prong set vs. pave?

[locoh55]

Hi everyone!
I''m thinking of setting my 1.6 ct round stone in a one row pave setting or prong setting.
Does anyone have any pics? I''m having a hard time finding a prong set band that isn''t shared prong.
Also, does anyone have any opinions on width of the band? I was thinking 2.5mm--not too thin and not too thick.
Please I need help!

 

[Aurora Borealis]

Sorry, I''m no expert...but a prong-set band that isn''t shared prong seems like a lot of metal to me. Is there such a thing? I''d also like to see a pic if there is.

 

[Mara]

I have prong set melee rings. I'll post images. My engagement ring is about 2.8mm and carries .03c melee in it, the wedding band is about 2.3mm and carries .02c melee in it. That was pretty much as thin as we could go (custom rings) with those sizes of melee. So if you wanted .02c melee prong set, the metal adds that slight extra width.

I loved the look of skinny pave but we went with the prong set because I am a clumsy girl who knocks her hands around alot and I didn't want to have to worry about dealling with pave. These babies aren't going anywhere, unless I crush the rings entirely and they pop out. Also our jeweler recommended for eternity style rings (which mine area) to go with prong set over pave because he didn't recommend the pave for daily wear and hard daily wear at that. He noted that with the thin pave bands like the Michael B settings, the metal is very thin and only located on the bottom whereas with some for of prongs, you have more metal holding them in than the tiny pave beads. So I decided I needed more metal holding in my stones. I don't take my rings off before I do things like garden, or workout, or really much of anything. I only take them off at night. So the pave would have required more mental care for me.

But there are people who do have pave and it's fine. So I guess it could depend on your lifestyle and how hard you are on your hands, etc. Do you want worry-free, are you insuring, etc.

 

[Mara]

Here is the collage I got from WhiteFlash when my wedding ring was done (and the e-ring got a new stone). This shows the detail of the prong set melee. I have some 'sparkle' pictures also.

I will say that WF did an awesome job on my wedding ring and I prefer what they did over my e-ring slightly. MY e-ring has a tiny bit more metal on the stones and WF put just the right amount so you see more stone than my e-ring. Hard to see in real life but in these extreme closeups you can see what I am talking about. If I had to do it again, I'd go with the width of the wedding ring for both rings, I love the thinner band. It makes the stone look huge. By the way my stone is a 1.29c.

 

[Mara]

and here are some sparkly pictures to show you how they look in regular lighting. They are very sparkly and I honestly prefer this look now over other similar styles I have tried on.

 

[Patty]

My anniversary band has 12 stones that are prong set. My jeweler recommended the full prongs because the stones are more secure than in a shared prong setting. I really just see sparkle, not metal.

These stones are 3 points each.