Another metal thread - help me decide!

[blingymo]

I have finally settled on a graduated 5 stone trellis setting for my e-ring to RHR reset. Yssie's ring makes my heart pound, and I can't get it out of my mind. I hope she doesn't mind if I use her ring as inspiration, probably with a few tweaks I am mulling. I HAVE to have those claw prongs!! I hope she will chime in here about metals.

I also have looked at hawaiianorangetree's ring, and I love the graduation of her stones. The way the ring matches the curve of her finger, and the way the stones are visibly different in size, yet don't look like a solitaire with side stones is the look I want. My stone is 1.68 (7.8mm), G, SI2, and I am thinking .66 (3.2mm) and .34 (1.6mm) for the other stones. That is about 40% and 20% of the center stone. Comments or suggestions here are welcome. Also, a question - should these stones be sourced by the vendor I choose to make the setting? I want to do it the least expensive way (wish I had makingthegrade's skill in finding preloved!).

So, metal. My e-ring was a plain solitaire, yellow gold with white gold prongs. In the trellis design, 2 metals is not an option, so I am not sure what to do. Warm metals look better on me, and I would prefer yellow gold. But, I'm not sure I will like seeing the contrast of the yellow prongs to my white diamond. Is there a yellow gold (14K, 10K ....) that will give less yellow contrast, but be warm enough to give a yellow gold look? I looked at yssie's picture showing metal colors [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yoo-hoo-yssie-metal-question-for-you.192990/#post-3539254#p3539254']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yoo-hoo-yssie-metal-question-for-you.192990/#post-3539254#p3539254[/URL] , and I am also thinking that maybe I need to go with the unplated WG that has the yellow overtone (E). What metal would you choose for this style and G diamonds, knowing that warmer (yellow) metals look best with your skintone?

Finally, who would you approach for quotes on doing this ring?

 

[yssie]

I just saw this thread and I'm flattered my ring has inspired you, and I can't wait to see what you do with your design!!

A couple of thoughts...

1. Your centerstone is an SI2, what are the inclusions? Do they need to be pronged? And would you want eight prongs holding your centerstone or six like HOT's ring? If eight, and if you have inclusions that need to be pronged, and if you're set on delicate claw prongs, you should be aware that some benches might have trouble depending on where the inclusions are located. The problem is that with eight prongs each prong is holding (and "pushing on") the same part of the stone. I have an SI2 too, and I wanted an inclusion under one of the upper girdle facets pronged, but with eight prongs all pushing down on the same UGFs the stone wanted to turn so that the prongs sat on the flat bezel facets instead. With six prongs this isn't a concern because some of the prongs will be "pushing" clockwise and some anti-clockwise and will balance out.

Nothing for you to worry about perhaps, just something to bring up with your jeweller and make sure you're on the same page wrt. what is and is not feasible!

2. I'm not sure what you mean re. the carat weights you're considering? Do you mean the first sides are 0.66 each (~5.5mm each) or 0.33 each (~4.3mm each), and second sides 0.34 each or 0.16 each (3.4mm)? I would definitely not recommend dropping down under 2mm for the endstones - I prefer the sidestones be larger in diameter (well, width) than the band, and a 2mm sidestone is very, very, very small!

 

[yssie]

3. Metal colours... this is a tough one. I've posted a handful of pics of my unplated WG pieces. IRL (E) is quite clearly pale yellow in all lighting environments - you look at it and think "light yellow" as opposed to "off white" or "eggshell" or anything like that. Can I ask if your main concern with yellow metal is the contrast between your very white stones and the yellow prongs, or whether you're worried about the stones picking up the yellow colour? If the latter one solution (proposed by Mike R. of RDG on this forum) is to rhodium plate the insides of the prongs. The former though, I don't see any way to avoid that entirely, like you note it's more a matter of finding a happy medium between "warm enough" and "not too rich"...

If you want "light yellow" then (E) or (F) are great choices - (F) is vaguely pink-er in some lights, and a tiny bit more richly yellow in others. If you think you'd be happier straddling the line between "off-white" and "pale yellow" I'd probably recommend WF/BGD's stock 14k WG (I think it's Stuller?) recipe - my eternity is unplated 14k from WF and the colour is beautiful, sometimes creamy and sometimes yellowy. WF's pics are pretty much dead-on for the colour in daylight, and the stones in the eternity are 15pt F/G ACAs, which might give you some idea of the "contrast" (pics in general really aren't a great way to judge but hopefully the commentary minimizes the exaggerations and diminishments...)

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-loot-from-wf-uprong-w-15pt-acas-in-unplated-14kwg.189373/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-loot-from-wf-uprong-w-15pt-acas-in-unplated-14kwg.189373/[/URL]

4. Yeah, I would definitely suggest having the vendor source the stones - cheaper than finding them yourself and shipping them, and perhaps having to pay an outside-stone setting fee. What's your budget?

 

[blingymo]

Yssie, I'm SO glad you saw this. You really know the ins and outs of metal colors, and of course, are the expert on you breathtaking ring! Thank you for being so kind to help me!

I think that E might be the way for me to go. I want it to be all white/diamond top down, and I do love the liquidy (don't know how else to say what it makes me think of) swoops of white metal, but I am trying to get back to yellow gold in my jewelry. Hence, I am torn. I am not worried about the stone taking on the yellow color - in fact, I sometimes think the contrast makes my stone look whiter. That seems to be the case with my OEC ... but that is not on the docket ... yet! Which vendors do the "E" formula metal?

Thanks also for the size mockups - I get confused with ct to mm etc. I definitely do NOT want 1.6mm I will have to stare those down for a bit! One of the top two probably - and maybe the second of those to keep cost for stones down.

The inclusions in my stone are not a concern that I know of - there is one that I can see if I look hard from the side - but I don't need to worry about it staying under a prong. I'm sure the bench would tell me if it is a problem when we get that far. I like your version of the trellis because I prefer the open side on the center rather than the extra (upside down V prong - I don't know the term - in the middle).

Budget - it depends how hard I bat my eyes at my poor DH. I want to do it for the best price possible, of course. Who do you think could pull off this design reasonably well at the least cost? I've read your comparison thread , but is there anyone else that I should contact for a quote? SK, VC, DBL, anyone else? I'm not really looking for the stock trellis settings that I have seen. Thanks again Yssie! I'm getting excited!

 

[blingymo]

Another question Yssie, if you don't mind, or anyone who has the knowledge to explain. I am reading Yssie thread when she first decided to do the 5 stone with VC and was choosing between WG (cast) and VC (handforged). What is the difference aesthetically between the two. It seems to me that the cast versions I've seen are not as fluid and open as Yssie's (both the VC and DBL versions). Is this assumption correct? Or should I be considering cast with WF due to cost factors, which is always a factor!

 

[blingymo]

Oops. I meant WF (cast).