Another SS rave...and a question

[jjc]

But first, the rave

We went to Singlestone today to see what antique cushions would look like on my hand, and Patti could not have been any nicer. She spent about two hours pulling out just about every ring they had for me to try on, and when I apologized for asking to see so many she said "Sweetie, don''t be sorry, you can see whatever you want!"

She also made my BF feel extremely comfortable, and took careful notes of exactly what I liked and didn''t like, and made sure to let us know that it was her & Ari''s job to work within our budget and create the ring of my dreams. Needless to say, it was a very good day

Now onto my question. I fell in love with a ring today, and I mean swooning, drooling, mesmerized

But, it was all the things I thought I didn''t want, like a cathedral. This ring has turned my whole ''dream ring'' world upside down!

So a question for all you wonderful PSers: other than purely aesthetic value of a cathedral from a profile view, does the cathedral affect the look of the ring from the top down? This ring had two tiny melee on the sides of the center stone with an extremely thin and delicate shank, and I loved how looking at the ring from the top, all I could see was melee - center stone - melee, and then the rest of the shank going down and around my finger was almost invisible, like I had just the diamonds floating on my finger (I''m so sorry if this doesn''t make any sense!). Does the height of the cathedral cause an optical illusion that kind of makes the finger look thinner? I guess I''m not sure whether the ring I tried on looked how it did on my finger because of the cathedral, or because it was just so thin (height and width). I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures, but I was pretty much an incoherent mess in there, completely head over heels over this ring

I would really appreciate any insight on this, thank you so much!

 

[ficklefaye]

jjc, i can''t really help with your cathedral setting questions, but i thought i would write because i also walked into SS thinking i would want a certain type of ring, after over an hour with ari, i went with a setting that was nothing like i thought i would pick, but i loved it! and i still do, if you were swooning and mesmerized, maybe it''s the one for you, even if it''s not what you thought you would like

you won''t be disappointed with SS, i can''t wait to buy something else from them

 

[tyty333]

Hi jjc,
So happy you found something that you love!

I have a cathedral setting (see my avatar). The only thing I think is that it makes my
stone look bigger because it sits up higher (which is a good thing to me

). Some people dont like them because they hit them on things
but I have never really had this problem. Maybe its just what I'm used to and dont know anything else. I was thinking about changing my
setting out about 6 months ago but I was afraid that I would not like the setting as much if my stone sat lower (which might make it look
smaller). I opted for the 5 stone wedding band and kept my pear in the same setting. I think if I do ever reset it it will have to be a custom
job where the table of the stone sat at the same height as it does now.

Anyway...nough about me

...get some pictures next time you go so we can all see!!!

Tyty

Edit - Here is a side shot so you can see how high it sets (I look for a back view but dont think I have one posted anywhere).

 

[jjc]

Anyone else with thoughts on cathedral vs. non-cathedral?

Date: 7/19/2009 1:52:13 PM
Author: ficklefaye
jjc, i can't really help with your cathedral setting questions, but i thought i would write because i also walked into SS thinking i would want a certain type of ring, after over an hour with ari, i went with a setting that was nothing like i thought i would pick, but i loved it! and i still do, if you were swooning and mesmerized, maybe it's the one for you, even if it's not what you thought you would like

you won't be disappointed with SS, i can't wait to buy something else from them

Hi ficklefaye, thanks so much for sharing your experience, I still can't believe that one visit could turn everything I thought I wanted in a ring completely on its head! Do you have pictures of your ring? I would love to see!

There really is something magic about that place...

Date: 7/19/2009 5:22:33 PM
Author: tyty333
Hi jjc,

So happy you found something that you love!

I have a cathedral setting (see my avatar). The only thing I think is that it makes my

stone look bigger because it sits up higher (which is a good thing to me

). Some people dont like them because they hit them on things

but I have never really had this problem. Maybe its just what I'm used to and dont know anything else. I was thinking about changing my

setting out about 6 months ago but I was afraid that I would not like the setting as much if my stone sat lower (which might make it look

smaller). I opted for the 5 stone wedding band and kept my pear in the same setting. I think if I do ever reset it it will have to be a custom

job where the table of the stone sat at the same height as it does now.


Anyway...nough about me

...get some pictures next time you go so we can all see!!!


Tyty


Edit - Here is a side shot so you can see how high it sets (I look for a back view but dont think I have one posted anywhere).

Wow your ring is gorgeous tyty!! Thank you so much for the picture, I do see what you mean about how the cathedral acts as a lovely pedestal for your diamond, I love it!

Silly me, I thought I had exactly what I wanted all figured out, and now I'm in a (happy) frenzy, discovering all of these different looks that I love! I would love to see more pictures of your ring!

 

[bigdiamondtinygal]

How funny! We were at SS on saturday too! I wonder if you were the couple that was walking in just as we were walking out! In any event, is the ring you''re talking about a 2 carat cushion (MN color)?? If it is, that ring is gorgeous. The setting is very simple, but it is graceful and perfectly suits the center stone. I am a big supporter of the idea that with antique center stones, the best way to showcase them is to have them be the star, not the setting. Ari has a great eye for this...and especially for proportion. I say, if you love it, trust your gut. It knows. Who care if it wasn''t what you thought you wanted?!! That is half the fun of the process and especially of pricescope!

 

[jjc]

Date: 7/20/2009 5:16:08 PM
Author: bigdiamondtinygal
How funny! We were at SS on saturday too! I wonder if you were the couple that was walking in just as we were walking out! In any event, is the ring you''re talking about a 2 carat cushion (MN color)?? If it is, that ring is gorgeous. The setting is very simple, but it is graceful and perfectly suits the center stone. I am a big supporter of the idea that with antique center stones, the best way to showcase them is to have them be the star, not the setting. Ari has a great eye for this...and especially for proportion. I say, if you love it, trust your gut. It knows. Who care if it wasn''t what you thought you wanted?!! That is half the fun of the process and especially of pricescope!

Ahh yesss that''s the one!! I''m so excited that you know what the ring looks like! I haven''t been able to stop thinking about it hahaha

Although, I don''t think we''re the couple you saw because when we walked in there was nobody there, and another couple actually walked in as we were walking out.

So...did you purchase/find something you''re in love with that day??

 

[ficklefaye]

still haven''t taken a good photo of my ring and now my camera is on the fritz, something about SS pieces, they just don''t photograph as well as they look in person

i really think you should buy the ring if you''re still getting the butterfly feelings even now, that place really is magical, i could just be there all day and try on everything, i don''t know if ari and patti would appreciate that tho

 

[ficklefaye]

oh i forgot to mention, my diamond was first set in a cathedral setting, but i didn''t like it, it was just set too high for my taste, when i had it reset at SS, i asked ari to put it as low as possible and that''s exactly what they did, i love it and my diamond still pops because of the awesome setting, it''s all personal preference i believe, if you start out by knocking things at first, i''m sure you can get used to it

 

[jjc]

I''m totally with you on wanting the diamond set as low as possible. And actually, on the setting I saw, the cathedral didn''t necessarily make the diamond sit any higher than I would have liked. The more I think about it, I think it''s just the look of the cathedral from the profile view that I''m not sure if I prefer, for some reason I''d always liked the profile views of non-cathedral rings. I''ve been looking at some pics of the Ring That Must Not Be Named (very similar angle of the cathedral ''arms''), and with that ring the cathedral does seem to affect the top-down view; but I''m not sure if that''s because that setting involves side stones, and the angle at which they''re placed actually does make a difference, versus two tiny, tiny stones.

Thank you for all your thoughts, please more cathedral lovers, tell me all the reasons you love your cathedrals!

 

[jjc]

Date: 7/20/2009 7:25:24 PM
Author: ficklefaye
still haven''t taken a good photo of my ring and now my camera is on the fritz, something about SS pieces, they just don''t photograph as well as they look in person

i really think you should buy the ring if you''re still getting the butterfly feelings even now, that place really is magical, i could just be there all day and try on everything, i don''t know if ari and patti would appreciate that tho

You must work on getting those pictures! Please?

I so wish I''d taken a picture...but I have a little bit of time to make a final decision, so I''m gonna try to sort myself out and figure out what exactly made me...well, high, essentially

SS gave me blinghigh

I think Ari and Patti like nothing more than having people who are ga-ga over their wares in there...I mean, Patti scolded me for trying not to try on too many rings!

Where in LA are you, do you get to go to SS often? I work right down the street for the summer, but ugh! The parking situation downtown just makes me want to vamanos right out of there ASAP!

 

[bigdiamondtinygal]

JJC - Ah, then it wasn''t us - there was a couple walking in just as we were walking out. That would be funny though! We picked out a few that we liked. It is up to him to make the final choice. Crossing my fingers!!

 

[jjc]

bigdiamondtinygal - Oooh how exciting! I will be crossing my fingers and sending dust for you too!
We''re not quite as far as along as that, we definitely want to shop around for the stone and get other quotes for a setting too. It sure was nice to get such knock-me-on-my-a** inspiration, though!

But there really is something about SS''s settings, that delicate, almost ethereal quality that I''m not sure can be replicated. Ah well, until it''s actually time, it''s nice to dream and live vicariously through others on PS!

 

[ficklefaye]

jjc, doesn''t SS validate parking if you park in the adjacent structure? i know they did for us, i live within driving range, but i am too embarassed to make an appt just to oogle at the inventory

is your ring posted on their site? i know many of them are posted there, or maybe ask ari to send you a photo so you can share with us for our viewing pleasure