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Appreciate help with a diamond and a ring

dave_g

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2016
Messages
4
New guy here. I would appreciate any help I could get to avoid screwing this up.

I'm planning to give my wife a ring for our 45th anniversary. It will be a main diamond with four side stones on each side.

The main stone will come from James Allen:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.00-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2096503

A local jeweler will build the ring. He plans to sart with a 9 stone anniversary band from Stuller:
http://www.stuller.com/products/68223/?groupId=107196&searchTerm=68223

then cut out the middle stone and weld in an appropriate mount for the new diamond. We discussed doing essentially the same thing, but putting the mount on top of the existing band, but I thought the overall ring would look better with the main stone closer to the level of the side stones.

Any advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated.
 

rockysalamander

Ideal_Rock
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May 20, 2016
Messages
5,105
What a lovely idea! I guess I just don't quite understand why the jeweler would not start with an setting that already had the head-mounted. Stuller and Ritani make a lot of rings in this style that are ready to add a stone, as does others. The Stuller ring is using 3 mm diamonds, so the ering band will be 3-3.1 mm. Will that be a comfortable width for her?

On JA, you basically want one of these with 3 mm side-stones. You could ask if they make these with 3 mm stones.
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/14k-white-gold-scalloped-pave-engagement-ring-item-53051
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/14k-white-gold-cut-down-pave-diamond-engagement-ring-item-50695
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/jeff-cooper/14k-white-gold-tammy-engagement-ring-item-54220 {this is a very pretty setting, with the bottom stones being 2.8mm, so close to 3; I like the graduation and it will make the center diamond look bigger}
https://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/martin-flyer/14k-white-gold-cut-down-pave-diamond-engagement-ring-item-54985

Or this one from Whiteflash is a dead-on match, with 2 mm stones (pretty common size).
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/diamonds-for-an-eternity-1-2-diamond-engagement-ring-1385.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/french-set-diamond-engagement-ring-2547.htm {I prefer this setting of the side stone than the one above}

Benchmark
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/benchmark-csp4a-crescent-diamond-shared-prong-engagement-ring-4278.htm

Ritani
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/ritani-classic-shared-prong-diamond-engagement-ring-4495.htm {pretty head on this}
 

ringo865

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 14, 2014
Messages
2,897
No help with your ring, but just wanted to say FORTY FIVE YEARS!!! Congratulations!!! Whatever you get, I'm sure it'll be perfect!
 

farrahlyn

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
1,170
Is there some meaning behind the 4 stones on either side of the main stone? If not, i think there could be better options that what your jeweler has proposed. I just don't understand buying this band and tearing it up. What is your main goal? Are you going for a more anniversary band look or an engagement ring look or a right hand ring?

Also, i wouldn't attempt to put this 1ct stone flush with the 3mm stones, it's may look funny if you can manage to do it (there's a big difference in size between main stone and side stones) and i don't think it's an option with this band.

Just a few other options until we hear more about the intention of the ring, i like the ones RS posted above too!

A nice trellis e-ring, the 10 side stones are 2.5mm ea
http://www.stuller.com/products/121...onType=recommendation&recommendationId=106397

These are nice:
http://www.stuller.com/products/122911/12216216/?groupId=192913&searchTerm=122911:120:P
http://www.stuller.com/products/120...onType=recommendation&recommendationId=192913


Or is this somewhat of the look you're wanting? More of a band vs an e-ring
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b6/7b/ab/b67bab939f4f21333d819249b7024f56.jpg

or the bottom 2 in this link
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/eternity-bands-with-varying-pointer-sizes.115329/

and CONGRATS, WOW! 45 years is awesome!!! :appl:
 

dave_g

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2016
Messages
4
First off, thanks for the replies. Big help. I should have said in the original post the idea of four stones on each side is to make the total nine as in one for every five years. Gave her a five stone anniversary band at 25, want something a little different this time, but still want to stay with the stone for every five years.

Hadn't thought at all about the width of the ring. That may be a concern. I'll check what the prev. anniversary band is.

The intent with the setting of the main diamond wasn't to make the tops level. More to make the bases level if that makes sense. The top of main diamond would still stand higher, just not as much so. Partly this is because a really high diamond setting might be bothersome to her - more likely to catch on things, etc?

I really like the look of this ring that RS suggested

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/benchmark-csp4a-crescent-diamond-shared-prong-engagement-ring-4278.htm

It's pretty much what I had in mind. I think I may go with that one, but I haqve two concerns I'd really like some advice on.

First, my local jeweler suggested Stuller because he really trusts their mounts. Would the Whiteflash mount be of high quality? Really don;t know much about this, but I think I would want platinum prongs. Anything else I need to check?

The only other concern is that the main stone is a high set and that worries me for the reason above. Does that seem like a rational concern?
 

farrahlyn

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
1,170
I like the meaning behind it, especially given the history. SO, i'm guessing your jeweler was planning to take out that middle stone on the band and put in a peg head so essentially it would look a lot like the Whiteflash ring. As far as quality, WF IS quality. No need to worry about that there.

Did you already buy the diamond from JA? If not, you could buy from WF and do a one stop shopping. I don't think WF will set an outside stone. For that setting, you could email WF and ask if they would do that whole setting in platinum.

Alternately, this might be worth considering. it's outside of the box and would take some customization from WF but i kinda like it. the setting is very different though so no offense if you don't. lol! It's a scattered band (the profile in the head is a heart)and I think the total diamonds in the band are 10 but you could ask that they could do away with the 2 diamonds on the very bottom of the band to make it 8 in the band plus the center stone. it IS set a little high so if that concerns you, it may not be for you.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagemen...red-knife-edge-diamond-engagement-ring-70.htm

as far as setting height... it's a personal thing. I had a high setting for my original e-ring and i banged that thing SO much. Never lost a stone or chipped my center stone. My current setting is lower and guess what? I still bang it around. lol! I'm just a clumsy gal!
 

dave_g

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2016
Messages
4
farrahlyn|1481213704|4105633 said:
I like the meaning behind it, especially given the history. SO, i'm guessing your jeweler was planning to take out that middle stone on the band and put in a peg head so essentially it would look a lot like the Whiteflash ring. As far as quality, WF IS quality. No need to worry about that there.

Did you already buy the diamond from JA? If not, you could buy from WF and do a one stop shopping. I don't think WF will set an outside stone. For that setting, you could email WF and ask if they would do that whole setting in platinum.

Alternately, this might be worth considering. it's outside of the box and would take some customization from WF but i kinda like it. the setting is very different though so no offense if you don't. lol! It's a scattered band (the profile in the head is a heart)and I think the total diamonds in the band are 10 but you could ask that they could do away with the 2 diamonds on the very bottom of the band to make it 8 in the band plus the center stone. it IS set a little high so if that concerns you, it may not be for you.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagemen...red-knife-edge-diamond-engagement-ring-70.htm

as far as setting height... it's a personal thing. I had a high setting for my original e-ring and i banged that thing SO much. Never lost a stone or chipped my center stone. My current setting is lower and guess what? I still bang it around. lol! I'm just a clumsy gal!


Thanks farrahlyn!

I did look at WF diamonds, but I didn't find one I liked as well without stretching the budget and it's already pretty stretched.

I'm guessing the jeweler will buy the ring direct from Benchmark. This looks to be essentially the same ring

http://benchmarkrings.com/product-detail.php?sku=CSPA4-LH6PSet-W

Somehow I still feel the need to see everything before it gets put together. Not quite ready to do everything on-line.

I appreciate the alternate suggestion, but she's pretty traditional and I'm not enough of a risk taker to go that way.

As far as the setting height, I will take a look at her original engagement ring. Hopefully it will be high-set and that will make me more comfortable with this ring. I say "hopefully" because there are not nearly as many choices in a low-set diamond. I suppose that should tell me something
 

rockysalamander

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 20, 2016
Messages
5,105
The peg-head does impose some limitations on the setting, but make sure your jeweler knows you want the stone as low as possible in the setting. The key is that they buy the right size peg-head to accommodate your stone's diameter -- but set lower. I also make sure they make the prongs not grabby or scratchy. They really need to spend some time finishing the prongs so they are even and won't grab everything.

Again, congrats and I hope she loves it for another 45 years! :wavey:
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
Hi there! :wavey:

Before you pull the trigger, I'd give ID Jewelry a call. For virtual stones, they usually come in more competitive in pricing than James Allen. Also, it doesn't hurt to find out what they would charge to make you a setting from scratch - providing you a CAD to preview prior to casting the setting, as opposed to modifying a Stuller anniversary band setting.
 

dave_g

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2016
Messages
4
rockysalamander|1481239888|4105743 said:
The peg-head does impose some limitations on the setting, but make sure your jeweler knows you want the stone as low as possible in the setting. The key is that they buy the right size peg-head to accommodate your stone's diameter -- but set lower. I also make sure they make the prongs not grabby or scratchy. They really need to spend some time finishing the prongs so they are even and won't grab everything.

Again, congrats and I hope she loves it for another 45 years! :wavey:

Thanks far the good wishes & advice.

Thought I was all set on this. I really like the Benchmark ring you suggested from Whiteflash, but I wanted the side diamonds to be a bit larger. Found the ring on Benchmark's site (CSPA4) with just the size sides I wanted. That's when I ran into a new problem. My jeweler doesn't have an account with Benchmark and' isn't willing to open one for one ring. Benchmark does list a couple of authorized dealers not too far from me but the first one I called didn't seem interested in ordering a ring if he couldn't also sell me the diamond. I'll try the other one tomorrow hopefully that will workbout better.
 

Sagefemme

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
290
Have you discussed with James Allen a custom setting that they would make? That might be the best bet. They have so many settings on their website; surely there is one that with a few tweaks (like the number of side stones, since that clearly has to be eight) would be perfect for her.
 

farrahlyn

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
1,170
Sagefemme said:
Have you discussed with James Allen a custom setting that they would make? That might be the best bet. They have so many settings on their website; surely there is one that with a few tweaks (like the number of side stones, since that clearly has to be eight) would be perfect for her.

this is a really good idea, there are quite a few settings you could see about modifying

https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...ng-six-round-diamond-engagement-ring-item-745

I really like this one. this has 10 side stones, can remove one on each side and i believe these stones are just slightly larger than the size of side stones you are looking for. the head on this is different too, seems set lower than the above and is a more fluid and feminine look. Worth a chat with James Allen to see if you can modify it. However, their custom settings are non refundable.

https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-prong-set-diamond-engagement-ring-item-53309

Also, ID Jewelry was mentioned. They do sell Benchmark settings. They don't have the e-rings on their site, just the wedding bands but it is absolutely worth a call to see if they can get you that Benchmark setting you want. As was mentioned, they can source a virtual stone if you have not purchased that JA stone. They can get it for you and usually at a better price. Give them a call, they are highly recommended here and their customer service is wonderful. Oftentimes they will provide pictures and videos of stones, etc to put your mind at ease.
 
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