Well, after all my threatening to find the perfect setting for a re-mount, I think this is the one!
I went downtown on Saturday, just to spend the time browsing while my husband is away on a hunting trip for a week, and to get my five stone wedding band re-set.
As an aside, I did finally find ''Single Stone'' there, on S. Hill Street, in building 615 on the 1st floor. For anyone that is interested in asher or cushion or old mine cuts in original or reproduction settings, this is THE place. Very nice people as well. I had fun trying on some 2 to 4 carat rings, but discovered that those cuts just don''t float my boat enough.
In the same building, I went to a guy that I had purchased from before, that has higher worksmanship and diamond quality than a lot of other shops, not the least expensive, but kind of inbetween. Background: My husband had purchased the five stone band (1 carat, G, SI1, dynamite cut) while we were on a cruise to St. Thomas earlier this year. I never liked the quality of the band, which is shared prong and too dainty. Well, one day a few months ago, one of the stones fell out, I found it, had it re-set by a Maul jeweler (high end) that promptly ''mauled'' the setting. Now it was all lopsided, as he set the one stone too low - it was not fixable either!
I figured I would spend some time looking for new settings...Anyway, I digress.
The owner of Facets Gems (same building as above) had a very nice low setting that actually was still shared-prong, but the stone at each end of the band was set into the band metal on the edge side, so that it felt very smooth and was quite substantial. I just loved it - but not only is this guy a good businessman, but creative as well. He suggested that I add two more stones to make a 7 stone ring, that would show some stones on the side of the finger. That way, if it does spin a bit, it won''t look that way. Cool, huh? I tried on a lot of eternity bands, and just couldn''t get past the bulk on the side of the finger feeling. This fit great and still had a nice style without the eternity band cost. It will be done in about 1 week, so I will post photos (I can''t wait!!!).
I spent the next 5 hours looking at about 30 different stores for semi-mounts for my 1.90 F, VS2, round, A1 cut diamond, unbranded H&A (verified by a GG). My old setting is very heavy (11 grams of plat) and top heay, so it spins a lot, which bugs me. Also, it is too wide and unusually shaped to wear well with a wedding band, so I would always wear it alone. I was leaning towards a cathedral setting, with diamonds running up the sides, but they all looked too antique, which just isn''t me. I just love the Mark Morell (sp?) settings.
For those looking for settings, some notable finds for intersting or antique style rings were: Golden State Jewelry, 550 S. Hill Street #715; Jewels by Joe, same bldg, #765; Mon Cheri Diamonds, same bldg, #515. Although, I did not take cards from some of the stores, there were probably about 20 in that building that were open to the public on Saturday. Very much fun, and not like a lot of those high pressure places at the street level. All in all, I find that generally the stores on South Hill street are of a higher quality than those on adjoining streets. By the way, I did not run into ANY manufacturers that had an attitude change when they found out that I had my own stone. I think that a great deal of their business comes from semi-mount sales.
Well, I found just what I was looking for at Karadolian MFG Co., 639 S. Hill street, #B1. They had a lot of very unusual settings that looked like liquid metal - they just flowed. They also use the platinum mixture that I wanted, 90% PL and 10% Iridium, to decrease the fine scratches.
The setting that I just MUST have has one 30 point stone on each side of the center stone, but it doesn''t look like a three-stone ring, which I really didn''t want (or maybe I''m just kidding myself). The shoulders of the band come up to hug the side stones in a graceful, but very substantial curve. They will have to custom make the setting to my stone size, because it has a basket setting that is incorporated into the band. They will also keep the band width fairly narrow at the bottom, so that my wedding band can sit flush against it this time. I will be ordering it on Monday, but I do need some opinions.
This setting comes with either two pear shapes, two rounds or two hearts. I am torn between the two rounds or hearts. Both sets of stones are extremely high light return, G, VS1. The hearts design is slightly different, since the band needs to be knife-edge in a section to hold the stone point. Also, the hearts are slightly larger in appearance. Do you think that the setting will look better with the hearts or the rounds when worn with my new wedding band? Any comments are appreciated!
I went downtown on Saturday, just to spend the time browsing while my husband is away on a hunting trip for a week, and to get my five stone wedding band re-set.
As an aside, I did finally find ''Single Stone'' there, on S. Hill Street, in building 615 on the 1st floor. For anyone that is interested in asher or cushion or old mine cuts in original or reproduction settings, this is THE place. Very nice people as well. I had fun trying on some 2 to 4 carat rings, but discovered that those cuts just don''t float my boat enough.
In the same building, I went to a guy that I had purchased from before, that has higher worksmanship and diamond quality than a lot of other shops, not the least expensive, but kind of inbetween. Background: My husband had purchased the five stone band (1 carat, G, SI1, dynamite cut) while we were on a cruise to St. Thomas earlier this year. I never liked the quality of the band, which is shared prong and too dainty. Well, one day a few months ago, one of the stones fell out, I found it, had it re-set by a Maul jeweler (high end) that promptly ''mauled'' the setting. Now it was all lopsided, as he set the one stone too low - it was not fixable either!
The owner of Facets Gems (same building as above) had a very nice low setting that actually was still shared-prong, but the stone at each end of the band was set into the band metal on the edge side, so that it felt very smooth and was quite substantial. I just loved it - but not only is this guy a good businessman, but creative as well. He suggested that I add two more stones to make a 7 stone ring, that would show some stones on the side of the finger. That way, if it does spin a bit, it won''t look that way. Cool, huh? I tried on a lot of eternity bands, and just couldn''t get past the bulk on the side of the finger feeling. This fit great and still had a nice style without the eternity band cost. It will be done in about 1 week, so I will post photos (I can''t wait!!!).
I spent the next 5 hours looking at about 30 different stores for semi-mounts for my 1.90 F, VS2, round, A1 cut diamond, unbranded H&A (verified by a GG). My old setting is very heavy (11 grams of plat) and top heay, so it spins a lot, which bugs me. Also, it is too wide and unusually shaped to wear well with a wedding band, so I would always wear it alone. I was leaning towards a cathedral setting, with diamonds running up the sides, but they all looked too antique, which just isn''t me. I just love the Mark Morell (sp?) settings.
For those looking for settings, some notable finds for intersting or antique style rings were: Golden State Jewelry, 550 S. Hill Street #715; Jewels by Joe, same bldg, #765; Mon Cheri Diamonds, same bldg, #515. Although, I did not take cards from some of the stores, there were probably about 20 in that building that were open to the public on Saturday. Very much fun, and not like a lot of those high pressure places at the street level. All in all, I find that generally the stores on South Hill street are of a higher quality than those on adjoining streets. By the way, I did not run into ANY manufacturers that had an attitude change when they found out that I had my own stone. I think that a great deal of their business comes from semi-mount sales.
Well, I found just what I was looking for at Karadolian MFG Co., 639 S. Hill street, #B1. They had a lot of very unusual settings that looked like liquid metal - they just flowed. They also use the platinum mixture that I wanted, 90% PL and 10% Iridium, to decrease the fine scratches.
The setting that I just MUST have has one 30 point stone on each side of the center stone, but it doesn''t look like a three-stone ring, which I really didn''t want (or maybe I''m just kidding myself). The shoulders of the band come up to hug the side stones in a graceful, but very substantial curve. They will have to custom make the setting to my stone size, because it has a basket setting that is incorporated into the band. They will also keep the band width fairly narrow at the bottom, so that my wedding band can sit flush against it this time. I will be ordering it on Monday, but I do need some opinions.
This setting comes with either two pear shapes, two rounds or two hearts. I am torn between the two rounds or hearts. Both sets of stones are extremely high light return, G, VS1. The hearts design is slightly different, since the band needs to be knife-edge in a section to hold the stone point. Also, the hearts are slightly larger in appearance. Do you think that the setting will look better with the hearts or the rounds when worn with my new wedding band? Any comments are appreciated!
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