Double vs Single Row Micropave Halo?

[missmelee]

My stone is only a 1.5 carat so not super big, but not tiny either. My ring size is 5.25.

I went back to SK yesterday and told him I thought I should do a single halo. But SK tells me that because of the size of the stone he thinks a double row would look better ... that is what I had originally wanted, but I don't want to come away with a bulky, super blingy look. I'm honestly really torn about this. I want to be able to wear my ring every day and not to think of it as being only for "special" occasions ... the other part of me thinks I should trust SK's instincts since he does this for a living. The toughest part is that I have to just trust him on this since I don't have a picture that captures exactly what I want. I guess this is one of the pitfalls of doing a custom ring ...

 

[slg47]

have you tried on double halos with 1.5 carat? if you like the look then I see nothing wrong with it I am sure that steven can execute a beautiful double halo ring!

 

[missmelee]

So the ring I originally wanted was a double halo micropave from Marisa Perry. I posted a very poor quality cell phone pic of it at the top of this thread -- honestly, in the photo, it looks horrible but in person it was gorgeous (granted I'm sure the workmanship could be improved by SK with smaller beading, better cut stones, etc.). The ring I tried on at MP was a 1 carat, so I always assumed a 1.5 would be great. But with the negative feedback on the forum about the ring's overall design, I started to have my doubts. That's when I decided to go for a single halo ... then I went back to meet with SK and he said double halo would be better. Now I am just all mixed up and I need to make my mind up soon so that he can finish by the 27th :-/

If I do have SK go ahead with the double halo, I'm trying to decide whether to do curved struts, a-la:

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/304808_197371656998114_133263900075557_473099_1734324367_n.jpg

or whether to do straight struts similar to the Tiffany Soleste:

http://www.tiffany.com/engagement/Item.aspx?GroupSKU=GRP10060

 

[mogster]

I personally prefer a single halo, but it sounds like you prefer a double halo, and so I say you should go for it! Relative to a solitaire, even a single halo can seem cocktail-y, but I wear mine everywhere (even hiking or biking) because I love it and I don't care whether it's "too much." I think at the end of the day, it comes down to what you want, and, furthermore, if SK is recommending it, you can't really go wrong with a double halo.

 

[slg47]

maybe try on a double halo with a 1.5 carat so you are sure you like the proportions? but really you should get what /you/ like.

 

[missmelee]

Do you guys think a 1.5 with a single halo will look too small? The thing that threw me off was that most of the stones in settings SK showed me were 2.5 plus, so my own stone seemed so tiny in comparison that I couldn't even picture what the final product would look like ... he told me that my stone is on the smaller side and that's why it would look better with a double halo. But when I look at photos online I like the single halo much better.

 

[LoveStarlet]

I have no idea if it will help but SK just finished my ring and I went with a semi-double halo. My ring is 3 row Micropave with a 3 row MP Halo which looks similar to a double halo. Granted my stone is 2.75cts so it's not the exact same situation as yours but when I say that his MP was beyond exquisite and the Halo doesn't AT ALL eat the stone (my only fear) I really mean it. Steven made it flow SOOOOOOO insanely nicely from what I've seen in the photo's that I can just imagine how it looks in real life. Some people's lifestyles aren't suited for a more "Blingy" ring but for my lifestyle it wasn't even extravagant, so I would say go with your original gut of what you wanted. I LOVE the TIffany Soleste and that and a LM with a fully MP basket were my inspirations. Nothing SK does is going to look gaudy or overdone or "Cocktail-ish". Everything he does looks classic, delicate and elegant, even with MAX melee.

So from one girl who struggled with a similar dilemma to another and had her fate held in SK's hands, I say go for the gusto

 

[GreenBling]

I have no idea if it will help but SK just finished my ring and I went with a semi-double halo. My ring is 3 row Micropave with a 3 row MP Halo which looks similar to a double halo. Granted my stone is 2.75cts so it's not the exact same situation as yours but when I say that his MP was beyond exquisite and the Halo doesn't AT ALL eat the stone (my only fear) I really mean it. Steven made it flow SOOOOOOO insanely nicely from what I've seen in the photo's that I can just imagine how it looks in real life. Some people's lifestyles aren't suited for a more "Blingy" ring but for my lifestyle it wasn't even extravagant, so I would say go with your original gut of what you wanted. I LOVE the TIffany Soleste and that and a LM with a fully MP basket were my inspirations. Nothing SK does is going to look gaudy or overdone or "Cocktail-ish". Everything he does looks classic, delicate and elegant, even with MAX melee.

So from one girl who struggled with a similar dilemma to another and had her fate held in SK's hands, I say go for the gusto

Would love to see a picture of the ring

 

[GreenBling]

Do you guys think a 1.5 with a single halo will look too small? The thing that threw me off was that most of the stones in settings SK showed me were 2.5 plus, so my own stone seemed so tiny in comparison that I couldn't even picture what the final product would look like ... he told me that my stone is on the smaller side and that's why it would look better with a double halo. But when I look at photos online I like the single halo much better.

You might also want to think about width of the halo(s) as you'd want to make sure that it's proportional to the center stone.
When I was designing my double halo, I had the diamond and halo sketched, colored and cut out, then placed on my finger to visualize how it's gonna look on me. That helped me determine ratio of the halo to the center stone.

 

[missmelee]

this is super helpful advice. do any of you ladies have photos of your ring(s) that you'd mind posting?

 

[missmelee]

quick question - i just found out that sk is using 1.3 mm diamonds in each row of halo -- what "point" stone is that? i'm trying to imagine my setting compared to some other settings i've seen with point versus half-point stones, and i'm just having difficulty since i don't know about the specs ...

thanks!