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Harry Winston Cushion Halo Question!!!

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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46
So I finally found the perfect diamond (6.38x5.68 vintage cushion cut) from perry chen. I went in to have my jeweler design my ring. I told him that I wanted .015 melee around the halo (he recommended 2 to show less metal). I went with .01 melee (2 of them) in the basket to keep the basket low (he said the ring in total would probably be 7 mm high). I also went with .02 melee around the shank. The ring is going to be a size 4.5. I think I need to tell him to change it before he makes the wax tomorrow and I need to call him today to change the melee size. I have read that .01 melee are typically used around the halo and shank. My girlfriend for sure wants the ring to look dainty. Do you think .015 is ok to use or should I go with .01 to show off the stone? I want the stone to stand out a lot and not be overshadowed by the melee. Please let me know your thoughts on the specific size melee that I have picked and which ones you recommend. Also, how tall is the basket? He wanted to get rid of it all together, but I know for sure she wants it. Is it tall? How many stones should there be on it and what size? I want it as low as possible.

Thank you for all of your help and I hope that some of the people here who have the harry winston halo style will chime in. :twirl:
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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He is not making a CAD design for your setting?
 

Gypsy

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I would use half pointers. I really would. And I would heed the advice above. Call Victor Canera or Steven Kirsch. Or BGD or ERD. Please.
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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46
I would love to but I cannot financially afford these people. Their settings are $3,000 and up. I spent my money on a nice stone. I will go with 1 pointers around the halo and leave it at 2 pointers on the band. I need it delicate, but not fragile. The half point seems too small to me.

What are prices like for BGD or kirsche?
 

slg47

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newringdude|1317865083|3034253 said:
I would love to but I cannot financially afford these people. Their settings are $3,000 and up. I spent my money on a nice stone. I will go with 1 pointers around the halo and leave it at 2 pointers on the band. I need it delicate, but not fragile. The half point seems too small to me.

What are prices like for BGD or kirsche?

their prices will also be in the $3000 and up range...this is a labor intensive setting.

Gypsy's setting uses 1/2 pointers in the halo and it does not look too small at all...in my opinion it really complements the size of her center stone. Her previous setting had 1 pointers and there is a noticeable difference.
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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The jeweler that I am using has a good designer that says he can match it verbatim of the picture that I gave him. This waxer will just make the wax by hand. I understand it wont be under the guidelines of the hand made folk, but I expect that with the cost. I think I will need to tell him to have 1 pointers around the halo and 1.5 on the band. I can go half pointers on the posts. What are your thoughts, slg?
 

slg47

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I would actually skip the melee on the struts and the donut as if this is not done well it can look very clunky IMO. I think it will look much cleaner to just have the pave on the band and on the halo.

have you seen examples of this designer's pave work before?
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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yes, and the half pointers didn't look that nice to me. They didn't have any halo's like the ones I am looking for per se. If the person can make a wax that I like that looks fine, what else could go wrong? He uses only good quality melee. He said going down to 1 pointers would show too much metal, but he said he is going to prong set them all. My friend's mother has used him and likes him and he's been in the biz 40 years, so i dunno.
 

Gypsy

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What can go wrong? A LOT.

Just because they've been in business for a while doesn't mean their specific pave work is any good at all. Where is the logic in that. And even if someone you know has gotten their custom work was it for delicate pave in a halo (they get banged around, trust me) and for an engagement ring-- something that gets A LOT of wear and tear and is worn all the time by most women? And was it cut down/french style/fishtail type pave? Cause that's very different than bright cut-- which is MUCH more durable. The devil is in the details.

Is a Mazda the same as a Maserati just because they've both been in business for many years and have good reputations with their customers? NO. They're both car manufacturers, but they are very different and YES it's the details that matter. Otherwise we'd all be driving smart cars cause they are cheap and gas efficient and good for the economy. You have the budget for a VERY NICE CAD setting from a vendor with lots of experience making THIS EXACT style of setting. So why go for an unknown?

And honestly-- what do you expect the guy to say-- well, I'm going to do the best I can and I don't have a return policy on custom work so it's going to have to be good enough for you?? And oh yes, you will lose stones out of the pave, but that's normal, plus it's 25 dollars a pop for me on the repairs! YAY!

NO.

I had a museum quality (she actually HAS work in museums!) goldsmith who has been in business and doing pave for MANY MANY years make my original halo (with the one pointers) and she set my pave. I had seen 6-7 examples of her work. She was being sponsored by a vendor I love and trust to this day. My halo was not done well enough and started shedding. The repairs cost so much it was actual CHEAPER for me to have Steven Kirsch re-make my halo with ALL NEW MELEE than to keep getting it repaired.

And yes, it can happen to you.

LISTEN to us. We have nothing invested. We don't get paid by PS or by the vendors. And we aren't about to make a sale in a tough economy, unlike your jeweler.

You don't want half pointers, great. Get one pointers. But do not do 2 pointers in the shank. At one point you can keep that melee size into the shank. I have a tank of a wedding band by Scott Kay that is all one pointers and it is 2mm wide (all around 2mm, actually) and doesn't warp or bend or shed. Or do slightly larger than 1 pointers. Up to 1.5 points for the shank. But more than that and it won't look anything like the original. And for what it's worth, I've been in HW and examined halos for my size stone (6x6) and the pave on them is 1/2 pointers for that size center. It matches mine exactly.

Pave is a VERY VERY tough thing to do well. Many people do it but very few do it well. There's a reason why it costs so much money to buy good pave. The time and effort it makes to get those tiny stones in there TO STAY is very intense and if you don't do it right the results are awful. Too much metal, not enough metal, too many little prongs, not enough. Set too deep, set too shallow.

Oy. http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5563 Yours isn't likely to cost more than this. Get Brian himself on the phone tell him you want a HW style halo and one pointers and fishtail pave or cut down pave, sturdy but fluid and delicate with single claw prongs and get a quote. Or get ERD on the phone and tell them the same thing.

And I agree with SLG, keep the pave on the top of the halo and on the shank only. Leave the struts and the donut and gallery high polish metal. It will save you money and repairs and it will look much cleaner.
 

slg47

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slg47

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Gypsy

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slg47|1317884313|3034412 said:
yeah we have seen a lot of bad examples of settings on PS. There are certainly talented local jewelers who make beautiful settings BUT I would encourage you to examine many examples of their work.

Gypsy why is the Michelle halo on BGD so much less than the other HW style halos? is it the style of pave?
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5563
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5765

The Michelle is offered in white gold and the Kristy is only offered in Platinum. And on BGD that makes a price difference if you look at their settings.

Plus I think it's the point size issue as well. The smaller the melee the more they need (so it might cost more) and the harder those suckers are to set... so much more labor. The Kristy has much smaller melee than the Michelle.

Plus the Michelle's listed price is only valid on one carat and under according to it. No such restriction on the Kristy. I think if you got the Michelle in platinum for a large 1.75 ish diamond and told them to reduce the point size... you'd be looking at the same price as the Kristy.
 

Gypsy

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slg47|1317884804|3034415 said:

I like the JBEG and I like their bench.
 

natascha

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Aug 10, 2010
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644
I have been in your position before. I went with a reputable vendor that had done pave halos before with only good reviews. I am not that picky and was not expecting perfection. I am now in the position that I am going to have redo the whole ring.

I have added a couple of photos of my ring. If you and your SO are fine with what you see in these then go ahead with your original plan. You really need to see examples of your jewelers pave halo before going ahead. Oh and please find out what warranties you have in writing.

ETA oh and my centerstone is an OMC 1.07ct 6.89x6.17 so a bit bigger than yours.

What is your budget by the way? Then we can know better what to recommend.

OMC1.jpg

OMC2.jpg
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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46
Long awaited picture. taken with my phone, so i apologize for the poor quality

_504.jpg
 

sixweekoldson

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Aug 13, 2012
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50
Congratulations on the ring it looks great.
It is a good thing you weren't pushed by someone's personal preference for half pointers that is a style choice. When you take into consideration the size of those pave prongs full pointers were a much better choice!

I also think that only some consumers (probably the minority) has the budget for a SK or VC ring and shouldn't be pushed in that direction when a pave halo is requested with a limited budget. You wisely spent the majority of the budget on the center stone which I think will show a larger visual impact than a smaller center in an expensive setting.
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
Messages
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Thanks six week. I have been meaning to post pictures. I'm sad this picture turned out so poorly. Tonite I will try to take better pictures. My fiance gets stopped almost everywhere we go and is complimented on how gorgeous this ring is. I know the picture looks terrible, but it turned out amazing, I'm really happy with the results. This jeweler is awesome and he had an artist make the wax from scratch and prong set every single diamond. There are over 50 on just the engagement ring, and 20 on a conforming wedding band that I had made. Speaking of price, he was so incredibly reasonable. He basically talked me down from 18k to 14k because of the durability and lower price. It doesn't really matter if it's going to be rhodium dipped. The total price for the setting and wedding band was an astounding $1,200. I had a budget set and I think the center stone is the showcase of the ring.
 

Christina...

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Congrats! Can you post more pics?
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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Yes, I will post more (better) pictures this evening.
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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Long overdue pictures. Hopefully they turn out ok

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_512.jpg

_513.jpg

ng4.jpg
 

newringdude

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Sep 3, 2011
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What is everyone's thoughts? I can post better pictures if anyone is interest
 
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