Custom flush-set soiltiare palladium e-ring

Hi Guys,

Everything I know about diamonds came from perusing Pricescope over the last several months, and finally there's something I can contribute to this great community.

I successfully proposed to Meghan last week at her family's reunion in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Took her out to a lighthouse and popped the question on the same promontory where her Dad used to fish when he was a boy.  We hiked back to the hotel and celebrated with her immediate and extended family all around.  It felt completely right.

Meg's design sense is sparse, simple, and strong.  Think architect.  Think IKEA.  Her ring needs to be bomb-proof and low-riding so that she can wear it all the time. Her favorite ring is a plain silver band, 15 mm wide, that she wears on her middle finger.  I used that as the inspiration for this design.  She had wanted just one ring (is that a continental thing?) but I wanted to propose with an e-ring and still have a wedding band to add in the ceremony.  So I came up with the idea of a wide e-ring that sits perfectly flush with a wedding band, with a solitaire centered over the whole shebang.

I worked with Patrick King at Jewelsmith in Durham, NC to make a sketch.  I told him that for my girl, the first consideration is that it should be 15% feminine, and the second consideration is that it should be 85% BOSS.   

This sketch became a CAD drawing, which was used to CNC-mill a wax rendering.  We cast it in palladium, since this kind of ring would be way-heavy in platinum.  Their goldsmith did a fantastic job of burnish-setting the diamond so that its table sits 1 mm over the pillow of metal, and its tip just 2 mm over her finger.  To me it looks more elegant than a bezel, and it seems to make the diamond appear a bit bigger than it would in a prong setting.   The stone is .83 carat, G color, VS2 clarity, with an "Ideal" cut and VG polish and symmetry.  It's from the Ekati mine in Canada and has an indented natural on the girdle. 

So here's the hand-shot, minutes after the proposal.  Sorry no pics yet with the wedding band, but you can get a sense of it from the sketch.  Thanks again to everybody here for information and ideas.  Please let me know what you think!

-Rusty

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There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have a clear conscience or none at all. Ogden Nash

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***MARRIED*** and a Mrs.!!!!

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they are expecting gold."

“Gra Dilseacht Cairdeas”~Love, Loyalty, Friendship

~Elrohwen

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If you judge people, you have no time to love them ~Mother Teresa

______________________________ Well all I really wanna do is love you A kind much closer than friends use But I still can't say it after all we've been through And all I really want from you is to feel me As the feeling inside keeps building And I will find a way to you if it kills me If it kills me

"If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!"

~Elrohwen

~~~Thanks to PS, my wants far exceed my budget!~~~

"I like smiling. Smiling's my favorite!" Will Ferrell ~ Elf

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Engaged September 26th, 2009!

legra