Boonerings - Tension Setting - Help

[kenny]

I ain’t Bill Gates.
Today’s gold and platinum prices mean this new diamond is going into titanium.
I think I'm going with Boone Titaniaum ring company:

Boonerings

Probably this design

On Boone’s website they show two choices of titanium alloy:

Aerospace grade 6AL4V.
Strongest grade 8-1-1 for $45 extra

I am not a metallurgist.
Does anyone here understand if these look different?
Will the "stronger" one hold a finish better?
I'm asking because I was considering polished, but then wear and tear look worse on polished than brushed.
Is the strongest grade better suited for a tension setting?

Does Boone accept responsibility if they damage the stone while setting it?
Has anyone had any issues with them?

Next for protection I think I want the ring to be made slightly wider than the stone.
The stone is 6 mm, I think I want the band to be 6.5 mm wide.
This is not conventional; will this look odd? Afterall in several designs the band is 3 times the width of the stone – though this is usually for one half carat or smaller stone, and our stone is ¾ carat.

 

[WinkHPD]

Kenny,

I can not answer your questions, but Boone is a nice guy and if you call him he will come to the phone and talk with you. Then you can come back and tell us what he said.

Wink

 

[belle]

hopefully someone here will have some answers to your questions, but i would call bruce and talk to him as well. he really knows what he is doing with these tension rings!

best of luck!

 

[boonerings]

Hi Kenny,
I cringe every time I have to buy platinum for inlay material. The same is happening with the other metals as well.

The two alloys look the same. The main difference is the strength, so the 8-1-1 will be slightly better for a tension set, although the 6Al4V is plenty strong. On finish, they will have pretty similar properties because the things than can scratch titanium are things like minerals or hardened steels, so are harder than either alloy. Scratches will be superficial and can be polished or buffed down. A brushed finish can easily be buffed with a ScotchBrite pad. For polished you can use a cotton buff on a Dremel tool with a polishing compound made for stainless steel. Most companies including me have a refinishing policy, where you could send it in for them to professionally polish. I do accept responsibility while setting stones. By definition, round stones are stronger than square stones or other shapes with corners. The ring could be made smaller, the same width, or slightly wider than the stone if you like. It''s a prsonal preference thing. I''ve done a lot of each.

 

[kenny]

Wow Bruce, thanks for the fast and helpful response.
I especially appreciate the handy and practical advice about the ScotchBrite pad.

The stone is round, VVS1 per AGS, Thin to Med girdle and so is lower risk.

I could have called but the Pricescope community benefits this way and sometimes the discussion stimulates other questions or answers from posters.

Oh and does titanium always turn the diamond green like the one above?

(Hahaha)

I'll be contacting you Bruce within the next few days.
Yipeeee! Can't wait!

 

[aljdewey]

I haven''t personally worked with Bruce, but I was very much in the loop when Mara worked with him on her (now) husband''s wedding ring.

Short history: Mara had Absolute Titanium make her husband''s tension-set wedding ring. When she received it, they found that it didn''t fit.....despite having gone more than once to get his sizing information correct. She had only 2-3 weeks left before the wedding when the ring arrived too big. A/T said they couldn''t produce a new ring in time for the wedding and suggested she use a substitute ring until they could get another one done - another six weeks or more out!

Bruce stepped up to the plate and offered to remake the ring. He had it done in one or two days, and in the end, the ring Bruce produced looked more well made than the A/T ring.

Bruce was responsive, attentive to detail, and really came through. I think he''s an excellent choice, and if I were considering titanium or tension set, he''d be at the top of my list.