Help me chose a 3-stone setting

[colorkitty]

My husband wasn''t too keen on the idea of a diamond ring until I assured him we wouldn''t be replacing my colored stone engagement ring, but rather adding an anniversary ring, and we could build it together so he wouldn''t have the pressure of finding the perfect ring on his own. He thought that was a great idea! But to get the ball rolling, I need to pick a setting.

I''m torn between a trellis setting and a basket setting with pave (8 3-pointers bead set, to be exact). I looooove the pave setting, and I like how it seems to be a lower setting than the trellis, but I don''t know about the maintenance. I''ve heard about diamonds falling out and how hard it can be to resize these settings. I''m a worrier and I don''t know if I can handle it. In addition, the spread of the main stones will cover most of my finger. I''m not sure whether I''ll be able to see the pave diamonds while wearing it.

I like the simple but different look of the trellis. It looks like it can take more abuse. It''s $600 less than the pave setting, which means more money for bigger/better main stones. We''re probably not going to have a huge budget and every $ going to the center diamond counts.

The other issue is that my mom has a 3-stone ring of rounds about the same size I''m looking at in a white gold basket setting. I want mine to look a little different than hers.

What''s your vote?

 

[colorkitty]

And the trellis...

 

[Ellen]

They''re both pretty, but I would pick the trellis!

 

[JulieN]

I would probably pick the opposite style of your colored stone ring for different moods.

 

[Rock Candy]

I would choose the trellis!

 

[jayreneepea]

Trellis

 

[Sundial]

In this case my vote would be the trellis setting, but don''t let pave scare you off if that is what you want. I have a three stone ring with three sided pave on the shank and I have had absolutely no maintenance or sizing problems with it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I like the look of the pave one (guess I am the odd one out!)

 

[colorkitty]

Date: 1/7/2007 11:28:39 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I like the look of the pave one (guess I am the odd one out!)

I''d be disappointed if someone with the name Tacori E-ring felt differently.

 

[aljdewey]

1. I'm a worrier and I don't know if I can handle it.
2. The spread of the main stones will cover most of my I'm not sure whether I'll be able to see the pave diamonds while wearing it.
3. The treillis looks like it can take more abuse.
4. It's $600 less than the pave setting, which means more money for bigger/better main stones.
5. We're probably not going to have a huge budget and every $ going to the center diamond counts.
6. I want mine to look a little different from my mom's (white gold basket setting 3-stone)

I like both, but taking all the above factors into consideration, I'd pick the trellis.

 

[belle]

Date: 1/8/2007 12:03:11 PM
Author: aljdewey


1. I''m a worrier and I don''t know if I can handle it.
2. The spread of the main stones will cover most of my I''m not sure whether I''ll be able to see the pave diamonds while wearing it.
3. The treillis looks like it can take more abuse.
4. It''s $600 less than the pave setting, which means more money for bigger/better main stones.
5. We''re probably not going to have a huge budget and every $ going to the center diamond counts.
6. I want mine to look a little different from my mom''s (white gold basket setting 3-stone)

I like both, but taking all the above factors into consideration, I''d pick the trellis.

ditto

 

[Cehrabehra]

I like the trellis - it just has a beautiful flow to it - but why not let the hubby pick since you''ve narrowed it down to the two? (btw - yay!!! ) I am happy for you

 

[colorkitty]

I''m going with the trellis! What sold me on it was the price and the maintenance. My hubby made the budget 500 more than I expected and the setting would eat all of it.

Now I have another dilemma: stone ratio. Should I go for a 2:1 ratio, or a bigger center stone with smaller side stones?

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 1/8/2007 7:11:44 PM
Author: colorkitty

Now I have another dilemma: stone ratio. Should I go for a 2:1 ratio, or a bigger center stone with smaller side stones?

That''s really a personal preference thing.

Becuase mine was an e-ring, I didn''t want to "upstage" the center stone, so I went with .30s for my 1.25 stone (4:1 ratio). If I were doing it again, I may even go 5:1 and get .25s.

However, for a RHR, I might want to ratio to be more 3:1 or 2:1.

Really, there''s no "right" answer - it''s just what you''d like to see.

 

[Sundial]

My three stone ring has a 1.24 carat center stone with .50 each sidestones and I have been very pleased with the proportions. I wear it as my wedding ring. Glad you chose the trellis, it is going to be just gorgeous!!!

 

[Sparkledrops]

I love the trelis baby!!!! Most definately!!!!

 

[colorkitty]

Thank you everyone for the help, but I decided to go their basket setting. LOL. I'm such a flake. I couldn't get over how high set the trellis was and I couldn't get over the tiny diamonds popping out. And so I chose door #3. I also decreased the budget by a thousand because that was driving me nutty, too (although kudos to my husband for surprising me with the higher limit).

When my husband gets home, we'll order it. My only decision left (happy with setting and sidestones) is whether to go with the .55 center or the .6 center. Both are similar in every other way. Would I notice the .20 millimeter difference between them? It's an almost $400 jump for the .6 (but still on budget).

 

[Sundial]

Although I voted for the trellis, I think the setting you are now considering is classic and beautiful. If it is within budget I would go with the larger center stone especially since you are going with a simpler setting. Either way though it is going to be gorgeous!!!

 

[colorkitty]

Date: 1/9/2007 3:24:40 PM
Author: Sundial
Although I voted for the trellis, I think the setting you are now considering is classic and beautiful. If it is within budget I would go with the larger center stone especially since you are going with a simpler setting. Either way though it is going to be gorgeous!!!

Thanks! At first, I thought that might be a little plain, but it's really growing on me. I'm leaning pretty heavily to the larger stone. I'll ask my husband when he gets home and he'll say "go for the bigger one, dear."

The finished product will be about $700 more than their preset ring, but I think it's worth it because it'll be .10 carat more, higher clarity on all stones, a higher color in the center, and all ideal cut with excellent HCA scores. The headache I've gotten from straining over angle numbers and plugging it into the HCA is worth getting that much more vs. saving a few hundred bucks and some time.

 

[lehcarm]

I''m not sure if you have already ordered the setting yet, or even what your budget is. I''m in a hurry, but I have seen this setting from Knox Jewelers that I had to show you.

http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/index.htm?crn=200&rn=332&action=show_detail

The setting is just over $1000, but it would give you a trellis type setting with pave.

Just an option.

 

[lehcarm]

Here''s one more. There are some settings on this site you should take a look at if you haven''t made up your mind yet.

http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/index.htm?crn=200&rn=773&action=show_detail

 

[rockzilla]

Colorkitty...is there a website that you are looking at these settings from? I like the two non-trellis ones and would like to see what jeweler does them.

RZ