Setting help for a green-grey sapphire

[Niel]

I'm really falling in love with Yssie's off-white unplated WG here - I'm a bit afraid of the contrast of a too-yellow gold with my melee, and hers seems to be the best balance. I can't seem to find the composition for it though, only that it's 18k WG unplated Any idea? https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-5-stone-8-prong-trellis-reset-by-dbl.170161/

In her comparison (how do you post photos from other threads?!) in the middle of this page https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-color-and-metal-options.191295/, I keep returning to the D and E shades.. D is my favourite, especially.

And I think prongs!! I want the sapphire to look like it's surrounded by diamonds and very minimal metal, like Gypsy's ring: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/drumroll-please-my-setting.72011/. What do you think? I don't even know what the name of this is - showing a picture should suffice though right?

I do think 18k is still the way to go. I love Yssies ring too but 14k gold looks of a softer white color, where 18k is a softer gold. What grade metal is the gold band you were showing us? Plus consider using diamonds in the setting your going to be covering up a lot of the metal with WHITE so itll make the metal color less noticeable and blend a bit with the melee. You get 14k i dont think you will notice a color in it at all, which i dont think you want. I think getting as yellow an 18k WHITE gold you can is really going to be the most flattering.

Prongs are a good idea as they let more light in

and as for single or full, do you want a whole lot of sparkle? or do you not want the juxtaposition of such sparkly melee and your CS?

Also, you keep showing really well made halos, you have very good taste for quality? Are you sure you want dont want to work with someone a bit more well known for this type of halo work?

 

[Niel]

take a look at this ring.. notice how the metal in the halo doesnt look as yellow?

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/after-ive-been-waiting-and-waiting.171733/page-2']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/after-ive-been-waiting-and-waiting.171733/page-2[/URL]

 

[sonyachancs]

I do think 18k is still the way to go. I love Yssies ring too but 14k gold looks of a softer white color, where 18k is a softer gold. What grade metal is the gold band you were showing us? Plus consider using diamonds in the setting your going to be covering up a lot of the metal with WHITE so itll make the metal color less noticeable and blend a bit with the melee. You get 14k i dont think you will notice a color in it at all, which i dont think you want. I think getting as yellow an 18k WHITE gold you can is really going to be the most flattering.

Prongs are a good idea as they let more light in

and as for single or full, do you want a whole lot of sparkle? or do you not want the juxtaposition of such sparkly melee and your CS?

Also, you keep showing really well made halos, you have very good taste for quality? Are you sure you want dont want to work with someone a bit more well known for this type of halo work?

Niel, you are very kind. my mum will see it the other way and tell me I have expensive taste which is true.

tbh I would like something well-made, because I'm sentimental and don't think I'll reset my stone into something else down the line. but VC SK and LM scare me, I've been reading all the threads and I can only guess that something from them will cost 5k onward? We are young and getting ready to buy a house and get married, so I was hoping for something a little in the middle.

I've been in touch with Michael E too, who is plain lovely. anyone else you would recommend in the midrange? or am I hopefully overestimating the prices of the big 3?

 

[chrono]

Expect VC, SK and LM to be in the $5K range. Maytal Hannah might be less; perhaps $4K. ERD does excellent cast work which look almost hand forged yet priced in the $3K range.

I think you are tying to do too much with the design; simplicity goes a long way and I would try to stick with a single metal colour wherever possible, 2 metals at most. 3 colours starts to look too casual. There's nothing wrong with full cuts and I'd go with that. There is added cost for single cuts and the halo design you like will look great with full cuts. Unless your stone is pale, a cup is unnecessary. In actuality, a yellow cup will do little since the colour that you want to enhance is green. You'll have to go with green gold which adds to the cost with it being a specialty alloy and it gets too busy.

 

[sonyachancs]

Chrono, you are an amazing voice of reason. I'm not looking at mixing metals anymore, I'm going with just unplated WG. I shall try not to think too much about it - but it's much too easy to become obsessive (I think you can all tell I'm heading that way).

Mark has quoted me 3k for platinum, so I will check with him for WG. I think it should be cheaper.

I've seen a lot of praise for Michael E's work - but no real photos or quantitative analysis. He seems priced lower than Mark, any advice you could give regarding cost-quality balance for those two? They seem to be the only ones in the lower middle range..

 

[chrono]

My preference is ERD for a halo setting because it is more of their forte. You can try Brian Gavin Diamonds and Jewels by Erica Grace but I've found them to be more expensive consistently than ERD.

 

[Niel]

yeah there is a reason everyone keeps referencing ERD, they do a great job, and they have done it often and consistently well each time!

And they i do believe will satisfy you and your desire for quality. You said youll be wearing the forever you think as you are sentimental? I think the extra few hundred would be worth it when you consider the cost per wear.

And good i think we all agree unplated white gold is the way to go. Have you considered 18k at all? If you're concerned itll look like yellow gold, dont be. It wont.

 

[sonyachancs]

yeah there is a reason everyone keeps referencing ERD, they do a great job, and they have done it often and consistently well each time!

And they i do believe will satisfy you and your desire for quality. You said youll be wearing the forever you think as you are sentimental? I think the extra few hundred would be worth it when you consider the cost per wear.

And good i think we all agree unplated white gold is the way to go. Have you considered 18k at all? If you're concerned itll look like yellow gold, dont be. It wont.

I am going to think very hard about quotes this weekend and hopefully take a plunge soon. I'm so glad PS exists - my FF is completely out of this whole thing: "oh they all look the same" so I have given up on him giving me any constructive advice (but he is paying, so I should be grateful for that..)

I am considering the 18k and 14k - I'll try and get myself down to a jeweler's this weekend to have a look, but like I've mentioned before, Singapore doesn't have the greatest range.. We buy a lot of jewelry but I'm starting to realise that not many people really understand what it's about, and speaking to sales people is very frustrating.

I'm sorry my questions come bit by bit, but how thin should i get the shank to be? I've been looking at Gypsy's halo (1.2mm) and Thourella's (1.5mm), and I think I'm inching for a 1.2-1.3mm halo. What size should the band be?

p.s. I know I mentioned the cartier d'amour band (http://www.cartier.com/collections/...damour/b4093800-cartier-damour-wedding-band-1) before as our WB, but the FF has his eye on a Bvlgari b.zero (http://en.bulgari.com/productDetail.jsp?prod=AN852422) at the moment - and I think what will probably happen is we will get the same type of metal in the WB, but I might get a custom one (so that it doesn't limit the design of my ER).

 

[Niel]

If you're having diamonds in the shank I'd keep it at 2mm. A d how funny I just ordered a second hand bvlgari zero for my fi wb. Hopefully it fits I'm really attached to it and I got a great deal considering.

 

[sonyachancs]

how lucky! did you get it off PS?

just wondering, are the thinner 1.7-1.8mm bands too delicate?

 

[chrono]

Ask each vendor that you are getting quotes from for their recommendation on how thin the shank can be. This will also tell you not only their skill level but their comfort level in making your ring. I would not go under 2 mm for a cast ring in WG. You can go thinner when hand forged in platinum. I am a bit confused by your terminology though - you asked about the shank but I think later on, it sounds more like the halo size.

 

[Niel]

I see your concerned about melee size too. I hate to sound like a broken record, but a conpany that is used to making a hw type halo will be able to recommend the right melee and shank size. (ERD and so on )

 

[sonyachancs]

Chrono, I just read what I wrote and I don't know what I was doing either.. but the 2mm answer for the band is what I needed.

Niel , I have come to the realisation that I am thinking too much about it. something about being able to customise it is giving me too much choice and making me extremely finicky about everything. I shall leave it to the experts.

please slap me if I show signs of being overly ocd, and thanks for giving me all the reassurances anyway! I know now basically what I want, all thanks to you guys!

 

[Niel]

Chrono, I just read what I wrote and I don't know what I was doing either.. but the 2mm answer for the band is what I needed.

Niel , I have come to the realisation that I am thinking too much about it. something about being able to customise it is giving me too much choice and making me extremely finicky about everything. I shall leave it to the experts.

please slap me if I show signs of being overly ocd, and thanks for giving me all the reassurances anyway! I know now basically what I want, all thanks to you guys!

Its good to be picky. But I mean a good vendor can show you cads before sturdy make it so you can be go over them and make sure you like them before you commit.

 

[sonyachancs]

I have a new question!

I've been staring at trilogy rings on PS and I'm slightly in love. what do you think about that vs a halo single-stone? the coverage on those trilogies is truly stunning, but I also don't quite want to detract from my beautiful centre stone.

I think the sapphire flanked by two warm vintage-cut diamonds would be lovely (but far out our budget at the moment - unless you guys have good recs for small vintage diamonds), but it got me thinking about small chrysoberyl rounds/cushions flanking my centre stone.

What do you think? I spotted this pair (http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6548) on Dana's website, and do you think the colour would suit - or do you think I'm nuts and should stick with a centre-stone halo? here is my sapphire again, just so you can compare the color



p.s. my centre stone is an 8mm cushion, and I have a 5.5size ring - are two 5.2mm side stones too large? it feels like it might be a beautiful set in unplated wg!

TIA!

 

[Niel]

OH do diamonds! I think that would be stunning and doable if you go with the right person. Like if you got a poppyseed setting, she has a three stone setting that could be pretty cheap and we could find you diamonds 30 to 40 points i bet for that price.

L and Ms around your budget in that size! (youd have to get in touch with them though to find a matching pair)

and this was the poppyseed setting i was thinking of

and whats nice is she will make that to your specs and send it to you so you can get it set locally (like i know your hubby wants!)

 

[sonyachancs]

How much would I be looking at for 40 pointers? I like a slightly warmish diamond (and the vintage ones are beautiful!)Do you think they would be too large?

I've actually managed to get my local jeweler to bring in single cut stones for me in preparation for a halo (for a decent price!).. so the price has to be right to switch the design to a three stone (which the FF is hesitant about too!)

ETA: Yssie's trellis(?) 5-stone curved setting is what has inspired this! and I found out what 30-40pointers are in mm!

 

[sonyachancs]

it's a very interesting idea! :O

do you think it's a no-no for chrysoberyls?

 

[Niel]

it's a very interesting idea! :O

do you think it's a no-no for chrysoberyls?

I'm afraid it'll look weird. And just a lit going on with different. Colors and shapes.


No I do t think the 30ish pointers gog has would be too big. Cushions face up smaller too! I mean get those for 1400ish, and poppy seeds settings are like 500ish, if I'm remembering right....and diamond to me seems so right for an e ring.

 

[chrono]

I love 3 stone rings too so you will not get a dissenting vote from me. You can do full or single cuts in your halo, depending on the quality of the cutting. If your jeweller can show you sample stones, that would be best. If you opt for very yellow but lightly saturated chrysoberyls, it should be fine. You don't want an eye-popping colour that takes away from the sapphire.

 

[michellechan2211]

Sonyachancs:

Now I'm curious: Which local jeweler do you happen to be using? ^^;