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Ideas on ring setting for (small) sapphire

happybear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
302
Hello fellow CS enthusiasts :wavey:

Ever since I found PS, my interest on CS has increased tremendously and I started buying some from the various vendors mentioned here :D
It is time I set some of the stones I have purchased, otherwise there are only kept in the box hidden in my drawer :nono:
Coincidently, there was a jewelry show in town this weekend and I bought some loose diamond melee to use them as side stones. I spent about an hour picking from the lot they had on display. They are rather tiny, but for $280/ct I guess I shouldn't expect too much.

So, back to my first CS project. I have a small round sapphire (0.7ct) cut by Bob Kast and an oval native cut sapphire (1.6ct) from Mastercut Gems that I am considering to set into a ring. The size difference can be seen below.



As I have a size 7 finger, the coverage as you can see is rather minimal :oops: Guess my limited budget doesn't allow me to go for a bigger blue sapphire.....

Anyway, I am thinking of using some diamond melee I have purchased as side stones to 'fill up' finger coverage :bigsmile: .
Please let me know which combination is better and why.
My dilemma:
1. Should I set the round sapphire or the oval one?
2. If round, should I just have the pear diamonds as sides or both pear and round?
3. If oval, should I set N-S with round and pear diamond sides or E-W with just the pear sides?
Pictures are as below:





Thank you!!

blue sapphires ring project.jpg

Round sapphire ring.jpg

Oval sapphire ring.jpg
 

marymm

Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Apr 21, 2010
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5,529
Of the choices you listed, I'm liking the round sapphire with the pear diamonds, and I like the oval sapphire N-S with just the white diamonds (even though not shown or listed).

But I'm thinking your sapphires look very pretty together! If you're wishing for more sapphire finger coverage, are you open to considering a setting (maybe bypass or similar) where you could set both sapphires in the same ring, with the white diamonds as accents?

I think you have several excellent options, any of which will result in a beautiful sapphire ring - have fun deciding!
 

kelpie

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
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2,362
I like the oval with the rounds. The pears are awesome but they are so rare I'd save them for a fancy diamond pairing with a white or different color center diamond. I'm thinking unless you're head over heels for it, the Bob Kast stone has too much graining and/or zoning to warrant a pricey setting (part of this is my memory of his original pics, I can't see it much in your pics so maybe it's not like that IRL).

ETA- I'm in the N-S camp too!
 

FallenRox

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
248
I have several thoughts, just based on design alone, but here's a question- is this a ring that you are planning to wear a lot or are you planning to go on a setting spree and want options to change your rings you wear around frequently?
 

happybear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
302
marymm:
Thank you for your chiming in! I am not a fan of bypass design, hence the thought of using both sapphires in a ring didn't crossed my mind. Nevertheless, it does give much more finger coverage! But I have a thing for symmetrical design, so it may be difficult to come up with a design that combines the round and oval sapphire.
N-S oval sapphire with just the round diamond. Why didn't I think of that?!? I cropped out the pear sides and this is what I got

The round diamond is not really white but more of light pinkish / peachy tone, but it is so tiny the color isn't obvious.

Oval sapphire with round sides ring.JPG
 

happybear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
302
kelpie:
Thank you for your thoughts!
I bought more pears than rounds from the diamond dealer at the jewelry show so I still have some left for other projects :naughty: These were what I chose and purchased

They are really tiny though, only about 5 points each.

I think the Bob Kast sapphire you mentioned is different from mine. The one I have does not have an obvious zoning, although the color is rather dark. The photo at the top was taken with light shining on it and I can't see any graining IRL. Though dark, it does gives out flashes when it moves about which is rather cool :rodent: I am not head over heels with it though and the setting will probably cost much more than the sapphire. The oval sapphire on the other hand has an off-centred culet which I hope will not pose any problem during the setting. It also has an inclusion at the side of the crown which I hope to prong it.

tiny diamonds.JPG
 

happybear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
302
FallenRox:
I will probably set a few more rings though not all at one go :tongue: So, to answer your question, I will probably not wear this on a daily basis and when I do, it is probably to match what clothes I am wearing.
Nevertheless, please share your thoughts! And thanks in advance :D
 

jstarfireb

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 24, 2007
Messages
6,232
I actually like the oval N/S with both the pears and rounds. The rounds alone seem too small for the oval, but they look nice as a 5-stone, and I like the colorless diamonds separating the blue and the yellow. The pears alone look nice with the round as well.
 

jstarfireb

Ideal_Rock
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Mar 24, 2007
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6,232
Edited for accidental double post
 

AmeliaG

Brilliant_Rock
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Jan 8, 2011
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jstarfireb|1312056240|2980658 said:
I actually like the oval N/S with both the pears and rounds.

Me too. More finger coverage.
 

pregcurious

Ideal_Rock
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Mar 18, 2009
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I know this wasn't proposed as an option, but I would set the larger sapphire (N-S) with larger white diamond sides. Pears, half moons, ovals, or rounds would work well as sidestones.

For the smaller round, I would pair that with the round diamond sidestones you have as a 2nd ring.

I agree that you should save the yellow diamonds for a different center stone.
 

happybear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
302
jstarfireb:
I agree just the round diamond sides are rather too small for the oval sapphire. Thank you for pointing that out!

Right now I am leaning more towards the 5-stone design as well. As the oval is quite deep, the round diamond can fill up the elevated space at the side of the sapphire while the pear diamonds should complete the finger coverage nicely. Has anyone seen such designs before?

pregcurious:
As much as I want larger white diamonds for sides, it will cost me substantially more and I am not sure if I am prepared to spend so much for my first CS ring. Nevertheless, I have been scouring ebay and other sites in hope of finding reasonably priced diamonds but prices everywhere seems to have risen. Maybe I will drop by the jewelry show today to see if the diamond dealer has anything within my budget. Thank you for your feedback :)
 

happybear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
302
Maybe I should get a setting either from LOGR or Jewelryhoo for a start....

Will this go with my sapphire? My stone measures 7mm x 5.3mm, so I don't know if a 7x5mm setting will be a bit of a stretch
I don't wish to get a halo setting as I don't want to 'close' the sapphire since it is already rather dark.



I can opt for either 14k WG or YG. I am leaning towards WG....

Any thoughts?

!BVT15fwBGk~$(KGrHgoH-C0EjlLlt+dzBKR5u-kIIw~~_12[1].jpg
 

petit_bijou

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
279
Such a fun group of stones to play mix-and-match with!!

A split shank with the small rounds nestled into the split could be a pretty way to make use of the small-ish side stones? Possibly even incorporated into that setting you just posted- but the customization could make it pricier than you want to go at this time...
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
You may wish to consider yellow gold to lessen the contast of the darker tone of the sapphires instead of having it stand out more against a white metal.
 

pregcurious

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
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I like that setting quite a bit. I lean towards WG for darker sapphires.
 
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