Help me decide between 2 settings for a blue sapphire

[Atwater]

I have this 1.35ct unheated sapphire (7.98 x 5.73 x 3.41mm) from Enhoerning Jewelry.


I have decided to set it in the east-west way and narrowed down to two settings. I would prefer 18k yellow gold for the ring.

1. All-around halo with braided shank
2. Open halo with split shank

The picture for #1 is with an oval stone, mine is elongated cushion, so the flow may not be as good.
The picture for #2 is with a much larger stone, the split with my stone will be much narrower.

I find #1 more feminine and romantic and #2 more streamlined and modern. But with my stone, will #1's flow advantage gets lost and the braided shank instead makes it look busy while #2 becomes too plain with the much narrower split? Please share your thoughts and help me decide.

 

[Atwater]

A few pictures of the stone:

 

[Atwater]

Although this is a poll, I welcome suggestions of modifications as well as other settings. Thanks a lot.

 

[CaseySF]

Beautiful stone. I like the first one.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Beautiful stone. I like the first one.

Ditto, @Atwater! You sure can pick 'em!! Beautiful... I look forward to seeing the finished piece.

 

[gregchang35]

I like the first setting. Being a cushion, there might be air lines/ gaps in the EW areas of the setting.

It’s quite a graceful setting.

 

[Avondale]

If I had two choose between the two, I actually kind of prefer the second one, but I do agree the braided shank looks very feminine and elegant. To be honest, I myself fancy something in between. The open halo, which will look great with the elongated cushion, flowing into a braided shank.

 

[viridian]

I would prefer the first one but in an art-deco style bezel set halo design to make the edges of the stone look cleaner. The second one is also very modern and elegant, but since your stone is quite rectangular it might look longer in that setting. Also, just a suggestion but I personally like trilogy rings set with tapered trapezoid cut diamonds on the sides, so that would be my choice!
But I think you should just go with what your heart desires!

 

[Atwater]

If I had two choose between the two, I actually kind of prefer the second one, but I do agree the braided shank looks very feminine and elegant. To be honest, I myself fancy something in between. The open halo, which will look great with the elongated cushion, flowing into a braided shank.

Thank you very much for the suggestion. This open-halo braided-shank design sounds intriguing. I will explore this design.

 

[Atwater]

I would prefer the first one but in an art-deco style bezel set halo design to make the edges of the stone look cleaner. The second one is also very modern and elegant, but since your stone is quite rectangular it might look longer in that setting. Also, just a suggestion but I personally like trilogy rings set with tapered trapezoid cut diamonds on the sides, so that would be my choice!
But I think you should just go with what your heart desires!

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I am not sure of the bezel; I think I will keep it non-bezeled. The triology rings set with tapered trapezoid cut diamonds will be beautiful, it could also work well with the open halo setting. I may keep this as an option but probably not high in my priority list.

 

[Neptune]

How about this by Thelma West? I think it might work with an EW set too.

 

[voce]

I voted for the first one primarily because I'm just not a fan of air gaps.

 

[Atwater]

How about this by Thelma West? I think it might work with an EW set too.

This is somehow more dynamic than I prefer to go. But I can see a modification from this could be to have the halo closer to the stone and make it more like a bypass ring.

 

[Atwater]

Thank you all for the votes and replies. It is interesting to see that the votes for the two designs are almost equal. I have started communicating with the jeweler on the design possibilities, let's see how the ring turns out.

 

[jenzgemz]

I have this 1.35ct unheated sapphire (7.98 x 5.73 x 3.41mm) from Enhoerning Jewelry.


I have decided to set it in the east-west way and narrowed down to two settings. I would prefer 18k yellow gold for the ring.

1. All-around halo with braided shank
2. Open halo with split shank

The picture for #1 is with an oval stone, mine is elongated cushion, so the flow may not be as good.
The picture for #2 is with a much larger stone, the split with my stone will be much narrower.

I find #1 more feminine and romantic and #2 more streamlined and modern. But with my stone, will #1's flow advantage gets lost and the braided shank instead makes it look busy while #2 becomes too plain with the much narrower split? Please share your thoughts and help me decide.

What a gorgeous stone! Really like #1, but with modification to slightly open the braid to almost a split shank style. Just where it meets up with the stone on each side. Just personal preference.

 

[Catmom]

I love your stone! I have a cushion set in a setting similar to what you are looking at. It's a parade Lace setting.

 

[Atwater]

I love your stone! I have a cushion set in a setting similar to what you are looking at. It's a parade Lace setting.

Beautiful stone (sapphire?) and ring! Thank you for sharing it!

I have started the process and am pretty happy with the CAD. Hopefully I will have a beautiful sapphire ring to share soon.

 

[Atwater]

I am having a second thought about the metal choice. I am now not sure about 18k gold for the ring. Should I choose platinum instead?

Please share your thoughts.

 

[whitewave]

I am having a second thought about the metal choice. I am now not sure about 18k gold for the ring. Should I choose platinum instead?

Please share your thoughts.

Strictly personal preference. Why are you thinking about changing?

 

[Atwater]

Strictly personal preference. Why are you thinking about changing?

I tend to choose yellow gold or rose gold as they works better with my skin tone. So when it came to setting this sapphire, I checked online for yellow gold blue sapphire rings and found it is not uncommon. However, as I look at more and more blue sapphire rings, I think white metal blue sapphire rings look more classic and the look starts to grow on me.

 

[Avondale]

Just take as much time as you need to decide. Yes, blue sapphires are usually matched with white metal, but who cares about that. My personal preference is for white, even though yellow gold also looks good on me and I have a couple of pieces. But I prefer white through and through and thus will choose white regardless of the stone at least 95% of the time. So if what you love is yellow gold, if it's what you enjoy wearing... I mean, it's gold, it's a bit difficult for it to look bad.

Also, here's something else to consider... Often times we are able to appreciate beauty even if we wouldn't wear this particular beauty on ourselves. These are two separate things. You can consider a white metal sapphire ring to look classy and elegant, and beautiful, and you may love the look just going by pictures, and still not want to wear it yourself. Because what we choose to wear goes a little beyond what pleases our aesthetic senses and is also about our personal style and the way we perceive ourselves.

 

[Atwater]

Just take as much time as you need to decide. Yes, blue sapphires are usually matched with white metal, but who cares about that. My personal preference is for white, even though yellow gold also looks good on me and I have a couple of pieces. But I prefer white through and through and thus will choose white regardless of the stone at least 95% of the time. So if what you love is yellow gold, if it's what you enjoy wearing... I mean, it's gold, it's a bit difficult for it to look bad.

Also, here's something else to consider... Often times we are able to appreciate beauty even if we wouldn't wear this particular beauty on ourselves. These are two separate things. You can consider a white metal sapphire ring to look classy and elegant, and beautiful, and you may love the look just going by pictures, and still not want to wear it yourself. Because what we choose to wear goes a little beyond what pleases our aesthetic senses and is also about our personal style and the way we perceive ourselves.

Very well said, thank you!
After much thought, I decided to venture a bit and chose platinum this time. The CAD was finalized and hopefully I will have the ring soon.

 

[lmyracle]

Can't wait to see pictures!

 

[LD]

I'm not a fan of EW settings so voted for the second setting BUT then I scrolled down and saw it on your hand, EW. So I have to say that I think I would now like to vote for both!

 

[Avondale]

The CAD was finalized and hopefully I will have the ring soon.

Can't wait to see the design you went with!

 

[Atwater]

The ring is done and it is pretty! I am thrilled.

DK's pictures first:

 

[Atwater]

As you can see, I went with the first design, all-around halo with braided shank. The CAD already looked good to me, so I did not make any changes to the design.

 

[Atwater]

The ring is even more beautiful in person. It is pretty and elegant. The workmanship is very good.

 

[RMOO]

Love this E-W setting! And that sapphire is stellar!

 

[Atwater]