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Help me help my son :)

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love2camp

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Messages
4
I have been reading the forum for some time but finally joined tonight so I could actually ask a question. I want to first say how wonderful this forum is for folks like me who know NOTHING about diamonds. I have learned SO much from all of you and have been able to ask the right questions and keep my son from being fooled by pushy sales people. So, her is the story: my son is a fresh graduate who is teaching Music and band to Middle School age kids. Obviously as a teacher he will never be rich but he adores his girlfriend and wants her to be blown over by her ring. Basically he has saved for months, is using all of his upcoming Christmas money and putting some on credit to get the "perfect" ring. There lies the problem.....finding the perfect ring. She has posted MANY on Pinterest but unfortunately they all have 1.5 to 2 ct diamonds. He will be getting her a nice 1.2 - 1.3 center stone. She likes halo so he is going to go with a Halo setting to help make the diamond seem bigger BUT as much as she loves halos she wants hers not to be "like everyone elses". So after much searching and research he has decided to go with a custom ring. What we don't know is how to communicate to the designer what we want. He honestly doesn't know how to draw it out but has a description. She is a size 5 so it needs to be delicate. He wants a thin (2 mm) band pave style small enough to allow the center stone to pop but wide enough to allow for plenty of sparkle from the diamonds. He wants as much sparkle as possible so we are going with Ideal cut round diamond for the center stone but he wants the whole ring to sparkle. He wants the halo to be more cushion shaped but "subtle like lace". She does not like high profile or a lot of detail on the side of the ring because she wants a traditional matching wedding band to sit flush with the ring. She likes a scalloped look but NOT like a flower?? I just need ideas of what kind of language to use when trying to describe what we want when we meet with the designer. Do we say we want "pave band", "U prong band", "french V band"???? How do we describe how to "set" the diamonds in the halo to give the look he wants? He even thought of using half moon diamonds in the halo but I don't think it would be easy to get them that small. Here is the top of a ring she really likes. We can't go with it because the profile is much to high and it has tons of side detail. Also, this ring has a very large center stone so I don't know that it would have the same "look" with his stone. Thanks in advance for ANY help you can give and please share pictures if you have ideas.

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I'm not suggesting my setting is what you're looking for but I have a scalloped halo that's not very flowery (?). Is this what she means?

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Thanks Niel! I'm sure you are correct in that she will love whatever size diamond she gets.
URSTx.....yes actually....Thank you SO MUCH....that is a whole lot like what he is looking for but is there a way to have the halo diamonds right against the center diamond rather than separated you think? I know he wants very little of the white gold showing. What do you call that kind of halo as far as the type of prongs or how the little diamonds are set?
 
My setting was "stock" and not custom so I'm not too sure on the lingo. I know the stones in the halo are burnish set on three sides with two itty bitty prongs on the side closer to the center stone. The center stone is bezel set (the ring of gold holding the stone in instead of prongs). I think it'd be pretty without a bezel though. Hopefully the person who'll make your custom setting can use the scalloped halo as a guide? My setting does not allow a wedding band to sit flush against it though, just FYI.
 
Oh and just a thought but a bezel around the center stone can also make it appear to be larger than it is... :naughty:
 
Oh....I meant to ask. How big is your center stone because it appears much larger than we can afford :shock:
 
Mine is a 2.23 ct but I'm a size 8.5 finger. That would proportionately translate to a 1.25ct on a size 5 finger. Chart below shows how diff carat sizes look on diff finger sizes. The ring with the sapphire center is how my setting was originally advertised, with a 5mm sapphire which is roughly .5 ct??

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kb1gra|1379471124|3522659 said:
Can I suggest a couple stock settings that may be what he is looking for?

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER7292W44JJ

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER8214W44JJ

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER9406W44JJ

There are a few more but I distinctly remembered these as simple floral halos when I was looking for another style recently.
Click to expand...


I love the first and third ones especially! And stock settings are less expensive than custom too, if that helps.
 
The first one is actually on his list as one of the examples that he likes :appl:
I think it is really close....I will have to ask him specifically what it is that he doesn't like because I really like that one.
 
Custom can be a nightmare unless you are using someone who is very, very good. If the budget is limited and the desire is to get the largest center stone possible, I would definitely go with a halo setting such as one from Gabriel. There are thousands of different halo settings,so it isnt likely she'd come across'the exact same one she has anyway. A 1.25 ct stone in a halo will be an impressive size ring!
 
With budgetary constraints I would honestly put as much in to a really well cut center as possible and forgo a custom job on the ring. Unless the jeweler really knows what they are doing, and pave happens to be their specialty, I would go with a stock setting by a respected company that already has the melee stones set because so much can go wrong with pave. It's a real artform and at least IMO, not just any jeweler can or should attempt it.

You don't need 5pters in the halo to help the center. Most halos are on the order of .5-1.5pters. I'd have a look at some Ritani ones. They are nicely made, with halos that tend to help the center be showcased without seeming too tiny or too overwhelming and they generally have a nice selection for different budgets.

http://www.ritani.com/engagement-rings/french-set-halo-diamond-band-engagement-ring-in-palladium/4775

http://www.ritani.com/engagement-rings/french-set-halo-diamond-engagement-ring-in-platinum/4974

Simon G is also nice quality, but the melee stones (around the halo) tend to be on the smaller side (so smaller halo), and if you are trying to accent a little more with the center stone, I think the Ritani's are a nice option. The slightly bigger halos add enough finger coverage without going overboard.

Gabriel is also a good choice. ID Jewelry carries the line, and I bet Yekutiel could find you a fabulous center stone. They are amazing.
 
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