DIAMOND SETTING ADVICE...

[DREW78]

HI EVERYONE, NEW TO THE FORUM, AND NEW TO THE JEWLERY INDUSTRY.
I AM GOING TO BE PROPOSING IN THE NEXT 3-4 WEEKS AND AM KNEE DEEP IN PUTTING TOGETHER A RING.

IT WILL BE A 3 STONE DIAMOND RING. I HAVE ALREADY FOUND 3 DIAMONDS THAT MEET MY CRITERIA AT AN INDEPENDENT JEWLER WHICH I WILL INSPECT ON SATURDAY.

MY QUESTION IS THIS... I WANT THE SHANK OF THIS RING TO BE IN 18K GOLD, AND AM THINKING OF HAVING A PLATINUM CROWN AND PRONGS TO HOLD THE STONES. IS THERE ANY SHORT OR LONG TERM INHERENT PROBLEMS THAT WE COULD SEE WITH THIS COMBINATION OF METALS? WILL THE PLATINUM HAVE ANY ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE GOLD OR VISE VERSA?
THE STONES ARE ALL VS2/G .75 MIDDLE WITH .5 SIDES, ALL PRINCESS CUT. IF YOU COULD PLEASE GIVE ME ANY IMPUT ON THIS I WOULD APPRECIATE IT. I HAVE HEARD THAT THE PLAT. CROWN WILL BE STRONGER THAN THE STANDARD YELLOW/WHITE GOLD.

AND BY THE WAY, AN ALL PLATINUM RING IS OUT. AS THEY LOOK ABSOLUTLY BEAUTIFUL IN THE PICTURES AND CASES, I HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND THAT THEY DONT STAND UP WELL TO HARD ABUSE. MY GIRLFRIEND IS A PHARM. REP AND IS ALWAYS BEATING UP HER HANDS. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK! THANKS IN ADVANCE AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

-DREW

 

[Mara]

My jewelers wife has a gold setting (dont know if its 18 or 14) for her e-ring with a platinum head w/platinum prongs. Personally I think it looks a little strange when viewed from the side as the colors in metal are obviously different, but then I am not a gold person at all, so I'd prefer plat regardless. It's a preference thing too.

I think her ring was all gold at some point, with a 1.25c center stone and enternity rounds all the way around (.04 each). The center stone chipped, was recut to 1.05, and she put on the plat head and prongs after that. Has been fine since, I think that was about 5-10 years ago.

Don't recall in your post if you said you're looking at 14k gold or 18k, but how much weaker is 18k than 14k for something like an e-ring. If your girlfriend already beats her hands up, maybe 14k is stronger? Any experts?

 

[JayTee]

I'm confused.

You mentioned in your post that an all platinum ring is out because "THEY DONT STAND UP WELL TO HARD ABUSE."

I was under the impression that platinum was stronger than gold in that respect (dealing with abuse)? Wouldn't having a platinum/gold setting cause problems, since gold is softer than platinum?

I'm also looking for settings, but because of the information I've been given, I've been looking for platinum ones.

Here's a page I found which compares Platinum to White Gold, although it doesn't talk about what happens when you combine them together in one setting.

 

[JayTee]

Would be nice if I had posted it the first time

http://users.lmi.net/~drewid/PWR_Platinum_vs_White_Gold.htm

 

[LesleyH]

Drew:

Vatche combines an 18K shank with platinum prongs on all his designs. I have attached a picture of the 3 stone truffle ring in 18K with plat. prongs.

I also wear a combo and it looks great!

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

 

[DREW78]

JAYTEE-

I AM BY NO MEANS A PRO HERE, BUT WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD IS THAT WHILE PLATINUM MAY BE STRONGER THAN GOLD, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT IS MORE DURABLE. EVERYTHING THAT YOU WILL READ NOW IS WHAT I HAVE HEARD...
PLATINUM HAS SOME FORM OF 'FINISH' APPLIED TO IT THAT WILL SCRATCH OFF AND BECOME DULL OVER TIME IF YOU DO NOT CONTINUE TO RE-FINISH IT. WHILE PLATINUM IS MORE DENSE, IT IS NOT AS 'PLYABLE' AS GOLD. WHILE A GOLD PRONG WILL BEND UNDER ENOUGH PRESSURE, A PLATINUM PRONG WILL BREAK OFF UNDER ENOUGH PRESSURE. THE NICE THING ABOUT PLATINUM IS THAT WHEN IT GETS NICKED OR DENTED, THE METAL IS DISPLACED VERSUS GOLD WHICH IS REMOVED IN SOME INSTANCES.
MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE SEEING AND HANDELING SOME PLATINUM RINGS FROM FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS HAS SHOWN ME THAT MOST OF THE ABOVE IS TRUE. THEY BECOME DULL, AND SCRATCHED OVER TIME EVEN WITH RE-FINISHING. I MUST SAY THAT OF THE PLAT RINGS I HAVE SEEN, I PERSONALLY DO NOT FEEL THAT THEY LOOK ALL THAT GREAT AFTER TIME, AND LIFE BEING THE WAY IT IS, SCHEDULING A RE-FINISHING IS NOT SOMETHING THAT I AM GOING TO BE REAL DILLIGENT ABOUT. HOPE THIS HELPS, AGAIN I AM JUST ONE GUY, WHO UNTIL 2 WEEKS AGO NEVER KNEW HOW TO SPELL PLATINUMNUM! (JUST KIDDING)
I AM SURE IF I HAVE MISINFORMED ANY ONE HERE ONE OF OUR RESIDENT EXPERTS WILL SET ME STRAIGHT.
OH AND ONE OTHER THING KEEPS COMMING TO MIND, PLATINUM IS BEAUTIFUL AND ALL, BUT GOLD ALWAYS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE CLASSIC AND TIMELESS FOR ENGAGEMENT RINGS. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

-DREW

 

[Mara]

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OH AND ONE OTHER THING KEEPS COMMING TO MIND, PLATINUM IS BEAUTIFUL AND ALL, BUT GOLD ALWAYS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE CLASSIC AND TIMELESS FOR ENGAGEMENT RINGS. THE CHOICE IS YOURS
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You are definitely right about gold being timeless, but also just to clarify, platinum has been around since at least the early 1900s when most engagement rings were yellow gold or platinum. If you see the old style early 1900 rings, many of them are in platinum. It fell out of favor around WWII when metals such as plat were not used for 'frivolous' jewelry, but rather for war materials, and then resurfaced much later for use in jewels again.