Help! I need some advice on a ring setting

[bob_dole26]

I've been lurking on the site for at least a year now, and all your advice has really come in handy with picking out a stone. I need some help with the setting that a local Toronto jeweler (Engage Diamond Studio) is making for me.

My girlfriend really liked the split pave ring that Birks carries and here's what it looks like:


Here are the prototype / manufacturing pics that they sent me. The proportions still don't feel quite right. What do you folks think?

 

[mogster]

I think the prototype is a lot bulkier than the one pictured.

 

[Precieux_Art_Jewelers]

To be fair, I think the pictures are quite different. The casting is an extreme close-up, which may result in it looking a bit "heavier". Remember, the end product can be smoothed and rounded during polishing/finishing.

There's a few slight "machined" type differences, but you will often see that with CAD.

 

[pandabee]

Agreed in terms of the bulkiness. They may end up shaving some of it off before the final product is finished, but that may be something you need to clarify with the jeweler. The only other thing I noticed is the prongs seem rougher on the prototype but like I said, hopefully that gets refined before everything is done and finished.

 

[ame]

It is definitely bulkier. The biggest issue to me is that the area in the cathedral/head is not the same. I know that part of it is going to be copyright issue, but it's not something that I think will change after casting and polishing. The head on the prototype needs to be more daintily done.

 

[bob_dole26]

Appreciate the feedback folks. The bridge below the cathedral head and the prongs definitely looked chunky to me. I asked them to make them both thinner / daintier.

They're (the jeweler) saying that the zoom level and the angle of the pics are making it look worse than it is. I get to see another set of pics at the end of next week, and I'll be sure to update the thread.

 

[Gypsy]

Clunky and huge. Lacks the delicacy and grace of the original.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Funny enough .. just today, I saw my co-workers ring which is the Birks split shank design and made by the same place. It did not look bulky and the pave was done well. It's not Leon Mege quality but I would say it was very well made.

 

[bob_dole26]

That's awesome to hear. I was getting stressed about it.

 

[Roxy]

That's awesome to hear. I was getting stressed about it.

Don't get stressed. You can ask the jeweler to show you rings that they've recently completed, along w/ the pictures of the prototypes of those rings when they were at your stage, and you can get a feel for their "before" and "after" work. That will help both of you focus in on your expectations a bit more. You don't want to "assume" anything when going the custom route.

 

[CharmyPoo]

This is really personal preference but I never really liked the Birks split shank because it looks bulky and a bit manly. I find the lines are not elegant / feminine. I would actually make the split curve a bit more and not as far apart.

Have you seen these Tiffany designs?



And this was my erring made by Leon Mege. He made a mistake so the ring was remade.



Here is the remake .. it goes into one shank which isn't what you want.