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Facets and Raphael Shared Prong- my experiences!

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doctorlady99

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
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I ordered a facets 9-stone shared prong (.47) wedding ring about a month or so ago, and, while I loved it, the 9 stones just weren''t enough to cover my size 7.75 :) finger without some metal showing. The setting was lovely, low set, and had some decent sparkle. It might not have sparkled quite as much as I had been expecting given the rave reviews on PS, but it was terrific for the price. Since I really cared about getting full finger coverage, I sent it back for an 11-stone which might provide better coverage.
As I was sending it back I took a good look at the Raphael shared prong rings on their site and wondered what the hype was about- to be honest, the setting looked a little strange- kind of like a zig-zag pattern. I wasn''t sure I was going to like that, but I heard that the Raphael was designed to allow some more sparkle into the stones, so I wanted to try it. It was a bit more but I really was curious.
Well, FedEx arrived this morning, and I LOVE the Raphael! It is so much more sparkly than the Facets ring, which is significant as they used the same diamonds to make this ring (and just added two more on the ends). I also LOVE the setting- you can see so much more of the diamonds, especially from the side. There is no visible "zig zag" pattern like the one that appears on the website. I wish that I had taken pictures of the Facets so that you could see the difference. However, I will say that the difference in the setting are not huge- if you are looking to save some money, you could stay with the Facets and be fine. For me, however, I MUCH prefer the sparkle and setting of the Raphael. I hope this is helpful to anyone else looking to make the same decision!
Here are some pics of the ring along with my 1.52 RB solitaire from WF. There''s a slight gap but I''m OK with it!
 
This is a fuzzy (sorry, new camera) side view- but you can still see how open the setting is and how much diamond is showing.

doctorlady99raphaelside.jpg
 
Another

doctorlady99raphael3.jpg
 
Great set!!
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This one shows the side a bit better.

doctorlady99raphaelside2.jpg
 
What a gorgeous set, and I love how low the band sits! It''s stunning!
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Congratulations! Its beautiful...I ordered a 5 stone .81 ctw from facets and had the same response as you had.
I mean the diamonds were pretty (couldnt see any arrows or pattern to the stones which I had hope that I
could) but I just didnt see why they were getting such rave reviews. I didnt even consider the Raphael setting
because I didnt like that zig-zag affect (maybe they need to show some finger shots on thier website).

I actaully ended up sending mine back too. I bought a 5 stone at a local family owned jewelry store. You can
see arrows in the stones, the color was better than the facets ring (even though they were both listed as
F/Gs) and because of the change in the setting my new ring looked bigger (even though they were .81 and
.82 ctw). I wanted so much to like the facets ring but there was pretty much no comparison.

I''m so glad you got what you wanted. Congratulations, its beautiful and looks great with your ering!
 
VERY VERY pretty!
 
hi doctorlady :)

i have a full eternity raphael setting from facets - 2.68ctw - and it''s gorgeous - plenty of sparkle. and i agree - you dont see that zig zag pattern at all.

even better than that, i got it at one of their sales for <$3k - (around 2800? 2900? cant remember exactly) - and it''s about $5.5k normally on their web site.

one of the best 2 buys i ever made.

and i love your combo - very nice balance between the two.

lovely!
 
very pretty!
 
Congrats on the band! It''s sooo pretty!!!
 
Gorgeous set! What size are the diamonds in the band? They perfectly compliment your solitaire.
 
Love your set. Your rings compliment eachother perfectly. Thank you for the sharing your thoughts and experience with Facets. I always wondered what the difference was with the Raphael and the standard Facets eternity.
 
This is such a beautiful compliment to your ering! I am really glad you posted this, because I''ve always wondered about the difference between the facets and the raphael settings - i love the open profile on your 11 stone - it''s stunning!
 
Congrats!! It looks very dainty and sparkly at the same time. Suits your ering perfectly too.
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Very pretty rings.
 
Your Raphael looks great !

I have 2 full eternity (.90 and 1.06) Raphael''s

they are super bands and some of the best I''ve seen.
 
Gorgeous perfection!
 
Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! Vesper, the ring is .57 total = eleven 5 pointers. I am glad that I went with this size as I think it is still dainty enough to showcase my solitaire but not insignificant enough to disappear (originally I thought I wanted a super thin band but I am pleased with this). I am very happy overall with the design of the Raphael and can''t believe that it allows the diamonds to sparkle so much more than the facets setting did. I didn''t honestly expect a difference. I took a leap of faith with ordering the Raphael since my wedding is this week, and if I didn''t like it I would have had to wear it for the wedding anyway! I''m glad it worked out! Signed Pieces was wonderful to work with, by the way!
I hope you all are having a wonderful summer, and thanks again for the nice comments! If I can answer any other questions about the Facets/Raphael differences please let me know!
 
gorgeous set! Glad to know the difference vs the IRL and website
 
beautiful, i love the set!
 
I also have a slight gap with my set, but doesn''t bother me much. Your set is simply stunning! Enjoy
 
Your set is beautiful!!
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Wonderful set. I really like the low profile of the raphael. . .(hmmm. . . now i''m wanting one!)
 
Stunning set, very classic and elegant!! Congratulations!!!
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doctorlady -

congratulations on your impending wedding and i hope you have a wondrous day. :)
 
Wow, that is really pretty! And it is great that it sits so low!!! It looks great with your solitaire, too!
 
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