An introduction, and a question please...

[RH]

I was hunting for info and found this site, looks like the spot. Please bear with the story, I am a real diamond rookie. I bought the teeny tiny (.30, maybe) engagement ring from the local jeweler, but we were young & broke and she was happy.

Fast-forward 10 years, we''re older, still happy,...but 2 kids and a house later, still on a budget. A 3-stone ring was going to be expensive, so I went for a 5 stone (.50 total) platinum anniv. band from bluenile.com, because their website was less daunting than a trip to the jewelers. About $1k.


We then go on vacation to Jamaica for the anniversary, and ask the jeweler at the resort duty-free to appraise the ring. The stones are what I was told (S1, H) Based on the price, it seems like I may have slightly overpaid. No big deal.


Anyway, while browsing, my wife looks at a ring that she loves. A "3-stone", but they are not 3 stones. Each of the 3 is actually 5 or 6 smaller stones cut so they fit together to look like a larger round stone. Because each of the smaller stones is fully cut and faceted, the facets x 6 make it sparkle like crazy. She''s happy, because it sparkles to the point it looks almost fake, I''m happy because it''s more diamond weight at about 1/3-1/2 what I paid for the .50 5-stone.


Here''s my question...he called it an "illusion setting" but based on what I see on the web it''s not. What I see for "illusion setting" is white gold settings shaped to enhance the size of the single rock. I louped the ring, and it is definitely small stones pressed together in a prong setting, with no extraneous metal. What is this tecnique called, and how common is it?


(apologies for the length, and feel free to criticize what are probably two deadly sins - 1)buying online, and 2)buying at a Carribean resort.)

 

[reena]

welcome! i don''t know the answer to your question about the illusion setting, but i just wanted to pipe in and say, i doubt anybody here is going to say that buying diamonds online is a bad thing!

many, many of us have done it.

 

[RH]

no offense intended. I was extremely satisfied with the quality and service of the vendor, as well as the free info on their site. It''s just that when you tell someone you bought a diamond ring sight-unseen, they sometimes give you a funny look. I am a 21st century consumer.

 

[reena]

oh, i know you weren''t trying to be offensive! i was just sayin'', don''t worry--we''re right there with you!

 

[strmrdr]

cluster ring.
http://www.sears.com/

 

[RH]

hmm...that''s kind of the idea, but no prongs except on the outer perimeter. The stones fit together and are held in place with a tight fit and only the outer prongs. It really looks like one stone, until you look real close or loupe it.

 

[valeria101]

"cluster ring" indeed... and there must be hundreds of ways to make those clusters - including different colors and shapes of stones, bezels, prongs, overlapping the girdles of the stones and what not. There is much better than Sears' (surprise, surprise...) in any size.

What you describe (no prongs except on the outside) could be some sort of illusion setting indeed - but was it made with rounds ? If so, no idea what could it be. There is a fancy cut that creates this effect - but the diamonds clustered together with no prongs are not rounds (LINK). Are you sure there were no prongs at all ?


Anyway, I know Garry's site (preciousmetals.com.au) displays a few types of cluster rings, and here's another larger version (LINK) and an older piece (LINK). The position of the prongs and what not changes allot. If there is one thing to look for in all the versions perhaps the symmetry of the setting and the minimum feasible space between the diamonds. Ideally, the center stone would be set a hair higher, so that it's girdle overlaps a tiny bit over the rest. Otherwise, the prongs shuld just fill in the spaces between the stones (feasible, especially in smaller clusters).


There was a very nice cluster pendant posted recently - just beautifully made (Link to thread).


Three clusters would not be made differently than the usual single. Uncertified diamonds (and smaller ones in those clusters are so) are the greatest for cost cutting in large chain stores. It may be safer - imo- to have a ring like that made, IMO.

 

[Hest88]

I usually hear it called an "invisible setting" and I''ve only seen it with princess cuts, since they fit together without gaps, but I would think it could be called the same thing with rounds. I''m just not sure how it can be accomplished as neatly.