Calling Mercoledi!

[shigidigi]

Mercoledi I am mesmerized by your ering avatar everytime I see a post of yours! It is so fluid and beautiful!

Can I ask who made it? It seems very similar to one by Michael Bondanza I have been eyeing, but with burnished side stones. I love it!

Thanks!

 

[mercoledi]

Seriously? Thanks!

My ring is small potatoes compared to most of the stuff here on PS! It was designed by DH and a local jeweler here in Boston, Kristina Pitaniello (http://www.pitaniello.com/). She made our bands too.

I''ve seen a few similar designs, I think Etienne Perret has a similar setting, and Cartier has a half bezel without the side stones. I have to wear gloves all day for work, so I needed something low and smooth.

The flower was kindly provided by my land lady''s Japanese Magnolia tree out front that bloomed earlier this month!

 

[mercoledi]

Here's my favorite picture of the setting back when she was shiny and new. Super crappy pic of the stone though.

Funny you should post this- I ment to change my avatar to a non-ring pic last weekend and was just lazy about it. Glad I didn't!

 

[shigidigi]

Thanks so much for posting the larger pic. I seriously love your ring- tell your DH that he did such a beautiful job! I''ll be sure to check out your jeweler even though I am on the west coast.

Does your wband sit flush with the design?

 

[mercoledi]

Sooo... I don''t wear my rings together. It was important to me to have a fairly substantial wedding band, and that combined with the e-ring was just too much on my little fingers. If you want a slimmer band or like a chunkier look, it would totally work. My DH and Kristina are both way taller/slimmer than I am and have a different sense of scale. I also wanted a surprise e-ring, so I had no input on the design; I''ll be sure to tell DH you like it!

That being said, my e-ring does fit with my band, but it obscures the engraving so I just generally choose to wear them on separate hands. The stone is high enough that it juts over the band without rubbing. I have pics of them together on another computer that I can post if you''d like.

One thing that Kristina came up with when we were w-band designing was a super-cool band set/wrap. It''s two thin (1-2mm) bands that are angled 45* on the face. They fit together to look like a knife-edge band, or can be worn above and below the e-ring. It was really really cool and totally set off the e-ring, but just wasn''t what I wanted. I''ve kept the idea on the back burner for another day though. You could wear them so many different ways to match your mood.

Kristina was great to work with, even though she was SWAMPED when we were there (we hit the end of wedding season and the begninning of the holiday season). You''d have to talk to her and see if you ''clicked''.

One last thing- another gallery near me has a very similar setting (same shape, princess gypsy set sidestones, raised bezel) set with an oval amythest E/W, and OMG, that thing is lovely. Something to consider if you''re not dedicated to a RB or have larger fingers. It''s really unique and stunning.

Hope I didn''t bore you, I can talk about my rings all day

. If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[shigidigi]

I''d love to see other angles of the ring if you have them. I think it is such a beautiful design that the ring doesnt cover too much of the stone and that it sits so flush. I see so many lovely prong rings, but it is rare to see a flush set where the stone isnt mostly covered.

 

[mercoledi]

So I don't have a real variety of pictures on this computer, but I can probably post more from elsewhere. Here's my ring with the band from the profile. One thing to know is that the stone is set so low that if I squish my hand, the cutlet does push into my finger. It doesn't hurt per se, but in a new design I'd make it a tad taller or add a cup/trough/band under the stone to prevent that.

 

[mercoledi]

pics from elsewhere on PS:

Wow, that''s the most self-centered thing I''ve done all day. Hope it helps! It''s really a pretty simple ring!

 

[shigidigi]

Wow! Thanks so much. It''s funny I also want a bit of a thicker wband to go with it and you have exactly that. Do you know how many mm the ering is? Also, thanks for mentioning about the culet hitting your finger; I do think I would like to try and get a basket put underneath the stone.

You have no idea how much of a help you have been! Now just to get the boyfriend to get cracking

You''ve been so helpful, I really appreciate you sharing your pics with me (and all the rest of those PSers!)

I''ll let you know how it turns out!

 

[mercoledi]

The band is 4.5ish at the bezel and tapers to 3.5ish in the back. My w-band is 3mm. I think your stone is a smidge smaller than mine though, so you could shave a little off the band width. The side stones are bead set.

If you want to put a basket under the stone, there are a few here (Deco for sure) who have super-shiny surfaces under their stones that produce kaleidescopic sparkle when newly cleaned. I've considered modding this one to do that!

Good luck, and if you need anything else, just ask.

One last one that I just found...not as clean as I might like, but it's a cool shot. The haze in the stone is from where it collects gunk from my finger. ew.

 

[shigidigi]

Oh you have to tell me more about the shiny basket underneath! Is t really possible to have something underneath a stone that could produce a kalidescope effect? I have never heard of such a thing. Anyone have any examples of what it looks like or the effect''s appearance?

Man, I tell you what... I learn something new from people here at PS every day...

 

[kcoursolle]

gorgeous ring!!!

 

[peachy]

Beautiful rings, Mercoledi.

What is the name of the other shop with the gorgeous amethyst you mentioned?

 

[mercoledi]

shigidigi- you can probably find it searching for "kaleidoscopic" or "kaleidescope" though I probably didn''t spell that correctly. Decodelighted''s asscher has one for sure, and I think someone else does, though I can''t remember whom. Maybe Deco will see this, or maybe you can page her. As for what it entails- I have no idea, it just sounds awesome.

K- Thanks! I still love your w-band!

Peachy- It''s a little place in the Galleria building in Coolidge Corner Brookline. It''s called the Mattei gallery. I believe it''s run by Ms. Mattei herself (who is just a sweet as can be) and a relative of hers. They''re not open much, but they get/make really beautiful unusual stuff and rotate it frequently. If you''re in the area, check it out!
http://matteigalleria.com/

 

[mercoledi]

ETA:
I found this in another thread, it''s what I was refering to:

Author: Decodelighted

I''ll repeat my STRONG suggestion to at least check out what your asscher would look like in a setting with a mirrored trough under the stone (rather than your bare skin). I don''t know exactly why but on mine it''s trippy. Mine didn''t start out that way .. it was in prongs, but I had it set lower into the setting and WOW. Pictures don''t really capture it but right out of the pro cleaning: Kaliedescopic.

Settings like that - the stone still floats like your tension designs ... there''s just shiny metal underneath the stone against your finger.

Eh ... I''m a little under the weather so I''m not making sense!

Oh, here too

Deco? Help?

 

[peachy]

Mercoledi - Yes, I've been to Karina Mattei's gallery... I had a feeling you might have been referring to her. She does have some fabulous and unique styles...

 

[shigidigi]

Mercoledi thank you so much for finding that post! I have never heard of a mirrored trough but now I am going to go hunting to find one myself!

What a cool idea that something could help reflect the light back through the diamond to make it extra sparkly!

Deco, if you''re out there- any hand shots that show this crazy kalidescope effect? I know how hard it is to get good shots of diamonds period so it may have been too hard.

Either way, I am gonna ask around to local jewelers to see if any of them do something similar so I can see it in person.

Thanks so much for the help!!

 

[mercoledi]

Date: 5/17/2007 5:07:45 PM
Author: Peachy
Mercoledi - Yes, I''ve been to Karina Mattei''s gallery... I had a feeling you might have been referring to her. She does have some fabulous and unique styles...

Peachy- How strange is that? Do you know the ring I mean? I adore that place, it''s my default for MIL gifts. Last Christmas they called an artist and had a piece specially made for us within a week because the one in stock had sold an hour before we got there. I can''t say enough nice things. And their wedding sets briefly made me wish that DH had found her first.


Shigidigi- Happy to help. If you manage to get pics of that, we''d love to see them too!

 

[peachy]

I haven''t been to her gallery in about 8 or 9 months so I''m not sure if I''ve seen that particular ring. Given that you were in the Boston area, the description just sounded so much like her style...but what were the odds!?! I think the last time I went in, I spent about two hours trying on this and that... I was having too much fun...and Karina''s sister (I can''t remember her name) was so indulgent! I need to go back!