design for antique pear help

[Lookinagain]

I have two projects that I've been thinking about. One for a marquise which has me stalled and one for this antique pear that i purcharsed from JBG.http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/new-additions/83ct-antique-pear-diamond-gia-m-vs2#.VqmVwb2wVQE
Its a pretty stone and I want to set it in 18k yellow gold. I have kind of eclectic taste and found this ring which I like. However I would want to change it up a bit and was thinking of something like the sketch I made. I don't want the concave type bezel or the divided shank. And I think adding the halo gives it a bit of a vintage feel in the more modern setting. Am I way off here? The stone is very pretty in person and has a decent size to it so I think the ring will give me nice coverage. If anyone has any thoughts about my sketch or other ideas, please comment. I can always use the help. thanks.

 

[Lookinagain]

I think I might want the shank wider on the right side more like this?

 

[Gypsy]

I like your ideas. I think they will look lovely. Are you sure on the halo though? I think milgrain will just look lovely there.

I have an idea though.

How about something like this for the halo/bezel texture design.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/cora-sholdt-14k-yellow-gold-5767y14

I also think that shank design wise, this would be like what you want (with just the one center stone):
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/pave-and-side-stones/tessa-sholdt-18k-yellow-gold-5600y18

 

[Michael_E]

I'd add an opposing twist to each side piece on this ring. I was messing around with another person's design when I came across this and thought, "That might look cool with some added detail", so here's a couple of pictures showing a halo with 1.3mm melee, size 7 with twisted band sections in rose gold, (maybe a little too rosy, getting the metal colors just right in the rendering is a challenge). The reason that the upper part sticks out to the left is to cover the point of the halo as well as possible before turning down and into the shank. Oops, I see that you want it shown in 18K yellow, the sketches must have put me off track. Let me know if you'd like to see this in yellow and I'll change it.

 

[Lookinagain]

That's interesting. I like the twist but not sure I'd do both it and the halo. But maybe something like a sandblasted metal with the halo as i like the idea of texture. I am a size 6 and have been thinking I might not like this design I had in mind if the top couldn't curve downward on my finger. I do know that I don't want it to stick out above the shank. Lots to think about. I really appreciate your input. I don't have much artistic talent so it is helpful that someone with the tools can help. Do you think there is a way to make the top curve down to the shank with the stone I have? Maybe smaller melee would allow more curve?

 

[Michael_E]

Do you think there is a way to make the top curve down to the shank with the stone I have? Maybe smaller melee would allow more curve?

There's nothing saying that the halo has to be protected by the outer ring parts. Those outer parts can bend down on both ends if you'd like. Since the diamond has a straight girdle, the top inner edge of the halo has to match that and be flat, BUT the rest of the top surface of the halo, (where the diamonds go), doesn't have to be flat and can tilt down more at each end to better follow the downward curvature of the twisted wires surrounding it. This render use a diamond that I modeled to be the same as yours, so the scale is pretty good with this. The melee is 1.3mm, but if you went way down to 1mm melee the halo would be thinner, making it a little easier to fit into the outer sections. I'll modify this model tomorrow morning to show the band being curved, smooth and with a thinner halo, (it'll probably be thicker under the halo, with the right hand part of the shank entering the thicker area around the halo...not going under it).
For what it's worth, I spent years making rings for another jeweler which were all bead blasted. It does harden the surface a little, but that sort of texture is very thin, doesn't last too long and shows scratching just as much as a polished surface, (at least on gold, not so much on platinum, since it gets a patina from use anyway).

 

[woofmama]

OP I really like the overall direction your design is going in. I love the e-w orientation. Very interested to follow this thread as I have a small pear diamond to set.

 

[Lookinagain]

Michael E. I was concerned about the texture wearing off so thank you for telling me that. I would skip the texture if that is the case. I also don't think I want the shank split into two pieces. I think I want it one piece like my drawing. And tilting the halo down so that the top of the ring flows more seamlessly into the shank is what I was thinking.

I like the way the inspiration ring appears to just be one continuous shank like this photo. Thank you again. All of your comments are really helping me.

 

[Michael_E]

Well I ran out of time and didn't get the smaller diamonds in the halo or tilt it. I can get that done this evening but I'd better get going on my other stuff or I'll be in big trouble. Anyway here's a size 6 version of this showing the same sort of look from the top, but with a much smoother interior, (so more comfortable). Let me know if you'd like to see this with smaller diamonds and I'll get to them later today.

 

[ringo865]

Wow michael_e that's cool!! If I had that program, I'd probably never get anything else done, I'd be creating. All. The. Time.

I love how you can incorporate these ideas into such beautiful renderings.

 

[Lookinagain]

If you have time I'd love to see the smaller diamonds. As small as possible I think. I don't want this ring to be bulky so I might have to skip the halo all together and maybe just milgrain around the diamond as Gypsy suggested. Again thank you so much. I wish I had your software.

 

[Michael_E]

Here are a couple of renders with 1mm melee in the halo. Keep in mind that the size of these images is about the same as looking through a ten power loupe which is a couple of inches in diameter, (not something that is actually available), so not a view that you're ever likely to see IRL. As for looking bulky, well add up all of the parts and the total width of this at the top is very close to 16mm. If you make the halo are thinner and millgrained, as well as making each side piece 1.5mm instead of 2mm, you can get that width down to 10mm - 11mm or so.

Yes, this software is really neat. Changing things like lighting and backgrounds in the rendering software really shows how those thing affect the look of an image. A good example of this is the beige background I used on this side shot. It seems to give better contrast with the ring compared to the green background used earlier. I'm also working on using Z-Brush to make some more fluid, organic forms and that has huge potential for creative ideas. Lots of fun when I'm not poking myself with sharp tools in actually making these things.

 

[Lookinagain]

As for looking bulky, well add up all of the parts and the total width of this at the top is very close to 16mm. If you make the halo are thinner and millgrained, as well as making each side piece 1.5mm instead of 2mm, you can get that width down to 10mm - 11mm or so.

I so appreciate all the help you have given me and the personal time you have put in on my behalf. What you have done is so helpful. I definitely do not want a ring that is 16mm! I have long fingers, but not that long. I think I may have to trim everything down and maybe remove the halo. Maybe just make this more of a bezel with the milgrain. I will try to do some sketches myself and see how it might look and post them for criticism/critique. Again, Michael E. thank you so much. And I still want your software!

 

[Lookinagain]

is something like this feasible. the part of the inspiration ring that I like most is the fact that there is a split in the shank where the point of the pear goes. I don't want to give that up. I would have liked a halo with tiny, tiny, stones. If that isn't in the cards, then a bezel with milgrain will have to do. But the parts that I don't want to give up is the split shank and also making it in yellow gold. My other ring project will be in white metal. Also, I think up to 12 mm will be fine. I do have fairly long fingers. Also, I was thinking of very tiny stones if I were to do a halo. stones the size of these.

 

[Michael_E]

is something like this feasible.

Yes, but making something that sits you perfectly requires that you be able to "see" what it looks like before it gets made. The beauty of using CAD modeling is that the end result, the ring, is much closer to the computer model than by using any other method of showing you what you'll get. Using the life like rendering software just makes it that much easier to see and make any changes to the piece prior to it actually being made. If a person was really going to great expenditures it would even be possible and useful to make a plastic model of the piece...just to make sure that the ring fits, the main stones fit and it looks just as the client expects it to. The newer plastics can even be plated with gold alloys, so they look like the real deal. (This is very expensive though, so reserved for very expensive pieces and the ultimate in picky clients).

the part of the inspiration ring that I like most is the fact that there is a split in the shank where the point of the pear goes. I don't want to give that up. I would have liked a halo with tiny, tiny, stones. If that isn't in the cards, then a bezel with milgrain will have to do. But the parts that I don't want to give up is the split shank and also making it in yellow gold. My other ring project will be in white metal. Also, I think up to 12 mm will be fine. I do have fairly long fingers. Also, I was thinking of very tiny stones if I were to do a halo. stones the size of these.

I've attached another model showing those 1mm melee in the halo with the band sections pulling in to the halo. This gets the width down to around 10mm or so. Things like the way the band sections curve and pinch in are all easily changed. Even though diamond melee is available down to about .8mm in diameter, I would stay with the 1mm size. The smaller ones don't really show enough flash to recognize them as diamonds and just look kind of fuzzy in my opinion, while the 1mm stones are large enough to flash a bit more, kind of like snow flakes on a sunny day. This also makes this look bezel set, but you could have beads or even short prongs to lift the center stone above the halo a bit.

I just wanted to add that the diamond melee pictured in your last image are larger than what I'm suggesting. I think that they are most likely 1.3mm or maybe 1.2mm in diameter.