Diamond orientation in a 6 prong setting

[EZ]

My fiancé and I were out looking at rings this last weekend and she ahs picked out a Royal Crown in gold. When setting a diamond in this 6 prong setting is there a preferred way for it to be oriented. I am guessing that it could be set so that an arrow aligns with the North-South prongs or such that two arrows straddle the North-South prongs. One way would seem to put the N-S prongs over a kite facet. Would this be “stronger” than having the prongs between the kite facets? On the other hand, having the arrows straddle the prong (between the kites) would orient the table so that the major lines (pink in the jpg) would run N-S and E-W. Does this draw the eye in any better? Any advantages wither way? Any strong opinions?

I know this may be obsessing over nothing but having obsessed over cut so far I might as well take it a step further.

 

[belle]

hey carl,
i''ll be the last one to tell you that you may be obsessing too much

i will say that if you want a certain orientation, make sure you state that very clearly to the jeweler.
my preference is for the arrows to be oriented in at least some sort of order. if it''s not n/s or e/w i would want the prongs centered between the arrows. of none of that is possible, then my only criteria is that an arrow tip not be covered by a prong.

 

[EZ]

That would tend to rule out the N-S arrows then. The setting is going to be a Royal Crown and there are N-S prongs. I put pictures of the stone in another thread. Looking at the ''handshot'' I imagine that the arrows straddling the N-S prong will be the way to go. I hope that the side prongs are not going to cover up arrows.

 

[WinkHPD]

You will definitely need to discuss this with your jeweler, it is NOT something that they would normally think about. If they do not sell H&A cut diamonds you may need to provide them with a viewer to use when setting your stone...

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

tip,

You may want to mark your stone with a majic marker to indicate where you want the 12 o''clock to be and be sure to tell your jeweler that it is the 12 o''clock position looking perpendicular to the shank. You may even want to mark the 12 o''clock position on the prong to make it impossible for him to make an inadvertant error. The marker will come off during final cleaning and polishing but that way your jeweler will have NO reason not to set the diamond the way that you want it set.

Wink

 

[ame]

ok you have no idea how much of a relief it is to know that sharpie will come off a stone. I use sharpies at work a lot and find myself removing rings because I am a dropper-of-sharpies and get the markings all over me.

 

[EZ]

Thanks Wink,

We have already discussed this with the sales person but I will make sure to have written instructions delivered before the setting gets in. Using a sharpie is a great idea.

 

[denverappraiser]

I always taught my jewelers to line up the edges of the table to the compass points unless they had some reason to do it otherwise. This gives a nice precision look. Naturally, the setter can do it any way the customer likes if you give them specific instructions. From the setters standpoint, most stones don''t have a distinct arrows pattern anyway but they all have the octagonal table. There also may be a concern if there is something that the customer wants covered with a prong, if there are security concerns about certain sections of the girdle or there is something that they want to avoid covering, like the serial number on the girdle.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA
Recovering Goldsmith in Denver.

 

[EZ]

Thank you Neil. I have searched through the eye candy folder and found what I think are examples of what you are describing. I do believe this will be the instructions I give the jeweler setting this stone.

 

[kenny]

Other considerations:

A flaw to be covered by a prong.

If there are extreme girdle irregularities you may not want the thinnest part exposed and vulnerable to chipping.

 

[EZ]

Thanks Kenny,

I will want the laser inscription to be uncovered bit other than that it is just the orientation of the stars. It is probably just vanity on my part. The girdle is pretty good all the way around and the stone rocks.