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Eternity rings--Full vs. semi, shared prong vs. 4 prong

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XChick03

Brilliant_Rock
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Okay, so I wasn't going to make a thread on this for a while, but I have absolutely nothing else to do today. Peter is at work, most of my family and friends are out of town, but I do have a chocolate bunny to keep me company.
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So after getting some advice here, I've decided to get an eternity style ring for my w-ring, but there are just too many options. And after our wedding, I'm going to have e-ring stone reset into a matching setting. I won't be buying one for at least another 6 months (less if I got a custom ring) right now I just need an idea of how much my w-ring will cost. I've heard a lot of pros and cons about shared prong settings and full eternity rings. I'm very clumsy with my hands, so I want something that's going to hold up pretty well and that I can wear pretty much all the time. I really like Mara's four-prong setting too and it seems like that would be a safer choice for me, but I still love shared prongs too. Bob at WF is working on getting me some quotes for a custom four prong with 2 point melee and a shared prong with 3 pointers. I'm also considering some of the gorgeous rings Signed Pieces, though I am not sure I like the look of their prongs. Maybe I am just crazy.

I would really appreciate help from anyone with eternity rings and I know a lot of people here like that style. Are shared prongs a good choice? Would a four prong be better? What about 1/2 vs. 3/4 vs. full? There are way too many options for someone as indecisive as me.
 
I have a shared prong e-ring from Signed Pieces, and I''ve had no problem at all with the durability. I prefer shared-prong vs 4-prong because you see more diamonds and less metal. The prongs look a lot better/different/smaller in person than on the website; but if you didn''t like pictures of people''s rings here on Pricescope, then I''d go with Whiteflash''s shared prong. Regarding full vs. half eternity, I went with 3/4 eternity and sometimes I wish I''d gone with full eternity, but I''m glad I left a space for sizing because I''ve already gotten my resized once, and I might get it resized again.
 
This is the ring from Facets/SP I'm considering. Link

I really love it, but those prongs look huge. I'm guessing they don't look that big really though, like you said. I haven't (or can't remember) seeing anyone's SP eternity rings here, do you have a picture of yours?

The sizing issue is the main reason I don't want to go full eternity, plus I'm worried the diamonds on the back will get damaged or something.
 
I love her wedding ring and the prongs are a lot better than on the site.
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Not sure if I like the ering setting though, it looks like some of the stones are smaller than other ones. I''m really particular when it comes to symmetry, so if the stones weren''t all exactly even it would bug me to death. It might just be the angles of the pictures, though.
 
I was also considering this one from WF, and it looks like it has the same problem re: stones being different sizes. Is it just me?

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I think that''s just an optical illusion because rings are circular, and thus the diamonds are not lined up on side-by-side on a single plane.
 
Date: 4/16/2006 4:37:22 PM
Author: XChick03
I was also considering this one from WF, and it looks like it has the same problem re: stones being different sizes. Is it just me?

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I'm sure the stones are the same size. I love my 1/2 eternity shared prong ring. If I could do it again, I'd get the full eternity since WF is offering it as a stock item. The ACA's are gorgeous, white, and very sparkly. Other nice cut melee can't compete! I normally have very sensitive skin, but there has been no rubbing or irritation in my case.

Here's a close up of my shared prong, .03 e-ring and w-ring side by side. The two sit flush next to each other and have a very substantial look. Although it doesn't look like it, the ring is very delicate looking. I would stick with .03 cts and not go smaller.

AAJellyMelee.jpg
 
Jelly, why wouldn''t you go smaller than .03?
 
I love the look
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JellysSetWeb.jpg
 
Date: 4/16/2006 5:07:32 PM
Author: june48
Jelly, why wouldn''t you go smaller than .03?
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I think the .03ct melee is the right balance of bling and delicacy. I compared my stones to 2 pointers in the store and just preferred the bigger look of the .03cts.

If the price is right, get the 3 pointers!

(plus I have 7.5 size fingers, so I can definitely pull off the bigger setting!)
 
Jelly, I adore your set. In fact, yours is the one that has considering a WF custom 1/2 eternity. And I definitely agree with you on 3 pointers, anything smaller would just be too small, IMO. Though, if I decide to go with a four prong setting, I''ll use 2 pointers, since there is more metal.

I do want my rings to sit flush, but I''ve heard there can be problems with the diamonds rubbing?
 
Okay, so basically its between the one pictured above, that WF now carries stock.

A custom 1/2 or 3/4 from WF like Jelly''s or like tyke''s
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A four prong eternity setting like Mara''s (hope you don''t mind me posting it
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mara%20rings%20collage%200205.JPG
 
Or this one from SP.
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Anybody have any these or similar? I''ve heard there are can be a lot of problems with shared prong full eternity rings, what are they?
 
XChick obviously I am biased towards the 4 prong setting for the rings rather than shared prong, I also find I just like the look of it better on the finger than shared prong as well. I have a shared prong setting in a 10 stone and I don't like it as much as I do my rings in general.

That said, some people have had issues with shared prong, most importantly that the diamonds girdle can sometimes eat away at the head of the ring if they are not positioned correctly, Demelza had this problem with her Signed Pieces eternity set and it prompted her to eventually get rid of it and go with another setting entirely. But others like Lynn have not had a problem with thier rings doing that. There have been a bunch of threads on this before but it seems like no one has a REAL definitive answer on how to get that not to happen, but just that some sets seem to have the problem and others don't. But I don't think that WF has had problems with that? I'd ask about it anyway. I know SP was working on having their sets fixed so that they won't do that, but I don't know if it works now.

Anyway I know I have said this before but for me sometimes I am so thankful I have that extra bit of metal on the stones so that I can bang my hands around and not have issues with them...I would be more worried with exposed girdles on the shared prong most likely on a daily basis. And I am rough with my hands and an overall clumsy girl!!

It's hard to say what is best for you to do...but good luck figuring things out!! Oh and I also would do 2 pointers or 3 pointers no worries, the difference is tiny and a smaller melee makes the stone itself look larger...I kind of wish I had gone 2 pointers for both rings. Larger isn't always better depending on what you are going for. Just my own thoughts!
 
oh and re: 1/2 or 3/4...i love my full eternity...i think 1/2 or 3/4 would bother me. i am really glad i went full eternity though i know it''s not for everyone. how did we get full vs 1/2? well the price diff was only $500 for the full so greg said go for it...and i wasn''t going to turn down extra ctw! tee hee.
 
Mara, I absolutely love your rings, they''ve always been on my top 5 favorite rings of all time list. The only things I''m worried about are that some people say four prongs show more metal than diamond, though you really cant tell there is any metal in that last shot of yours. And the only other thing is that I''d have to get it custom made, which would cost more plus I''d probably go full eternity with a four prong because I think semi would look funny. But that''s not a huge issue, because Peter told me to get whatever I want. He just wants me to be happy with my ring forever. I''ve already contacted WF about a quote for a four prong with .02 melee, like you suggested before, and they should be getting back to me soon. What about resizing? Have you ever had to get yours resized? Is it even possible with full eternity?
 
We went with Quest Jewelers for a full eternity band instead of Whiteflash. Whiteflash recommended getting a 3/4 eternity since they can''t resize them, but Quest offered free resizing of my eternity band for life. Pete said his wife has already had her eternity band resized twice. They have a laser to do the cutting, which many jewelers do not have.
 
Hi! I have 2 eternity rings. One is a round brilliant shared prong setting from Tiffany (each stone is 16 points), and the prongs aren''t noticeable at all. The other one is an estate ring (probably late 1940''s) with graduated marquise in the middle row and graduated round brilliants around both outside edges (tw 12 carats). Each marquise stone has v-prongs at both ends and the round brilliants have shared prongs. The prongs aren''t noticeable on that ring, either. All the stones are set at the same height. I''ve never had problems with the stones getting loose.
 
Xchick03, it is so strange that you posted this right now! I am also speaking with Bob at this time about getting an eternity band for my w-band. I also love the shared prong bands and have looked at SP as well. I too am not sure about the prongs, though I have read other's comments on here who have a SP band and say that the prongs are not obvious at all in real life. I am depating about going very thin (1.5mm, which WF won't do) or up to 2.5mm. I really would like to go with WF because I would like ACAs, which my e-ring has in it.

My gut tells me to get a 3/4 band, like my e-ring, but I really want a full eternity. I have big knuckles so I have to buy rings that are kind of big for me. Hence, the ring will spin and I just want to see diamonds, when it does so. I think I may just go up a little in size and get the full.

Another issue for me, is that I don't like the textured sides on all of the shared prong bands I have seen. I am considering the same WF band and SP band as you posted, but they both have the textured sides. Bob did say however he could do smooth sides, like this ring.
 
This is Bluej442's ring
 
sorry, here it is

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I really like that one. I have the pretty much the same concerns as you. The shared prongs just look so uncomfortable, the four prong setting looks much more smooth. And I really think a 3/4 would be more practical, but I really want a full. Also, the SP ring about half the price of all the others. I''m kind of leaning towards a four prong right now, but I am still so undecided. I might contact Quest since they offer free re-sizing.

Mat showed me this thread which might be helpful to you, too. WF vs. Facets
 
I've been looking for a eternity band too from WF!
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I've been trying on a lot of bands and to my surprise, the shared prongs are not uncomfortable at all with smaller stones. In real life, these rings are SO much daintier than they seem from the pictures. From my experience, low-set shared-prong with 3 point stones is about as "tall" as my solitaire band, which IMO is very low. (I've been trying on rings made by local jewelers and Memoire, not WF.) So it feels the same to me as wearing a plain wedding band. The larger diamonds are a different story.
 
I just got an 11 diamond band from Facets last week (half eternity). It''s .60 ct which makes each stone approx. .05. (It has the look of a 1.2 total ct. eternity band) It fits well so all you see diamonds totally accross my finger (size 6),and it doesn''t spin at all. The plus for me is that I would always be worrying about damaging the diamonds on a full eternity, so I feel confortable wearing it. I like the .05 stones because I wear the band by itself on my right hand. The shared prongs hardly show - all you see is sparkle
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We need pictures! Handshots would be especially helpful.
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Date: 4/17/2006 11:07:46 AM
Author: XChick03
We need pictures! Handshots would be especially helpful.
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I second that! I am leaning towards a semi eternity band from SP and would love to see more pictures of them in "real" life. This is the one that I am wanting:
http://www.signedpieces.com/item.cfm?item_id=1939

The size I would get would put each diamond at appx .05 ct (like tulips) and I thought that would look the best with my ring. I don''t want to overpower my engagement ring, but I definitely want some more bling!!
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XChick:
Another round of THANKS for posting this!

I to am considering a 1/2 or 3/4 eternity w-band. There are sooo many options out there! Most of the ones I've seen (online) look somewhat "thick" (in both height & width). My e-ring is about 2.5-2.8 mm, so I'm leaning towards a 2.5mm w-band. Not sure what size pointers would equal this. The posts above have been extremely helpful!

What makes my situation a bit different, is that my e-ring is a princess solitaire (WF's w-prong), but am leaning towards a RB eternity ring. I like the look of mixed shapes!
 
xchick, the other thing about resizing is that you can resize an eternity ring up about 1/4 of a size. i actually had my rings shaved out on the inside slightly (metal only) slightly to be 1/4 size larger which was not visible at all on the rings but it made a huge difference, both of them together in the original size were just a tiny bit too tight. also to be honest, i don''t ever plan on having to need them enlarged further than that, because i won''t plan to wear them if i get pregnant and i hopefully won''t gain any large amount of weight in life though i guess you never know. however, i figured i''d rather have the full eternity look than worry about getting bigger in the future. so i guess you could have that done on any ring as long as there is enough metal on the bottom of the ring to shave out a bit of it and still keep the structure of the ring sound.
 
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