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De Beers Forever Two setting, alternatives?

CushionCutCarbon

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2013
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9
I guess i'll fit into the typical newbie for this site. Recently engaged, looking for Rings (didnt have the guts to pick the actual ring so went cameo route) and my Fi has narrowed the choice down for me.

She doesn't wear much Jewellery and her Job doesn't help (Nurse), as she can't wear anything other then studs (plain wedding band will be OK, but the engagement ring won't). So for the real ring I had to ask her advice as I really didnt have any experience to go on. In fact she didn't know herself and in the end she picked designs she skimmed straight past when looking online :)

Anyway waffle aside, in order of preference:

1) De Beers Forever Two - Platinum setting - Round 1.09c F/VS1 (she thought the 1.5c was probably too big, they didnt have anything in between)

2) Tiffany Lucida - Platinum Setting - Prefered 1.5c F VS2, but also liked the 1.13c F VS2. She thought the 1c looked too small for this setting as the tapered affect of the setting wasnt pronounced enough. They said they will have some inbetween sized stones next week

3) Leviev - Platinum Setting - 1.06c G VS2 Emerald cut, with two 0.28c shoulder stones. The setting was also very chunky, like the other two.

The first two were realistically out of budget (£15k for Debeers and £28k for the 1.5c Lucida), I could stretch to the DeBeers, but she doesn't feel comfortable wearing £15k on her finger. As she already cant wear it to work, I guess it doesnt make sense to get her something she then wont feel comfortable wearing much of the rest of the time. The Leviev I was surprised at £8k was only a tad over what we'd agreed (£6k).

Ideally I'd like to get her the De Beers. It was the one we both liked best, but if she wont wear it, from my research its pretty clear unlike precious metals none of them will hold their value. So I've looked for stones and it appears I could get the stone well within our agreed budget. The question is, could I get the setting to a similar quality?

I havent looked for the De Beers setting, she hadn't even considered one like that until she tried it. But we did look for the Lucida type setting, which we saw the week before (only Tiffanys was open last Sunday). And so far I haven't been impressed with the settings at the likes of Hatton Garden Jewellers. The proportions just dont look right to my eye, I think we both prefer substantial (architectural for want of a better word) settings. Whereas the X Prong Lucida alternatives we saw were far more intricate and delicate looking.

Has anyone had any luck replicating the Forever Two setting? My alternative is to go for the Leviev, as we both liked the ring.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Pics of the De Beers, as their site only has one:

http://www.debeers.com/bridal/engagement-rings/j1ds02b20p/forever-two-solitaire-ring
http://thelane.com/the-lane/de-beers/fine-jewellery/db-forever-two-ring
http://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/rings/engagement-rings/de-beers-forever-two-platinum-200ct-diamond-engagement-ring/id-j_88781/

The one on last site appears to be in right state, but only one I can find with profile picture.
 
Wow, thankyou for the very quick reply.

Some of there settings seem to be much closer to what we like.

http://www.sholdtdesign.com/Fremont/R149.htm

The band in that one is quite close to the DB F2, the prong section is not as nice though.

The only problem is, I'm they dont have any retailers in London. So I'd essentially be ordering blind.
 
Yes, the prong design in the Vashion is closer. Combination of the prong style in the Vashion with the squarer band design of the R149 would be ideal :)
 
Budget is like $9000.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions and links.

Although our original agreed budget is around £6k, she quite liked the Leviev ring @ £8k, so assume I could go that high. After all, if I cant find an alternative setting, that is the ring I'm considering buying as its the only one we really liked that was also close to budget.

So the last stone @ $7300 would come to about £6k after VAT (20% in UK). That would leave me upto £2k for the setting.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-facets-collection-eternity-band-w-sholdt-semi-bezel.146300/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-facets-collection-eternity-band-w-sholdt-semi-bezel.146300/[/URL]

I like that setting. Its more rounded then the DB F2, but from the pictures looks close to her taste after our window shopping. The only thing I'm not sure about, is its 1.5C stone, so would it look as good with a 1-1.1c. If only they had a retailer in the UK.
 
That still looks pretty good. I'm wondering if I could contact them. Perhaps they have a stockist here, as they dont list anything apart from NA. If i'm lucky it may just be their website doesnt list anywhere outside of NA
 
CushionCutCarbon|1375914799|3498538 said:
That still looks pretty good. I'm wondering if I could contact them. Perhaps they have a stockist here, as they dont list anything apart from NA. If i'm lucky it may just be their website doesnt list anywhere outside of NA


I think there's 2 things to consider hear the original one from Scholdt does look a whole lot like that de beers one. So will she want a replica or one with the same feeling? Because if she wants a replica go for that. But the other semi bezel is its own ring. Not a copy. And in my opinion Mich more feminine and attractive
 
I think we will be in town again later this week, so i'm sure she'll want to take another look at the DB ring. Now that i've seen some alternative semi bezel rings, I can get her to try them to see if she likes them also. Or if she still prefers the less rounded ones like the DB F2.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2972950.htm#

Anyone have an opinion on that stone?

EDIT: Just noticed it has strong blue fluorescence, which from what I've read is not good. I've read faint blue can be ok on a non D/E/F stone and improve its visual colour, is that correct? Or should I avoid all fluorescence?
 
CushionCutCarbon|1375928987|3498688 said:
I think we will be in town again later this week, so i'm sure she'll want to take another look at the DB ring. Now that i've seen some alternative semi bezel rings, I can get her to try them to see if she likes them also. Or if she still prefers the less rounded ones like the DB F2.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2972950.htm#

Anyone have an opinion on that stone?

I love it. Not everyone likes a J though. When you have her out and about, see how she feels about them. Make sure you only look at GIA XXX or AGS stones though.


Also, I'm still going to suggest Brian Gavin blues, if you go to an I, J, or K

The fluor will make it look whiter in many lighting situations (UV LIGHT) and will couteract the body tint.
 
Thanks, I didnt quite understand how colour and flour balanced. As I said I've read it mentioned that blue flour can help make coloured stones look whiter, but wasn't sure if that also applied all the way to strong flour.

Right now I'm searching with the XXX/AGS0 boxes ticked and playing around with the other settings. Last week I was looking at square stones as she saw the Tiffany Lucida, so I was trying to replicate that :) Now its back to square one. I have a feeling the DB FW2 (or similar) is the style, so now just need to narrow down her round stone preferences. And also wether she likes all half bezels, or just the very contemporary FW2 type.

Normally after all this work I'd hope it would come in useful for the future. But in this case I hope she doesnt get a taste for more diamond jewellery if I hit the ball out the park :D
 
Apologies as I haven't read all the fine detail of the thread. But the DB setting reminded a whole lot of this Ritani which is $1700 in platinum.

screen_shot_2013-08-08_at_1.png
 
CushionCutCarbon|1375930571|3498711 said:
Thanks, I didnt quite understand how colour and flour balanced. As I said I've read it mentioned that blue flour can help make coloured stones look whiter, but wasn't sure if that also applied all the way to strong flour.

Right now I'm searching with the XXX/AGS0 boxes ticked and playing around with the other settings. Last week I was looking at square stones as she saw the Tiffany Lucida, so I was trying to replicate that :) Now its back to square one. I have a feeling the DB FW2 (or similar) is the style, so now just need to narrow down her round stone preferences. And also wether she likes all half bezels, or just the very contemporary FW2 type.

Normally after all this work I'd hope it would come in useful for the future. But in this case I hope she doesnt get a taste for more diamond jewellery if I hit the ball out the park :D

For your sake I hope that's true. Not for hers though ;)

I'm excited to see what you end up with. Sholdt names stunning rings in general, and that ritani is pretty too, I love simple modern settings, I'm sure whatever you pick will be so cool!
 
CushionCutCarbon|1375928987|3498688 said:
EDIT: Just noticed it has strong blue fluorescence, which from what I've read is not good. I've read faint blue can be ok on a non D/E/F stone and improve its visual colour, is that correct? Or should I avoid all fluorescence?

Not true. As long as the fluor doesn't have any negative effects in direct sunlight (milkiness, oiliness) the you're fine. BG's Blue line has already been pre-screened and none of those stones exhibit any ill effects.

I have a D color RB w/ SBF and I personally love it. Makes it look more blue-white in sunlight, and I really like that effect. In lighting that doesn't have any UV rays (indoor) the fluorescence plays no part as it is UV activated.

Don't write off a fluor stone! Once upon a time these "blue-white" stones were highly sought after. For some reason there is a prejudice against them now in the industry among (ignorant) vendors, so these stones tend to sell for a lower price than comparable stone with no fluor. It works in your favor financially, and it is very cool!
 
Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions. I will ofcourse come back and post a picture.

The clarification on flour is especially helpful as its not a topic well covered in the normal guides. I've only seen it mentioned in one other place that it can actually be beneficial for slightly coloured stones and then it only said mild flour.

I'm going to have a look at the Ritani. Having looked at lots of peoples rings, I get the impression that too many focus on the Diamond and the setting isnt given as much thought. Over the last few weeks I've seen many rings on peoples fingers, where the diamond is very likely a great stone, but the setting looks run of the mill and detracts from the overall package. Thanks to your advice I'm more confident about the stone, now to look at the settings you've all been kind enough to suggest :)
 
A nice setting can make or break a stone's appearance, IMO. I had a run of the mill plain solitaire, and didn't love the stone that was in it. So I reset the stone and now I love it - in my case a nice setting did matter. And Ritani is a good place to start - they have very nice pieces.
 
angeline|1375933168|3498747 said:
Apologies as I haven't read all the fine detail of the thread. But the DB setting reminded a whole lot of this Ritani which is $1700 in platinum.

The Ritani posted is very appealing... and at a great price!
 
msop04|1375994906|3499210 said:
angeline|1375933168|3498747 said:
Apologies as I haven't read all the fine detail of the thread. But the DB setting reminded a whole lot of this Ritani which is $1700 in platinum.

The Ritani posted is very appealing... and at a great price!

Someone here actually has one. Who knew

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-ring-engaged-since-august.130199/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-ring-engaged-since-august.130199/[/URL]
 
Niel|1375995360|3499215 said:
msop04|1375994906|3499210 said:
angeline|1375933168|3498747 said:
Apologies as I haven't read all the fine detail of the thread. But the DB setting reminded a whole lot of this Ritani which is $1700 in platinum.

The Ritani posted is very appealing... and at a great price!

Someone here actually has one. Who knew

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-ring-engaged-since-august.130199/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-ring-engaged-since-august.130199/[/URL]

I'm usually not drawn to this type of setting, but the Ritani and some of the plain shank Sholdt settings are sooooo tempting!! Right hand ring, maybe??!! :naughty:

Great find, Niel!
 
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