best type of setting for diamond earrings?

[katiedid]

You guys have been soooo helpful with the whole reset thing, so now that that''s over, I''m on to my next project! (Or at least thinking about it...)

I have some very pretty diamond studs that I stupidly paid way too much for at Jared a while back. I don''t like the settings. They are white gold, four prong baskets with screw backs. I thought they would sit nice and close to my ear but they don''t always. And I HATE the screw backs. I wear them almost every day and I can''t sleep in them because the screw backs are so uncomfortable. They''re also a pain to take off every night and put back on every morning.

They are 1.5 ctw, so about .75 pts each. They''re not certified, and I actually made Jared give me the two best looking out of 2 different sets of earrings. (One in each set had black spots I could see--the other in each set was eye-clean.) I figured nobody is ever going to be able to look directly into both stones when they''re in my ears, so they didn''t have to be a perfect match!

I want to stick with white gold to keep the cost down, but I need opinions on what type of setting to buy and where to buy it from.
And should I send my current earrings to the place I buy the new settings from or have them reset by a local jeweler?
What type of setting shows the least amount of metal, stays close to your ear without drooping, and allows really good light to come into/out of the stones?
How much will these settings cost?

thanks in advance!!

 

[belle]

martini, no doubt

and forget the screwbacks and even la pousette. heavy pushbacks are the way to go!

you''ll love your new resets!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/23/2007 9:41:14 AM
Author: belle
martini, no doubt

and forget the screwbacks and even la pousette. heavy pushbacks are the way to go!

you''ll love your new resets!

Ditto!

I would ask your local jeweler if they carry them, and if so, have them set them. If not, I don''t know, not sure who will set stones not bought from them...

Prices may vary, I''m guessing a couple hundred maybe for WG.

 

[kcoursolle]

I''d get a three-prong martini setting. It shows less metal and makes the stones look more round than with four prongs. Also, I''d get the heavy friction backs rather than screwbacks.

 

[snlee]

I agree with kcoursolle. I think the best setting is a three-prong martini setting with heavy friction backs. I hate screw backs too.

 

[Kaleigh]

I love the Martini setting. You can have them set by a local jeweler. They sit perfectly on your ear, no drooping.

 

[justjulia]

Be careful what kind of martini settings you get. I have discovered that my martini''s are making the holes in my ears bigger. No joke. They go to a slight "point" and I think this is actually going into the hole. So I am having the stones reset into leverbacks.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Just wanted to add that light comes in from the top of the stone, so it does not matter how many prongs you have!

 

[Hammurabi]

as others say, the martini setting will be the ones you are looking for.

I was tossing up between three prong martini and four prong basket, in the end i decided on the basket setting, I am very happy with it, it doesnt droop at all.

the next time when i have the money to get bigger ones, i will get them in martini setting.

heavy friction back is way to go

 

[katiedid]

How do these look?

 

[Ellen]

They look fine Katie, just like mine.

 

[gailrmv]

Another vote for the martinis! Also, I love bezel settings, but it''s a very different look.

 

[MWG]

Give me the MARTINIs........CHEERS!!!!!

MWG

 

[katiedid]

I wondered if they seemed tall to anyone? Or if the prongs look thick? Are all martini settings basically the same? Or are there things to look for in that type of setting?

 

[snlee]

Date: 5/23/2007 10:14:53 PM
Author: katiedid
I wondered if they seemed tall to anyone? Or if the prongs look thick?

It's hard to tell from the picture you posted.

I have this setting from WF and I love them.

 

[BigDiamonds]

Martini settings are beautiful! When I get giant stud earrings, I want martini settings.

I LOVE the three prongs, but I saw some eight prongs the other day that were really cool. Very tiny, dainty prongs.

 

[katiedid]

I thought I''d post a "before" picture. I''m talking to 2 different jewelers and once I get a price from this local guy, I''ll make a decision. Here''s the deal... one jeweler is out of state, is EXTREMELY nice and wonderful to deal with (I almost ordered my eternity set from him, but I decided I liked the look of the SP set better). He gave me a great price, and has the martini settings in stock.

His price for the new settings in 14k white gold, unmounting the stones from my current earrings, remounting them in the martinis, 2 sets of backs (a regular set and a set of the bigger backs that kindof stabilize them on your ear so they don''t droop), 2-3 day shipping back to me, and insurance is only $85 and he said he''d credit me the ounce or two of gold in my old settings, which would bring it down another $11-22. So around $74 plus $22 or so for me to ship them to him. Total price for me would be around $96 at most.

The local jeweler gave me a price of $105 plus tax. That would come to about $113 total. So less than a $17 difference (and he may actually give me a little bit of a discount on this price). He would need to order the settings since he doesn''t have any in stock.

So, is it better to just let the local guy do it and not deal with shipping them off for several days?

Here is a photo of the earrings as they are now in the 4 prong baskets with screw backs. (Geez I hate screwbacks--can''t WAIT to get the new settings!) They are 1.5 ctw (so around .75 each).

 

[katiedid]

Here is the after shot!!!

 

[surfgirl]

Great re-set katie! I had 4 prong baskets on my older 1ctw studs. I then moved up to 1.5ctw studs and went with the 3 prong, regular but secure posts and larger butterfly backs. They''re so comfy and if I ever feel like the backs are getting loose I just squish them a pinch tighter and they''re fine again.

FYI, I also hate screw backs and my earring holes aren''t large enough for them anyway. My old studs had plain thin posts but with those La Pousette backs, which I had been told were more secure than butterflys. But they were a total pain. The catch mechanism always wore out and i''d go through a pair of backs at least once a year! It was a pain. But I love my butterfly backs now. So comfy. Enjoy them

 

[kcoursolle]

I love the before and after pics!! One thing I love about martini settings is that they show the round shape of the stones better. With four-prong settings the stones almost look square.