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Casting an E-ring - diamond choice critique?

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Dabbler2

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
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I''m proposing, I''m a graduate-student - she never wears rings nor diamonds.

My solution: I''m casting my own ring (using a lost-wax technique), with all sorts of personal touches and readily adaptable to be worn around the neck. I think a diamond is in order, though nothing big. Fascinated by fluorescence I''ve picked this one:

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&pid=LD01096497&filter_id=0

But a perusal of these excellent forums tells me I''m waaay out of my league here! Am I picking something that''ll bum us out later? Is the price fair? Is blue nile fair?

Help would be so appreciated here -

Thanks,

-anonymous-until-engaged
 
First of all, congratulations on your (almost) engagement!

I am also a graduate student, a female PhD candidate in engineering. Other than my wedding jewelry, I wear no rings, necklaces, bracelets. I have one pair of earrings (small diamond studs) that I wear every day. Trust me, I get the no jewelery thing.

But I have to warn you, there is something different when it comes to an engagement ring. I have known quite a few female engineers, and even the sportscar-driving, rockclimbing, adventure-seeking one-of-the-guys girls all ended up choosing traditional engagement/wedding rings. Your girl might not be like that, and she may not really want to wear an engagement ring, but don''t just assume it will be that way because she doesn''t wear jewelry now.

Also, I totally respect your desire to cast the ring yourself, but I encourage you to contract a professional to do it. There are a couple of reasons I say this:

1) You''re proposing. You want the ring to be perfect. You could spend waaaaay too much of your time making the ring and maybe come up with a pretty good amateur setting, but it won''t be professional. Jewelery setting is an art, a skilled craft, and the people who spend their lives learning it deserve the money we pay for their skill.

2) You''ve probably got a thesis/dissertation to be working on, right? Take your CAD renderings, your IGES or STL files, and whatever else you were going to use to make the mold, and talk to a good custom jewelery designer. You''ll get everything you wanted, perfectly realized, and you''ll be able to spend your time doing the work that will get you out of school.

You get the idea. Anyway, best of luck with getting the PERFECT ring, and let us know how it turns out.

Cheers!

Hanione
 
That''s not a good stone, the table is too deep and the stone is too shallow. Even without the crown and pavilion angles, I would pass on it. VS1 is also too much. You can safely drop down to an SI1. If you still want an E, it''s fine but to stretch your budget, a H is also very white in a well cut round stone.

What is your budget?
How are you setting the stone?
Do you know how to set it so that the stone will not be damaged during the setting process and will not fall out later?
 
I second hanione. Before FI proposed, I hadn''t worn rings for over 6 years (and then only the kind you buy from street vendors), and had never owned anything that had more than the tiniest chip of a diamond in it. FI and I designed my ring together, so it is unique and truly personal -- something I want to wear every day, even if I don''t feel "fancy". Please don''t assume that her current lack of rings/diamonds means she doesn''t want any unless she''s actually said that.
 
Date: 7/24/2007 9:01:26 AM
Author: Chrono
That''s not a good stone, the table is too deep and the stone is too shallow. Even without the crown and pavilion angles, I would pass on it. VS1 is also too much. You can safely drop down to an SI1. If you still want an E, it''s fine but to stretch your budget, a H is also very white in a well cut round stone.
Click to expand...

ditto chrono! you can definitely do better on the stone..

also, I''m another non-jewelry wearer..but definitely wanted an engagement ring and wore it 24/7 once married. please be 100% sure that your idea is something she would think as *cool* and not be disappointed with a non-traditional proposal/ring
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Most consumers don’t have the necessary equipment to do the burnout and casting but, more importantly, to do the finish work and setting. These things take a fair amount of practice to do well and, in practice, even most professional jewelers aren’t very good at it. Your hundredth piece will come out far better than your first. I agree with the above that your engagement ring is not the best job to start with and I would encourage you to job out most if not all of the bench work to a pro. Practice on something simpler and that has fewer emotional complications if you do a less than excellent job.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
I don''t know what type of setting you are looking at, but I have two friends who are scientists who have a bezel-set engagement ring very similar to this one from Tiffany''s - it is set low and smooth, so it''s easy to pull lab golves over, etc. Plus, if it''s at all possible, I would look at something in the 0.5 carat range. a quarter carat is going to look very small. Maybe you could look at lower color and clarity, like H SI1. In a diamond that size, you won''t be able to see any inclusions, and if you like flourescence, you can even go as low as J color and the diamond will still look very white, like this one on Blue Nile.

http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?filter_id=1&pid1=LD01084842&track=tab_view_link

etoilejjc.jpg
 
Date: 7/24/2007 10:10:42 AM
Author: denverappraiser
Most consumers don’t have the necessary equipment to do the burnout and casting but, more importantly, to do the finish work and setting. These things take a fair amount of practice to do well and, in practice, even most professional jewelers aren’t very good at it. Your hundredth piece will come out far better than your first. I agree with the above that your engagement ring is not the best job to start with and I would encourage you to job out most if not all of the bench work to a pro. Practice on something simpler and that has fewer emotional complications if you do a less than excellent job.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
Click to expand...
I disagree.... in some ways I think this is extremely charming and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a piece like this as a symbol. That said, I may want another ring to wear while the handmade ring goes in my jewelry box, but the work of love? Oh yeah, I''d totally dig that!!!!
 
Date: 7/24/2007 10:10:42 AM
Author: denverappraiser

Practice on something simpler and that has fewer emotional complications if you do a less than excellent job.
Click to expand...
This is a great idea! You could purchase her engagement ring (stone and setting), so you don''t have to worry about damaging the stone or setting it securely enough. Then you could handcraft a wedding band or right-hand ring with all the symbolism and personal touches you like (and none of the stress of setting a diamond). I''m assuming here that you''ve got some experience with casting from your research and that you have access to a sandblaster or other polishing equipment. "Industrial" surface finishing techniques could actually make a really cool and very unique looking band.
 
Cehra,

I’m all for personal touches in these things and making it into a labor of love. My concern comes when diamonds start to fall out, when she starts to shred her clothes on the prongs and similar technical type problems. The plan is for her to wear this every day for the rest of her life after all. It’s easy to go back to a 3rd party craftsman and say ‘fix it’ while it’s a real problem to have her worrying about losing her diamond because YOU set it poorly. A good custom jeweler should be able to work with you to incorporate your special design elements and perhaps even your wax carving while enforcing engineering rigor to the design and some of the more specialized tools and skills that may be involved.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver
 
I think it''s really sweet of you to want to build her e-ring. However, I think this project is a little too risky for something so emotional, worn frequently, etc. I would save this type of project for a pendant someday, a right hand ring, or earrings. It would be a great anniversary present.

I think she will still think you were very thoughtful if you helped design the ring and it''s a bit safer to have a pro make it. Many vendors would be very excited to have someone come to them with design ideas and CAD renderings.
 
Wow, this forum is excellent! It''s even more active than the car sites I normally frequent (though, interestingly enough, it has the same synth. vs. dino issues - not to be discussed here of course).

The diamond vespergirl recommended looked really nice, maybe a little out of my price-range. But perhaps I should revise that upward some... I really appreciate all the advice about what color ranges/qualities look appropriate to the eye.

I''m still pretty excited about casting. I''ll try to make a couple rings with non-diamond settings and see how they look (I''ll post pictures, if you guys are interested). Thanks so much all-

Anon
 
Date: 7/24/2007 5:50:42 PM
Author: Dabbler2
Wow, this forum is excellent! It''s even more active than the car sites I normally frequent (though, interestingly enough, it has the same synth. vs. dino issues - not to be discussed here of course).


The diamond vespergirl recommended looked really nice, maybe a little out of my price-range. But perhaps I should revise that upward some... I really appreciate all the advice about what color ranges/qualities look appropriate to the eye.


I''m still pretty excited about casting. I''ll try to make a couple rings with non-diamond settings and see how they look (I''ll post pictures, if you guys are interested). Thanks so much all-


Anon
Click to expand...

I would love to see your ring designs. It would be interesting to find out more about how it''s done.

a
 
Date: 7/24/2007 4:02:38 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Cehra,

I’m all for personal touches in these things and making it into a labor of love. My concern comes when diamonds start to fall out, when she starts to shred her clothes on the prongs and similar technical type problems. The plan is for her to wear this every day for the rest of her life after all. It’s easy to go back to a 3rd party craftsman and say ‘fix it’ while it’s a real problem to have her worrying about losing her diamond because YOU set it poorly. A good custom jeweler should be able to work with you to incorporate your special design elements and perhaps even your wax carving while enforcing engineering rigor to the design and some of the more specialized tools and skills that may be involved.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver
Click to expand...
yeah I see your points.... still if it is 1/4 carat or less it isn''t a huge loss. It might be nice to give her an engagement BAND that he designs, creates, makes..... and then lets her pick her own stone and ring. I''m all for having your cake and eating it too when possible!
 
Looks lovely.
 
Very nice.
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Much MUCH better than your original choice.
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Yea! I''m glad you liked it! Can''t go wrong with that idealscope!
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Date: 7/25/2007 7:30:01 PM
Author: InlovewithJHK
Yea! I''m glad you liked it! Can''t go wrong with that idealscope!
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Click to expand...
Oh and JA has a PS discount (not sure the exact amount but I''m sure it can''t hurt!)
 
I think that stone looks great, but be sure to ask them if it is eyeclean. It looks as though there is an inclusion that could be covered with a prong, but you''d need a professional jeweler to advise you. Or, maybe are you a jeweler if you are making her ring? I personally like VS clarity so I don''t have to worry about the inclusions being visible.

I agree with those who say that an engagement ring is something most girls want even if they have never worn other jewelry. Be sure what you are creating would be her style, not yours.
 
That diamond is still in the running, but now I''m getting excited about Canadian diamonds. Somewhat overpriced, but it has sentimental meaning to us, and I like knowing where they''re from. Here''s the one I''m looking at.

http://www.canadadiamonds.com/canadian_diamond_detail.php?stock=CAN-A668&customer=USD

(I''m still waiting to hear from the polar-bear diamond folks, to see how I can buy from them)

Attached: my current ring design - the diamond will be seen from the side. The twist is so when she wears it on a necklace it sits flush against her. The little yellow things are stainless-steel little rectangles as part of an inside joke - thoughts? (yeah, I know, the model is pretty tough, but I had to conceptualize it somehow)

Picture 16.png
 
I don''t know guys, that is some pretty intense cloud coverage there. I know the IS looks good but isn''t it possible that having such a high % of cloud coverage could affect dispersion and other light performance? Sure the diamond is returning good light, but might it affect the actual behavior of the light?
Also, from my experience with JA clouds the scan is not going to display the clouds 100%, going to be even more coverage than we are seeing here online. I would def want to find out more somehow. Also, several of the clouds may be black and large enough to see from the side profile if not from the top. That could well make it, from the side at least, look very "dirty", and potentially from the face up view as well? Def need to find out more I think.
 
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