Help! Bezel halos, wg or yg? And lower color stones?

[Heartly]

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new here, but I am currently contemplating a bezel cushion halo setting (similar to Tiffany Legacy, without milgrain). I want an antique stone and am looking at stones in the color range K-M, which I absolutely love. I'm struggling with deciding on which metal to use. I absolutely love both rose and yellow gold, and would LOVE to see pictures of these in bezel settings in real life, but I have found very few. Any pictures are welcome!

Additionally, with a stone color between K-M, do people this it would be better to set in WG or YG/RG? I don't like a high contrast look, I like an overall 'warm' color effect, but I have almost no frame of reference since no one seems to carry these items.

Also, I live in NYC, so if anyone has a recommendation as to where I can see yellow/rose settings (bezels and halos), that would be super helpful. Thanks!!!

 

[yssie]

Metal colours - one of my favourite topics!!

Here's a thread another PSer Yenny started on warm diamonds and metal colour: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/which-metal-compliments-a-warm-stone-best.160706/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/which-metal-compliments-a-warm-stone-best.160706/[/URL]

I would suggest you contact David at www.diamondsbylauren.com , they're in the diamond district and they specialize in coloured diamonds and work with white/yellow/pink metals - he'd be a great person to talk to re. effects of metals on diamond colour

 

[yssie]

I should say up-front that I am a HUGE fan of an "overall warm" look. It reminds me of lace and old books and... It's the look I went for with my own ring and I've been in love ever since!

Colour is such a fundamentally personal thing, what you see and *feel* from a piece might be very different from what I see and feel. But I've been playing with metal colours for a while now and I've found some things that really work for me!

First thing - not all yellow, white, pink gold is the same colour. 18k has more gold, so you'd expect that it's richer and more golden, and it usually is - but not always! It depends on what specific alloys are used, and even tiny amounts of different alloys can make a shocking difference! My 22k alloyed with copper and 22k alloyed with silver look very different next to each other, for example, and rose gold of the same karat often looks different let alone different karats (some is flat-out PINK, some - esp. older stuff I think - is more coppery/peachy). White gold is usually electroplated w/ rhodium, so plated white gold is all that same super light bright icy white, but I've found that unplated white gold can vary tremendously.

I LOVE the idea of a K-M cushion in unplated wg for a soft, cozy look. I think yg or rg would be beautiful too - a more direct/bold approach, I guess? I've found that w/ yellow gold the more contrast there is between stone colour and metal colour, the more you notice the contrast and the whiter the stone looks (and richer the metal looks). In these sorts of pieces my attention goes first to the contrast rather than the "overall feel" of the piece - I think it's an inherently bolder look. That sounds kinda kooky, I know, but it's the best description I've got! I can't really speak for what effect a rose gold bezel might have on that sort of stone, but Haven has an O/P antique cushion in a plat basket w/ 18k rg shank and it looks *incredible* in her pics (and she's been kind enough to post a ton to drool over [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-its-here-my-2-30-ct-omb-antique-cushion-upgrade.158760/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-its-here-my-2-30-ct-omb-antique-cushion-upgrade.158760/[/URL] )

My story: I put my J RB in unplated 18k nickel-whitegold from WF, the standard stuff they use for their custom work ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yssies-new-ring-is-here-2-7-three-stone-in-unplated-wg.144010/page-9']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yssies-new-ring-is-here-2-7-three-stone-in-unplated-wg.144010/page-9[/URL] ). I then ordered a stock unplated 18k Ni-wg from e-weddingbands, and to my total surprise the colour was visibly different! So I called them and we decided to try 18k Ni-wg from a different manufacturer, the one that does their custom work, and it turned out to be a perfect match! So even 18k wg of the same primary alloy can look different... All my Ni alloy bands are "creamy"/"yellowy" though. That variety of 18k Ni-wg was quite a bit richer than my J stones' tint. I loved the ring, and it had the "warm overall" look that I wanted, but the metal colour is non-negotiably pale yellow. I acquired two half-carat antique cushions that appraised as fair Ns and decided I wanted one of BGD's bezel bracelets, only this time I wanted the metal colour to match the face-up colour of the diamonds *exactly*. The WF-custom-work 18k Ni-wg was a bit too creamy, so I asked BGD for 14k Ni-wg and it's *dead-on*. The bracelet is 14k rg ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-caved-rg-cushions-bezels-milgrain-dbtybracelet.161562/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-caved-rg-cushions-bezels-milgrain-dbtybracelet.161562/[/URL]). DBL made me a new fivestone setting just a few months ago ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-5-stone-8-prong-trellis-reset-by-dbl.170161/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-5-stone-8-prong-trellis-reset-by-dbl.170161/[/URL]) It is a work of art! It's in unplated 18k palladium-wg, which is just a tiny bit creamy and a tiny bit pink. At casual glance it just looks "white" - which is of course the whole point of the metal - but I do think the piece has largely lost the "warm overall" look and I miss it, and knowing me I'll most likely be asking DBL to reset into Ni-wg at some point - if they'll do it I suppose!

Which brings me to another point - how do you plan to have the ring made? With casting you have all the metal choices in the world, but the handforging vendors (at least the popular ones here on PS) universally prefer to work with plat. Some don't work w/ wg at all, some don't work w/ specific alloys of wg (nickel alloy is unpopular to say the least) - so if you go that route you'll have fewer options. I'd definitely recommend getting ring + band from the same vendor - at the same time if at all possible - if you know you're going to be particular about the colours matching exactly. And please post TONS of pics!!

 

[yssie]

Some others -

Overview of common alloys
https://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/news/an-overview-of-common-alloys.htm

Liane's bezel set by Green Lake (18k Ni-wg) - her rings inspired mine, her stone is an EGL J so probably the same colour range, RB though
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/green-lake-jewelers-nerd-ring-wedding-band.130950/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/green-lake-jewelers-nerd-ring-wedding-band.130950/[/URL]


WG comparisons from the helpful threads sticky



And a couple I took -

A - plat (950/ru)
B - unplated 18k nickel wg from e-wb, custom piece (different manufacturer, matches my WF custom Ering metal perfectly)
C - unplated 18k nickel wg from e-wb, stock piece
D - plated 18k wg from WF
E - 22k alloyed w/ copper


B, C, A above
G - unplated 18k palladium wg from DBL

 

[Dreamer_D]

Diamond in a halo will have a much larger impact on the perceived color of the stone than will the metal, in my opinion, so if you plan a diamond halo I would just choose the color of metal that appeals to you and not worry about much else!

That said, I found that with stones in the near colorless range, yellow gold made the diamond appear more tinted compared to the same diamond set in white metal. Although the metal certainly (in my opinion) adds tint to any diamond material, the net perception of warmth may be different with stones in the faint yellow range. In stones that already have a certain level of saturation of color, a contrast effect may kick in.

Anyway, the only way to make this decision is by seeing the diamond and metal in person, I am afraid. It is worth shipping the stone to yourself if you buy it online and visiting jewelers.

 

[yennyfire]

Well, I can now say that I've seen both a variety of gorgeous warmer colored stones, thanks to Ari sending a bunch of different settings for me to look at when we were designing my ring and several shades of rose gold! I am finally almost worthy of being called a PSer. .

Yssie (as always!) is right on the money with everything she said. It's a personal preference in the end, but be aware that there are many shades of white, yellow and rose gold and it can make a big difference in how a stone appears. I think a warmer colored stone in a soft white gold (maybe unplated) would be gorgeous. You could also do a two toned approach. Rose gold for the halo and white gold for the shank....the possibilities are endless!

 

[yssie]

::snort:: well, I totally missed the halo bit! Ditto Dreamer - those little diamonds are gonna be bright white dots whether you choose D/E or I/J melee or white or black metal. Since you're not looking for a how-little-metal-can-you-see type of setting I do think metal will have some impact, but not nearly as much given the presence of melee.

Using single cuts would eliminate that (contrast of melee and centerstone) but they have other issues - more expensive, tough to replace, obviously not a good choice if you *like* the bright white dot effect or you want to play up the center/melee contrast...

Aww, yenny, we're all down the same rabbit hole Do you have any comparison pics of the rg by any chance? Would love to see!

 

[swingirl]

One of the loveliest halos I ever saw was a warm center stone set in a yellow gold bezel with yellow diamonds in the halo. It was a beautiful way to take advantage of an M-N stone.

 

[Amys Bling]

here is a thread for some inspiration...

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-us-your-bezel-rings.121897/

 

[yennyfire]

::snort:: well, I totally missed the halo bit! Ditto Dreamer - those little diamonds are gonna be bright white dots whether you choose D/E or I/J melee or white or black metal. Since you're not looking for a how-little-metal-can-you-see type of setting I do think metal will have some impact, but not nearly as much given the presence of melee.

Using single cuts would eliminate that (contrast of melee and centerstone) but they have other issues - more expensive, tough to replace, obviously not a good choice if you *like* the bright white dot effect or you want to play up the center/melee contrast...

Aww, yenny, we're all down the same rabbit hole Do you have any comparison pics of the rg by any chance? Would love to see!

No photos unfortunately Yssie.

 

[Amys Bling]

One of the loveliest halos I ever saw was a warm center stone set in a yellow gold bezel with yellow diamonds in the halo. It was a beautiful way to take advantage of an M-N stone.

Sounds lovely!

 

[Heartly]

Yssie (any everyone else!!) THANK YOU!! Loving all the information. I'm not well versed on anything relating to jewelry, so all of this information is very helpful.

The vendor I'm hoping to work with hand sets everything, no casting, but they said they could use any alloy available, so that's good news. I'm in agreement with many of you, I'm thinking an unplated WG (still have to evaluate which alloy) might be the best. I want to overall warm, cohesive look between the stone, metal, melee/halo, band. A real sparkler, but not separate pieces and parts. They will make the halo with diamonds of the same color as center stone (or just the closest they can find), but I'm sure it will still look very white comparatively. I always thought I would go pronged setting, but once I put on the bezel the smoothness and 'streamlined' look had me.

I can't wait to start getting this thing made!! I'm sending my SO some info on stones shortly and hopefully he'll pick one out and we can go from there. Not sure what size yet, may need to still try a few different ones on but I'm thinking and antique cushion/OMC anywhere between 1.2-1.6 - elongated. We don't have a huge budget, so I'm sure it will depend on what's available/what we can get our hands on.

Thanks again, and you will definitely hear when I have progress!

 

[yssie]

If the contrast between centerstone and melee is a concern you could go with single cuts for the halo - they have fewer, larger facets. They're more expensive (the well-cut ones are, anyway) and more difficult to replace should you lose one, but they'll mitigate the Bright White Dot effect and blend better with the surrounding metal..