Engagement ring setting advice: 0.9ct Round diamond

[hamandcheese]

Hi everyone, would appreciate some advice on engagement ring setting for a 0.9ct round diamond.

I’m generally a pretty simple person and love my items to look “minimal” hence I’m leaning towards the 4 prong setting. I feel like the 6 prongs just make the diamond look very cluttered?

However after showing a picture of my desired ring setting to my local jeweler, I was told that the 4 prong setting below would be unsafe for the diamond?

Unsafe in the sense that:
1. The diamond could fall out easily - this I can see why because there are less prongs to hold the diamond
2. The 4 prong setting doesn’t protect the girdle. This I don’t quite get......do diamonds get damaged that easily? Aren’t diamonds ranked quite high on the scale of hardness? Why is there a need to protect the girdle?



Hope to get some advice from any of you. Which would you personally go for? 4 or 6 prongs? Thank you!

 

[kb1gra]

A few things:

1. hardness is about resistance to scratching. A diamond, like any other crystal, can be fractured along its planes. Resistance to breakage is not hardness; it’s easy to conflate the two but they are not the same. Many diamonds develop chips at the girdle over the years as they are worn, especially those worn daily on the hands.

2. your jeweler is right in the sense that this ring has two potential strength issues - the prongs that are independent of each other and thus it is possible to loosen one and lose the stone, plus the head is mounted at one single point on the shank. Either of these could potentially be a problem, yes.

 

[Cerulean]

i think your jeweler is right. this looks precarious - the "ring pop" style head could be bent or even knocked cleanly off in the worst cases

honestly the 3rd issue that they didn't raise is that the shank (aka the band) looks extremely thin, but it is hard to tell from the photos. i'd not go below 2mm especially with pave and this looks like it is closer to 1.5-1.7mm but again it is hard to tell

 

[hamandcheese]

Hmm would adding a circular bar at the bottom help with keeping the girdle safe? Also, does a chipped girdle affect the overall appearance of the diamond?


If this ring is set in platinum, would it be stronger and less likely for the entire head to get knocked off?

 

[Cerulean]

Trust me you don’t want to chip your diamond

with all the options out there for settings, there’s no reason to deliberately choose something that would be unsafe

this style is not safe no matter the metal - id trust your jeweler

and yes adding the band around would help

 

[kb1gra]

The band would help, platinum might actually be worse because it is easier to deform than gold. Without supporting structure you could easily bend a ring like this made of platinum.

 

[hamandcheese]

What about these two settings from Debeers and Tiffany? Would these settings protect the girdle and the stone as a whole better?

I’m trying to look for a setting which allows maximum light return and at the same time is also decently safe for the stone.....I feel it’s hard to get a balance of both because the more prongs I add, I’ve read that it stops more light from entering the stone which makes it sparkle less?

 

[Cerulean]

What about these two settings from Debeers and Tiffany? Would these settings protect the girdle and the stone as a whole better?

I’m trying to look for a setting which allows maximum light return and at the same time is also decently safe for the stone.....I feel it’s hard to get a balance of both because the more prongs I add, I’ve read that it stops more light from entering the stone which makes it sparkle less?

A really well cut stone will sparkle all the same! Have you selected a stone?

But there’s nothing wrong with 4 prongs if that’s what you like! I think both of these settings will be much sturdier

 

[hamandcheese]

A really well cut stone will sparkle all the same! Have you selected a stone?

But there’s nothing wrong with 4 prongs if that’s what you like! I think both of these settings will be much sturdier

I have selected a stone with the following specs but the thing is I’m not sure how well it would sparkle because I have not seen this stone in person. The online shop does not provide ideal scope images as well so I can only depend on the GIA report and a close up picture of the stone

 

[kb1gra]

I have a setting from Sholdt that is cathedral but the stone is completely exposed on two of the four sides (it’s an asscher) if that’s appealing to you.
That said a cathedral setting like the deBeers one you posted is inherently stronger because the shank connects two of the prongs to each other.

as for blocking light, prongs are incredibly tiny in real life - and a cut stone receives light from the top as well as the sides. I have an ideal cut in a full bezel with a very small opening for cleaning and it sparkles very well.

 

[hamandcheese]

I did some browsing on Brian Gavin's website and was thinking perhaps I should go for a plain band because my stone isn't that big. I'm worried the pave band would overshadow the solitaire.

I've shortlisted a knife-edge setting similar to Brian Gavin's below but at the same time I do feel like the current width of the band at 2.4mm is a bit too thick? I had a quick chat with my jeweller and he mentioned that for knife edge settings, the band usually gets thicker as the size of the stone increases.

Would anybody know what is the smallest width I would be able to set my 0.9ct stone on a knife-edge setting? Thanks!

Classic Style Knife Edge

Our popular rendition of the Classic style knife edge 6 prong solitaire. Price is for setting only for diamonds up to 2 carats. Add $100 for diamonds larger than 2 carats. Select your diamond from our extensive online diamond inventory.

www.briangavindiamonds.com

I like the look of this knife-edge ring setting I found on one of the threads here - I like that the band is thin enough for the solitaire to "pop":

 

[tyty333]

I did some browsing on Brian Gavin's website and was thinking perhaps I should go for a plain band because my stone isn't that big. I'm worried the pave band would overshadow the solitaire.

I've shortlisted a knife-edge setting similar to Brian Gavin's below but at the same time I do feel like the current width of the band at 2.4mm is a bit too thick? I had a quick chat with my jeweller and he mentioned that for knife edge settings, the band usually gets thicker as the size of the stone increases.

Would anybody know what is the smallest width I would be able to set my 0.9ct stone on a knife-edge setting? Thanks!

Classic Style Knife Edge

Our popular rendition of the Classic style knife edge 6 prong solitaire. Price is for setting only for diamonds up to 2 carats. Add $100 for diamonds larger than 2 carats. Select your diamond from our extensive online diamond inventory.

www.briangavindiamonds.com

I like the look of this knife-edge ring setting I found on one of the threads here - I like that the band is thin enough for the solitaire to "pop":

A stone that size would "pop" with a 5mm shank! Usually, we encourage people not to go less than 2mm but 1.8 would also
be safe in my book since its all metal (no pave). Personally, I would do 2mm. What metal are you doing?

Edit...JA has a 2 mm knife edge that you can see with a .8 and a 1 carat stone (see pictures below the setting picture).

14K White Gold Presentation Solitaire (Six Prong)

Who says affordability and beauty don't go hand-in-hand? This knife edge diamond solitaire offers the best of both worlds with its classic appeal at a cost-effective price. *Center diamond or gemstone purchase required.

www.jamesallen.com

This setting goes up to 2.8mm at the top.

14K White Gold Six Prong Knife Edged Solitaire Engagement Ring

Timeless beauty with a modern twist, this knife edge solitaire features six scalloped claw prongs hand-crafted to fit the exact diamond you select. *Available for round shaped diamonds only.

www.jamesallen.com

 

[tyty333]

BTW, are you in the U.S. ? James Allen does set outside stones. Its an additional $100 charge on top of the setting cost. Settings
are 25% off right now.