Choosing a durable pave style

[crasprima]

Hi,

I am new in this forum and I am looking for an engagement ring. After a lot of research I already know many things that I want in the ring:
- 14k yellow gold
- 6 prongs
- ~1ct lab diamon (i think in europe bigger is too much)
- low profile (easier for everyday life)
- ~2mm thickness
- Pave (at most 50-70% of the shank to allow some resizing)

The most challenging part for me to decide now is the pave part. Usually the styles that I like the most involve some level of micropave:
-

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

- https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...old-trio-micropave-engagement-ring-item-53113
-

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Unfortunately my understanding is that the more and the smaller the pave, the higher chance of diamonds falling. Also multirow pave seems not to work well with having more rings in the same finger.

Overall, I definitely would like to avoid having to go several times to get diamonds back in place. So I am looking for a tradeoff between beautiful and practical.

So finally I want to get your opinion on the durability of a twisted pave like the following:
- https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-gold-twisted-pave-engagement-ring-item-53390
- https://www.brilliantearth.com/Nova-Halo-Diamond-Ring-(1/2-ct.-tw.)-Gold-BE1D25241-1517747/

In particular, how it compares in the one hand with micropaves or multi row pave, and on the other hand with simple one row paves.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Are you planning to have Victor Canera make your ring or work with a different jeweler?

 

[crasprima]

Are you planning to have Victor Canera make your ring or work with a different jeweler?

I was thinking about a different jeweler due to location (shipping from US to Europe is costly and is harder to make adjustments) + prices slightly above my budget.
However, I mentioned it in the examples since Victor Canera and James Allen seem to be the ones with more examples of twisted pave or complex paves that I liked.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Not in a million years would I try to emulate one of Victor Caneras pave styles with anyone else as fabrication method is so important for durability and also most Jewelers do not have the skill.

I think the skill of the maker likely has more to do with durability than anything else.

 

[crasprima]

But I am not trying to imitate Victor Caneras, actually my question was focused on the durability of these 2 rings:
- https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...-gold-twisted-pave-engagement-ring-item-53390
- https://www.brilliantearth.com/Nova-Halo-Diamond-Ring-(1/2-ct.-tw.)-Gold-BE1D25241-1517747/

Maybe it felt that this was more focused on Victor Caneras because the forum automatically embeds links to instagram but I sent links from 3 different places and I am asking a general question regardless of the jeweler (is X type of pave more durable than Y?)

 

[Tonks]

The most durable type of pave is bright set pave, where it almost appears as if the pave is between two channels.

Safest choice is to do a plain shank engagement ring and a pave band. That way if you do have issues with pave, you’re only having to have a band repaired rather than an ER.

 

[Dreamer_D]

My mistake then, all the images that appeared in the original most were Canera.

 

[Grymera]

Ultimately, it’s going to come down to the quality of the execution for the pave styles. I highly, highly recommend Victor’s work and I think it would be worth it to size down in diamond to accommodate his setting prices. He also has a number of pre made settings on the site which sometimes go on sale if you sign up for the email newsletter or inquire. I believe all of his current pre made pieces are in platinum, however. Given the prices of that James Allen setting, you could swing something with Victor most likely. I’d send him an email and see what he has he can do within your budget.

I have his Irys with cuffs and additional pave around the basket (the Grymera, my favorite and username, was meant for a 3ct+ stone so I went with the similar Irys and added the elements). I’ve worn it for 5+ years with zero issues of the pave, although I do take my ring off for weight lifting or anything strenuous.

Really, truly, if you are a pave lover, the setting is the place to splurge IMO. I don’t think you’ll have any issues with his work long term and it is far cheaper to get an incredible, durable setting than spend $$$ on something that does have issues later on.

 

[Victor Canera]

Hi @crasprima

You’ve gotten some really good advice so far.
You’re correct in that the more pave on a ring, the more chance of inadvertent damage in the future. There’s just a larger amount of surface area that can be hit against something causing a diamond to pop out.

One strategy you might consider would be to have rings made in a single row of pave per strand instead of two. This would minimize the potential for damage, and also have a cost benefit for you.

I agree with the others in that the best way to protect yourself from diamonds falling out in the future is to invest in a nicely made ring. This means hand made pave. Please do NOT purchase a piece made with “preset pave”. Those types of rings are the ones that are mass produced at larger retailers and are made to reach a specific price point. I wrote about this issue a while back on PS and other places. There’s also a big visual difference, to my eyes. Preset pave is much more bulky and crude than pave set pave.

Good luck!

 

[crasprima]

Thank you very much for the reply Victor. If you don't mind, I would like to ask 2 questions about what you commented:

> One strategy you might consider would be to have rings made in a single row of pave per strand instead of two.

I don't fully understand how this would look like, could you please share an example?

> Please do NOT purchase a piece made with “preset pave”.

How can I tell the different between hand made and preset pave, apart from simply trusting the jeweler?

Thanks!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Thank you very much for the reply Victor. If you don't mind, I would like to ask 2 questions about what you commented:

> One strategy you might consider would be to have rings made in a single row of pave per strand instead of two.

I don't fully understand how this would look like, could you please share an example?

> Please do NOT purchase a piece made with “preset pave”.

How can I tell the different between hand made and preset pave, apart from simply trusting the jeweler?

Thanks!

To your second question, only master craftspeople make hand made pave and the price reflects their skill. You cannot order it online from a website generally speaking.

 

[Victor Canera]

Thank you very much for the reply Victor. If you don't mind, I would like to ask 2 questions about what you commented:

> One strategy you might consider would be to have rings made in a single row of pave per strand instead of two.

I don't fully understand how this would look like, could you please share an example?

> Please do NOT purchase a piece made with “preset pave”.

How can I tell the different between hand made and preset pave, apart from simply trusting the jeweler?

Thanks!

Here's a photo showing a close up of a single row, pave set braided band.


In terms of preset pave, that's a difficult question to answer because vendors DO NOT want consumers to know the difference and I haven't seen a filter or way for a consumer to make that distinction. My experience has been that large retailers almost always use preset pave. Otherwise manufacturing the quantity needed to produce the jewelry wouldn't be possible. One way to tell but not always, are the 360 videos generated from 3D models (rather than photos of past physical rings). If that 360 video includes pave, it's most likely preset pave. Why? Well, the CAD has the pave built into the design already. The beads holding the pave set diamonds is programmed into the wax and cast with the beading. This isn't always the case however. For example, our Bliss Collection shows 3D models with pave BUT, we don't cast the rings with the beading in place. We cast the rings with a blank canvas of metal and then do hand made pave on the metal.
Usually boutique vendors do hand made pave. There's a big difference in quality and unfortunately, I'd say 99% of consumers aren't aware of this distinction.