Help on 3/4 Eternity, please! [First time poster!]

[adenosine3phosphate]

Hello, all!

I am a first-time poster, who lurks on this forum sporadically! I really trust the advice of the diamond and jewelry aficionados on this site, so I was wondering if you could help me make a decision on a wedding band that I found this weekend!

Before my fiance and I went shopping, I of course searched these forums for recommended jewelry shops in San Diego County, and we were lucky to find something I loved at one store, H. Moradi in La Jolla.

It is a 1.27 carat 3/4 eternity band with almost-8 pointers, in 18k white gold, with u-prongs (I LOVE U-prongs)! The very nice woman who was helping us, Serena, looked at the ring under a loupe and said they were F, SI, not certified, but that the ring could be appraised.

Here are my concerns/questions:
1. My e-ring is platinum, and as you can see from this first picture, the diamonds will be rubbing up against the setting. I was also advised by a trusted jeweller that yes, the diamonds will wear down the platinum e-ring setting, but very minimally, and the setting can always be built up again. Should I be concerned with this wearing down process anyway?
2. The metal of the wedding band is 18k white gold. Are there any concerns I should have with the two different metals rubbing on each other? I am not really concerned with the color difference, but rather the structural quality of the rings being depleted over time, especially with the 18k gold being the softest gold. Again, I asked this question to the jewellers already, but I wanted to get more opinions!
3. The band is a size 5.5, and I am a 5. When resizing, the curve of the band obviously changes. Will this affect the integrity of all the little prong settings holding the diamonds in place? I don't want them to fall out easily after resizing. H. Moradi said that I can always take the ring in to have a new diamond set in, if I ever lose one, but obviously I don't want to be doing that all the time.
4. The price was brought down to our budget, $2000 not including tax. I think this is awesome based on comparing prices from different websites, but I am not very versed! Opinions?
5. Opinions on the alleged F, SI quality of the diamonds?
6. Do you have any other thoughts that would help me make a decision to purchase this ring or not?

Now for the pix--they are not the best quality, but I tried!





B/c I know some of you would like to know, my e-ring is a cushion brilliant, .91 carats, F, VS2. The diamond and the setting (.18 carat pave with milgrain) are from Marco Levy of The Diamond Source in San Diego. Thanks so much in advance, for all your advice!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! If you want a very honest opinion, that is a pretty ring but I don't think it goes with your e-ring setting at all. If you bought it, you would have to wear a spacer ring between the two rings, because it is absolutely not acceptable to have the wedding band diamonds damage the e-ring setting! That wedding band is just set too high to go with the e-ring, in my opinion. You need a band that is about the height of the shank of the e-ring. And there are the unknowns regarding sizing it.

I think there are styles that would work much, much better with that e-ring, such as Beverley K, for example.

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/jewelry-designers/beverley-k-jewelry/rings/

But if you want a band like the one in the picture, I would recommend Tiffany as they are generally set the lowest, and I think you need to go to a smaller size of diamonds. I just think that one does not compliment your gorgeous e-ring. I think you will be much happier with platinum as well since the e-ring is platinum.

 

[AprilBaby]

Agreed, I don't care for the two styles together. You are not supposed to mix the metals either so a spacer is necessary. I don't think such a small sizing will affect the diamond prongs. Good luck with deciding!

 

[ame]

Unfortunately, I agree. I think the band takes away from your gorgeous engagement ring and doesn't do any justice to it at all. The setting is not the same style and the stones are too large.

Aside from that opinion, I do think that the style of this band will cause a significant amount of damage to your ering and quickly, and it's something that is more of a repair than a "simple build up". You should look for something lower set, with millegrain similar to your setting which will help prevent the damage, and if you go with smaller stones will keep it in your budget AND lower set enough to prevent damage and keep the metals the same.

 

[adenosine3phosphate]

Thank you all so much for your input! I was definitely getting the impression that many of the salespeople were trying to assuage my fears about the mixed metals, etc., and you all confirmed my suspicions that they were probably advising me with bias. :-\ I absolutely LOVE that band, but now I do believe I have to go with something different and keep on looking.

 

[adenosine3phosphate]

Hello again,

I've been thinking a lot, and I am still infatuated with this WB. Wearing a spacer would probably solve the problem, but only if it were a really thick one, which I don't want to do. Now I am considering having the basket of the e-ring raised, so the prongs don't start at the bottom of the band, but instead somewhat near the top. I don't know how big of a job this would be, or how much money it would run me. Then again, the WB and the e-ring would sit flush after the e-ring overhaul, and the girdles of the diamonds would still wear into the side of the e-ring band.

The memoire rings are an option [thank you for the suggestion!!], although they wouldn't have the beautiful U-prongs, and I would be settling on something not-so-favorite [Jim Gaffigan anyone? lol]. For those of you with memoire shared-prong bands, are the girdles of the diamonds protected by the metal? It's hard to tell from the pictures I have found on their website and on PS.

 

[adenosine3phosphate]

The Fiance and I went downtown to Harold Stevens today. He is a lovely South African man who definitely has very fine taste, and is very knowledgeable and helpful! We talked to him about changing the basket of my e-ring to allow a "bridge" underneath the prongs, where a diamond band can sit nicely and not interfere with the foundation of the main stone (the prongs/basket/head/whatever). So now I know it is possible to wear a higher-set shared-prong band with my e-ring, and I am happy, except for the price of the head modification. I don't know what you all think about that...?

Anyway, since my ring was made by Marco Levy, FI and I are going to go to the Diamond Source tomorrow and ask him what he can do.

On a more positive note, FI found a high-dome wedding band that he likes at Harold Stevens--finally!

 

[stargurl78]

I agree with the other posters that said the band is too much with your e-ring, it overpowers it. The stones are too large and it is too tall next to the lower band of your e-ring.