I''ve fallen in love...Darnnit!!!

[jennyt]

Hi everyone,

You were all so helpful when I had questions about a few diamonds in particular...I was originally planning on a nice 1-1.2 carat stone and classic solitaire setting and wanted to keep it between $3500-$5000. I found some nice stones, but (alas!) I totally fell in love with the Vatche half band pave setting. Which is 1600 on superbcert...yikes! So, I am now contemplating down sizing the diamond to around .7-.8. What do you think? Will this look small? I def. don''t need a diamond where people say, "wow! look at the size of that rock!", but I don''t want something tiny looking either. The bad news is that I''m tall and have long fingers (although fairly slender), so it''s not like I have petite hands that will make a small diamond look larger. I just LOVE the sparkle of the pave and feel it might provide a more unique look. So...how many of you would sacrifice size for design? Will I regret this later? What about going even smaller and saving some money? At what carat size does a diamond begin looking "small"?

Thanks!

Jennyt

 

[sciencegeek]

I say go with your gut. If you''re in love with pave, nothing will ever look as nice to you. I don''t think a .8 is too small, especially on slender fingers, but size really is a matter of preference. There are some that wouldn''t ever get anything larger than .8 and some that think 1.5 is too small. As many people here on PS will tell you, you can always upgrade the stone later

 

[ForteKitty]

What size ring do you wear? How wide is the setting? If it''s more than 3mm wide it may make a .7-.8ct diamond appear smaller.

 

[Patty]

I love the Vatche half pave setting! To me, it looks like it''s probably only about 2 1/2mms wide.

I love how the prongs are on this ring...4 full prongs and two little ones.

I say go with your gut.

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

Hi There,

I think I read on www.niceice.com that the Vatche pave is 2mm wide. I believe that the width of the band will help your diamond not look as small. However, I don''t think that .8 is small. I think that there are plenty of people who would be very happy with that. As for sacrificing size for the setting. I did it! I fell in love with 2 Michael B bands. If I chose the 1 sided pave, I could have gotten a 2 carat SI1 H stone. However, when I saw the three-sided pave Michael B, I feel in love instantly. Because it was more expensive, I lowered my stone to a 1.7 SI1 H. But alas, in the right light, I could see the reflections of the inclusions... sooo i sacrificed a couple hundreths of a mm and went with a 1.5 H VS2.

So.. IMO, the beauty of the ring is far more than the center stone, which is why I sacrificed size for the beauty of the setting. If you LOVE the setting. I don''t think that you''ll miss 1mm or whatever the difference is! Plus if it is a great cut diamond. The sparkle alone will just make it stunning.

Hope this helps.

 

[reena]

i''m a "whole package" person so i agree--if you''re in love with the pave, go for it. however, that''s a pretty straightforward design--have you thought about seeing if you could have it made custom for less $$? then you can stick closer to the diamond size you originally wanted?

 

[laney]

Hi -

i tried on that setting in person - and I too agree that with a .8 center stone it will look nice and balanced since the band is pretty slim.

however, the pave on that vatche was a bit rough on the hands. Go try it on if you can, before you order it. I tried on the FULL pave - so the half actually may be just fine. Also look at www.pearlmansjewelers.com they have some too that could be made into a 1/2 pave - and may be less money (check the pearlmans designer section). Just a hint - not sure though.

I think if you keep your band slim and dainty - the lower size centerstone will still have the affect you want.

The "whole ring" is what you''ll wear so I do think a compromise is fine!

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

This is just a reply for the scratchy feeling of the ring. I am getting a three-sided pave ring and it has pave on all sides of the diamond and it goes all around the band. Yes. The ring is a little scratchy compared to smooth gold or platinum; however, I wore the ring for 1 day (as a loaner) and found that I got used to it. The only thing that I am going to have to get used to when I get it is the weight of the ring. Compared to my previous .17c ring, this 3.0ctw ring is really heavy. Not that I am complaining. LOL!

 

[jennyt]

Thanks everyone for the tips! You''ve given me some great things to think about. I think I''m going to go and try on some different pave settings with different size diamonds to see what works. It may be that a .75-.8 might be just fine. I like how with a lot of the online vendors you can upgrade your stone and get 75% of the price...that''s very enticing. I''ll keep you posted!