Ideal Halo Ring - Size of Diamond & Setting ?

[MayForever]

For a US Ring Size 3, what do you think about the ideal carat size for the center of the diamond? I often seen the diamond to be oversized, although we know that women loves to have the biggest possible carat size but sometimes it just doesn't work that way.

I've sketch a sample to scale on an Autocad, I'll like to hear from you on the ideal size that I should go for. I actually bought a 0.688 ct and after looking around, I've noticed that the size somehow looks too huge for a size 3 finger. I've made a comparison for an ideal width 5.7 mm ( 0.688 ct ) compare to a width 4.49 mm ( 0.345 ct ) center of diamond. I'm planning to customize a halo setting, what do you think bout the size of the diamond and the melee? The below image is some of the halo setting that I would like to customize.





As I want to customize a ring similar to these halo setting ( larger melee surrounding the center of diamond ), the 0.688 will eventually makes the entire ring looks disproportional. I've actually tested a 0.4 ct center diamond and the size looks ideal. But do you think a girl prefers a larger size despite of being huge or ideal size?

If I were to get 0.688 ct, the specs is actually Super Ideal, G Color, VS2 whereas
0.345 ct, the specs is Super Ideal, D Color, IF ( though I know we wouldn't be able to see the Clarity & Color with our naked inexperience eyes but that's just as a compensation of the small carat as it is still falls within my budget range )
If you were a girl who have a size 3 finger, which of the above you'll choose ; 0.688 ct or 0.345 ct ?

Out of the above 5 to scale visualization, which will you pick which nearer to the design that I desire? i personally thinks that 0.345 ct center diamond, 0.02 ct melee diamond surrounded it looks pretty ideal. It looks quite similar to the design I guess or what you think?



Out of these 2 types of setting, which would you prefer? I somehow felt that the double prong secure the melee diamonds well however I'm worried that the extra metal will not makes the melee outshine / sparkle well.

Really hope to hear from your advice.

P/S : If anyone happens to have a halo setting; size 3 finger, please share your pretty finger with the ring on it, appreciate it really.

Thanks in advance !!

 

[MayForever]

Anyone please?

 

[Harst035]

Not an expert by any means but any reply is better than no reply, right?

I prefer the invisible prongs as opposed to the double ones because I do think they can sometimes detract from the melee diamonds sparkle.

I personally don't think that the .68 would be too big for a size 3 finger but am keeping in mind that you are adding a LOT of width to the ring with the larger melee, so it all comes down to personal preference (hers, not yours ) and what she does for work and whether the larger ring would get in the way.

When I was looking, I was totally obsessed with www.diamdb.com's comparison page (for solitaire only) that showed just about exactly what the specific stone would look like on your finger-- I feel like maybe you could use it to supplement your CAD drawings?

I would also say that whatever size you choose, that I personally would rather have the diamond with only the naked eye appreciable aesthetics and then maybe spend that money on another piece I had my eye on?

Good luck in your endeavor-- she is very lucky to have someone putting so much thought into the details!

 

[starrylight]

Has she shown you any halos she likes? Do you have access to her pinterest account or any jewelry that she owns to give us an idea of her tastes?

You asked a very taste dependent question, but you're buying for one person.

 

[Harst035]

Do you have access to her pinterest account or any jewelry that she owns to give us an idea of her tastes?

Pinterest account is the way to go-- my employee's now-fiance found her exactly what she wanted by stalking her pinterest and was able to surprise her with it. I'm a little wary about using current jewelry pieces as the only indicator-- all of my colored stones and right hand rings are either halos with a lot of bling and/or detail but I wanted something totally different for my e-ring and have a solitaire. You could also try talking to her girlfriends if she doesn't do pinterest-- if they don't already know, the craftiest one could probably slyly find out for you.

 

[Travelgal]

I personally prefer smaller diamond point halos for small fingers. I think it helps the center stone stand out. I also prefer a plain shank rather than a paved shank and my center stone to be set low. You have clearly taken a lot of time and effort to create a beautiful ring. You will probably get varied answers from posters here based on their preferred rings. I am a size 4 and I would prefer .7 to a .4 stone. Also, I realized when I was trying on rings, that the diamonds all looked HUGE at first. Most women aren't used to wearing a diamond ring before they pick out their original stone, so everything looks big on their finger. Once you get used wearing a diamond ring, it doesn't feel quite so big. So my recommendation is to go with the bigger stone, cut down the size of the pave stones slightly and set the center stone low.

Good luck in your efforts. You have done much more research than most people who buy their first rings.

 

[liaerfbv]

So my recommendation is to go with the bigger stone, cut down the size of the pave stones slightly and set the center stone low.

This depends on the look you are going for. Do you want the center stone to be highlighted? Then yes, I agree, larger center stone with smaller halo. Larger melee to me look more like a cluster ring or flower scalloped halo. I would go for the larger center stone with smaller pave halo for myself, and I think that would look fine on a size 3 finger.

Who is making this ring? Have you seen examples of the different kind of pave they have executed well before? Very important.

 

[MayForever]

Not an expert by any means but any reply is better than no reply, right?

I prefer the invisible prongs as opposed to the double ones because I do think they can sometimes detract from the melee diamonds sparkle.

I personally don't think that the .68 would be too big for a size 3 finger but am keeping in mind that you are adding a LOT of width to the ring with the larger melee, so it all comes down to personal preference (hers, not yours ) and what she does for work and whether the larger ring would get in the way.

When I was looking, I was totally obsessed with www.diamdb.com's comparison page (for solitaire only) that showed just about exactly what the specific stone would look like on your finger-- I feel like maybe you could use it to supplement your CAD drawings?

I would also say that whatever size you choose, that I personally would rather have the diamond with only the naked eye appreciable aesthetics and then maybe spend that money on another piece I had my eye on?

Good luck in your endeavor-- she is very lucky to have someone putting so much thought into the details!

Harst035, thanks for your reply!

Actually this design is the one she likes. I've brought her to test out a ring similar to these halo setting after I shown her a couple of ring setting online.
What she tested was a .4 halo setting and 0.75 solitaire.
I would say .4 just fits her hand well whereas .75 will looks huge if it's a halo ( the sales consultant and her who tells me this )
I wouldn't know because there's no availability on the 0.75 halo setting which makes the sales consultant says so or her sincere opinion, but I couldn't really confirm it unless she really wears it. Perhaps I'll need to go to a local store to have a look again.

Yea, I'm trying to get as large as possible diamond but she thinks might be a little bit big. Actually I had purchased the 0.688 but after we visit a local store with her a couple of days after my purchase, that's what she felt that 0.4 is just nice. Psychologically thinking, 0.345 is a little small, that's probably my only concern, honestly speaking.

Anyway, thanks for your feedback. I appreciate your thought & compliment

 

[MayForever]

Has she shown you any halos she likes? Do you have access to her pinterest account or any jewelry that she owns to give us an idea of her tastes?

You asked a very taste dependent question, but you're buying for one person.

Starrylight, she doesn't has a Pinterest or a ring herself either. The photo I've posted up was a Heart on Fire setting and Foreverkmark Natalie K. She loves the latter one a lot after scanning through all the halo setting in Forevermark's page. She loves how the ring looks, which somehow like a bouquet of flower. I guess that's why the melee is quite huge in size.

 

[MayForever]

I personally prefer smaller diamond point halos for small fingers. I think it helps the center stone stand out. I also prefer a plain shank rather than a paved shank and my center stone to be set low. You have clearly taken a lot of time and effort to create a beautiful ring. You will probably get varied answers from posters here based on their preferred rings. I am a size 4 and I would prefer .7 to a .4 stone. Also, I realized when I was trying on rings, that the diamonds all looked HUGE at first. Most women aren't used to wearing a diamond ring before they pick out their original stone, so everything looks big on their finger. Once you get used wearing a diamond ring, it doesn't feel quite so big. So my recommendation is to go with the bigger stone, cut down the size of the pave stones slightly and set the center stone low.

Good luck in your efforts. You have done much more research than most people who buy their first rings.

Travelgal, thanks for your time. I'll take note on your advise. You might be right, I guess one might adapt to the size after a period of time maybe? Perhaps I'll try out a 0.7 halo on my little finger see if how big is big.

Thanks for your compliment. She'll be spending her rest of her life with me, a little time out of my busy schedule is definitely what she deserves.

 

[MayForever]

So my recommendation is to go with the bigger stone, cut down the size of the pave stones slightly and set the center stone low.

This depends on the look you are going for. Do you want the center stone to be highlighted? Then yes, I agree, larger center stone with smaller halo. Larger melee to me look more like a cluster ring or flower scalloped halo. I would go for the larger center stone with smaller pave halo for myself, and I think that would look fine on a size 3 finger.

Who is making this ring? Have you seen examples of the different kind of pave they have executed well before? Very important.

liaerfbv, thanks for the feedback. It seems that many agrees that a larger center stone with smaller melee with perform better.
Actually she quite like how the cluster flower setting looks like. As that's just a CAD image, it's really difficult to judge unless we really see both side by side I guess. Or perhaps through the experience from you all, the one with a bigger center stone will looks better.

I've actually requested Brian Gavin team to customise this setting. As I'm not good with the abbreviation / terminology, it's a little bit difficult for them to understand what I want yet though. Any idea how we call it when it's set without the visible prong like what I've posted above? So far I know that's a micro pave setting? Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, I think BGD should have a good quality in a customise ring. What impress me is that they'll send a wax ring sample prior to the actual customise ring.

Thanks a lot

 

[heididdl]

My thought is one carat center. If we are talking size and not budget. I don't know any women that would turn down a well cut one carat

 

[MayForever]

My thought is one carat center. If we are talking size and not budget. I don't know any women that would turn down a well cut one carat

Lol that's if it's a solitaire? Somehow i felt that a 1 ct. is took huge for size 3 finger for a halo settingI wish I could or perhaps one fine day when I buy it for a necklace setting or anniversary ring someday.
As for now, it's off my budget though. Unfortunately, my budget is only less than $8 K though.

 

[Harst035]

Leaning towards larger stones makes so much more sense knowing that you are going for that flowery look I think you should take the sizes for a test drive— http://loupetroop.com/listings/rings/berricle-sz-4-silver-halos-and-matching-band look at the sizes of the center stones (if anything, this can be a $40 travel ring set for when she's wary of splashing in the ocean with her ring on )

 

[mrs-b]

MayForever -

.68 only looks large because it's something you're not used to. When you wear a ring, you get used to the size in a week or so - and then it doesn't look big, foreign, or unusual anymore. We've had women on PriceScope with fingers a size 3 (and even some smaller!) and stones - even with halos on them - much larger than .68ct - and they look fine.

I'd say definitely go with the .68. And just to add - a D colored IF stone, while sounding like a great idea, really is unnecessary, visually. Stay with the G VS2 - those specs are very good and it will look white and clean.

 

[LLJsmom]

My thought is one carat center. If we are talking size and not budget. I don't know any women that would turn down a well cut one carat

Lol that's if it's a solitaire? Somehow i felt that a 1 ct. is took huge for size 3 finger for a halo settingI wish I could or perhaps one fine day when I buy it for a necklace setting or anniversary ring someday.
As for now, it's off my budget though. Unfortunately, my budget is only less than $8 K though.

I know you say not everyone thinks bigger is better.

MayForever -

.68 only looks large because it's something you're not used to. When you wear a ring, you get used to the size in a week or so - and then it doesn't look big, foreign, or unusual anymore. We've had women on PriceScope with fingers a size 3 (and even some smaller!) and stones - even with halos on them - much larger than .68ct - and they look fine.

I'd say definitely go with the .68. And just to add - a D colored IF stone, while sounding like a great idea, really is unnecessary, visually. Stay with the G VS2 - those specs are very good and it will look white and clean.

But as mrs-blop says, it's only b/c women who are engaged for the first time have never worn such a ring before that .688 looks big. It's the psychology of it all. Our eyes get used to things pretty quickly and it won't seem big over time. Trust people who have been wearing jewelry for years. $8k is plenty for a one carat!! I'm going to go against the grain and say consider a solitaire and not a halo that doesn't look like an engagement ring. Like another poster above said, the bigger the melee, the more the center stone is de-emphasized, which makes the ring look more like a cluster ring, not an engagement ring. And if she does really love the halo, spend the $8k now in a solitaire in a plain setting and reset in a couple of years into a halo setting. Sorry, don't mean to offend you, but you have a decent budget and I hate to see you spend it in a way that doesn't maximize your enjoyment over the years. And like you said, it is for the rest if your lives. Anyway, my 2c.

 

[MayForever]

Harst035,

Thanks so much for the link, appreciate it! When I look at these photos, I still think that the 0.688 is huge until we went to a couple of stores and tested out a 0.7 ct center diamond on a halo setting. It looks just fine!

mrs-blop,

I was initially been thinking of getting a Super Ideal Cut, Highest Spec in Color, Highest Spec in Clarity so that looks like a perfect gift to her. I'm not sure it's my nature or it's just a guy thingy ( I might be wrong ) but we tend to feel that the paper is so important that we forgot what a girl actually wants. I've been thinking that it's a once in a life time ring, that I'll prefer a perfect diamond, in which in future I can easily buy another piece of diamond, with a larger size, quality cut but I'll definitely will never go for the best Clarity & Color Specs again. It might be small but I felt that the size isn't that bad anyway (0.4 ct) . That's just a personal preference.

After having several weeks of sleepless night, I try to put my feet in her shoe and think for her. I think that if I were her, would she likes something visible or she'll prefer something that reflects in a piece of paper like what I'm thinking. And I finally found out that something visually impressed her is much better than the color that she hardly able to differentiate and clarity that she won't even bother to use a magnificent scope to view at.Since the size is pretty significant from 0.4 to 0.688, which outweigh the color grade ( G I guess is consider quite colorless ? ), I guess girl would probably prefer the Carat like what you've mentioned; visually. Probably it might be just right to increase the carat size possible with a perfect cut and lowering the Color & Clarity to a comfortable level, as for a girl perspective.

Thanks for enlighten me!

LLJsmom,

i definitely appreciate your 2 cents. You have a point there where going for a solitaire and upgrade it to a halo setting after sometime later. But halo setting is the one she favor the most. I'll have to specially customize this particular setting that she wants with certain amendment as she loves this setting a lot. I'm happy that you've suggested me to save my pocket, but I really want her to have something she really really likes. I can buy her other anniversary ring next time, it shouldn't be a problem i guess. For a girl who've owe me nothing, have kids for me with my last name, change her name for me, I guess that's the very least I can do for her though.

Thanks for your guidance, appreciate it!

 

[TruLuv858]

My thought is one carat center. If we are talking size and not budget. I don't know any women that would turn down a well cut one carat

Lol that's if it's a solitaire? Somehow i felt that a 1 ct. is took huge for size 3 finger for a halo settingI wish I could or perhaps one fine day when I buy it for a necklace setting or anniversary ring someday.
As for now, it's off my budget though. Unfortunately, my budget is only less than $8 K though.

I know you say not everyone thinks bigger is better.

MayForever -

.68 only looks large because it's something you're not used to. When you wear a ring, you get used to the size in a week or so - and then it doesn't look big, foreign, or unusual anymore. We've had women on PriceScope with fingers a size 3 (and even some smaller!) and stones - even with halos on them - much larger than .68ct - and they look fine.

I'd say definitely go with the .68. And just to add - a D colored IF stone, while sounding like a great idea, really is unnecessary, visually. Stay with the G VS2 - those specs are very good and it will look white and clean.

But as mrs-blop says, it's only b/c women who are engaged for the first time have never worn such a ring before that .688 looks big. It's the psychology of it all. Our eyes get used to things pretty quickly and it won't seem big over time. Trust people who have been wearing jewelry for years. $8k is plenty for a one carat!! I'm going to go against the grain and say consider a solitaire and not a halo that doesn't look like an engagement ring. Like another poster above said, the bigger the melee, the more the center stone is de-emphasized, which makes the ring look more like a cluster ring, not an engagement ring. And if she does really love the halo, spend the $8k now in a solitaire in a plain setting and reset in a couple of years into a halo setting. Sorry, don't mean to offend you, but you have a decent budget and I hate to see you spend it in a way that doesn't maximize your enjoyment over the years. And like you said, it is for the rest if your lives. Anyway, my 2c.

+1, I completely agree... I hate to say it, but diamonds tend to have a way of "shrinking " sometimes- haha... I think a 1ct. Is a far better investment and then, should she decide to add the halo down the road, she still has the option. It seems like you may now be conidering this? With an $8k budget, I'm sure you will be able to find something very nice... I am certainly not as well versed as some of the other PS'ers, but perhaps turn to this community to help you find the diamond before purchasing it at your local jewelry store? Perhaps reach out to Gypsy, or Diamondeseeker?

I can tell you, my center stone is a 2.5ct, and I am in the process of resetting it into a halo...I also wear a size 4. It's all perspective.

Good luck!!