Custom Setting vs. Standard Settings - thoughts?

[hameljon]

Hi PriceScopers!

I've been looking at Diamonds for a little over a month and with each passing day I get closer to finding what I'm after. You can see my current journey/process here: Help finding an Ideal Canadian Diamond

Despite making some progress on finding the right diamond, it's dawned on me that I really haven't spent enough time considering the setting. First of all what are the general pros/cons of going with a customer setting vs. just a standard one that's likely been casted 100s of times? Is there any general cons with working with multiple vendors (Buying Diamond from Vendor A and getting it set by Vendor B)? How can I protect myself from risks of shipping a Diamond for setting?

•My budget remaining for a setting after I purchase a diamond will likely be in the $1,500-2,500 range. Seems like all the sites I've looked at have options within this range matching the style I'm looking for, but I imagine if I go the custom route I may go over or on the high end of my budget??

•What I'm after isn't anything fancy, just a classic style setting with side accent/melee diamonds. The best one I saw in person was "Enrichment" by Heart's on Fire. http://www.heartsonfire.com/shop-jewelry/rings/engagement-rings/enrichmentengagementring.aspx
What I really loved was how each melee diamond was very pronounced and beautiful, whereas a lot of rings I've seen in this style the melee diamonds look pretty dull.

•I really like the width as well (1.8mm), I think 1.8mm usually translates to 0.025 carat melee diamonds?? One thing with the melee diamonds I would want different is for them only to go half way around the band, rather than 75% like on the enrichment setting. So this would probably be 6-7 diamonds per side rather than 10. Also for melee diamonds is it generally best to go with Hearts and Arrow melee diamonds? I've seen this on some custom rings which is a nice touch, but it doesn't seem common on standard settings if at all. I think the more pronouced "u-setting" of each melee diamonds really makes them pop

•For the prongs, just 4 prongs set up to look more rounded than square with the basket if that makes sense? I've noticed how some straighter/squared baskets make the diamond look more square as well.
Functionality with a future matching wedding band is also important to me, I like it when the wedding band can sit flush against the ring and not pertrude out away from the engagement ring like this: http://herkimerdiamondrings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/L1290891.jpg

•For Gold vs. Platinum - I'm on a little bit of a fence so far with this and I am open to both options, My girlfriend likes the light weight of Gold but I think Platinum is probably a better long term investment in-terms of tarnishing and durability. That being said Palladium might be the best compromise but it doesn't seem too many people are working with this metal

•Here are a couple other one's I liked (clearly haven't looked hard haha):
http://www.bluenile.com/ca/diamond-engagement-ring-platinum_35965
http://www.ritani.com/engagement-rings/french-set-diamond-band-engagement-ring-in-14kt-white-gold/10593 - I also like how Ritani has the Palladium option

•Custom considerations - One thing with this kind of setting; it's pretty common and one of my girlfriend's best friends has a similar setting. So if there's any ideas of how to make it more unique without going overboard I'm open to hear. She really doesn't like when diamonds are paved on the gallery/basket area; this looks too busy and she doesn't want to take away from the main diamond.

Thank you for your help and consideration!

 

[MT7799]

Check out Eternity by Yoni, he custom made my band for my fiancee for around $1650 in WG very similar style setting. Had a little over .50 ctw pave setting with a 4 prong basket,( I chose a different mounting base off of another style that he carries in stock since I liked it better). He has ones in stock like mine but I wanted to tweak it and make it what my fiancee and I completely wanted.

 

[hameljon]

Check out Eternity by Yoni, he custom made my band for my fiancee for around $1650 in WG very similar style setting. Had a little over .50 ctw pave setting with a 4 prong basket,( I chose a different mounting base off of another style that he carries in stock since I liked it better). He has ones in stock like mine but I wanted to tweak it and make it what my fiancee and I completely wanted.

Thanks for the suggestion and beautiful picture .

How long did the whole process take going the custom route?

 

[MT7799]

Not too long. I met with him beginning of February and had the ring by the second weekend in March. It all depends on how intricate you want it and how quick he gets the diamond (since I know you were sourcing from another dealer). But figure 1-2 months with 2 being on the longer side. He's very quick with replies etc. and ships it one day overnight when it's complete.

 

[distracts]

Honestly, if you're going with a relatively standard looking ring, I see NO reason to go custom versus just finding a stock setting that looks the way you want, is the quality you want, and is in your budget. With your budget, your setting will most likely be cast anyway, so you're not going to be shelling out the big bucks for a handforged ring, which are by nature custom since they're made one at a time by hand. So I don't think the method of manufacture matters to your decision. And your design isn't rare enough to not be found in a stock setting, so that says to me there's just really no need to go custom. Many places that do stock settings can do minor modifications easily enough, like making it half-eternity rather than 3/4 or full eternity, like you want, which can make it into exactly what you want without going full custom. That's what I did for mine - it's a stock setting with modifications. It's usually cheaper for them to just modify an existing CAD than start over.

 

[hameljon]

Not too long. I met with him beginning of February and had the ring by the second weekend in March. It all depends on how intricate you want it and how quick he gets the diamond (since I know you were sourcing from another dealer). But figure 1-2 months with 2 being on the longer side. He's very quick with replies etc. and ships it one day overnight when it's complete.

Good to know! Thanks for the input/perspective

Honestly, if you're going with a relatively standard looking ring, I see NO reason to go custom versus just finding a stock setting that looks the way you want, is the quality you want, and is in your budget. With your budget, your setting will most likely be cast anyway, so you're not going to be shelling out the big bucks for a handforged ring, which are by nature custom since they're made one at a time by hand. So I don't think the method of manufacture matters to your decision. And your design isn't rare enough to not be found in a stock setting, so that says to me there's just really no need to go custom. Many places that do stock settings can do minor modifications easily enough, like making it half-eternity rather than 3/4 or full eternity, like you want, which can make it into exactly what you want without going full custom. That's what I did for mine - it's a stock setting with modifications. It's usually cheaper for them to just modify an existing CAD than start over.

Makes sense to me considering the commonality of the design. Probably easiest and cheapest to go with a stock setting with a slight variation and save some money! Thanks for the input.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Every vendor can access that style setting. There is no reason to go custom. Choose the diamond and then try to get the setting from the same vendor.

I do advise going 75% of the way around with the diamonds on the shank. Rings can turn sometimes and you don't want to see the plain metal and you might if you just do half. I'd always go 75-80% with a plain area at the base from like 5:00-7:00 in case the ring ever has to be sized.

 

[RT82]

RE gold vs. platinum:

Consider what other jewelery she has. My fiancee has other white/yellow gold pieces and likes that her engagement ring (in white gold) has similar lustre (not sure what the correct term is). I wouldn't assume platinum is a slam dunk, esp. since she like the weight of gold better.

 

[hameljon]

Every vendor can access that style setting. There is no reason to go custom. Choose the diamond and then try to get the setting from the same vendor.

I do advise going 75% of the way around with the diamonds on the shank. Rings can turn sometimes and you don't want to see the plain metal and you might if you just do half. I'd always go 75-80% with a plain area at the base from like 5:00-7:00 in case the ring ever has to be sized.

Hmm, interesting point. The main reason I was thinking 50% is because she really didn't like the way the side diamonds felt against her other fingers; Jewelers say she'll get use to this though ?

Not sure if you know the answer to this, but do you know if it's bad for a wedding band to sit flush against the engagement ring? One jeweler said you want a little gap so they don't wear against each other. Thoughts?

RE gold vs. platinum:

Consider what other jewelery she has. My fiancee has other white/yellow gold pieces and likes that her engagement ring (in white gold) has similar lustre (not sure what the correct term is). I wouldn't assume platinum is a slam dunk, esp. since she like the weight of gold better.

Good point, she currently doesn't have much jewelry but I guess it's good to consider for future jewelry as well as I imagine most pieces wouldn't be in Platinum. Thanks

 

[liaerfbv]

Hmm, interesting point. The main reason I was thinking 50% is because she really didn't like the way the side diamonds felt against her other fingers; Jewelers say she'll get use to this though ?

No. I never got used to pave between my fingers and ended up resetting because it was so uncomfortable. Listen to your gf and what she told you she wanted.

 

[hameljon]

Hmm, interesting point. The main reason I was thinking 50% is because she really didn't like the way the side diamonds felt against her other fingers; Jewelers say she'll get use to this though ?

No. I never got used to pave between my fingers and ended up resetting because it was so uncomfortable. Listen to your gf and what she told you she wanted.

Thanks for the personal perspective! This is great to know.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It all depends on the pave. There are TONS of people on this forum with pave shank rings all the way around on the wedding band and the engagement ring. If the ring is sized right, it shouldn't be a problem. If she really thinks this is a problem, you'd be better off going with a plain shank on the e-ring and then let her try on diamond wedding bands with it. Keeping two half diamond bands turned right would be a pain, and that is probably why we almost never see people here order them with half diamonds.

Platinum is less likely to wear away over time, so if she wears any white metals, that is what I'd recommend. And yes, I prefer a tiny gap between my rings. That often is accomplished if there is a little circle (doughnut) at the base of the head that holds the stone.

Just be sure you give the ring with time left on your return policy. That is the key. Tell her she has X number of days if anything is not right with the ring to return it and you can start over if necessary. That is the advantage to a stock ring if you can find one through your diamond vendor. Special order rings, designer or custom rings usually cannot be returned.