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Advice regarding a petite halo for my petite diamond!

RoseVelvet

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 21, 2013
Messages
10
or: a newbie considers the stages of Ring Lust, with illustrations

Short version:
I'm looking for a modest-but-pretty halo for my modest-but-pretty family diamond. Does anyone have any advice?

Novel-length version :

Stage 1: Denial
I make a very hard-headed decision *not* to have an e-ring so we can save the money for the wedding (FI is a postdoc, so money is tight).

Stage 2: Regret
Creeping sadness, noticing other women's e-rings, culminating in the literal disintegration of the sterling promise ring I'd been wearing (the band snapped!).

Stage 3: The gateway
Decision to buy an inexpensive but pretty ring. Select this lovely and el-cheapo ring from Amazon, for $250. It looks beautiful on my hand, but I've got a shadow of regret that the morganite is unlikely to last forever. Reason that someday I can upgrade the center stone to a diamond -- it'd only be about half a carat (the morganite is 5mm), so affordable. Not sure if it's worth upgrading a 10k ring, but... sentiment, right? stage3.jpg

Stage 4: I move on to the hard stuff
My mother, after hearing my plan, sweetly offers me a .46ct diamond of hers! It's not certified, and is probably not the world's most perfect diamond, but to my eye it's very pretty and sparkly. I like the thought that it will have a good chance of lasting, and that it was a gift from her (my marriage is one that older generations might not approve of, so the sign of her support means a lot to me).

So my quandary: to find a nice setting for this wee sparkler! My ring size is 4.75-5. My wish list would be

- a cushion halo for the round stone
- the ability to have a 2mm straight band fit flush underneath the head (perhaps this is not possible?)
- rose gold or unplated white gold -- although I guess I could just get dipped white gold and let time do its thing.
- an overall finished size of no more than 7-8mm.
- as low profile as possible.

I found a very pretty ring on Etsy for $590, but didn't get a good vibe off the seller when I asked some questions. I've also thought of having Lord of Gems duplicate the setting of the cheapo Amazon ring in 14k, since I really do like the shoulder diamonds. I don't know, I'm afraid of making a Terrible, Terrible Mistake since this is really an area I know nothing about.

Many thanks for any advice any of you can offer! And for giggles, here's a pic of the ring's current setting, on my hand. Why, yes, that is a keychain. You can see why I need help.

keychainring_small.jpg
 
Can't you use the pretty setting you already have?
 
whats your budget for the halo exactly?
 
Aprilbaby, You know, I thought of that! Because $250 for a setting is completely reasonable. The reasons not to would be

  • It's 10k. Is it weird to set a diamond in 10k?
  • It needs to be sized down two sizes (this is probably not a big deal).
  • I don't think it's suited to have a wedding ring sit flush against it, which would leave me with either a biggish gap or a curved band (which I'd rather avoid).
  • Currently the feature stone is a 5mm cushion-cut morganite. I assume a jeweler would have to work some magic to get a slightly-less-than-5mm round-cut diamond in there. Would they laugh at me if I asked?

I'm still in the return period for the morganite ring, and I never took the tags off or had it resized, so if I wanted to put that $250 towards a forever-setting for the diamond, I could.

I do really like that setting, though!

Niel, less than $1k for sure. I really don't want to negatively impact the wedding. Is that absurd? I found larger settings on eBay for $500 or less, but I don't know if they'd look like junk in person (although the pictures are lovely!)
 
RoseVelvet|1366586018|3431823 said:
Niel, less than $1k for sure. I really don't want to negatively impact the wedding. Is that absurd? I found larger settings on eBay for $500 or less, but I don't know if they'd look like junk in person (although the pictures are lovely!)

not at all! thats plenty!
im partial to a plain shank, but you could get one with diamonds down the shank too!

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-and-shank-diamond-engagement-ring-round-center-item-6800

what i think would be really pretty is if you did it it in a plain shank. Had the halo in a 14k white gold, and the shank in a 18k rose gold (like your Amazon one, right?)

oh that would be super pretty. and even with the shank in 18k that would still be under 1k
 
Niel, The James Allen one is really pretty! But it's round and I'm convinced that round rings make my fingers look short and stubby a la Minnie Mouse. They have a nice cushion, but it says it's for a cushion stone .5-1.4, and I have a .46 round.

I'll check out the Gabriel & Co. Thanks for the ideas! I am open to either the plain shank or diamonds; I think either could be really pretty.
 
they are just guideline, i dont believe they are hard on that size.heres an example

talk to one of the people on the live chat, see if they could do it for your size stone in the cushion halo( and maybe two toned ;) ). doesnt hurt to ask
 
oh pretty! I love gabriel and co lots of pretty settings at nice prices.

I would absolutely do it in rose gold, i love the uniqueness. My only thing is that i prefer that the halo be in a white metal, regardless of what color the shank is. Itll help all the little diamonds in the halo blend together, and then it helps the halo blend into the diamond.
something like this
two_tone.png

i think that looks a little better than all one color IMO :D

jh.png

that could just be personal preference though. it can still look lovely with all rose gold, like this gabriel and co one
598929_10151204776119449_440508752_0.jpg
 
Okay, I can't stop staring at
http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER8726W44JJ
gabriel_1.jpg

I've fired off an email to ID Jewelry asking if it can accommodate my stone, and if it can be had in rose gold. If not, perhaps they can suggest something else.

Eeeeeeee! I think I'll have to photoshop it a few ways -- all rose gold, rose gold with a white gold head, rose gold with only white gold prongs...

Excuse me, I need to go stare at that ring some more.
 
If they dont respond, i would call them. Ive heard they arent as responsive as youd like via email. So just if they dont, give them all all. :))

and i cant wait to see it photoshopped!
 
That would be a stunning choice and make your ring look like a 1 ct.
 
Update: I called another store that I saw recommended on here, goldandgems.com, and had them investigate it for me. My first disappointment is that the price they quoted for the setting was the MSRP ($950), which frankly wasn't what I expected -- everyone's said that ID Jewelry is decently below the MSRP, and I was hoping for the same. My second disappointment is that http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER8726W44JJ is apparently made for a 2.5mm stone, so getting one to fit mine would be a custom jobbie and, of course, more expensive. Since that setting at MSRP is already way at the top of my range, I think I'm going to have to keep looking.

Richard from goldandgems.com (nice guy, btw!) is going to get back to me with more details.

Also, my photoshops looked awful. Will try again later, or possibly enlist the help of some of my photoshop-savvier friends.

The search continues!
 
Bah rats! That's OK. Onward I guess. I'm glad he's a nice guy. And I bet theyll find you something. They can add millgraing to lots of thongs, so don't loose hope! :D
 
Niel|1366650011|3432238 said:
Bah rats! That's OK. Onward I guess. I'm glad he's a nice guy. And I bet theyll find you something. They can add millgraing to lots of thongs, so don't loose hope! :D


I don't think miligrained thongs would be very comfortable. :lol: :lol:
 
orbaya|1366654421|3432293 said:
Niel|1366650011|3432238 said:
Bah rats! That's OK. Onward I guess. I'm glad he's a nice guy. And I bet theyll find you something. They can add millgraing to lots of thongs, so don't loose hope! :D


I don't think miligrained thongs would be very comfortable. :lol: :lol:

Ha ha ha - maybe not bit they would be such fancy pants!
 
Niel|1366655046|3432297 said:
Ha ha ha - maybe not bit they would be such fancy pants!


Were you maybe looking for www.pantiescope.com next door?

I'll have you know I am a respectable soon-to-be-married lady! :lol:
 
Latest update in my saga: Gold and Gems got back to me to say that even though the setting wouldn't fit my stone, Gabriel has decided to release a model that would fit! Yay! But then he added that it'll cost more, being larger and more diamond-ful. Boo, since I was already riiiiight at the top of my range.

I sulkily decided to let go. After all, learning how to say "no" to yourself is an important skill in marriage, right? And then on a whim I called ID Jewelry and, as a test, asked for their price on a few Gabriel settings.

!!!

This one, with a list of $1540, she quoted to me at $995. Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

So now I'm back to being excited about the Victorian Halo. I did find some lovely settings on ebay (so who knows how lovely they are in person) that are a lot less expensive, but they don't look very sturdy, which is a problem, since I'm rough on jewelry.

Plus I've been steadily working on justifying a more expensive setting to myself. I mean, I'm going to be looking at this thing every day for the rest of my life, right?

I'm also having sufficient trouble envisioning it in rose that I'm considering playing it safe and going with white gold. Maybe it's just that that stock photo is so darn pretty....

More thrillin' updates to follow!
 
So, just so I understand. You could get that Victorian halo for a bit over 1k or that plain diamond shank halo for under 1k?

Idjewelry couldn't do that Victorian one under 1k? Did you ask if they could do any of those vintagey settings you liked under 1k?

I wonder if they could do this for under 1k. It has that vintage feel you like, and square halo
http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER9509W44JJ
 
Sorry, I was being unclear!

My plan right now is to wait for Gabriel to produce an item number for the Victorian Halo and then ask ID Jewelry what the cost would be. My guess is that the list price for it is going to be $1300 or so, and since the listed-at-$1500 ring was $995 through ID, my hope is that ID's price for the Victorian Halo would also come back in my range.
 
RoseVelvet|1366838332|3433925 said:
Sorry, I was being unclear!

My plan right now is to wait for Gabriel to produce an item number for the Victorian Halo and then ask ID Jewelry what the cost would be. My guess is that the list price for it is going to be $1300 or so, and since the listed-at-$1500 ring was $995 through ID, my hope is that ID's price for the Victorian Halo would also come back in my range.

Oh awesome! So its just a waiting game at this point?

I haven't had time but I'll see if I can Photoshop it to see how it looks two toned for you of you'd like. I think either way it would be pretty. But if you like the color its a good idea :))
 
I see the number of stones used in the halo and shank, did they tell you the cut and quality of those stones?
You do want them to sparkle!
 
WillyDiamond|1366842937|3433978 said:
I see the number of stones used in the halo and shank, did they tell you the cut and quality of those stones?
You do want them to sparkle!

I have a Gabriel and Sons halo setting with diamonds also on the shank
and I can assure you that those little stones sparkle like crazy,
and I NEVER fail to get compliments on that ring.......

I LOVE my Gabriel setting !!!!!
 
UPDATE:

Yes, it took me until June to make a decision! I hemmed and hawed, almost pulled the trigger on the Gabriel ring a few times. I just couldn't bring myself to plunk down that grand, though, and I was a little nervous about shipping my diamond and what if it didn't fit and and and....

Then I went on vacation, stumbled upon this setting, fell violently in love, went back to the beach house, slept on it, and 18 hours later had whipped out my credit card. 48 hours later my stone was set, it was sized, and it was on my finger. :)

It cost what the Gabriel setting would have, but without having to ship it or wait, and I love the setting even more. I'm pleased as punch.

Thanks so much for the input, everyone!!

ring_closeup_0.jpg

Not a great picture; I have to figure out the trick of getting flattering ring pics!
 
This looks perfect with your stone, RoseVelvet!! Is it a vintage setting?? LOVE IT!! :love: :appl:
 
Wow wow wow I love this.

Its perfection.
 
It's beautiful!!!! And .46ct isn't that small :) It's a beautiful size :)
 
COnrgats! It turned out beautifully and looks just right with your stone!
 
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