Eternity rings: types of settings?

[musey]

This is my first time venturing into rockytalky. Be gentle

I've been shopping around for eternity rings, and I've found that I have two questions (one of them's a two-parter).

1. Is there an informational site somewhere that lists all the different types of settings (shared-prong, U, bead-set, channel, and all the other bunches that I don't know about)? Secondly, what, in your opinion (if you have it) is the most comfortable setting type for an eternity ring? My problem is that while I love the look, I much prefer the feel of smooth, plain bands.

2. If I have a 1.8mm e-ring, and want an eternity band no wider than 2mm to wear with it... what are my options/limitations for settings (ie are there setting types that can't be used effectively for smaller than XXX carat weight)?


Thank you for any advice you can dole out!!

P.S. Should I have put this in "jewelry pieces," instead? If so, admin, please feel free to move it and sorry about that!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

If you love the smoothness of a plain band, I would recommend channel set then. I have a channel set eternity that is a half carat total weight. Mine is 2 mm thick:

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I wanted to add that mine is very comfortable, I don''t even know that it is there. I really do like the channel set eternity bands because I just feel that the stones are more protected from being banged around. For visualization purpose, my three stone is 1.05 CTW ( .51 center with .27 on each side).

 

[surfgirl]

musey, IIRC (because you changed your avatar! bad girl!!) you have an asscher with small rounds on the sides, yes? If so, you can go with a channel set round or square emeralds (Tiffany's has a nice one), or even French cuts, all channel set, if comfort is the main issue. You may be able to do a half/third prong set band, with small stones only across the top of the finger for better comfort. But I love the full eternity band look. It's pretty easy to find 2mm channel set bands but if you want thinner than that, look in estate shops for old bands, some of which are thinner than 2mm. Good luck! I would love to see a square cut band with your ring, or a round. What about single cuts???

 

[Gothgrrl]

Ditto what Diamond Dana said about channel. It would be far safer then prong set. I personally like the prong set for half eternity. But if I were to get full eternity, I would want channel set. I''m much too hard on my rings to wear a full eternity that is set with prongs.

 

[musey]

Surfgirl, I think I'm going to take your advice and go check out antique shops, at least for design ideas (if nothing else). That was actually my original motivation for asking for different setting types... I tried one on in an antique shop that I LOVED, but was set completely unlike the other eternity rings I've seen (would've sprung for it except it was an 8--two sizes too big!

). Of course stupid me didn't take a picture. Maybe I'll try to photoshop something similar?

Diamond*Diana, I love the look of your channel-set ring! It's just beautiful. I don't think that channel-set would go with my ering, unfortunately

Maybe it's just me but I've always thought of it as a very modern look, while my ering is antiquey. I attached a pic so you all can visualize better

(that's w/ a plain 3mm band I tried--too wide in the end)

Thank you so much for your help

 

[Tacori E-ring]

My wedding band is a 2.5 mm channel set e-band with princess cut diamonds. It feels as smooth as a plain band. Very comfortable and the edges (which are very thin) are milgrained which give it an antique feel.

 

[Kaleigh]

I think the Tiffany legacy eternity band would look great with your gorgeous e-ring musey. It would compliment your setting nicely. I have one, and love it.

 

[snlee]

I love the shared prong eternity band look! My 3 pointer eternity band is about 2.3mm wide. I'm pretty sure you could find a band with 2-3 pointers that would be around 2mm. I feel the same way as you. I prefer the feel of smooth plain bands. But honestly, after wearing the eternity band for a little while, I don't even notice it. It's very comfortable!

 

[musey]

Thank you ladies so much for your input!

Kaleigh, I think I'm gonna have to go try on the tiffany legacy band. It looks like it might almost match with my ring...

I'm gonna describe that one I saw in the context of the one I attached. It had solid baskets (?) around the edges of each diamond, like in the picture (not open like U-prong), but the metal between each diamond was thicker top-to-bottom, almost the same width as the stones, but instead of two prongs it was solid (like kcoursolle's u-prong ring). The edges were almost smooth--there weren't defined prongs along the edge. The space between the prongs was also more scoopy, similar to u-prong.

I guess sort of a marriage between u- and shared-prong styles!

I hope that makes sense sort of? Maybe Irina would be willing to help me photoshop something like it?

ANYWAY I'm looking I think for something just a tad more unique/antiquey like that, if it exists... rather than the old stand-bys (as beautiful as they indeed are!)

 

[mrssalvo]

memoire makes a single prong eternity ring:

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/jewelry-designers/memoire-jewelry/rings/03YY1/6/

 

[musey]

Thank you, mrssalvo! That''s the sort of thing I was thinking of.

For any lurkers who might look at this thread, I also found this one at estatediamondjewelry.com:
http://www.estatediamondjewelry.com/item.cfm?int_item_id=156&cat_id=11#