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2 ct ideal round... halo or not?!

Cinna

Cinna

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 19, 2010
Messages
293
I have a J colored 2 ct ideal cut round that I think I want to halo it... but it would have to be very delicate. I have a size 4.5-5 finger.

Do you find that a J color looks too warm with the halo melee? Will it make my centerstone look smaller? I really want the finger coverage of the halo but don't want it to take away from the centerstone. Since this is my permanent engagement ring, I don't want DSS like before and I don't want to change the setting later on if I get tired of the halo.
Will pave on the shank/ diamond band without the halo still look classic and not draw attention away from the centerstone? Or maybe a halo without the diamonds on the shank/ band will draw more attention to the centerstone?

I have literally viewed on EVERY single thread and pictures on the subject of halos and 2 ct+ so many times and just can't make a clear decision as opinions vary so much!

Any help is greatly appreciated because I am going to drive myself CRAZY after a whole week of nonstop thinking what I should do!!!
 
I toyed w haloing my 1.68 OEC, which is a Q/R. I really like the contrast between a warmer centre stone and the brighter/whiter halo - but that's just me. I have J studs from BGD and I wear them w my IDJ FG jackets - and I don't notice much contrast between the 2. Its there and in certain angles, you can pick it up - but those are earrings that you have to 'make an effort' to look at. For a ring, you'd have to be someone comfortable with any contrast, to go for the halo.

Definitely a halo will give you a lot of bang for your buck, but perhaps using smaller melee would just give it the ooomph you are looking for without over powering.

With a 2ct stone - you are already drawing attention to it - it will not go unnoticed if you halo it or leave it as a solitaire! You are lucky to have such a BIG stone!!! :appl: :love: :bigsmile: :love: :appl:
 
I saw a J in a halo when I visited DBL. To me, there is a pronounced difference with the J center and the G/H melee (it was daytime with natural window lighting). I also find that pictures are not all that representative of color in real life because when I saw the ring on their website pictures, there was no contrast. I would recommend seeing it in person before you decide.

A delicate halo will not take away from the center stone, especially at 2 carats!
 
I feel lucky too!! Thanks enerchi!

I was told that the face up was very white and any tint would be seen from the sides... so I figured if I covered up the sides it would cover the tint! I think the contrast would bother me though :(

For the most part, I see either solitaires or halos for the ring instead of pave diamond band for 2+ carats. I'm wondering if it's because it takes away from the centerstone and makes it look smaller? I want classic elegance but with bling. :D

Smaller melee like .01? if that's even possible?
 
alma123|1367799519|3440957 said:
I saw a J in a halo when I visited DBL. To me, there is a pronounced difference with the J center and the G/H melee (it was daytime with natural window lighting). I also find that pictures are not all that representative of color in real life because when I saw the ring on their website pictures, there was no contrast. I would recommend seeing it in person before you decide.
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Hmm!! That would certainly be an issue for me. I guess haloing may not be the best idea then. I bought the diamond online from a PS vendor but haven't yet decided on the setting.

Do you think that having a solitaire with no halo but diamonds on the band will also show contrast?
 
Do you think that having a solitaire with no halo but diamonds on the band will also show contrast?
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Yes - it will.

Would you consider a plain simple solitaire for now and then wear the J to see if *you* notice colour??? That would give you time to decide what you like and when you make that decision, use that setting for a lovely coloured stone ring in the future....
 
I would think the person making your halo would take your color in consideration and make it look perfect. (I was concerned with my I color along with platinum)

I also agree a smaller halo would add to your diamond without all of it blending in. Even larger diamonds still blend with the wrong halo.

I am a big fan of halo's with plain shanks along with a diamond wedding band.

Do you have a picture of your ring to share?
 
Hi, cinna,
I personally would let your 2 carat (!!) stone do all the talking for me. I think a halo might take away from it. You can always get a diamond band and mix it up with a plain band as well. I would probably set a large stone in a beautiful solitaire basket prong setting if you are concerned about tint from the side..can't wait to see it :twirl:
 
No irl pictures since I've bought it virtually (they've inspected and shown me pictures like under idealscope etc) and haven't seen the stone in person. But I've bought from the PS vendor multiple times before so trust them fully.

I can't decide! :errrr:

enerchi: I considered that but was told just to get whatever I want within reason and a plain solitaire I'm not sure would be the happiest with. You mentioned that it would still contrast with diamonds on the band as well as halo but would it be less or of the same contast do you think?
 
IMO - contrast is contrast - be it immediately adjacent, or not. I sense you are more colour sensitive to the contrast so if you did go halo, you could request the halo be made in GH melee instead of FG... worth considering. BUT -- the smaller the stone, the more likely it will still show "whiter" than the larger J that you own. If you have purchased this from a PS vendor, do you think you could get them to do a mock up of your stone in the midst of FG stones and then also GH stones, so you can see for yourself? Are you able to go to their offices and see options in person?

If you are trying to minimize the colour that you may see from the side, a solitaire is not going to hide the sides, so if you want to wear it with a blingy "stock" wedding band, it would still have some contrast, for sure. But you could order a custom wedding band in H/I/J that would blend perfectly!! Clever, huh?? :praise:

I went back and forth on this issue as well, when I was setting my stone, and I decided on a setting that had FG diamonds on the band.... but I still lust after a halo... ;))
 
Just to clarify! I meant band as in on the engagement ring sides/ so on the shank. I didn't word it so well!! Not the wedding band :) Want to clear that up. Wedding band will be plain.

They're too far away and to go in person... I would be better off financially just paying shipping back and forth multiple times :) Thanks for all the advice! I just want the extra finger coverage so much because I wanted a bigger centerstone which was out of the budget but want nothing to take away from the beauty of the centerstone... I keep asking for a lot!!
 
Cinna|1367802149|3440985 said:
Just to clarify! I meant band as in on the engagement ring sides/ so on the shank. I didn't word it so well!! Not the wedding band :) Want to clear that up. Wedding band will be plain.

They're too far away and to go in person... I would be better off financially just paying shipping back and forth multiple times :) Thanks for all the advice! I just want the extra finger coverage so much because I wanted a bigger centerstone which was out of the budget but want nothing to take away from the beauty of the centerstone... I keep asking for a lot!!
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:lol: :lol: - WE all do!!! Not to worry!!

Do you have your stone or do they? If its still w the vendor, maybe they could place melee stones around it in both colour combo's (FG & GH) and send you pics?? Its not perfect but it could give you an idea if the contrast really would bother you. Probably a mall store is not going to have the exact combo you are building, but is that worth a field trip to just check out a few local stores and see if it bothers you IRL? or maybe one that may have semi mounts on site to check out contrast?


For sizing, this is a ring that I had the pleasure of trying on when I was in NYC last November - it was HUGE!!! on my size 8 finger (well, it never actually made it DOWN THE FINGER, but it sure had a kick a$$ presence!!) and it is shown w small melee used in the halo. I'm sorry, I have no idea what that size actually is, so can't help there.

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/jewelry/crafted-by-infinity-round-brilliant-diamond-200ct-mvs2-agsl-pink-diamond-halo-ring-r4578


and here it is on my finger....

img_902.jpg
 
If finger coverage is something your concerned about have you considered a three stone. it provides so much finger coverage, probably 100% sense your center is so large and your fingers are so small. Also it doesn't say "look at me and my diamond" as much as a halo does. A three stone says "why yes, i do have loads of lovely bling on my finger" :lol:


If you really want a halo though, i say go for it but make sure its as small as you can get, VC or SK type halo. large melee makes it seem like you're guiding the lilly, a small dainty halo makes it seem like you're framing your lovely stone.
 
I'm a horrible communicator, I mean finger coverage just to make the center stone look larger :)

boy oh boy.... I am just horrible to please aren't I! :P
 
Cinna|1367807228|3441045 said:
I'm a horrible communicator, I mean finger coverage just to make the center stone look larger :)

boy oh boy.... I am just horrible to please aren't I! :P
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If you want a halo go for it! Sarahbears 2ct halo looked beautiful! Her 6 or whatever ct halo looks stunning!! Done right its great no matter the size. I just think st higher ct there is more possibility for it to turn gaudy, which is why I think you need the most delicate halo you can find :D

I've seen people use single cuts or rose gold/yellow gold to reduce the contrast.
 
This is such a personal decision and much of it has to do with how color sensitive you are.

My two cents. A J is not yellow to be alone but when placed beside G melees in a halo - the difference becomes evident. A pave non-cathedral shank does not contrast to me as much. Personally, I would set a J diamond in a H/I/J halo if I was to go that route. I also really love the idea of the rose gold halo Enerichi posted. I am debating if I like the rose gold showing between the halo and diamond - I think I like it but it will need to be even for me.

On to halo or no halo. I much prefer my non-halo ring as my e-ring. However, a halo really does look a lot bigger from a far. I have friends with massive halos and their rings always look so big even though the center stone is under 1ct.
 
thanks everyone!

Question: Wouldn't the yellow gold make the stone look more warmer as it would reflect the yellow versus the contrast to platinum?

Do you find that the centerstone looks bigger with diamonds in the shank or no diamonds in the shank?

From a lot of pictures it seems that diamonds in the shank makes the band look more thin (not sure why...) therefore the centerstone looked bigger and with solitaires the plain band looks thicker even if the same mm width.
 
I find yellow gold or rose gold makes the color more attractive. Its not not competing with the whiteness of the metal, it just all has a warmer hue.

http://www.stevenkirsch.com/engagement/halo/r0112.html

And as for plain shanks, I do think they make the stone look bigger because it from a glance gives the impression of a solitaire.
 
I've seen it :D so many times! Which is why I wanted a halo but in the end it looks like budget wise it's going to be my reset like I thought but was hoping I could squeeze a little bit more money right now instead of resetting in case somehow life changes for the worse financially!
 
If paying hand forged prices is out of the cards I'd go ERD, and I'd go plain shank. They make delicate halos even when they are cast, and nice and budget friendly.
 
I think if it's a delicate halo, it will be fine. Although a 2 carat certainly doesn't need one!
 
Cinna|1367853125|3441259 said:
I've seen it :D so many times! Which is why I wanted a halo but in the end it looks like budget wise it's going to be my reset like I thought but was hoping I could squeeze a little bit more money right now instead of resetting in case somehow life changes for the worse financially!
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I have a 2.5ct I-color in a very delicate halo and I love it. I never thought I'd be a halo girl but the extra size it gave me made me realize I was always a halo girl at heart. If you don't want DSS, then get a halo. I've only had DSS once and that's when I was in Vegas and everyone was wearing freaking boulders. Otherwise I've been great.
 
Hi Cinna! Congratulations on your engagement!! :appl:

I just wanted to chime in since I have a J colored stone with a delicate halo (G/H melee). I can honestly say that the halo makes my stone look "whiter" than if it were in a solitaire, and I don't notice a difference in the color of melee vs. solitaire. It really adds a lot to the finger coverage too! :naughty: Of course any melee will appear "brighter" when placed by a larger stone (even with stones in the D-E-F range)... Maybe it's because the facets are so much smaller?

Like others have mentioned, I could see some tint when it was in the six prong tiffany repro setting. I think the halo works because it can never truly be viewed from the side - not the whole body of the stone anyway - only the girdle is set up higher than the halo. If you are worried about it, maybe you can have them order it with H/I or even I/J melee (who knows, it may be less expensive this way)? ;))

This a link of my ring, if you'd like a visual. The top photo was taken outside, bottom left was taken at work (with the absolute worst lighting - this is as "yellow" as it ever looks), and the bottom right photo was taken in my home in low light to show the halo and profile of the ring. You can also see how high the diamond sits above the halo. Hope this helps!! :wavey:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lets-show-off-our-2-3-carat-center-stones-here.31514/page-18#post-3424784#p3424784']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lets-show-off-our-2-3-carat-center-stones-here.31514/page-18#post-3424784#p3424784[/URL]
 
I recently posted in SMTB my wife's upgraded solataire to halo, MomHappy has same ring, different size center stone.
 
ooooh!!! msop!! NIIIIIIIIIICE!!!!! :love: :appl: :love:
 
Enerchi|1367862291|3441350 said:
ooooh!!! msop!! NIIIIIIIIIICE!!!!! :love: :appl: :love:
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WOW! Thanks Enerchi!! That means a lot coming from a *veteran PSer*!! =)
 
Beautiful rings!!

Everyone makes such great points which is a great thing... now I'm back on the idea of the halo! The love of my life is at least glad I won't ask him 24/7 and asking other people now to help with the decision. All the vendors I talked to are saying absolutely no worries about contrast in a halo since the side view is sort of obstructed and it faces super white up... :lickout: That put me over the edge especially when the vendors are saying there shouldn't be a contrast in halo with my diamond and the melee.

I'm driving everyone bonkers over here going back and forth all day... I'm now looking up all ERD CAD halos as I was told the difference in hand forging a round versus CAD would be minimal for the round halo I'm looking for. ERD's the only one that's within budget by a mile and they talked about reasonable ways to stay within a reasonable price for me which is pretty amazing. So halo idea is back on the choices!

World's most indecisive person? Right here! I've always been a non halo person with simple clean settings but... now I seriously want the biggest stone possible... while still having it elegant! So as delicate of a halo as possible is my first option and solitaire with diamonds on the band second option!
 
Oh great. Isn't ERD amazing! Had you decided about diamonds in the shank or not?
 
I'm definitely okay without it if it makes the diamond look bigger and costs less... but the love of my life doesn't think the halo looks complete without them so I guess it will come down to aesthetics and price once a final decision is made! I really hope the vendors are correct in saying that it actually would hide any tint from the side more and won't be contrasting if I go this route.

:wavey: hello halo?! :)

I have to wait until he gets home to discuss it with him and show him pictures of ERD halos because he's very picky with the halo complementing the stone and being well executed and not making the centerstone look smaller. But VC and SK are out of the picture with their quotes and I don't see much of a difference from ERD's halos from the hand forged ones... but it's hard as I'm not seeing anything in person.
 
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