How to Set a 2+ ct OEC?

[AmberGretchen]

Hi all - my mother has a gorgeous OEC that she inherited from my grandmother. It is at the apprasier''s right now for estimated size, color, and clarity, but preliminarily the appraiser said that it looks almost totally clear (a little bearding around the girdle, but she said thats normal for this kind of stone and the age it is), and I can''t see any color in it (I can usually see color in anything below a G), although its harder to tell when its set. The size is over 2 ct, but we''re not sure how much over - the diameter is about 8.5 mm. Its an absolutely beautiful stone, really fiery, and it is currently housed in a large, elaborate and somewhat uncomfortable to wear YG setting, and my mom wants to get it reset.

She would like something white gold/platinum, that DOESN''T look like an engagement or wedding ring. We had discussed the idea of a split shank with a halo , but I haven''t seen any pics of these with large round stones. So we are looking for pics of setting ideas for this stone - she loves anything art deco, nothing too over-the-top, and best if it doesn''t overpower the stone, but the stone is pretty big to begin with and she has kind of medium-long medium sized fingers, so we don''t want it to overpower her hand either.

Thoughts?

(I will make sure to post pics and specs after we get the appraisal).

Thanks!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Anyone? Help? Please?

 

[Cath]

First of all, it sounds like a beautiful stone and I''d love to see pics! I think a setting with sapphires in it might help it look less like an engagement or wedding ring.

Have you tried looking at some of these antique sites for ideas?
Faycullen.com
Antiqueandestate.com
Doyledoyle.com
Antiqueengagementrings.com

 

[Orange]

Check out http://www.singlestone.com/bling/ for some gorgeous setting ideas for large OEC stones.
Also, www.estatediamondjewelry.com.

 

[Buena Girl]

I think this is a nice split shank, but it does not have a halo. Here's the link: http://www.washingtondiamond.com/store/details.asp?itemid=36-DR9096

 

[Buena Girl]

This might be too similar to an engagement ring, but here is the picture of the Tacori setting that I adore and hope to have my OEC/OMC stone set into(I haven''t had it appraised yet. I think that mine is a 2+ carat OEC stone.).

 

[Beth]

Sheldon Speyer has some beautiful designs representative of the Art Deco Era. I love his work.

 

[michela002]

These are all from Dirt Cheap Diamond''s Micropave Collection:

Some are quite e-ring-y, some are less, but they might giveyou some ideas!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks guys - those are some good ideas. I actually suggested colored side stones or colored stones in a halo but my mom wasn''t overly keen on the idea, and our jeweler said that she often suggests using sapphires or similar in a ring when the main stone is a bit off-color (she has a beuatiful M that she did this with), and she said that this one wasn''t. Personally I think its more a matter of personal preference, but mom seems to prefer something without colored stones at least for now.

I sent her some of the pictures and haven''t heard back yet on which she likes - we may try to go look at some in person next week sometime. I promise I will post pics as soon as the appraisal is finished but it might be like a week because our jeweler is really busy and we gave her a bunch of pieces to work on all at once.

Thanks for the ideas everyone! Oh, and here is another one from another recent thread about sizes of melee vs center stone, although I think the melee would have to be smaller for such a large stone to not completely overwhelm my mom''s finger (ignore the fact that shutterfly cut part of the image off):

 

[michela002]

I definitely agree with you to go for a very thin halo for a stone that big. Otherwise it will just be too huge and engulf her whole finger.

E.g. This is Firegoddess'' pear with its new, much finer halo:

Compared to the much wider halo which she felt took over from the centre stone:

And if you can pop into some stores with her and make sure she sees it on her finger that would probably be best ... I personally love pave halos ... in a picture ... whereas I''m not sure I''d love it enough every day on my hand. By trying things on she can figure out the fine tune details of what she wants and likes on her

Can''t wait to see the results!!