Finish on WF settings?

[bookworm21]

Hi, to those of you with rings from WF, how are the finishes on your setting? I''m wondering because my bf and I were looking at ring settings this past weekend, and noticed that a lot of settings were really pitted and rough looking. There were rings that were set with the center stone and everything, but the interior of the basket settings weren''t polished smoothly. He really likes the finish that the Cartier and Tiffany rings have, but I told him that I really don''t want him to buy from either of those places.

So are the settings from WF well polished, even in the hard to reach areas? I''m still working on convincing my bf to buy from WF, but he''s reluctant because he likes to see ring settings in person. And he''s also worried that we won''t be able to get a ring made to our satisfaction if we go with an online vendor. But every jewelry store we''ve been to has sub-par settings when it comes to the final polish of the rings.

Comments? Thanks much!

 

[solange]

Whiteflash has settings in many different price ranges. For example, their Tiffany settings range from a few hundred dollars to over $1000 in platinum. This is a plain setting with no stones. Of course you are paying for the quality of workmanship and material. Platinum does have a tendency to pit if it is not worked properly.

I bought my stone from Whiteflash and had it set in their best Tiffany setting. It is very smooth and well finished and I think it compares very favorably with the Tiffany original. The basket is custom made to accommodate the stone and others who have this setting or other top line Tiffany replicas seem to be pleased. There are some other pictures on here.

There is another post on here by someone who is actua;ly testing the durability of a halo setting in platinum fro Whiteflash. They have made it in gold but had not yet made one in platinum. I think they are very discerning as to what they sell and if you call or email them I am sure they can explain the differences in their settings although this may be a bad time of year.

You are probably seeing machine stamped settings with very little done to refine them. It is costly to put in the extra work to polish and refine the setting and you do have to pay for it.

Also, unless you are planning to buy your ring at Tiffany's or Cartier, I do not think they will sell you the setting alone.

THIS IS THE POST I WAS REFERRING TO

WHITEFLASH QUALITY
last reply: icekid Shay37
18
328
12/19/2005 2:07:20 PM
By: icekid

 

[bookworm21]

Thanks for the quick response, solange! No, Cartier or Tiffany do not sell only their settings. They custom make their settings in order to fit the center stone selected.

I have seen the pics of the rings from WF, but I do know that the camera does not capture all the details. And the pic of the halo ring from WF is beautiful. It is reassuring to hear that the finish and polish of your ring is good; I''ll just have to somehow convince my bf of that.

 

[TheDoctor]

Minimal finishing is common with mass-produced settings. Some are cast with stones in place, which makes it nearly impossible to provide a polish behind or around them. The rings are tumbled to synthesize handfinishing to some degree, but close observation will discover that there is a definate lack of attention to detail.
There is little systemic difference between online vendors or mall jewellers when selling mass-produced settings. There are some types of settings which are easier to finish, and some vendors go the extra distance by pre-polishing all settings before the stones are set. A lot of designs which are very popular require handmade wire settings to keep up with the Tiffany and Cartier detailing, but at the price that they are offered at, there is nobody who is hand-fabricating these settings.

So, to answer your question, there is a difference, but the lower-prices offered by mass-production and online vending negate fine- hand-wrought detail in most cases. I say most, because there are some wonderful examples of fine detail out there if you search hard enough, but in general, you get what you pay for. The market wants diamonds, and something sorta shiny to wear them in.

 

[solange]

There are photos of my ring under my name in Show me the ring and elsewhere. I will try to get my husband to take some better close-ups of the ring. Since it is large, any defects in the setting would be apparent.
As to making the setting for your ring, in my case, the basket was custom made. But Whiteflash does have completely custom made settings and I understand the quality of their work is excellent. You can probably find some posted here.
Or you can ave a setting custom made by one of the designers mentioned on here.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 12/19/2005 5:15:28 PM
Author: TheDoctor

Minimal finishing is common with mass-produced settings. Some are cast with stones in place, which makes it nearly impossible to provide a polish behind or around them. The rings are tumbled to synthesize handfinishing to some degree, but close observation will discover that there is a definate lack of attention to detail.
There is little systemic difference between online vendors or mall jewellers when selling mass-produced settings. There are some types of settings which are easier to finish, and some vendors go the extra distance by pre-polishing all settings before the stones are set. A lot of designs which are very popular require handmade wire settings to keep up with the Tiffany and Cartier detailing, but at the price that they are offered at, there is nobody who is hand-fabricating these settings.

So, to answer your question, there is a difference, but the lower-prices offered by mass-production and online vending negate fine- hand-wrought detail in most cases. I say most, because there are some wonderful examples of fine detail out there if you search hard enough, but in general, you get what you pay for. The market wants diamonds, and something sorta shiny to wear them in.

This is good input, and true in many circumstances - as noted, but not applicable to Whiteflash.

Since this thread is Whiteflash-specific it provides an opportunity to point out that we have a fully-equipped jewelry workshop. An abundance of the designs we produce are full and semi-custom pieces. Our platinumsmiths and jewelers take great care in casting and crafting, from initial design to final hand-wrought details and polish. The only mass-produced settings we carry are plain solitaire rings. Nothing we create would be cast with diamonds in place. All WF pieces have a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.

If you look hard enough you can find extremes of craftsmanship - fine quality & sub-par quality - in every market. Whether you are on or off the internet, it pays to investigate the reputability of any provider you choose.

 

[Shay37]

I have to tell you, Cinderella, that one of the things I was super happy about with my ring was the polish or finish of the setting. In all the hard to reach places, it was just as well done as in the easy to reach places. I am super picky about that kind of stuff, and I was not disappointed to find that WF is even pickier than I was.

shay

 

[MissAva]

As soon as I can I will post a decent shot but even the inside of the prongs on my ring are finished nicely. I am soo in love with my ring! (and the man who gave it to me

).

 

[Mara]

I also have been happy with the polish from WF on my rings!

 

[researcher]

Date: 12/19/2005 9:07:41 PM
Author: Mara
I also have been happy with the polish from WF on my rings!

Ditto!

 

[ame]

If you want the best finish available PERIOD--you need to look to Mark Morell. NO ONE Beats him. NO ONE.

 

[MiniMouse]

Cinderella, my husband and I looked around at settings in the summer in Seattle. We were quite disappointed with the quality of a lot of the settings. We chose to go with Whiteflash due to the many recommendations seen here on Pricescope. Of course we were concerned that we couldn''t see before we buy, but when the wedding set actually arrived, all our worries immediately evaporated. The workmanship on the rings was superb and this was confirmed by our appraiser, who really believed the quality of the diamonds and the settings were exceptional. I wouldn''t hesitate to go back to them for future purchases.

 

[bookworm21]

Thanks everyone! After reading everyone''s input, I definitely want to go with Whiteflash for the entire thing. Now, I just somehow have to convince my bf that online''s the way to go. I''ll wear him down eventually....

Ame, thanks for the Mark Morrell suggestion. I had actually considered that because I love his designs, but I''d rather have the same jeweler work on the entire piece, because they would be responsible for the stone, just in case something happens during the setting process.

By the way, everyone''s rings are gorgeous. And congrats again Matatora on your engagement! And Shay, your new platinum halo from WF is beautiful. I must say, Pricescope is giving me Diamond Shrinkage and I''m nowhere near getting my ring.

 

[solange]

I am sure Mark Morell's work is beautiful but you are paying a lot for that and Whiteflash settings are beautiful and well made. Since mine is a large stone and there are large pictures under Show Me the Ring--Just received my 4.10 ring from Whiteflash, you might want to look there.
I don't know if you want a Tiffany setting, but you can really see the quality of the setting there.
I do not know how to transfer pictures or I woud do so.

Buying from Whiteflash was a very easy and stress free experience. In my case, i waited a few months until Lesley found the ideal stone for me. She turned down several I had sent her of descriptions from the Multiple Listing.

When she found a stone for me it was a breeze. It was not in their inventory so she sent for it. She told me that if it did not meet their standards, I was under no obligation to pay for shipping it to them. When it got there, Brian, who is vice president and a master cutter, called and described the stone at length. Said it was a great deal for a beautiful stone and that it would be a long time before they could find another Ideal cut SI2 stone that was perfectly eye clean in this size and appearance.

They sent the stone to an appraiser where I saw it and it was everything they said it was and more. I could have paid the appraiser and taken the stone if I chose to have it set elsewhere. However, I had the appraiser send the stone back to Whiteflash for setting. When it was ready, Brian sent me email photos of the set stone,. I did not have to pay Whiteflash for it until they were ready to ship.
We sent a bank transfer and I received the ring the next morning.

There certainly are some very beautiful settings on here. But in my opinion, it is the stone that is the focus. Also, no one makes the kind of settings they used to in the old rings. I inherited a three stone ring from the 1920's( also pictured on Show me the Ring) and I think the workmanship in these old settings is incomparable to anything made now.

I hope you can convince your boyfriend to buy on line where the values are--either from Whiteflash, GOG, Wink, or one of the other highly regarded vendors on here. Believe me, it is much easier to buy on line than from a store. I live in NYC and searched the Diamond District. I am sure there are some excellent vendors there but I found it was a great hassle to find one and I got a lot of misinformation from some very pushy vendors.

Also, I think you are wise in buying your stone and setting in the same place, whether it be Whiteflash or elsewhere. There was a recent post on here that jewelers cannot get insurance for stones damaged while being set and most personal policies do not cover this either. However, if the stone is being set where you bought it, the vendor would probably take responsibility and not send out a ring with a stone they damaged.

 

[belle]

solange''s stunner....

 

[solange]

Thanks so much Belle. Now can you tell me how you transfer pictures? I have tried with no success and eveyone else seems able to do it.

Also, I should add that the prongs on my ring are smaller than they appear in the enlarged photo and are beautifully finished.

 

[bookworm21]

Wow Solange. Your ring is a stunner!

I''m saving that picture to my computer to show my boyfriend. I''m also going to the SMTR thread to dig up more examples to persuade him into thinking my way.

Thanks!

 

[Dancing Fire]

my wife's 5 stone ring is from WF. their custom setting looks high quality to me. i'm just not into expensive settings- big name brand b/c once you wear it for a few years, they all get scratch and beat up . as long as the stone is secure, i don't mind the cheaper price settings.

 

[MissAva]

Here is a close up of the inside of the prongs, very lovely, not complaints here!