First Colored Stone Project - Semi Mount opinions needed

[K9]

Greetings PS friends!

I'm very new to the colored gemstone area and have just begun working on a doggy birthstone project.

I purchased a beautiful oval Merelani Mint Garnet that I am looking to set in a ring. I have adored all of your lovely LOGR, lan.bo4, jewelryhoo... etc, settings and am leaning toward something of the like to place this lovely garnet in.

My question is mostly regarding "customization". There are 2 styles I'm considering and I'd like to know from your experiences where you'd lean on upgrades - full cut vs single. If you wouldn't mind chiming in, I'd appreciate it!

First, some pictures of my mint. Forgive the hand shot - it was cold today.

Portuguese style oval brilliant 6x8mm.

 

[T L]

I love the top setting, very nice and simple, as well as having sufficient bling. The bottom one is a bit too busy with me. With LOGR, I found that if you don't upgrade the diamonds, it's a crap shoot, and you might get some really crappy diamonds. With lanbo, and I have about five now, I've never had to upgrade, and they're always nice. I get single cuts, and I find them to suffice. Their customizations are far more reasonable than LOGR too IMHO.

 

[K9]

Thanks for the feedback, TL. I spent quite a bit of time looking at your collection to help me decide!

I agree, the second one isn't my fave - but it represents the other styles I'm considering. I'm not sure what to call them aside from "legacy" styles. I'm not crazy about the oval in that style tho. The first ring is top of my list at this point so I appreciate your feedback re: lan.bo4

 

[T L]

Thanks K9.

I really don't think you can go wrong with the top one. I also like the two tone, and the halo, but I'm a "halo nut." I think because your stone is light in tone, the surrounding yellow metal, and the halo, will really emphasize the faceting and color.

 

[Cabochon1]

that is such a pretty stone

I agree with tourmaline_lover about the second setting beeing a bit busy for the stone. The first one is so much nicer imho.

 

[bleeblue]

I vote the first setting can't wait to see how it turns out

 

[Deathspi]

Another vote for the first one. Beautiful stone too by the way!

 

[Deathspi]

I love the top setting, very nice and simple, as well as having sufficient bling. The bottom one is a bit too busy with me. With LOGR, I found that if you don't upgrade the diamonds, it's a crap shoot, and you might get some really crappy diamonds. With lanbo, and I have about five now, I've never had to upgrade, and they're always nice. I get single cuts, and I find them to suffice. Their customizations are far more reasonable than LOGR too IMHO.

Tourmaline_lover: sorry to sidetrack but roughly how much does it cost to get diamonds upgraded by LOGR? I ask because I have just made my first purchase from them without upgrading and am worried about what exactly I'm going to get! Are they really that bad?

 

[T L]

I love the top setting, very nice and simple, as well as having sufficient bling. The bottom one is a bit too busy with me. With LOGR, I found that if you don't upgrade the diamonds, it's a crap shoot, and you might get some really crappy diamonds. With lanbo, and I have about five now, I've never had to upgrade, and they're always nice. I get single cuts, and I find them to suffice. Their customizations are far more reasonable than LOGR too IMHO.

Tourmaline_lover: sorry to sidetrack but roughly how much does it cost to get diamonds upgraded by LOGR? I ask because I have just made my first purchase from them without upgrading and am worried about what exactly I'm going to get! Are they really that bad?

Well, aside from the $30 non-refundable customization fee, he charges around $249/ct last I read his listings. It could have risen since then, and he will charge more as he sees fit without sticking to the price per carat in his listing. Basically, you should ask how much the customizations will be before you purchase. He also charges a certain amount per gram for 18K gold upgrading. I'm sure it has gone up from the $12/gram that I last saw.

Sometimes the diamonds are very nice if you don't upgrade, and sometimes they look like frozen grey and white spit. It's a total lottery, but I have found that if you win a ring on auction, the diamonds often are worse than if you pay full price. It's not as consistent as lanbo, but then again, lanbo has very few auctions, and you end up paying a higher price.

 

[K9]

Thanks Cabochon, bleeblue and Deathspi for the feedback! Cabochon - the stone is MUCH prettier in real life. I am rather disappointed how poorly it photographs. The color is amazing and it is a neon glow-blob in natural sunlight! I literally gasped when I opened this one up.

TL - this is my first halo so I know I'm overthinking all of the details! Your halo collection is fab. Also, thanks for the info re: upgrades and thanks to Deathspi for asking. I'm going to make an inquiry so I'll let you guys know about "upgrade" fees.

What I'm finding I love about these sellers is that they also sell the rings with stones so it gives you an idea of how they'll look with a stone set.

One thing that I'm not sure of (as to if it will bother me IRL) - is how the stone isn't "nestled" in the first setting. I am not crazy about the side look - but I the split shank. Still my top pick.



Here is another ring I like where the halo isn't separated from the stone. But I'm not crazy about the double halo.



And, just for fun - I really love the twisted split shank on this one!

 

[sparkle-magpie]

What a beautiful stone!

Here's a setting for a round halo which has a bezel feel (I don't know if it is considered a true bezel...) that you might like.
see the link for more pictures: http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/products/round-halo-2255

I'll keep looking for oval settings.
There is a LOGR setting which sort of looks like this that I can find for you as well.

 

[T L]

Thanks Cabochon, bleeblue and Deathspi for the feedback! Cabochon - the stone is MUCH prettier in real life. I am rather disappointed how poorly it photographs. The color is amazing and it is a neon glow-blob in natural sunlight! I literally gasped when I opened this one up.

TL - this is my first halo so I know I'm overthinking all of the details! Your halo collection is fab. Also, thanks for the info re: upgrades and thanks to Deathspi for asking. I'm going to make an inquiry so I'll let you guys know about "upgrade" fees.

What I'm finding I love about these sellers is that they also sell the rings with stones so it gives you an idea of how they'll look with a stone set.

One thing that I'm not sure of (as to if it will bother me IRL) - is how the stone isn't "nestled" in the first setting. I am not crazy about the side look - but I the split shank. Still my top pick.



Here is another ring I like where the halo isn't separated from the stone. But I'm not crazy about the double halo.



And, just for fun - I really love the twisted split shank on this one!

I also like the extra dimensionality to the first halo you piced out vs the nested halos, but they're pretty too. I have a lot of LOGR's and in the past, I was able to get larger full cut diamonds for very good pricing, but not anymore. His prices went up, way up. This is also true with lanbo, that if you go for larger melee, it will be a lot more expensive, so don't expect huge diamonds on these pieces. Therefore, I've been going with lanbo settings that have lots of pave to get more bling for my buck. The diamonds are tiny, but there's so many of them, that the rings still maintain their beauty without looking "cheap."

 

[Deathspi]

Well, aside from the $30 non-refundable customization fee, he charges around $249/ct last I read his listings. It could have risen since then, and he will charge more as he sees fit without sticking to the price per carat in his listing. Basically, you should ask how much the customizations will be before you purchase. He also charges a certain amount per gram for 18K gold upgrading. I'm sure it has gone up from the $12/gram that I last saw.

Sometimes the diamonds are very nice if you don't upgrade, and sometimes they look like frozen grey and white spit. It's a total lottery, but I have found that if you win a ring on auction, the diamonds often are worse than if you pay full price. It's not as consistent as lanbo, but then again, lanbo has very few auctions, and you end up paying a higher price.

Thanks for letting me know. I bought the setting as a Buy it Now so hopefully the diamonds will be okay.

 

[Arcadian]

I can only speak to my personal experience with LOGR. I don't tend to upgrade the diamonds. I have on 2 settings and they were nice, but I honestly felt that what I got and paid for were totally fine.

All of these sans the yellow gold was purchased via auction. The gold setting I did a best offer which was accepted. I upgraded the gold but not the diamonds. I'm spoiled and like 18K + these days



I won't say that some people haven't gotten grayish diamonds because that has happened, but I also think that if its a worry (especially if its based on what grade they show in the listing) then upgrade. Just my opinion, but I think with some settings they tend to use a better quality melee. You tend to see that when you read the listings.

Before I bid I always check the listing to see what type of diamonds are listed in the setting because sometimes they will list some pretty included ones. before bidding I also ask about the upgrade charges. Once I know what those are I'm GTG, and make up my mind based on those numbers.

I have used lanbo in the past but only once. The setting was fine, but it didn't fit my stone though I had paid for the it to be done, but I think it was language barrier. I've seen some of his settings on pricescope and he's gotten much better so I'm hopeful.

As for your settings, I love the first one. I have it on my watch list (I have a lot of stuff there ) That would be one I would go for over the other.

-A

 

[K9]

Thanks for sharing your picture, Arcadian! It's tough to wrangle all of the posts with pictures and from which vendor each piece was purchased.

I think the difficult piece is there are SO many vendors and I know some of them are the same, but I don't have all of the dots connected. At this time I am not considering using LOGR/Lord_of_Pearls for my settings.

I am considering using one of the following, or at least have found settings I like from each of these:

jewe2004
jewelryhoo (same as jewe2004?)
frankjewelry
diamondmounts
lan.bo4

I have put in my inquiry on the first setting in the yellow/white combo as shown and have asked about upgrading the stones to full cut. I'm mostly interested in what the cost would be and if fairly reasonable I'd consider it. In all honesty, I'd rather pay a little more and feel more comfortable knowing I'll love it than have to send it back. I want a good experience as I have a juicy tanga garnet I'd also like to set.

 

[T L]

Thanks for sharing your picture, Arcadian! It's tough to wrangle all of the posts with pictures and from which vendor each piece was purchased.

I think the difficult piece is there are SO many vendors and I know some of them are the same, but I don't have all of the dots connected. At this time I am not considering using LOGR/Lord_of_Pearls for my settings.

I am considering using one of the following, or at least have found settings I like from each of these:

jewe2004
jewelryhoo (same as jewe2004?)
frankjewelry
diamondmounts
lan.bo4

I have put in my inquiry on the first setting in the yellow/white combo as shown and have asked about upgrading the stones to full cut. I'm mostly interested in what the cost would be and if fairly reasonable I'd consider it. In all honesty, I'd rather pay a little more and feel more comfortable knowing I'll love it than have to send it back. I want a good experience as I have a juicy tanga garnet I'd also like to set.

lanbo4 owns the following stores on ebay

Leejewelry
beyondjewelry3
jewe2004
jewelryhoo
lan.bo4

And that's all I can think of right now.

LOGR owns wenhuihui and "Lord of the pearls" or something like that. I don't know the exact name.

There's also prettyjewelry4u (or is it prettyjewelry2u??), which is not affiliated with lanbo4 or LOGR, but I've heard good things about them as well.

If the diamonds are teeny tiny, then single cuts actually flash more, and there's not really a discernable difference to my eye at least. I wouldn't pay extra for full cuts unless he diamonds were larger, but I would pay extra for cleaner diamonds. These sellers tend to not only upgrade the clarity, but they upgrade to full cuts, so I'm not sure if you can have VS single cuts.

I've had several customizations done with lanbo so far,and all came out correctly, but it's been a lot of emailing back and forth, and verification. I also send him pictures through his email (not through ebay) to show him exactly what I want.

I am awaiting a major customization from him now, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[K9]

lanbo4 owns the following stores on ebay

Leejewelry
beyondjewelry3
jewe2004
jewelryhoo
lan.bo4

If the diamonds are teeny tiny, then single cuts actually flash more, and there's not really a discernable difference to my eye at least. I wouldn't pay extra for full cuts unless he diamonds were larger, but I would pay extra for cleaner diamonds. These sellers tend to not only upgrade the clarity, but they upgrade to full cuts, so I'm not sure if you can have VS single cuts.

THANK YOU! I wondered if lan.bo4 was also affiliated with jewelryhoo/jewe2004.

Well.... on the first setting, I can't quite tell how big those stones will be. Using Arcadian's bottom two rings as reference - would you say they are similar in size to those? If that's the case, I was thinking cleaner round cuts would be nicer, but maybe I'm wrong? I did ask them what size the diamonds were.

Thanks again everyone for putting up with my rookie questions, but man is this hard!

 

[T L]

I would say they are similar in size to Arcadian's diamonds. I don't think full cuts are going to make much of a difference, but clarity always helps.

The baguettes are a little larger of course and add a nice touch to the setting.

 

[K9]

Well, I got my quote - $50 more to size as requested with two tone gold and upgraded diamonds. Tho I don't believe I need full cuts and it's probably a waste of money, I am hoping it also means better cut and clarity. For $50, I think it's a worthy gamble.

I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[rubybeth]

Very curious how this goes for you, k9muttlover! Thanks to your suggestion of checking out jewelryhoo, I found a setting they can modify for me. I'm a bit nervous about having them customize, but if yours goes well, I'll probably bite the bullet. Love your stone, btw!

ETA: I used jewe2004 (same as jewelryhoo, according to TL) for my split shank spinel setting, and had a mostly good experience. I did forget to ask to have it sized until after I'd won the auction, sent a message afterward, and it was not sized when I received it. Thought the diamond quality was good (tiny but very white/sparkly) though I did lose one diamond. My jeweler sized the ring, replaced the diamond, and tightened everything up for a reasonable price and no problems since. I truly love the ring, very delicate. In fact, I've been wearing it for a while as my e-ring since falling in love with Kate Middleton/Princess Diana's ring. I would like to get a dainty diamond band to match it to wear as a 'set.'

 

[T L]

Well, I got my quote - $50 more to size as requested with two tone gold and upgraded diamonds. Tho I don't believe I need full cuts and it's probably a waste of money, I am hoping it also means better cut and clarity. For $50, I think it's a worthy gamble.

I'll keep you guys posted!

I think that's very reasonable. Let us know how you like it.

 

[K9]

Thanks rubybeth and TL! I am a little nervous/anxious/excited about the whole thing, but knowing you all have used them without issue makes me feel better. I did go ahead and order the setting with the upgrade - they included my specifics on the paypal payment request so I'm hopeful they will get everything right. I forgot to ask how long it will take, so I did email them today.

If all goes well, I'll also order another setting for my juicy little tanga!

rb - your split shank spinel is lovely! I can see why you'd wear it as an ER.

 

[T L]

Thanks rubybeth and TL! I am a little nervous/anxious/excited about the whole thing, but knowing you all have used them without issue makes me feel better. I did go ahead and order the setting with the upgrade - they included my specifics on the paypal payment request so I'm hopeful they will get everything right. I forgot to ask how long it will take, so I did email them today.

If all goes well, I'll also order another setting for my juicy little tanga!

rb - your split shank spinel is lovely! I can see why you'd wear it as an ER.

It usually takes seven to ten business days, and if you want them to ship express, let them know. I think it's sometimes an extra charge by FedEx. Check the listing.

They recently took around seven business days to get my last ring done, and it was a whole new mold.