Diamond rookie

[PaulH78]

I've been lurking around awhile and trying to take in all the knowledge. At first I never thought I would buy an e-ring but after seeing some of the vendors and members experiences I've made a full turn around. I'm still looking for a ring but I'm sure I've found the diamond for me. Probably put in a simple solitaire ring by BGD. Just need to decide on 4 or 6 prong.

Here's the diamond, Brian Gavin Blue!

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...1.084-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104061006004

 

[Dancing Fire]

a nice well cut stone!!..

 

[wsblue430]

Gorgeous stone! I vote for a simple 4 prong, showing off the stone...it would look stunning!

 

[PaulH78]

I was a little hesitant with the H color but looking on here and since BGD Blue been told it will look good. Any advice on platinum or white good with this diamond?

 

[chrono]

Absolutely. I bezeled my H in white gold and it looks whiter than ever.

 

[PaulH78]

So the white gold will make it pop more? Any concern with 4 prongs and white gold being strong enough?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

So the white gold will make it pop more? Any concern with 4 prongs and white gold being strong enough?

Noooo, white gold will not make it pop more. Platinum is more enduring long term as it does not wear away like white gold. And white gold will have to be replated periodically. Platinum will have to be polished now and then, but it doesn't remove the metal to do so. Settings made by BGD will usually be platinum with ruthenium, and that is a hard alloy and more scratch resistant that some stock platinum settings.

These settings made by BGD would be my choices:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-knife-edge-platinum-5336p

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-half-round-platinum-5478p

 

[stargurl78]

You've made a lovely diamond choice and I like DS's suggestion for the 6-prong Tiffany solitaire. I would go with the rounded band over the knife-edge but that is a personal preference. I also think that white gold vs platinum is a personal preference and neither metal is going to be the perfect choice for everyone. The patina that platinum gets bugs me so I prefer white gold and have only had my ring re-plated once during the 3 years I've had it. However, many prefer the weight and look of platinum so it's really up to you.

 

[TC1987]

The diamond is a BG Signature. They will all look great, and it's just a matter ow what table size, what color, and what clarity you want.

H is plenty white, especially in a 1ct, and this one is a Blue which means it will definitely face up white. I color is where most people can start to see tine. You might notice some tint in an upside down H, but not face up and mounted.

White gold is not bad at all. 18k is whiter than 14k in many cases. 18k WG is also harder than platinum. Platinum has a very white color to it. Platinum develops a patina of fine scratches and yes, you do lose metal when you polish it. That's true of any metal. Rhodium plated WG looks as white as platinum, but has to be replated to keep it looking that was. How often depends on a lot of variables, like your skin chemistry, the thickness of the plating that was deposited on there, how you clean and polish your ring, how much you wear it and for what activities.

I have WG. I never wanted to pay the price for platinum. WG is good enough for me.

eta: I've never had nay problems with WG not being strong enough. I've had jewelers tout that a platinum head is stronger, but to me, a platinum head is whiter and more expensive, haha. I prefer 6 prongs for a Tiffany setting b/c those prongs are thin and bendy. If the prongs are very heavy, like a Stuller Solstice type thickness, 4 are enough. The problem with a 4 prong Tiffany is the stone can slide out if you happen to knock one prong askance enough.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Victor Canera, master jewelry maker, on platinum versus white gold:

http://www.victorcanera.com/platinum-vs-gold

Read the whole thing but this is the part about polishing:

"Durability; Platinum by its nature is more of a "chewy" metal as opposed to gold which is more brittle. Both metals scratch over time with everyday wear but with Platinum these scratches don't remove metal content from a jewel. Polishing or re-polishing of a platinum jewel will result in almost no loss of weight or metal content whereas with gold, a jewel might lose roughly 10% of its weight. Therefore a Platinum jewel can be re-polished much more safely than a gold one, that after each re-polishing wears away. This could be vital in areas such as prongs or beading on a pave piece which after re-polishing could severely weaken these prongs. A Platinum piece therefore will better stand the test of time and will be more durable than a gold jewel."

 

[asscher-engagement]

A local goldsmith told me platium is more "bendy" and he'd never use it for tiffany-style solitaire prongs. He said people like it because it's more valuable and easier for the jeweler to work with. I would guess it is better for pave. I chose WG alloyed with palladium (instead of nickel) because it doesn't require the rhodium dip to stay white, is harder, and the palladium provides some of the wear resistance of platinum without the weight.

 

[distracts]

A local goldsmith told me platium is more "bendy" and he'd never use it for tiffany-style solitaire prongs. He said people like it because it's more valuable and easier for the jeweler to work with. I would guess it is better for pave. I chose WG alloyed with palladium (instead of nickel) because it doesn't require the rhodium dip to stay white, is harder, and the palladium provides some of the wear resistance of platinum without the weight.

That it's more bendy is precisely WHY people like to use it for prongs - if you smash gold prongs, they are more likely to break and lose your center stone, while if you smash platinum prongs they are more likely to bend and look whack but keep the stone secure. That's why with a lot of settings that are yellow gold with white prongs, the prongs are in platinum rather than white gold. I even see white gold settings with platinum prongs.

White gold is not bad at all. 18k is whiter than 14k in many cases. 18k WG is also harder than platinum. Platinum has a very white color to it. Platinum develops a patina of fine scratches and yes, you do lose metal when you polish it. That's true of any metal. Rhodium plated WG looks as white as platinum, but has to be replated to keep it looking that was. How often depends on a lot of variables, like your skin chemistry, the thickness of the plating that was deposited on there, how you clean and polish your ring, how much you wear it and for what activities.

18k WG is absolutely not whiter than 14k - it has more gold in it, which is yellow, which makes it yellower. And at any rate, they're both rhodium-plated and so they look equally white when plated. Both 14k and 18k are harder than platinum, but 14k more so than 18k - in both cases they are harder because they have more other metals in them.

 

[Gypsy]

Gold is harder. Platinum is softer.
Gold is weaker. Platinum is stronger.

It's precisely because it is less brittle that it is stronger. I'd move on to a different jeweler than go to one that is giving you misinformation.