to fit your center before casting.

Also have you checked out Pearlman''s? And Ice Store? I found them very helpful.

 

[Odilia]

{{{That seems to be a huge hurdle I need to get over - I need to find the perfect setting. ..to me I really believe that the Setting itself is "the ring."}}}}

jewelgal, that is me too. My then-FI picked out a diamond on our second day of ring-shopping. Fortunately he picked a nice diamond. I picked a setting (actually one I saw that day at the shop where we got the diamond) a few weeks later. Wound up hating it.

Could never find just the right thing, so we had the jeweler change it to a Tiffany-style setting, which didn''t turn out right at all (long story) and I also dislike. Third wedding anniversary is coming up and I''m still trying to decide on the perfect setting, although I had sort of a happy detour last year which should make it easier. I just need to devote some time to it in the next few weeks.

Anyway, all that was a longwinded way of saying diamond was picked first, and still working on the setting >3 years later....

A question for you - if you haven''t gotten your ring yet, what are the ones in your avatar?
" if I get a round I am definitely 100% putting it in a square/rectangular mounting anyway "
I kind of lean toward that too, although not sure what I''ll do.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I picked out my setting first (probably over a year before he even bought it ans started the proposal process). I didn''t even know what shape we were going to go with. At first I thought a RB. Then moved onto oval and finally EC. Details are really important to me and I agree with you. The setting completes the look of the ring.