Settings: How do you decide on "the One"?

[jewelryjunkie]

My husband and I have just celebrated on 5 yr anniversary and we''re ready to upgrade my e-ring. I''m having the darndest time picking out a setting. There are so many beautiful ones to pick from. When we got engaged I was not involved in picking out my e-ring so now I want to find "the One". I''m beginning to think that there is no end-all-be-all ring out there and that my expectations are the problem.

I''m going to buy a 1ct RB stone online so with my budget I''ll have about $3,000 for the setting.

I think my biggest problem is deciding between a modern style, like the Etienne Perret halo solitaire, or an antique style with engraving like Tacori. I also really like two tone settings.

Please tell me your stories about how you picked the setting you did for your e-ring and why you adore it.

 

[aljdewey]

I had the same problem. Before I got engaged, I had very definite ideas of what I thought I'd want. However, as the reality of getting engaged became more likely, I found myself unsure what I really wanted.

I wore my diamond in a temporary setting for six months so I could ponder what it would look like in various settings. I tried an untold number of settings on.

Like you, I also liked a lot of the antique-y looking settings, but I don't really wear white metal, and they don't look right in yellow. I finally decided that I'd really prefer to get one of the antique-y settings with a nice cushing sapphire or something down the line as a right hand ring.

My point: Your e-ring doesn't have to be the only ring you'll ever have, so try to identify the things you like about various settings...the elements you keep gravitating to....and prioritize those. Think classic, not trendy....what will you be content wearing for a really long time?

I liked a 3-stone look, but I wanted it to look more "engagement" than "3-stone" so I went with smaller sides. I prefer 6-prong settings, and that's nearly impossible to find in 3-stone settings. I wanted heart-shaped prongs. I wanted platinum heads but 18K yellow shank. I wanted the basket area of the diamonds to be open so I could easily clean the pavilions of the diamonds.

These were things I found were priorities to me, so I had these all incorporated into a custom design. I'm thrilled with the end result.

 

[ame]

I went really plain with mine. I have all these gradiose (sp) ideas as to what I love and would want but when it comes down to it I end up back at plain. Im still debating getting the head and part of the ring itself hand engraved like a Tacori style but I have not yet decided. Not much has really grabbed me.

Just keep trying things on and see if there's one you just really love.

 

[lsmathis1]

From the begining of the process, I had an idea of what I wanted (style), but didn't have anything specific in mind. As I looked around, I found many things I liked...but I was never really found "it". What I'm trying to say is that although I thought many were great, no "one" really stuck out to me. On the first day we went looking, I quickly got an idea of what might work for me and had mentioned to my boyfriend what I was thinking. As we were both looking around the store, he pointed out a ring & band that he thought I'd like. At that moment, as the jeweler picked it out of the case and brought it to my finger...it was like slow motion...I looked at him and said "this is it". The store was fiiiilled with gorgeous rings, but this one really spoke to me.

We went back home - spent some more time looking around but I kept thinking about that ring. There are many styles that I like, but for the engagement ring, I really wanted it to be classic. I/We want to keep the same ring as my e-ring forever. Another important thing for me is that I wanted my band rest nicely next to my e-ring. Luckily, I did not compromise my e-ring to make this happen - they set perfectly together.

The ultimate choice I do not have pics to show yet because although he has it, I have not been proposed to yet. If you can visualize, it looks like this:
24 round melee eternity band, 4 prong in a platinum invisible setting. The wedding band will be identical - obviously without the prongs.

Getting back to why I chose a classic style...it happened to be my dream ring, but I also realized that I have other fingers to wear more decorative/trendy rings in the future. These rings are so special to me I don't want to replace or upgrade them. That's just what works for me personally. I think upgrading is great, but not for me. Classic will always work. Now, I'd have no problem adding a more antique or engraved or trendy ring to my right hand in the future!

I can only speak of my experience, but you just have to weight what's imporant to you: Comfort, style, timelessness etc. etc..

I wish you the best of luck in picking out your dream ring

 

[Gale]

Hi JJ,

I spent months agonoising over a setting both before and after I purchased the diamond. I don't really know what happened, but all of a sudden, something occurred to me and now, it's going to be a reality. The setting of something as special as a diamond is not a trivail thing. For me, this ring represents a milestone in my personal life - it is a rite of passage so to speak. I spent a LOT of time determining what the stone should be, but I spent far more time looking at settings and surfing the net for settings than I ever thought would be possible. In then end, it took looking at the sort of person I am and the things I do to determine the final setting. I am very active, and very hard on my hands. The other thing is that I am not very traditional, but am sentimental and spiritual. The diamond also has a thin girdle - I wanted to protect it as much as possible from any potential abuse I might mete out, yet I wanted the ring I am to wear on a daily basis to look like me. Hence the setting I arrived at. It more or less looks lik "yin-yang" with the diamond in the middle. I am VERY excited about it. It will be ready next week! I am sure there will be many that do not like the setting, but, I know I love it. It fits me very well at this point in my life, and will serve to remind me of the balance that is necessary to go forward in life.

 

[MelissaSue]

This is my setting. I don't have it yet.. but I hope to soon. I saw it in a magazine and thought it was the prettiest thing I ever saw.. so I was hoping to maybe find something similar to it... but all the "similar" rings i was shown just did not live up to this one, and when jewelers tried to show me other settings- they just looked awful to me. I knew that this one was the one when I went back to look at my favorite "similar" one and didn't like it all. I knew that my heart was truly set on this one.. Which is part of the reason why I had to wait so long, since it had to be ordered and all..But in the end it will all be worth it.
Melissa

 

[jewelryjunkie]

Thank you to every one who responded. You all have such great advice. I hope more people respond because each person has a different perspective and something good to say.

Aljdewey – I’ve been thinking of a right had sapphire ring too. Your e-ring sounds stunning. Have you posted pics of it on pricescope? For myself I’ve pretty much decided on a solitaire without sidestones, but I like your description of the platinum heads with 18k band. I also like the 6 prong look.

Ame – thanks for the encouragement. I hope you’re able to decide what you want to do with your ring. Engraving is so pretty on a ring, but I hear you, it is hard to decide when nothing really grabs you.

Ismathis1 – you made such a good point about making the e-ring simpler and wearing the trendier rings on the right hand. That piece of advice helped me a lot. I hope you post pics of your ring when it’s done. I’d love to see your dream ring. 24 round melee eternity band, 4 prong in a platinum invisible setting is something I want to see.

Gale – please, please! Post pics when you get your ring in. I love the idea that you had it custom designed with spiritual inspiration and it reflects where your are in your life. My favorite pieces of jewelry always represent something significant to me. A ying yang setting sounds especially cool. I know I’ve never seen anything like that.

Melissasue – I’m sooo happy for you that you’ve found “ the One”. I hope you post some hand pics when you get it. I love the curved wedding band especially.

 

[Daniela]

You have a really healthy budget for a setting, so my advice to you would be to either get something by a well-known designer, or a quality custom designer and craftsman. Pay attention to all the little details of the ring that make it look "finished". Tacori and the Etienne Perret designs are both good choices. Don't buy something from a mass manufacturer, because your odds of it being as well made aren't as good.

Between something like the Tacori line and the Halo by Etienne Perret, these are two VERY different styles from a wearability standpoint. The more little diamonds and things you have in a setting and the fact that it's prong set (the majority of Tacori's rings) make it a little less wearable compared to the Halo. You have the potential for more repairs with a ring like this if you hit it the wrong way. This doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it, but I think that I would baby a setting like this more than a bezel setting. The Halo is a bezel that you could probably wear doing just about anything without risking damaging your diamond. Sure, you'd probably have to get the platinum repolished regularly if you wear it too hard, but bezels are the hardiest setting.

When I was shopping for a wedding dress, people told me that I would see a dress and I would just KNOW that it was my dress. It didn't really happen that way for me. I saw a couple of dresses that I really loved, and I think that I could have been happy with either. So I just picked one. It was beautiful.

I think the same thing sometimes goes for the whole picking a setting thing. Once you've weighed all of the practical pros and cons between a number of settings that you like equally well, then you can't really make a bad decision. And then, there's always the possibility to change it again in several years if you get bored!

Daniela

 

[jewelryjunkie]

Thanks for your advice, Daniela. I'm not really interested in babying a setting. I don't plan on gardening in my ring but I don't want to worry about every ding that happens. I didn't really think about how all those little diamonds on a Tacori setting mean there's more to worry about.

I do like the Halo because a full bezel is the safest setting for a diamond and because I think it will make the diamond look a little larger. I've also been looking at the Ritani endless love ring because it makes the stone look bigger, but now I realize it has all those little diamonds on it too. The little diamonds make things so pretty.

I was the same as you with the wedding dress. I never found "the One" either. I found a couple I liked a lot and then made a dress to incorporate what I like about both. Even then I was never swept away with emotion like I wanted to be when I put on the dress. Probably because I was so tired of sewing on it by the time I got married.
But in the end its the marriage, not the wedding that counts.

 

[ame]

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On 9/1/2004 9:34:01 PM jewelryjunkie wrote:


Ame – thanks for the encouragement. I hope you’re able to decide what you want to do with your ring. Engraving is so pretty on a ring, but I hear you, it is hard to decide when nothing really grabs you.


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Thanks! I think you will get there.

I hope someone has a more ornate head. I want it remounted as a Mark Morell style...where the prongs are set up differently, we'll see.

 

[lsmathis1]

Thanks JewelryJunkie! Glad to offer our story.
I can't wait to be able to show pics of it - I know it's going to be perfect (for me). Best of luck on your setting journey!