X prong - high setting. Advice please!

[topaz]

Hi All,

With everyones help here (you just didn’t know it, we were lurking) my fiancée and bought a stunning round, triple ideal, SI1, I, 1 ct. A Cut Above (Hearts and Arrows) stone from Whiteflash. We had the added benefit of living in Houston so we got to meet Brian the Cutter. He was awesome and amazingly knowledgeable.

We had the stone set in a basic 4 prong because we still can’t find the setting we want.

Any suggestions would be great! I would like something between the Vatche X prong (love the style) and the Vatche Royal Crown (like the height). I definitely want 4 prongs. I love when the diamond is set high enough that you can clearly see the bottom of the stone.

Helzberg makes a perfect setting but they would not sell it without the stone.

I know I can have a custom setting done but my first choice would be to purchase something already made.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[codex57]

Since the setting is the easy part, I wouldn''t stress too much. If you can''t find it online or at a B&M, just have it custom made. Basically, don''t waste too much time on this part of the ring unless you like looking.

 

[valeria101]

Is there any way to post the one at Helzberg ?

IMO, the X prong type cannot get very high because there isn't much structure to keep the long prongs straight and they cannot get overly thick as it happens for the non-basket high settings.

For the Vatche Royal Crown the wires of the prongs cross up high to make a solid structure and there are six of them to boot.

I would imagine the W-prong by Whiteflash could be made a bit higher but not too much. This is one Q to ask WF, if the idea sounds promissing for starters.

 

[ClownFishFunk]

Date: 1/3/2005 1:38:45 PM
Author: codex57
Since the setting is the easy part, I wouldn''t stress too much. If you can''t find it online or at a B&M, just have it custom made. Basically, don''t waste too much time on this part of the ring unless you like looking.

Hmm, I''d have to disagree that finding the setting is the easy part. It can say a lot more about a person than a diamond can, in my opinion. The setting is where you can really show your taste/style, uniqueness and creativity. I also wouldnt say that spending a lot of time on the perfect setting is a waste, either. After all, it may be something you wear forever (if you dont want to upgrade).

I unfortunately dont have any suggestions for you, but I just felt the need to respond to the above post because it seemed awfully discouraging, and it shouldnt be! My guess is that there are a lot of styles like this out there (considering vatche''s popularity) and you just have to keep looking. You can try some local B&Ms too, I think many carry this solitaire style. If I come across anything, I''ll be sure to post it.

Good luck with your search!

 

[topaz]

Hi All,

Valeria101- Unfortunately there is no way to post the Helzberg setting. On their web site they only show the front view. They show no side views at all.
We had played with the idea of taking the Vatche Royal Crown, removing the middle prongs and spreading the remaining prongs. I was told by a local jeweler it could be done but it makes me a little nervous.

ClownFishFunk- Yes, thank you, I agree. My fiancée was eager to get a ring on my finger (short story: we were married for 6 years, divorced for 5 and now are back together. He wanted to get a rock on my finger to solidify the deal :>) So we bought the beautiful stone from Whiteflash. I eventually want the perfect setting also! Thank you for your encouraging post.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/3/2005 340 PM
Author: topaz

We had played with the idea of taking the Vatche Royal Crown, removing the middle prongs and spreading the remaining prongs. I was told by a local jeweler it could be done but it makes me a little nervous.

not "nervous"... how about scared!

I know it is somewhat easier to see the design done before, but I would not play with a setting this much. Even with an entirely custom project, you do get a preview before all is said and done - either a wax model if the ring is cast or a version of the finished design. The second is less common, but Platinumsmith posted on one project like that (link here).

Slicing the Royal Crown gets dow to a lucida style set of prongs. Is the version below as high as you would wish ?

 

[windowshopper]

i agree with clownfishfunk.................the setting was the main focus for me!

 

[teebee]

ditto clownfish & windowshopper ~ I think finding the perfect setting is far from easy!! Take your time and put as much effort into this as you want and as is necessary to find exactly what you are looking for! I think the setting is what shows off and highlights that beautiful diamond & I think is what really expresses your personality.

 

[topaz]

Valeria101- The height is perfect. The prongs ended flat w/ the diamond. The bar across the diamond was either not there at all (is that possible?) or much thinner. The side pieces ended and melted into the bar (guess there had to be some bar!)

The ring posted on the thread you mentioned w/ the 3 prongs is very pretty. Looks like is no bar at all? I looked at number of tension settings (loved Steven Kretchmer) but the rings were just too wide. I’m looking for 2mm and a nice full side view…..that combination seems hard to do, find.

The ring below the 3 prong is also beautiful (2 prong).

I went to Mark Morrell- New work Oct 2004. The JC-duo ring shows how the sides end at the bar. The Joel-CP-001s2 looks very close except without the stones on the side. Actually it looks very close, maybe the bar was a little thinner, that’s almost it I think.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/3/2005 5:21:34 PM
Author: topaz

Valeria101- The ring posted on the thread you mentioned w/ the 3 prongs is very pretty. Looks like is no bar at all?

Actually, the lucida version is not all that high - I guess a basket-type setting can go that far (including the W prong or what not). It would be harder to keep the ring safe without the bar, but that doesn''t have to be that visible - agreed on that point.

The ring by Platinumsmiths had not bar and it is not too low (not culet-on-finger low) either. I can easily imagine a four prong version

but that''s not going to help much since I cannot make the ring. A jeweler using CAD design could help allot more, I would think.

 

[ClownFishFunk]

Oops, double post.

 

[ClownFishFunk]

What about some of those rings in the Show Me the Ring thread, under "rings with hidden diamonds"? There are a few pictures there that show the entire side of the diamond. I''m having trouble posting pictures, sorry.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/rings-with-hidden-diamonds.23259/

 

[topaz]

ClownFishFunk- Yup, the 2nd picture in the thread you listed shows a perfect side of the diamond and has 4 prongs. So…….1st choice would be something exactly like that X prong setting. Or maybe even something like that without all the other diamonds. Just a solitaire. I never thought it would be so tough to find the setting.