Can one use .25 and .30 in an eternity band?

[angiegra]

Hi.

I am so glad to find this community. I have been a lurker for some time.

I am presently purchasing .25ct loose diamonds to make an eternity band. I have noticed that there aren't as many .25 available and what is available is more expensive than the .30 of the same quality. Can you put .30ct mixed in with .25ct? The measurements for my .25ct range from 4.08mm to 4.13mm. The .30ct are 4.30mm
Thanks very much for your help.

 

[Gypsy]

No. Not unless you do them in a pattern of every other. The size difference will be noticable.

Just call up a good vendor like Wink at HPD and work with him to get you the rest of the stones. You don't need a lab report for stones that size if you shop at a vendor that reputable. A Sarin on them is enough.

 

[angiegra]

Thanks for your response.

You suggest putting them in a pattern. Do you mean putting a .25ct. and a .30ct and then another .25ct and so on?

I presently have 6 .25ct and will need another 10 stones which I was thinking of getting in .30ct.

 

[angiegra]

Would I be able to put .23ct with the .25ct?

Is that less noticeable?

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

These are all questions you should be asking the person who is going to make your ring. I'm really not sure why you are buying stones here and there trying to make a ring. You don't even know how many you will need for your size until you pick a setting. I think you are making things more difficult than they need to be.

 

[angiegra]

I will be speaking to the guy who will put it together about this. Yes, I do know how many I need for my size. I need 16. Just wanted some opinions from here.

I am not purchasing different diamonds here and there. I am purchasing all of them from Blue Nile whenever I find the quality and price of the ones that I want. Actually, I am not making this very difficult, in fact, I am loving the process of ordering one at a time, and planning my eventual eternity band. Remember it's the journey that counts.....lol

Thanks for your great help asscherhalo.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The weight is not the issue. You need to be comparing diameter only. For an eternity band, the diameters need to be very closely matched. You are going to pay far more buying the diamonds the way you are doing it. You can go to a vendor such as Whiteflash and they will match all the ideal cut stones for you perfectly. You are wasting money buying single GIA graded stones, but if you are happy doing it that way, that's fine.

 

[VRBeauty]

Are you buying the diamonds on a schedule? When it's near time to buy the next one, you might contact BN and give them your specs... I'm sure the diamonds in your size range are out there, and they can find them for you.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

The weight is not the issue. You need to be comparing diameter only. For an eternity band, the diameters need to be very closely matched. You are going to pay far more buying the diamonds the way you are doing it. You can go to a vendor such as Whiteflash and they will match all the ideal cut stones for you perfectly. You are wasting money buying single GIA graded stones, but if you are happy doing it that way, that's fine.

Thanks DS, that's what I was trying to get at. It just seems like a pretty wasteful way of going about it.

 

[angiegra]

Thanks diamondseeker. I have checked whiteflash and they are more expensive than Blue Nile for the same cut and quality.
I am all for getting a really good deal. Yes, I realize I need to have measurements that are pretty close. My .25ct range from 4.06mm to 4.13mm and the .30ct range from 4.28mm to 4.34mm. I thought that that might work. And not be noticeably different. And they are bigger, and I'm all for bigger in diamonds....lol

I am not on a schedule. I just don't want to spend all the money at once.

Thanks VRbeauty. I may contact them by phone and see what they have next time.

 

[JDDN]

Have you already spoken to the bench person about what you are buying? Because if you are wanting a uniform eternity band I can tell you that going from 4.08 to 4.13 to 4.30mm will be too big of a difference unless you are specifically going for a band that has all different size stones. The diamond measurements must be very exacting to make a uniform band. Please speak to your bench person before buying anymore stones in all these different sizes.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, you cannot do .30s with .25s. You need to stay between 4.06 and 4.13.

I was not suggesting buying individual stones from WF. I was suggesting using uncertified stones because you are wasting money on grading reports for stones that small. A vendor like WF that has ideal cut melee is known for making high quality diamond bands and their stones will be very well matched.

 

[angiegra]

Thanks JDDN.

I haven't bought any .30ct. I have all 6 stones that are .25ct. I will definitely be speaking with the jeweller guy that will be setting the stones before I do anything. I may bring my .25ct in to see it against the .30ct.

 

[angiegra]

Thanks diamondseeker for your advise.

The GIA certificates come with the diamonds from Blue Nile. I will contact white flash and see what they have.

Also, I'm from Canada and some places charge duty and the price gets very high. Blue nile doesn't charge duty.
I have checked many places and they seem to be the best price.

 

[JDDN]

Your jeweler cannot source the stones for you? Because this is a very, very expensive eternity band!!!

Just be aware that even within the 0.25's you have they may not all be able to be used. I cannot stress enough how exacting the size and measurements of the stones need to be. Make sure you're within your return period if you find out some of the stones you bought cannot be used in your band.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thanks diamondseeker for your advise.

The GIA certificates come with the diamonds from Blue Nile. I will contact white flash and see what they have.

Also, I'm from Canada and some places charge duty and the price gets very high. Blue nile doesn't charge duty.
I have checked many places and they seem to be the best price.

Ah, BN has a Canadian site so that must be why you aren't paying duty. Did you ask your jeweler about sourcing the stones? Because what I am saying is that they should cost less when not individually graded compared with spending the money sending the stones to GIA to be individually graded. It is just not necessary for small diamonds for a band as long as the parcel of stones is ideal cut and the color and clarity you desire. I may have missed it but did you ask your jeweler the price per stone if they were to source the stones and make the band?

How much are your stones costing at BN and what color/clarity are you buying?

Regardless, I would forget the .30 stones as they will not work. I would stick with stones with almost the exact same diameter.

 

[angiegra]

Yes, my jeweler is willing to provide the stones, but I don't really know what he is going to give me. He can say they are ideal cut and whatever clarity but unless there is some sort of certification, how do I know what he is giving me.

The stones that I have bought, are all ideal cuts, the colour range from D to I, and the are all SI1. The cost per diamond ranges from $410 to $440 plus there is a 13 percent tax on that. So each one close to $500 in Canadian dollars. Which is approximately equivalent to $400 US dollars.

I have looked around and the quality of the ring that I am building, which will end up being 4.00 ct.total all ideal cuts, costs approx. 20,000.00 here in Canada. I have looked around before I started this. I would end up spending $8000.00 on the diamonds and approx. $1000.00 on the setting. So I would be paying approx. $9,000 for the ring.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, if you think that is the cheapest way and you can pick ideal cuts, then great. But I have to say that I would not be buying D-I color for a band. I would choose two colors, such as G-H and focus only on those. Your color range is too broad. Most jewelers who make these bands use a range of 2 colors. Whiteflash uses F-G. You potentially could do D-F, but not D and I in the same band, especially since the price range is small.

 

[angiegra]

Okay, if you think that is the cheapest way and you can pick ideal cuts, then great. But I have to say that I would not be buying D-I color for a band. I would choose two colors, such as G-H and focus only on those. Your color range is too broad. Most jewelers who make these bands use a range of 2 colors. Whiteflash uses F-G. You potentially could do D-F, but not D and I in the same band, especially since the price range is small.

Thanks for the advise diamondseeker. I have only one that is I colour. The rest are D and E. I will stick with D and E.
Also, just spoke to the jeweler and he said that he will ask his setter if I can put 6 .25ct in a row, and then add 9 .30ct.
In which I will have 2 area that will be sort of off. One area I plan on putting a piece for sizing in the future and then that means I will have one area where the transition will occur, which to me won't look that off, because visually they look pretty close.

 

[yssie]

Okay, if you think that is the cheapest way and you can pick ideal cuts, then great. But I have to say that I would not be buying D-I color for a band. I would choose two colors, such as G-H and focus only on those. Your color range is too broad. Most jewelers who make these bands use a range of 2 colors. Whiteflash uses F-G. You potentially could do D-F, but not D and I in the same band, especially since the price range is small.

Thanks for the advise diamondseeker. I have only one that is I colour. The rest are D and E. I will stick with D and E.
Also, just spoke to the jeweler and he said that he will ask his setter if I can put 6 .25ct in a row, and then add 9 .30ct.
In which I will have 2 area that will be sort of off. One area I plan on putting a piece for sizing in the future and then that means I will have one area where the transition will occur, which to me won't look that off, because visually they look pretty close.

I will iterate what others are saying and assure you that your last thought of putting the sizing are between one transition and leaving the other as-is will indeed look very, very "off" - that is a very noticeable size difference, and even if you don't think it is at first, or your eyes minimise it at first, over time it will become more noticeable, not less.

But you seem bound and determined to include the 0.3s against all argument, so... Not much more we can say here.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am questioning the competence of that jeweler to have told you such a thing. I agree with Yssie that under no circumstances will it look right to have .25s and then a row of .30's in the same band. The reason that you aren't finding many .25s is that most of them are not graded. If you now think you want .30s, then sell all the .25s and start over. I would eliminate (sell) the I color stone and stick to D-E since that is what you have the most of, if you decide to do a .25 band.

 

[JDDN]

Okay, if you think that is the cheapest way and you can pick ideal cuts, then great. But I have to say that I would not be buying D-I color for a band. I would choose two colors, such as G-H and focus only on those. Your color range is too broad. Most jewelers who make these bands use a range of 2 colors. Whiteflash uses F-G. You potentially could do D-F, but not D and I in the same band, especially since the price range is small.

Thanks for the advise diamondseeker. I have only one that is I colour. The rest are D and E. I will stick with D and E.
Also, just spoke to the jeweler and he said that he will ask his setter if I can put 6 .25ct in a row, and then add 9 .30ct.
In which I will have 2 area that will be sort of off. One area I plan on putting a piece for sizing in the future and then that means I will have one area where the transition will occur, which to me won't look that off, because visually they look pretty close.

Why on earth do you want a row of 0.25's and a row of 0.30's?? Is it because you can't find enough 0.25's?? The bench person may do it because you are asking but it's not going to look seamless. If he/she is competent I assure you he/she will advise against it.

I feel like our advice isn't really helping you.

 

[VRBeauty]

Okay, if you think that is the cheapest way and you can pick ideal cuts, then great. But I have to say that I would not be buying D-I color for a band. I would choose two colors, such as G-H and focus only on those. Your color range is too broad. Most jewelers who make these bands use a range of 2 colors. Whiteflash uses F-G. You potentially could do D-F, but not D and I in the same band, especially since the price range is small.

Thanks for the advise diamondseeker. I have only one that is I colour. The rest are D and E. I will stick with D and E.
Also, just spoke to the jeweler and he said that he will ask his setter if I can put 6 .25ct in a row, and then add 9 .30ct.
In which I will have 2 area that will be sort of off. One area I plan on putting a piece for sizing in the future and then that means I will have one area where the transition will occur, which to me won't look that off, because visually they look pretty close.

If you go this route, consider putting the 9 .30's together on the "top" of the ring, and position three .6's on either side of the spacing bar. It won't be a full eternity look, but difference in stone sizes won't be as noticeable. Also, you might consider saving the one "I" stone for a different project and replacing it with another D/E for this project.

HOWEVER... I still think you would be able to get the additional .25's if you work with BN or another vendor and give them a little time to find the stones for you. You might even be able to save yourself some money if you get stones that are uncertified, but are provided with all of the dimensions, asets, etc. that would allow you to verify that they will be high-performance stones.

And a note to everyone else - this is the route angiega has decided to go. It may not be the way most of us would decide to go but it's also not totally not crazy... her total cost would be less than a comparably sized BGD ring that would come with comparable but uncertified stones. And since she's already six stones in, it would probably cost her considerably more overall to change direction at this point.

 

[angiegra]

Much to everyone's disagreement...... I really don't think that putting 9 .30ct all in a row, which would be on the "top" of the ring, and
putting 6 .25ct on the "bottom" of the band would be that bad. In fact, there is only 2 spots that would look a little wonky.....
but one of the spots I plan to put a couple of mm of gold for future sizing, and the other one, won't really look that off.

I don't plan on selling the ring. I still haven't completely decided yet on which way to go, I may still go with all .25 or sell them and start over as suggested.

 

[VRBeauty]

If you put the spacer bar on the bottom of the ring, with three .25's on either side, the ring will be more symmetrical and more likely to stay "upright" - i.e., with the larger stones on top - than it would if you put the spacer bar between the nine .3's and the six .25's.

 

[JDDN]

I concede that while this isn't the way I would do it, it's not my ring .

OP, are you planning on putting the couple of mm of metal between the 0.25 and 0.30 and then have another area where the 0.25 and 0.30 are adjacent?

If so, I'm going to say it will look nicer to have the 0.30's on top with the 0.25's flanking the 0.30s on each side with the metal portion on the bottom of the shank (where it'll rest at your palm). I believe this is what VRB is describing as well. It will also rest nicer on your finger this way. BUT, this is my opinion only. It will also visually give you a little more wow, since at one point you said you're all for bigger diamonds!

Please post photos once your ring is completed and hand shots are always welcome .

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It's a totally different thing if you want to do a graduated band rather than a straight eternity. You could do 4 .30 stones in the center of the top, and then on each side leading down to the sizing bar, 3 at .27-28, and then 3 .25s. You need a size in between the .30 and .25 to make it look right. There is nothing wrong with a graduated band. I think .30 stones wrapping around the sides is too big. Those are best across the top or thins thing is going to be kind of uncomfortable between your fingers.

 

[canuk-gal]

Thanks diamondseeker for your advise.

The GIA certificates come with the diamonds from Blue Nile. I will contact white flash and see what they have.

Also, I'm from Canada and some places charge duty and the price gets very high. Blue nile doesn't charge duty.
I have checked many places and they seem to be the best price.

HI:

Just for clarification, the EXCISE TAX otherwise known as DUTY was dropped well over a decade ago. Hence......

Standard taxes are:

1) GST. Flat rate 5%.
2) depending on which Province you live you can ALSO pay a Provincial sales tax.

Outside of standard taxes cost can include:

3) shipping: Plus carriers charge a fee to process your items(s) through Customs. This charge is NOT duty.
4) exchange rate.


FWIW--I think it is fun to plan long term for a ring. You bought each stone on an individual basis and the search is time consuming. But that helps the process along without being it being "difficult" from a time or economic standpoint. Like a journey.

Of course it IS more expensive this way, but it is your ring and you can manage it how you want. In the end it is "preferable" to have most diamonds being uniform in size if you want a stock setting, but if they are not then you MIGHT also need to budget for custom work.

cheers--Sharon

 

[angiegra]

If you put the spacer bar on the bottom of the ring, with three .25's on either side, the ring will be more symmetrical and more likely to stay "upright" - i.e., with the larger stones on top - than it would if you put the spacer bar between the nine .3's and the six .25's.

I like this idea VR. I may just go with that.
Thanks very much.

 

[angiegra]

Thanks diamondseeker for your advise.

The GIA certificates come with the diamonds from Blue Nile. I will contact white flash and see what they have.

Also, I'm from Canada and some places charge duty and the price gets very high. Blue nile doesn't charge duty.
I have checked many places and they seem to be the best price.

HI:

Just for clarification, the EXCISE TAX otherwise known as DUTY was dropped well over a decade ago. Hence......

Standard taxes are:

1) GST. Flat rate 5%.
2) depending on which Province you live you can ALSO pay a Provincial sales tax.

Outside of standard taxes cost can include:

3) shipping: Plus carriers charge a fee to process your items(s) through Customs. This charge is NOT duty.
4) exchange rate.




FWIW--I think it is fun to plan long term for a ring. You bought each stone on an individual basis and the search is time consuming. But that helps the process along without being it being "difficult" from a time or economic standpoint. Like a journey.

Of course it IS more expensive this way, but it is your ring and you can manage it how you want. In the end it is "preferable" to have most diamonds being uniform in size if you want a stock setting, but if they are not then you MIGHT also need to budget for custom work.

cheers--Sharon

Hi Sharon.

This is not an expensive way of getting this ring. I have been everywhere and I am getting the band for half the price of what I would buy it for retail.