Halo melee settings

[furpy]

Hi there,

Hoping for some opinions on a recent remodel of my 1.4ct princess solitaire. I spent a long time deciding but went ahead with re-setting in a double edge halo - however the more I look at it over the past couple of months, I am drawn to viewing it as 'rocky' looking, rather than the seamless glitz I was hoping for. Am I overthinking it, or should it be more seamless ? What would help, would it make a difference if the melee had shared prongs to be closer together (I see that each halo stone has 4 individual prongs). I was told the centre stone needed to be slightly raised above the halo (its only slightly higher), however is that correct or can it be totally flush with the halo, so the straight edges on the princess stone are less obvious. It looks better in night lights / sunshine but the rest of the time I glance at it and just see the rockiness of it if that makes sense. Starting to regret changing it from solitaire now

Grateful for any advice - even if it's to tell me it's all fine and stop being paranoid !
Thanks

 

[monipod]

It's hard to say without seeing it in person but do you mean that there's too much prong/metal visible? From the photo the prongs of the side halo are visible looking from the top but I don't think it would be so obvious in real life? It's got massive bling factor and I can only imagine the sparkles... Give it some time to get used to it. I think we've all had second thoughts on ring designs after completion.

 

[natasha-cupcake]

Honestly, I think it's lovely. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[NicoleNeedsHelp]

I agree that it looks amazing, but I understand what you’re saying. There is a thread on here about waterfall or double edge halos, which might give you some ideas. What I do like is that your ring is really unique. I’m not sure if setting your center stone in a bezel would help. Did you have a solitaire before? Maybe you want a more modern looking ring and this one is a bit more vintage style?
Make sure that you get something you love. We all have different tastes, but only you wear the ring.

 

[NicoleNeedsHelp]

This is a different shape diamond, but maybe you like this halo better? I just did a search for “princess cut ring with double edged halo” and a lot of images appeared.

 

[NicoleNeedsHelp]

Here is a stunning ring that was listed in the Show Me Your Halos ring. If I understand you, maybe you want your halo more like this one?

 

[furpy]

It's hard to say without seeing it in person but do you mean that there's too much prong/metal visible? From the photo the prongs of the side halo are visible looking from the top but I don't think it would be so obvious in real life? It's got massive bling factor and I can only imagine the sparkles... Give it some time to get used to it. I think we've all had second thoughts on ring designs after completion.

Thanks Monipod...I am the queen of 2nd thoughts ! They initially set my cushion cut eternity ring 4-claws and I hated seeing the gaps the claws were creating between the stones, so they redid it to shared claw which made the world of difference.

So just wondering if shared claws were also used on halo, sitting between the stones (rather than on top) would allow the halo stones to fit better against the centre stone. I just hoped it to look blended, not as much an obvious border

 

[furpy]

I agree that it looks amazing, but I understand what you’re saying. There is a thread on here about waterfall or double edge halos, which might give you some ideas. What I do like is that your ring is really unique. I’m not sure if setting your center stone in a bezel would help. Did you have a solitaire before? Maybe you want a more modern looking ring and this one is a bit more vintage style?
Make sure that you get something you love. We all have different tastes, but only you wear the ring.

Thanks so much NicoleNeedsHelp for your replies, and yes I think the pictures you're showing are what I mean, where the halo looking a tighter fit around the stone. Love the Vanessa Nicole one, think it was one my example pics !

I have been scrolling PS and found this suggestion by MichaelAbraham, for shared prong inside, and split prongs still on the outside. Although his example pic looks to have a bezel around the centre stone too

Hi,

In order to have a nice halo with little metal showing you can try shared prongs - but that's not really the best solution, because as a halo is round the prongs at the outside edge end up really big and essentially flat wide prongs. Having a nicely split prong at the top and spared at the bottom will make it appear there is less metal, and will reflect white the off the inside of the splits. When we make these to show less metal it's important that the stones be seated properly and close together. Also, the smaller the stones in the halo the less gap you will see.

I always suggest split (2) prongs at the outer edge because the look is much better - but it has to be set properly to have that reduced metal look.



In this photo, you see that we've made the ring with the outside split and inside shared. It's the only way to get it really tight. Remember also, that this is about 5X zoomed in, so in the original 3ct ring, the halo looks like a smooth sparkly ring of white.

 

[monipod]

So just wondering if shared claws were also used on halo, sitting between the stones (rather than on top) would allow the halo stones to fit better against the centre stone. I just hoped it to look blended, not as much an obvious border

I think shared claws would lessen the amount of metal bulk that may be bothering you visually, and give you a more seamless look. I think if you can't change it, it's still a gorgeous ring, but if it still bothers you over time and your jeweller is happy to work with you, see what they can do