Resetting my cushion into a 3-stone. What color prongs?

[KristyDarling]

Hi guys! I'm so torn and could use a little crowd-sourced feedback. I'm taking my antique cut I-color cushion out of its halo and re-setting it into a 3-stone ring. I'm very fortunate to be working with Caysie on this project. Mark Turnowski of Brilliantly Engaged accomplished the nearly impossible and sourced a matched pair of utterly gorgeous, true antique H-color cushions in the exact dimensions I wanted.

The setting will likely be a customized version of Caysie's "Maria" (I adore the swoopy Victorian prongs!), and while I'm 100% sure about wanting 18k yellow gold for the shank, I'm not so sure about the prongs. Should the prongs be in yellow or white gold??

I love the richness of yellow gold and Caysie thinks YG would make my stone "pop," but I also love the two-tone look and think that WG prongs would be such a clean look. What to do?! My stone is an I color (GIA cert) and my ring size is 4.5, so the 3 stones together will completely span the top of my finger. I will wear this ring with my 18k yellow gold plain wedding band (1.8mm wide) or a thin diamond eternity band in platinum.



And for reference, here's a picture of my stone with a 14k YG band from a few years back (when my finger size was 3.75):



Thoughts? Feelings? Thank you in advance!

 

[lovedogs]

omg I am completely obsessed with this project and can't wait to see it completed! It's going to be beautiful! I think white gold will be great and keep the overall look. But if you'd prefer yellow I think it will look nice as well. Essentially you can't go wrong with either because it's just so lovely.

 

[crystalinmke]

Not exactly the same of course because of the shape of the stones, but a user on here recently got a similar styled setting with an all yellow gold setting and i love the look of it. there is just something very romantic about the yellow prongs to me, and it would look great with I and H colored diamonds imo.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/three-stone-oec-ring-victorian-replica-owd-dk.248179/ this is the ring, i adore it!

 

[Rfisher]

Holy Schnike!
The choices you've already made have guaranteed this to be a home run, no matter what color prongs you do, IMO.
The stones themselves are outrageously gorgeous, the proportions are lovely too. What a find on the sides!
CVB's Maria is a stunning ring, too.
It's similar to what I have, although my stones are nowhere near white as yours. I think all 18k yellow would be divine, but you really can't go wrong with white/plat either.
I'm super excited to see your ring pan out!

 

[bludiva]

Two tone perhaps unplated white gold if you want them to blend in, platinum if you want them to stand out more so either way you don't have to worry about replating in the future.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Great minds babe.... my version of Caysie’s Maria will have a yg antiqued and engraved shank and bridge with white gold baskets. In my case I chose white metal for the baskets bc I wanted to increase the contrast with the antiqued and engraved yg shank, and also add another textural element with high polish white metal. My diamonds are also KL color, and I want them to look more steely and less yellow, and I think white metal will help w that.

 

[the_mother_thing]

My K MRB (av photo) is set in unplated 18K WG, and I find the diamond looks really white/bright against that ever-so-slight “whellow” backdrop of metal. I see the same effect of my J/K colored diamonds in a WG setting that the plating has worn off from ... they just sort of pop out/off the metal. I have a tough time getting pics to show it, though. But that gets my vote: 18K unplated (not mixed with palladium either!) WG w/the 18K YG shank.

ETA: I just found a video I’d taken that kind of shows what I’m talking about. Granted, they’re modern cuts vs antique cuts, but you’ll get the idea, I think. The soli is 18K; 3-stone is 14K. I think this was taken in evening sun, so the 18K looks more yellow than ‘whellow’ as a result.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Yellow gold prongs can really pop on a diamond but for me personally, I prefer white gold/platinum prongs. I think they blend into the stone better and I want the focus on the stone - not the prongs. We have certainly seen them both ways here and they both look fabulous - it really is just a matter of personal preference IMO. Should be a gorgeous ring either way!

 

[missy]

Ooh what an exciting project and it's going to be spectacular. I prefer white prongs due to the exact reason @MissGotRocks shared. The focus will be on the stone and not the prongs. But you cannot go wrong as the ring will be gorgeous with either choice. Just a matter of what you prefer. It's going to be STUNNING and I am so excited for you @KristyDarling

 

[farrahlyn]

gorgeoussss! i love yellow gold and usually would be all for YG prongs.. but to me your stone screams WG. i think its just such a beautiful shape, maybe YG would take away from it...

 

[KristyDarling]

omg I am completely obsessed with this project and can't wait to see it completed! It's going to be beautiful! I think white gold will be great and keep the overall look. But if you'd prefer yellow I think it will look nice as well. Essentially you can't go wrong with either because it's just so lovely.

Thanks, lovedogs! "Obsessed" is a great way to describe how I've been feeling about this project lately!

Not exactly the same of course because of the shape of the stones, but a user on here recently got a similar styled setting with an all yellow gold setting and i love the look of it. there is just something very romantic about the yellow prongs to me, and it would look great with I and H colored diamonds imo.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/three-stone-oec-ring-victorian-replica-owd-dk.248179/ this is the ring, i adore it!

Hi Crystalinmke! I love Rfisher's ring! Her ring was one of the reasons why the YG option called to me! I totally agree about the romance of yellow gold.

Holy Schnike!
The choices you've already made have guaranteed this to be a home run, no matter what color prongs you do, IMO.
The stones themselves are outrageously gorgeous, the proportions are lovely too. What a find on the sides!
CVB's Maria is a stunning ring, too.
It's similar to what I have, although my stones are nowhere near white as yours. I think all 18k yellow would be divine, but you really can't go wrong with white/plat either.
I'm super excited to see your ring pan out!

It's Rfisher herself!! I pounced on your beautiful ring the moment I saw it! It's so feminine, classy, and romantic and it's the round equivalent of what mine would look like. Your stones look so, so white against the YG of your setting!

Two tone perhaps unplated white gold if you want them to blend in, platinum if you want them to stand out more so either way you don't have to worry about replating in the future.

Thanks, bludiva! Good point about unplated WG blending in well with H/I stones.

 

[KristyDarling]

Great minds babe.... my version of Caysie’s Maria will have a yg antiqued and engraved shank and bridge with white gold baskets. In my case I chose white metal for the baskets bc I wanted to increase the contrast with the antiqued and engraved yg shank, and also add another textural element with high polish white metal. My diamonds are also KL color, and I want them to look more steely and less yellow, and I think white metal will help w that.

Hey, Dreamer! Umm, your ring sounds freaking gorgeous!! I can't wait to see it!! Especially the antiqued/engraved shank. Caysie does the antiqued effect so well.

My K MRB (av photo) is set in unplated 18K WG, and I find the diamond looks really white/bright against that ever-so-slight “whellow” backdrop of metal. I see the same effect of my J/K colored diamonds in a WG setting that the plating has worn off from ... they just sort of pop out/off the metal. I have a tough time getting pics to show it, though. But that gets my vote: 18K unplated (not mixed with palladium either!) WG w/the 18K YG shank.

ETA: I just found a video I’d taken that kind of shows what I’m talking about. Granted, they’re modern cuts vs antique cuts, but you’ll get the idea, I think. The soli is 18K; 3-stone is 14K. I think this was taken in evening sun, so the 18K looks more yellow than ‘whellow’ as a result.

The_mother_thing -- wow, thanks so much for the video! Your rings are stunning! And super helpful for me to see the video because the J/K color of your stones is very close to the color of mine. I agree that the particular creamy-white shade of your rings' metal really causes the stones to POP!

Yellow gold prongs can really pop on a diamond but for me personally, I prefer white gold/platinum prongs. I think they blend into the stone better and I want the focus on the stone - not the prongs. We have certainly seen them both ways here and they both look fabulous - it really is just a matter of personal preference IMO. Should be a gorgeous ring either way!

Hi, MGR! Good point about white metals and blending. That's a fundamental question for me -- do I want it to be about the stones? Or the overall look including the prongs? My answer is BOTH, hence my dilemma!

Ooh what an exciting project and it's going to be spectacular. I prefer white prongs due to the exact reason @MissGotRocks shared. The focus will be on the stone and not the prongs. But you cannot go wrong as the ring will be gorgeous with either choice. Just a matter of what you prefer. It's going to be STUNNING and I am so excited for you @KristyDarling

Thanks, Missy! It's so nice to be able to share my excitement with fellow bling lovers here as I don't have any bling-loving friends in real life!

 

[KristyDarling]

gorgeoussss! i love yellow gold and usually would be all for YG prongs.. but to me your stone screams WG. i think its just such a beautiful shape, maybe YG would take away from it...

Hi, Farrahlyn! This is so helpful to hear. I think you may be right re: YG. Thank you!!

 

[KristyDarling]

I really appreciate all the replies, everyone!! I was surprised that the poll revealed that a whopping 85% preferred WG for the prongs....I thought it would be more like 50%, haha.

So after thinking on it, reading your responses here, and talking with Caysie, I've decided to go with PLATINUM! It's strong and according to Caysie it also bonds really well to 18K YG, plus I've decided that I do really want it to be all about the stones. And it will allow me to finally have the two-tone ring I've always wanted!

Thanks so much, all! With so much wisdom and great taste here, I knew you wouldn't steer me wrong!

 

[Rfisher]

@KristyDarling
@crystalinmke
Thank you both for the kind words on my ring - I'm beaming.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I love two tone bc it means you can easily mix metals with your other jewelry.

 

[lambskin]

Great decision. Can never go wrong with plat.

 

[meely]

This is going to look fabulous kristydarling, your cushion is perfection, your side stones are divine! The proportions between the two are going to look amazing.
But, I have to confess to being a little sad for your old ring. I honestly cannot think of an engagement ring that I have loved more on ps!
Looking forward to the new incarnation of your stone however, I've got a feeling it's gonna be good!

 

[KristyDarling]

This is going to look fabulous kristydarling, your cushion is perfection, your side stones are divine! The proportions between the two are going to look amazing.
But, I have to confess to being a little sad for your old ring. I honestly cannot think of an engagement ring that I have loved more on ps!
Looking forward to the new incarnation of your stone however, I've got a feeling it's gonna be good!

Aw, thanks - you're so sweet! I'm feeling pretty wistful myself.

 

[Dandi]

I love love love the two tone look, so white gold all the way for me!

 

[yssie]

Once a three-stone girl, always a three-stone girl @KristyDarling!!

I can’t wait to see this project come to life, it sounds absolutely fabulous!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

@KristyDarling I think I spied something on IG and I basically died!!!

 

[the_mother_thing]

@KristyDarling I think I spied something on IG and I basically died!!!

For realz! I just went and looked and hoooooly smokes ... if that is @KristyDarling ‘s ring, it is amazeballs!

 

[KristyDarling]

@KristyDarling I think I spied something on IG and I basically died!!!

For realz! I just went and looked and hoooooly smokes ... if that is @KristyDarling ‘s ring, it is amazeballs!

Yes, it's mine! And wow, good eye, ladies!! It'll probably arrive Wednesday....will be the longest 48 hours of my life!!! I'm going to be useless at work

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yes, it's mine! And wow, good eye, ladies!! It'll probably arrive Wednesday....will be the longest 48 hours of my life!!! I'm going to be useless at work

I mean, it's not like there are a million rings like that trotting around! I am so excited for you. This ring is going to be amazeballs.

 

[joelly]

Omgosh what a perfection How big is that center stone?

 

[KristyDarling]

I mean, it's not like there are a million rings like that trotting around! I am so excited for you. This ring is going to be amazeballs.

Thanks, Dreamer! Caysie's photo doesn't show the uber-chunky faceting and Maltese crosses that are present in all 3 stones, nor does it show the side profile, so this photo is such a teaser! I'm dying to see the full effect with the swoopy prongs!

And I think you're right about the rarity. When I was researching this re-set, it was so hard to find sample images of antique cushion 3-stones. But I soon found out why they're so rare...matching antique cushion side stones are crazy hard to find!!!

I can't wait for YOUR 3-stone!! When will it be done????

 

[KristyDarling]

Omgosh what a perfection How big is that center stone?

Hi Joelly! It's 3.14 carats and was sourced by Mark Turnowski in 2011. He also sourced the side stones for me earlier this year (true antiques) - they are .88ct each.

 

[joelly]

Hi Joelly! It's 3.14 carats and was sourced by Mark Turnowski in 2011. He also sourced the side stones for me earlier this year (true antiques) - they are .88ct each.

Your ring is amazing!!!!!

 

[joelly]

Is this the one?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzHANwpnSw-/?igshid=1itjw0c3adw0l