help with OEC three stone ring

[nyquestioner]

Hi,

New to these boards and hoping for some advice. We are looking to make a three stone ring out of some old family OECs for an engagement ring which will have significant sentimental value. They are currently set in bezels, so hard to judge size exactly but one is about 7-8 mm and the others about 4 mm. We have two main questions.

1) Does anyone have some recommendations as to jewelers in New York City who would be the right people to design and execute such a ring? Definitely would prefer to stay in New York, as these stones have extreme sentimental value and don't want to send them through the mail. (Relatedly, would these people be able to appraise the stones when they are in between settings?)

2) If anyone has ideas as to designs, we would love to see them! Have heard that bezel settings are more secure for OECs. Looking through the boards, saw Tgal's setting which was really lovely, although our stones have a bigger size differential.

Thanks!!!

 

[yssie]

What type of setting do you think you'd like, can you narrow it down at all? Preferably with pics.
Do you want lots of pave or mostly plain metal?
What metal - gold, plat?
Do you prefer to work with a vendor who will take the reins or are you the sort of customer who must stay involved every step of the way?
Do you particularly want a CAD/CAM or fully handforged ring? Depending on what style you want and the vendor you choose one will likely be a better fit than the other.

Budget?
Timeline?


ETA: More questions.

Is the setting it's currently in the original? If so the diamonds are likely to be in very good condition - without the chips/nicks it's common to see in antique girdles. If not, there is a chance the bezels are covering issues that may need to be addressed w/ a different setting.

Do you have any closeup photos of the current setting and stones? That would help.

Bezels tend to separate the stone so that you focus on each one individually, and compare them to each other rather less. Depending on how well your three stones match in terms of faceting, keeping the bezels may be the way to go. Old cuts very rarely match perfectly, but some match better than others...

 

[nyquestioner]

Thank you so much for this thorough reply! This is a lot to think about. As for the setting, I am really not sure what I want at this point--we feel like we have seen very few three stone rings with old cuts, which is why when we found this forum and all the knowledgeable people we were so happy. I definitely prefer platinum to gold. I think some pave in the band might be nice but I am not bound to it.

As for budget, we want to get this done well. We would be willing to spend probably up to $5000 on a setting if it were necessary and worth it--we would also welcome suggestions about what an appropriate budget would be since we are unfamiliar with the cost of such a project.

Here are a couple pictures of the diamonds (the one with my finger is just to get a sense of size). Unfortunately they are not in their original settings as they have both been removed from their original settings and placed in necklaces over the years. The bigger stone was originally my great-grandmother's ring. I think in bright light it has a hint of color to it compared to the smaller stones, which belonged to my boyfriend's great-grandmother (and before her to her grandmother) which are a very clear white. So that might be a reason to separate them slightly.




Can you explain a little more the differences and relative merits between going with CAD vs. handforged? I am not sure I understand the relative merits. As for the other part of the question, I think our ideal would be someone who is able to come up with their own ideas (since we are not set on something yet) but who is also open to working collaboratively (because I have definite aesthetic preferences and wouldn't want it to end up somewhere I wasn't comfortable with). Sorry that we don't know more about this process and thank you again for your help.

 

[GemFever]

You might want to check out these two threads, an experienced Pricescoper creates a 3-stone OEC ring from three stones taken out of a brooch. Lots of info and pics.


first thread (brooch):

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/assuming-this-checks-out-to-make-me-a-3-stone-ring.171071/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/assuming-this-checks-out-to-make-me-a-3-stone-ring.171071/[/URL]

second thread (ring is made):

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/old-european-cut-three-stone-ring-by-23rd-street-jewelers.175582/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/old-european-cut-three-stone-ring-by-23rd-street-jewelers.175582/[/URL]


Good luck and have fun with this great project!

 

[mandasand]

I love this setting from Good Old Gold by Unique Settings (the first video on the page):
http://www.goodoldgold.com/Settingvideos/Tacori_Settings/Unique_Settings/

 

[yssie]

You have a generous budget so you'll have several options.

Handforging vs. casting is a big debate on here at the moment. I've had multiple experiences with both, for non-pave work, and the message I took home was that it's *much* more important to choose a designer with whom you're compatible and comfortable working than it is to specify how the thing should be manufactured. That said, handforging lets you go smaller and daintier without compromising on stability and durability because each element is denser - so shanks can be daintier, prongs can be tinier (makes a big visual difference w/ pave especially IMO), and because each element is created separately and the ring is assembled piece by piece the bench can polish all the interior surfaces, etc. It's also a lot more expensive and a lot easier to screw up, especially with a custom design, since most handforging vendors won't do CADs or slews of super detailed sketches (there are some exceptions).

I personally don't feel that the advantages are terribly significant if you're looking for a plain metal piece rather than something dripping in pave. For plain metal (handforged) I'd go with Leon Mege, and contact Diamonds By Lauren. I don't know if DBL is working with customer's stones at this point but it can't hurt to ask! They made my ring and did a beautiful job on the metalwork after I was unhappy with another vendor's workmanship. For (handforged) pave Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch, and Engagement Rings Direct are good bets - ERD will do both handforging and casting work so you could discuss which would be best for your project (trying to get objective opinions from strictly-casters about handforging and strictly-handforgers about casting is a losing proposition ).


I can't see the faceting at all in your photos, are you able to get any more closeups? Try the macro button on your camera - it'll have a flower pic on it. Differences in stone colour can be minimised (or highlighted) by metal colour, and OECs can be unpredictable in terms of how they react to different types of settings (bezels, prongs, etc.), so that's definitely something to talk about with your jeweller. Your jeweller will probably have more thoughts after the stones are unset, since you mentioned that these aren't the original settings - he/she can advise whether your preferred styles will work well, whether the stones might benefit from repolishing if that's something you'd want to consider... bezels can be really great for masking damaged girdles and downplaying out-of-roundedness that's so common with old cuts, but old cuts in prongs can be pretty fabulous too, wonk and fleabites and all, so... I know, tons of help, right?


There aren't a lot of old cut threestones as you've found but there are a LOT of threestones w/ RBs that you might find helpful

OEC (AVR) threestone [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/avr-3-stone-ring.178237/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/avr-3-stone-ring.178237/[/URL]
Three stones [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/3-stone-ring-girls-are-you-out-there.75486/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/3-stone-ring-girls-are-you-out-there.75486/[/URL]
There are more threads, but I can't get to them right now - I find googling with "pricescope" better than the PS search function though

 

[Rosebloom]

That is going to be an amazing ring!

 

[Rosebloom]

I love this ring by Leon Mege, in New York.

 

[packrat]

Upgradable's JM three stone and Pixley's Julia by JbEG are my fave round bezel three stones. Coati's round in cushion bezel three stone is my all time fave for rounds.

Such a fun project! Singlestone is another to consider--they did my three stone and I adore it. Heather is who I worked with and eventho they don't do CAD they did some for me to just give me a general idea.

 

[nyquestioner]

Thank you everyone for your advice and ideas so far! Please keep it coming! The ones posted so far are so nice. Although the Leon Mege has such brilliant clean lines, right now I am especially drawn to Upgradable and TravelingGal's rings. I also love the band on the one in the GOG video.

Yssie, we don't have a good camera and are both apparently terrible photographers. It seems that every picture has too much light glinting off the diamonds, is out of focus, or else we are casting a shadow with the camera. I now have a lot of respect for everyone that took such nice pictures. We will try to have a friend with a good camera take a picture. In the meantime, this photo might show slightly more detail.

 

[distracts]

I think the biggest stone might fare better light-performance-wise in a prong setting.

 

[LaraOnline]

I liked how TG's ring seemed to 'nod' to the heritage bezel style, but actually the bezels were slightly less prominent.
To me her ring is 'the bezel you have when you're not having a bezel'. I like that.

 

[nyquestioner]

Distracts, the light-performance question is something we aren't really educated enough about. Are there certain OECs that will fare better with one or the other (prongs vs. bezel setting)? Or are prongs generally better for light performance?
I don't have much to compare it too, but in the current bezel it does catch what seems like a lot of light with big chunky flashes but a couple areas in shadow at any given time. It looks beautiful to me but I would suspect it is not the highest quality stone because my great-grandparents were not rich people.

 

[LaraOnline]

I guess you've long seen this post nyquestioner?

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reveal-single-stone-reset-lots-of-pics.179152/

Could be great inspiration for your three stone?

 

[TravelingGal]

I liked how TG's ring seemed to 'nod' to the heritage bezel style, but actually the bezels were slightly less prominent.
To me her ring is 'the bezel you have when you're not having a bezel'. I like that.

It is really actually prong set with an octagon outline, so it's definitely a bezel when you're not having a bezel, you're right!

nyquestioner, what an exciting project! Mine was a fun one, only because of all the possibilities! I understand not wanting to send the stones...that's part of the reason I stuck with local jewelers as well (Los Angeles, in my case). I would agree that Leon, SK, and ERD are good choices, but just keep in mind that custom rarely turns out exactly as you hope (at least not in the first pass). Even my ring, which I adore, had some elements which I did not expect (the claw prongs, for instance, which I have come to prefer).

Keep us posted on your decision, and thank you for the compliments about my ring!

 

[LaraOnline]

Here's a couple of other three-stone threads with photos that have caught my eye, that I thought might be of interest to you.
(currently browsing three-stone rings myself )

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/25th-anniv-3-stone-custom-ring-pics-included.75261/


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-radiant-3-stone-ring-is-done.42786/

 

[LaraOnline]

Sundial's three stone is exceptionally pretty, it's in rounds, but the style might be of interest to you?

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-i-need-a-band.31285/

 

[nyquestioner]

I've been brainstorming a lot about what I like over the weekend. Laraonline, thank you for all the links! I really loved twosanguinehearts's old ring
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reveal-single-stone-reset-lots-of-pics.179152/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reveal-single-stone-reset-lots-of-pics.179152/[/URL]
(I guess more than she did!) -- I think one thing that I really love about that ring as well as TravelingGal's is the illusion of the cushiony shape--I am really torn between that and the straightforward smooth bezel, like this one:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/be-still-my-heart-3-62-oec-from-jbeg-in-the-julia.178866/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/be-still-my-heart-3-62-oec-from-jbeg-in-the-julia.178866/[/URL]

One thing I really like about both the rings I just linked to is the melee along the side of the bezel. (It's too bad neither singlestone nor jbeg is in new york). I don't want halos because I think that halos on a three stone ring would be too much bling for me but I like the idea of that extra glint of sparkle from the side--I am trying to strike the right balance between the antique and the modern and I think it's a subtle beautiful touch.

My question is, how practical/durable is a design like that? Does it make sense for an everyday ring or will those diamonds come loose?

Thanks!

 

[starrylight]

My favorite bezel is Lil Misfit's , but I think having the smaller sidestones in octagons instead might be lovely (similar to the eternity).