Help matching engagement ring to satin wedding band

[Chinchy]

Hi All! I''ve been a lurker on Pricescope for a while. I am getting into the market for an engagement ring, however I''m in a quandary. Here''s the situation.

+ My girlfriend and I want to have matching bands.
+ The band I would ideally like is something of a satin/brushed platinum, with a single inset polished ridge/trough/channel around the center. Examples of this are:
http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/weddingbands.htm (styles W13A and W13B).
http://www.topperjewelers.com/bauer/centerno.html (the very center: 3rd row 2nd column, also 5th row 1st column, and 5th row 2nd column)

+ The diamond shape will be a square, either a Jubilee cut or a Square Hearts and Arrows.
+ For the engagement ring, she doesn''t want anything over the top. Just a simple band, classic and elegant.

The problem is finding an engagement ring that will mate well with the band. She prefers polished, or polished with milgrain. I can''t find anything that will fit! I''m thinking I will need to go with a custom design, but even then, I don''t know what kind of ring/setting will match. We''ve been to several local jewelers, and seen how the various polished rings look with the satin/brushed platinum bands, and they just look funny. We''ve looked at matte platinum engagement rings, and they just make the whole ring look very dull.

Has anyone seen anything that would work well? Any ideas? I''m desperate for advice, since I want to propose before the year is up, and I''m starting to run out of time given the lead times for a custom ring...

Thanks!

 

[Blue824]

OK, so her ering will probably be polished, but you want matching matte wedding bands, right?

So, looking at the one from engagement rings direct, 13b, below...what if she just did the reverse for her band? polished with the matte in the middle? I think that would look better next to a polished ering than matte with polished in the middle. I dont know if that gets to be too different for you guys though, just an option.

I had a cross over band, one part was polished, the other was brushed and I LOVED it, I''d take a picture but I lost it a couple years ago, too bad because it was beautiful, with small diamonds and a souvenir from a trip to Greece. Anyway, so I like combinations, they can be fun! I''m sorry I didnt have time to look for anything, maybe when I''m at work tomorrow, but maybe even the stores you''re considering buying from would be able to do that for you.

 

[Chinchy]

Reversing it is an option, although we wanted to keep with the same band. The reason for choosing the satin/brushed platinum as the main part of the band is:

1) It looks really nice, IMO
2) I''ve seen all my friends'' bands, and they get scuffed from resting on surfaces, etc, losing their polish. This being the case, a brushed platinum surface wouldn''t be as bad, since that is how it already looks. And since there is a center ridge that is recessed and polished, it will always remain polished and shiny.

Another option is something with milgrain.
I.e.:

Although it''s not quite the same effect, it would definitely be easier to have an engagement ring that were polished with either 1 center milgrain channel, or 2 rows of milgrain.

If not, I would just go with a custom e-ring that was identical to the band, but had a larger polished groove. I don''t exactly know how that would look as an e-ring though... Other options include some combination of either a satin platinum band or satin plat band with polished groove and a polished setting, so that the head stands out more.. Again, I''m not sure how that might look..

 

[JCJD]

I know she doesn''t want a satin ering, but here''s mine anyways... satin finish plat ering (local jeweler) and satin finish 2mm comfort-fit plat band from www.facets.com. His is from billbarnes.com. You can search for my name and find more pics of the ering.

 

[Chinchy]

Thanks JCJD! I will check Facets out to see if they have anything similar for an e-ring.

 

[Chinchy]

New update. After going into a store with my girlfriend to look at styles and seeing how e-rings would fit with bands, I will be doing something of the following.

Wedding band with hammered finish in the center, with 2 inset bands of milgrain, and then on the outer edges, polished bands. This way, when a polished plat e-ring is placed next to it, the polished portions will be compatible.

Something like:

or

The e-ring and the wedding band will both be custom made to better mate them in terms of thickness (~1.8 mm) and curvature of the shank, and the band will be squished from 6 mm to 4 mm, which I think will still be workable in order to get the details of the milgrain and the hammered finish. The beauty of having it custom made: mine will have a slightly flatter shank, because I like the flat look, while hers will have a slightly rounder flank, to match the e-ring''s shank.

The E-Ring will be a "simple" platinum ring. For now, it will be a slightly rounded shank, with a thin basket setting at medium to low height, four single prongs (not too thick), surprise diamonds on the side of the basket setting to cover the bottom gap. Where the shank meets the setting it will be solid, without the cathedral style gaps.

So here''s my question:
I''m looking at possibly having it made at one of the following vendors:

1) Whiteflash
2) Geoffrey''s Diamonds in San Carlos, CA
3) Topper Jewelers in Burlingame, CA

If possible, I''d prefer to have it done locally, since I can see the process, and if there are any problems, deal with it without having to pay insured shipping. Whiteflash has proven results with custom work. I''ve only seen a few mentions of people using Geoffrey''s and Topper, and yes I did a search.

Anyone have any update recommendations as to which vendor I should choose?

Thanks!