Help! I'm lost in the land of re-setting!

[mrs-b]

Hi @MissGotRocks

To be clear about my hands - I would love to have long, slender fingers that made a 1 ct look like a 3 ct! But I do actually like my hands - they just don't photograph well, as chubbier fingers/hands so often don't. In photos, rings always look tight - even when they're not - and this makes me feel as tho it doesn't do whatever piece I'm trying to photograph justice. I am also a horrible - and I do mean horrible! - photographer. So I steer away from hand shots and dislike them when I do them! But in real life, I'm content with the hands I have; so this is more a PS thing than a real life thing.

I totally hear what you're saying about trying to clear my head - excellent advice! I have always had one reservation about solitaires (and pls forgive this - it's just what goes around in my head and has no merit, I realize that!) - and that's that they're a single focus piece. This is probably exactly what most people like about them, but for me, they often feel as though a person took all their budget, threw it at one stone, stuck it in prongs, and called it a day. I have largely gotten over that, the more stunning solitaires I've seen, but traces of it linger. Consequently I've always been a 3 stone kind of woman, but I now find myself halfway between each style - and kind of stuck.

I LOVED what @yssie said about "no curliques or Olde Worlde frippery, thank you!" - this is right on the money for me. But I dislike plain also. So where I am at the moment is half way between the MC2 piece and a killer 3 stone. That MC2 ring is calling my name louder and louder with each passing hour, and when I go there tomorrow, it may be the point of commitment. It will be hard to give up the dream of complete side to side coverage (especially since I already have one of the damn side stones!!) but I've come to a point where I think a 3 stone for me would have to be WHITE - not near colorless. It's the whole side view... And once you start getting up into the colorless range, you sacrifice a great deal of size for that level of colorlessness.

 

[ac117]

@mrs-b It's great to read you think this out! The one thing you have on your side is TIME. Don't forget that! Even if you see something you love tomorrow at MC2, leave it - don't commit - it's important to still feel the same way in a few weeks or months before you upgrade your stone. It appears people who have reset in haste are often disappointed and you don't necessarily have a 'deadline' so use that to your advantage by really dissecting your wishes and exploring the possibilities!

 

[mrs-b]

Call me crazy but I really think those photos help! I feel I have a much better idea of what you're looking for - clean lines, sturdy structures, tempered curves (no curliques and Olde Worlde frippery, thank you!) but also no sharp geometries... bold and modern.

I know when I see pictures of jewellery - or parts of jewels - as inspiration... well, I'm so used to diving into the details that it's easy to lose the forest for the trees. Interesting how clearly non-jewellery designs convey desired aesthetic...

This. All of it. It never occurred to me to simply look around the rest of my home to get an idea of what I might like for a ring! My taste is very, very clean. And I am all about the lines and the proportions. I mean - how many rings on PS have you seen where the proportions were ever so slightly...off?

Re the 'clean' thing (and by clean, what I really mean is uncluttered, or without a lot of detail), I look at your sterling tongs, for instance, and I LOVE them. Love. But would I ever have them? No - something (and I don't even know what) tells me that sort of style is not for me, regardless of how beautiful I think they are. I would love to be able to pull off that level of stylishness - but very decorative pieces just don't reflect who I am, and I would feel uncomfortable with the sorts of things another person might be able to carry off with ease. I have 3 different homes, and in each of them I've built a very specific aesthetic and I've suddenly realized that I want to carry that aesthetic over into my jewelry. (Where have I been on this???)

If you look at the 2 photos I posted, you get the whole clean / uncluttered thing. But the linen is hand embroidered in Italy, the cutlery is antique, and the wine glasses are very special. They're Royal Doulton, and for their 50th anniversary, Royal Doulton released a very limited, hand made series of wine glasses representing the four seasons. Each one is signed and they're impossible to find now. They're collector items and people aren't selling them. Each one holds almost a whole bottle, they weigh a TON, and they're absolutely stunning. I've collected glassware like my mother before me, and when these came out, I was lucky enough to procure 10 of them before they sold out in a matter of weeks. They're on the 'things I'd rescue in the event of a fire' list. That whole setting is sitting on a refectory table built in 1860, and the entire ensemble is (i think!) lifted by the bold colors of daffodils and irises. So yes - that.

I cannot tell you how helpful this was! Thank you so much, @yssie - you are a goddess of jewelry design!

I just got off the phone with Tim McClelland and we're good to go tomorrow. Deep breath and fingers crossed! Much as I love diamonds, I appreciate and value very fine metalsmith more, so this will be a thrill for me.

ETA - Have you ever posted your RDG ring? I would love to see it when you're ready to share it!

 

[mrs-b]

@mrs-b It's great to read you think this out! The one thing you have on your side is TIME. Don't forget that! Even if you see something you love tomorrow at MC2, leave it - don't commit - it's important to still feel the same way in a few weeks or months before you upgrade your stone. It appears people who have reset in haste are often disappointed and you don't necessarily have a 'deadline' so use that to your advantage by really dissecting your wishes and exploring the possibilities!

Great advice, @ac117 - will do!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Hi @MissGotRocks

To be clear about my hands - I would love to have long, slender fingers that made a 1 ct look like a 3 ct! But I do actually like my hands - they just don't photograph well, as chubbier fingers/hands so often don't. In photos, rings always look tight - even when they're not - and this makes me feel as tho it doesn't do whatever piece I'm trying to photograph justice. I am also a horrible - and I do mean horrible! - photographer. So I steer away from hand shots and dislike them when I do them! But in real life, I'm content with the hands I have; so this is more a PS thing than a real life thing.

I totally hear what you're saying about trying to clear my head - excellent advice! I have always had one reservation about solitaires (and pls forgive this - it's just what goes around in my head and has no merit, I realize that!) - and that's that they're a single focus piece. This is probably exactly what most people like about them, but for me, they often feel as though a person took all their budget, threw it at one stone, stuck it in prongs, and called it a day. I have largely gotten over that, the more stunning solitaires I've seen, but traces of it linger. Consequently I've always been a 3 stone kind of woman, but I now find myself halfway between each style - and kind of stuck.

I LOVED what @yssie said about "no curliques or Olde Worlde frippery, thank you!" - this is right on the money for me. But I dislike plain also. So where I am at the moment is half way between the MC2 piece and a killer 3 stone. That MC2 ring is calling my name louder and louder with each passing hour, and when I go there tomorrow, it may be the point of commitment. It will be hard to give up the dream of complete side to side coverage (especially since I already have one of the damn side stones!!) but I've come to a point where I think a 3 stone for me would have to be WHITE - not near colorless. It's the whole side view... And once you start getting up into the colorless range, you sacrifice a great deal of size for that level of colorlessness.

Good - I am glad to hear that you problem with your hands is just the photography - I totally get that! Photographing jewelry is definitely not an easy thing to do - how many times do we hear 'these pictures don't do justice to what I see in real life?' I so get it.

I haven't had a solitaire ring in many years. Not necessarily for the reasons you mention but I somehow like the balanced look of a three stone ring on my own hand. I am torn all the time about going back to try a solitaire (there are so many beautiful ones) but I fear that I'd miss the accent stones that give my ring that extra umph for me. I am much more about the stones and shiny metal but I do appreciate the look of a well made, first water ring. I have just never trusted that I could parlay my thoughts into the mind of a craftsman and have it turn out exactly like I would want it to be. I like white diamonds too - again just a personal preference - and am willing to sacrifice cost of setting for better color stones. We are all dlifferent and that's what makes the world go round - otherwise it would be a very boring place!

Good luck with your visit tomorrow. I hope you find something that makes your heart sing but the previous advice is good. It never hurts to sleep on anything for a bit to determine if it is the right thing for you. We will all be anxious to hear about the next chapter and will certainly stay tuned!!

 

[BlingDreams]

It never occurred to me to simply look around the rest of my home to get an idea of what I might like for a ring! My taste is very, very clean. And I am all about the lines and the proportions. I mean - how many rings on PS have you seen where the proportions were ever so slightly...off?

Re the 'clean' thing (and by clean, what I really mean is uncluttered, or without a lot of detail), I look at your sterling tongs, for instance, and I LOVE them. Love. But would I ever have them? No - something (and I don't even know what) tells me that sort of style is not for me, regardless of how beautiful I think they are. I would love to be able to pull off that level of stylishness - but very decorative pieces just don't reflect who I am, and I would feel uncomfortable with the sorts of things another person might be able to carry off with ease. I have 3 different homes, and in each of them I've built a very specific aesthetic and I've suddenly realized that I want to carry that aesthetic over into my jewelry. (Where have I been on this???)

Isn't it wonderful when the lightbulb clicks? And now this realization will carry over to many more aspects, especially decorating! I love classic items but also curvy, intertwined lines like scrollwork and latticework, filigree, damask, etc. and if you saw my home you'd see that those themes dominate my choices, along with the incorporation of flowers of all types. It's no wonder that I designed my e-ring to mimic those likes .

SO excited for your visit to MC2. Can't wait to hear what they said and you decided on!

ETA: here's a collage from around my home. See what I mean?

 

[SimoneDi]

@ILikeShiny I see Monet's garden collage

 

[BlingDreams]

@ILikeShiny I see Monet's garden collage

Yes indeedy! Monet is my favorite artist and I LOVE this painting. I makes my heart smile and truly brightens up the feel of the whole room

 

[mrs-b]

What a lovely wide hallway, ILikeShiny! And I like your wainscoting as well! I love flowers and have always had a fairly extensive garden. First thing my husband does in any house we buy is put in a rose garden for me. My artwork, on the other hand, tends towards abstracts, a few nudes, and a number of landscapes/seascapes. Eclectic, but it seems to work.

It's extraordinary to me that the idea of looking at my house and using that to help me decide what to do with a ring didn't strike me before now! I've been decorating houses as a side interest for decades and have done many-many. I've done them for myself, for friends, for flipping, for real estate agents, and so on and so on. Anyway, as soon as I started thinking "what do I like in houses / put that in a ring" I was off to the races!

 

[valeria101]

So yes - that.

WWW

... I am so curious to hear your impression of MC2 ! That house has a sense of humour to go with all the classic bells & whistles [ditto @yssie] - always surprising. Fingers crossed !

 

[mrs-b]

@valeria101 - the link is to an antique jewelry auction site?

 

[valeria101]

It is not an auction house, just a rather famous antique jewelry dealer in London. I imagine that a good deal of their inventory is in the not-plain classical taste you have mentioned ...

 

[LLJsmom]

@mrs-b how did the meeting with mc2 go? I'm dying to find out.

 

[mrs-b]

It is not an auction house, just a rather famous antique jewelry dealer in London. I imagine that a good deal of their inventory is in the not-plain classical taste you have mentioned ...

Got it! Thanks, Valeria! I have now bookmarked a gorgeous ruby and diamond ring...just to really complicate matters!

 

[mrs-b]

@mrs-b how did the meeting with mc2 go? I'm dying to find out.

It was....<gaaaaaaassssssp>!!

Their workmanship is sublime and they gave me a tour of their workshop also which was...it was...I mean, the pieces they were working on were....

(That's me - lost for words)

I've never seen such minute pave, such precise and creative metal work, such commitment to excellence and artistry. It was just Un.Real.

Consequently, I am now massively confused - yay! There are two rings I definitely want - a large 3 stone (G colored stones) in platinum, and a large solitaire in yellow gold. The yellow gold will be their Bella Flora. The three stone will be a repeat of the three stone I had some years ago now, but with somewhat different proportions. I have no idea which one I'll go with and I can't afford both.

 

[valeria101]

... a large solitaire in yellow gold. The yellow gold will be their Bella Flora.

Would you consider a golden flower on a Pt ring ?

Matching diamond colour to the bezel may reach into the 'Light Yellow' range, & change the cost of everything ...

 

[mrs-b]

ETA I've spent a fair proportion of this morning talking about this with my husband, who is incredibly patient about this process in which he has little to no interest. What's looking likely at this point is that I'll keep my 3.61 I VS2 and put it in a Bella Flora by MC2. My 3.61 is a beautiful stone - large, clean, with gorgeous light return. Any tint disappears when viewed from above, and since the BF is an enclosed ring, side tint makes no difference.

Then I'll use my funds to upgrade my VC diamond (1.67ct) to a 2.5ct (H VS2 color/clarity), buy 2 more VC stones - each 1.25ct - and make a 5ctw 3 stone similar to my previous 3 stone which I loved so much, but which was always a tad small for my taste (3.5ctw). This would be in platinum, while the BF would be in yellow gold with a plat. head.

I'm not doing anything till the new year, but if anyone has any thoughts, feel free to speak up. I tend to think this is the best of both worlds.

 

[BlingDreams]

It was....<gaaaaaaassssssp>!!

Their workmanship is sublime and they gave me a tour of their workshop also which was...it was...I mean, the pieces they were working on were....

(That's me - lost for words)

I've never seen such minute pave, such precise and creative metal work, such commitment to excellence and artistry. It was just Un.Real.

Consequently, I am now massively confused - yay! There are two rings I definitely want - a large 3 stone (G colored stones) in platinum, and a large solitaire in yellow gold. The yellow gold will be their Bella Flora. The three stone will be a repeat of the three stone I had some years ago now, but with somewhat different proportions. I have no idea which one I'll go with and I can't afford both.

I love this update!!! It sounds like a magical visit indeed, and makes me want to plan a trip to see them too!

My gut says you'll go with MC2 because, while the 3-stone gives the finger coverage you want, you've continued talking about how much you appreciate metal artistry in pieces (and subsequently how blown away you were by what you saw in MC2's workshop). I think all that's left to decide is if you want melee in the petals or any cuffs

But that's just MY guess. You're the one shelling out the dough

 

[mrs-b]

@ILikeShiny - take a look at my most recent post in this thread. I'm gonna do both.

 

[BlingDreams]

@ILikeShiny - take a look at my most recent post in this thread. I'm gonna do both.

Heck ya!!!!! I must have been typing when you posted that. SO happy you're getting to do both!

One question (and NOT to dissuade you): you had said previously that the 4ct mark was something you'd always wanted to hit and that you wouldn't be satisfied until you did (or something like that... I'm probably paraphrasing a bit). Are you sure you're good sticking with your current stone (not that 3.61 is small!)?

 

[Bonfire]

ETA I've spent a fair proportion of this morning talking about this with my husband, who is incredibly patient about this process in which he has little to no interest. What's looking likely at this point is that I'll keep my 3.61 I VS2 and put it in a Bella Flora by MC2. My 3.61 is a beautiful stone - large, clean, with gorgeous light return. Any tint disappears when viewed from above, and since the BF is an enclosed ring, side tint makes no difference.

Then I'll use my funds to upgrade my VC diamond (1.67ct) to a 2.5ct (H VS2 color/clarity), buy 2 more VC stones - each 1.25ct - and make a 5ctw 3 stone similar to my previous 3 stone which I loved so much, but which was always a tad small for my taste (3.5ctw). This would be in platinum, while the BF would be in yellow gold with a plat. head.

I'm not doing anything till the new year, but if anyone has any thoughts, feel free to speak up. I tend to think this is the best of both worlds.

Can your husband come talk to my husband please?!
This is a fantastic *cake and eat it too* decision mrs-b!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Sounds like a real good solution to your dilemma! Glad you enjoyed your visit with mc2. I am sure it is everything you described. How cool is it that you got to visit where your ring will be made?

Best of luck waiting for the rest of 2017 to go by; however, sometimes half the fun is the anticipation of it all! Let's hope by next spring you have two new beautiful rings!!

 

[LLJsmom]

Just love this plan. You get the best of both worlds, mc2 and an awesome 3 stone. I love those proportions and considered doing it with my old MRB as well. Can't wait to see how it goes. And so happy that you had an amazing visit to mc2. Makes me want to do a pitstop if I get to the MA.

 

[mrs-b]

Thanks @MissGotRocks and @LLJsmom -

I should also add that they took a close - CLOSE - look at my DKJ ring, and they liked it a lot. They thought the design was clever and well executed and said that you didn't see many of that style, and particularly not many of that style as well done as mine. I was very chuffed.

 

[MissGotRocks]

It is a pretty setting - I've always liked it. DK would probably be happy to hear that compliment!

 

[mrs-b]

It is a pretty setting - I've always liked it. DK would probably be happy to hear that compliment!

Thanks, MGR

I actually sent DKJ a text on the way home from MC@ and said "Guess what!"

 

[mrs-b]

Went out to breakfast with DH this morning and was talking about ring/diamond options. I said to him, "I'm still undecided! What do you think I should do??"

He said, "I think you should upgrade your diamond and get that nice flower setting we saw at MC2." (pause...) "But it's got to be 4ct. None of this 3.9 crap."

This is possibly the greatest husband in the world.

 

[december-fire]

Went out to breakfast with DH this morning and was talking about ring/diamond options. I said to him, "I'm still undecided! What do you think I should do??"

He said, "I think you should upgrade your diamond and get that nice flower setting we saw at MC2." (pause...) "But it's got to be 4ct. None of this 3.9 crap."

This is possibly the greatest husband in the world.

Clone that man!

 

[ringbling17]

It was....<gaaaaaaassssssp>!!

Their workmanship is sublime and they gave me a tour of their workshop also which was...it was...I mean, the pieces they were working on were....

(That's me - lost for words)

I've never seen such minute pave, such precise and creative metal work, such commitment to excellence and artistry. It was just Un.Real.

Consequently, I am now massively confused - yay! There are two rings I definitely want - a large 3 stone (G colored stones) in platinum, and a large solitaire in yellow gold. The yellow gold will be their Bella Flora. The three stone will be a repeat of the three stone I had some years ago now, but with somewhat different proportions. I have no idea which one I'll go with and I can't afford both.

HI mrs-b,
I love love love the MC2 settings. I did have a question, were they willing to set your own diamond? I thought they only set their own stones. If yes, this sort of gives me hope if they are willing to set your diamond. Also, if you don't mind, what's the ballpark price of their Bella setting.
I need to figure out how much money I should save!

 

[ac117]

Went out to breakfast with DH this morning and was talking about ring/diamond options. I said to him, "I'm still undecided! What do you think I should do??"

He said, "I think you should upgrade your diamond and get that nice flower setting we saw at MC2." (pause...) "But it's got to be 4ct. None of this 3.9 crap."

This is possibly the greatest husband in the world.

LOVE THIS!