Fred Leighton style settings - too fragile?

[ramfan]

I recently bought a diamond and had it mounted in a temporary setting so that my girlfriend could choose her own setting. The setting that she is most fond of is Fred Leighton''s signature setting which is very delicate and thin with bead set diamonds all the way around. Michael B. and Martin Katz have similar settings right now. I would like to have this setting made for her in platinum, but I have been told that these settings are too fragile for everyday wear and will eventually crack near the crown. Can anyone attest to this being true? I believe that the settings are between 1.5mm and 2mm in thickness.

Here is a link to a sample pic of the Michael B. variety of this setting..

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/prodshots/02P18.jpg

Any advice or info is welcome - Thanks

 

[Mara]

We bought a similar setting to the Michael B regular pave set with a solitaire center stone (view my thread 'Pictures of my ring..') but had it custom made. Iloved the MB setting but our jeweler told us that he felt it was too delicate for everyday wear and that the pave/bead set stones would probably be lost over time and/or the thin metal of the band would be more susceptible to bending due to the fact that there wasn't a good BASE of metal.

How we got around this was to have our setting custom designed (for cheaper than the MB setting also!), with a width of 2.5mm (I wanted 1.5-2mm but they talked me out of it, too thin) and .03 prong set rounds all the way around the band in an eternity style (like MB). The end result is strikingly similar to MB's rings (except for my head/prong setting which is different), I was surprised at how closely it resembles the MB ring when held arm's length away especially. The stones are so small almost all you see is the sparkle AND the prong-set as opposed to pave is supposed to be much safer for the stones. The ring is in plat--and the designer did a great job of making the metal that makes up the band under the stones nice and thick but not TOO thick, I didn't want to feel the ring on my hand, or have it stick up off my finger, etc. It's got a great profile. The head was a little tall for me originally but it has grown on me and the reason they did that was so that the wedding band could sit flush against the e-ring as opposed to knocking into the low head.

What our jeweler also told us was that if we really loved the delicate 1.5mm look and pave was to do pave about 3/4 of the way around the ring but not on the bottom (open your hand palm side up) as if they made the metal thicker there like a real band, that would help support the rest of the ring. He was just not comfortable with having so little metal supporting so many stones. I do agree with him, everyday use on a ring is hard...I've caught myself banging my hand down here and there and am glad we went with slightly more support for the stones.

Sorry this post was so long..I'm tired! But I hope it helps somewhat. Good luck...and I hav eto say also that while the jeweler said that MB rings were a little too delicate for everyday use...there obviously are people who buy them and use them...so I guess it just depends!

But get it insured!

 

[ramfan]

Mara - Thank you. That's very good info. Our jeweler is telling us the exact same thing and I guess I just wanted to hear it from somebody else. Actually, our jeweler seems even more concerned about the platinum cracking than the pave. As a compromise, we are considering doing the same ring but making the band thicker where it connects to the stone and then having it taper off. After hearing how pleased you are, we may have to look into an eternity style as well. Thanks again.

 

[skibodeaux]

The picture of your ring is not attached. I am very curious to see what it looks like. Can you e-mail it to me?

 

[Eleanor Lien]

I was curious, I couldn't find any references to Michael B. and Martin Katz. I assume they are designers but are they located in New York? I would appreciate any information on these two individuals that you could give me. Thanks!

Elly

 

[pqcollectibles]

Jeweler is concerned about platinum cracking??

I have several platinum rings and find them much more durable than the gold rings I used to wear. Maybe the jeweler does not have access to a good platinum smith to do the work.

 

[valeria101]

I know rings are rarely made this thin nowadays. Also, antique rings may have been made thicker originally and the aparent thickness after 50 or so years of wear is (by all means) not the same, but, these old rings are still in one piece...
While, of course, a thin ring would not be as sturdy as a thin one, I have some doubts that a 2mm, pave-set band will not endure normal wear for a considerable time. Maybe a dealer of antique jewelry could answer this in a different way than above. Also, I suspect that the style of pave setting does make a difference.
I am very sure that resistence to wear will be a concern with the setting your fiancé wants, but not so sure how bad it can be and wether different technical solutions (other than changing the model) are completely absent.

 

[Mara]

Eleanor, you can find information on Michael B by running a Google search.




Speaking on the thin ring issue, I really wanted a very thin ring (as my post above notes),I adore the old style 1mm or similar pave bands. But in reality, I am way too hard on my ring to wear something like that daily. Maybe for a 2nd ring for special occasions or something...but not for everyday wear. In the end we did the right thing with what we had made..even though sometimes I still wish it was thinner.

Also, our jeweler told us an interesting story about a thinner band ring he made for a woman with pave all the way around. She was some sort of airline pilot, and one day when the plane had a malfunction, she was pulling upwards on the steering column (?) with all her might to keep the plane from going down, well I guess she got out of the situ okay and all, and came back a week later to show the jeweler that her ring had basically flattened against her finger from the force she was exerting, and almost all of the small diamonds on the bottom had popped out. I guess she managed to find most of them, so they made her a new ring, slightly thicker in both depth and width with more metal. No further problems! That was an extreme case obviously--but worth noting!

 

[goldenringlets]

Dear Ramfan:

I think the ring is beautiful. I think the price on the website seemed expensive for the setting only.

Is Martin Katz the LA jeweler (to the stars)? (If, so, for my information, do you know of any other reputable jewelers in the LA area?) Martin Kayz allegedly carries designs from the jeweler where we purchased a setting, Lucie Campbell of New Bond Street, London.

Tell us about the stone you bought!

Golden (from Santa Monica bodysurfing) ringlets