- Joined
- Jul 7, 2013
- Messages
- 13,434
I finally got round to setting the 6.16ct EC Aquamarine that Jeff W cut for me back in 2016.
It was bought unseen, in that he mentioned the colour of the rough was pale blue with a hint of green and a very clean stone, and I said yes right away, as that's what I love in Aquamarines.

I knew it would be set as a 3-stone ring with step cut traps as seen in this inspiration ring design (I don't like knife edge shank):

However, I did not fancy having step cut diamond traps as (a) it would cost a fortune (LBD step cut traps were not easy to find or affordable in those days) and (b) I have reservations that diamond traps might be too blingy for the Aquamarine.
Hence I asked Jeff to cut a pair of step cut traps in Morganite for me to go with the Aquamarine. Together, they cost more than the Aquamarine, however, they are worth it!

To me personally, they work well together (apologies for the finger prints on the stones).

As it is a deep stone, I needed something in the gallery to improve the otherwise dull side view, as seen in this inspiration ring drawing but with a round diamond in the middle, as specified in my design specifications (I love the icy colours of the stones):

This is the first CAD I received from the bench I use in China which I rejected as the shank was wrong, the gallery not as specified, and I felt the bottom of the shank was too thin at 1.3mm as I am heavy with my hands. In addition, the gallery for the Morganites were too exposed and bare:

I provided a rough drawing to show what I would like the side view of the ring to look to the bench, and requested for the bottom of the shank to increase from 1.3mm to 1.6mm, and for the shank to be 4mm at the top tapered to 3mm at the bottom:

This is the revised second CAD I received:

I had reservations about the size of the round diamond being so small, however, my bench advised against a bigger stone as it would not look as good as the 1.5mm stones, and would have cost considerably more for better quality stones.
So I approved this CAD. However, within a couple of days, I had a change of heart and wanted to see a CAD with a flat court shank, which is flat on the outside, curved on the inside, similar to the shank of my second and final 1.19ct EC reset.
Luckily, only the cast had been made, and the bench was able to make another CAD for me with a flat court shank with no extra cost. Here is the revised CAD with the flat court shank which I believe looks nicer overall.

It is now a waiting game for the ring to be made and shipped to me, along with other goodies, can't wait!
I shall post updates on this ring when I have them. Thanks for reading.
DK
It was bought unseen, in that he mentioned the colour of the rough was pale blue with a hint of green and a very clean stone, and I said yes right away, as that's what I love in Aquamarines.

I knew it would be set as a 3-stone ring with step cut traps as seen in this inspiration ring design (I don't like knife edge shank):

However, I did not fancy having step cut diamond traps as (a) it would cost a fortune (LBD step cut traps were not easy to find or affordable in those days) and (b) I have reservations that diamond traps might be too blingy for the Aquamarine.
Hence I asked Jeff to cut a pair of step cut traps in Morganite for me to go with the Aquamarine. Together, they cost more than the Aquamarine, however, they are worth it!

To me personally, they work well together (apologies for the finger prints on the stones).

As it is a deep stone, I needed something in the gallery to improve the otherwise dull side view, as seen in this inspiration ring drawing but with a round diamond in the middle, as specified in my design specifications (I love the icy colours of the stones):

This is the first CAD I received from the bench I use in China which I rejected as the shank was wrong, the gallery not as specified, and I felt the bottom of the shank was too thin at 1.3mm as I am heavy with my hands. In addition, the gallery for the Morganites were too exposed and bare:

I provided a rough drawing to show what I would like the side view of the ring to look to the bench, and requested for the bottom of the shank to increase from 1.3mm to 1.6mm, and for the shank to be 4mm at the top tapered to 3mm at the bottom:

This is the revised second CAD I received:

I had reservations about the size of the round diamond being so small, however, my bench advised against a bigger stone as it would not look as good as the 1.5mm stones, and would have cost considerably more for better quality stones.
So I approved this CAD. However, within a couple of days, I had a change of heart and wanted to see a CAD with a flat court shank, which is flat on the outside, curved on the inside, similar to the shank of my second and final 1.19ct EC reset.
Luckily, only the cast had been made, and the bench was able to make another CAD for me with a flat court shank with no extra cost. Here is the revised CAD with the flat court shank which I believe looks nicer overall.

It is now a waiting game for the ring to be made and shipped to me, along with other goodies, can't wait!
I shall post updates on this ring when I have them. Thanks for reading.
DK
