Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Leon's R1079: Real Life Photos Anyone?

beebrisk

beebrisk

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
1,000
Trying to decide on a reset and I'm completely captivated by Leon's r1079 micropave, thin shank solitare. :love:
Does anyone have real life photos?? Do you think it will work well with my .85 round? I wonder even if Leon would bother with something so "small"?

If Leon doesn't work out, does anyone know if another PS vendor has come up with an excellent replica of this setting?

Thanks in advance!

Leon_0.jpg
 
All I can tell you is that people have had problems with those super thin pave shanks. Don't go less than 1.8-2mm or else you may lose stones or have your shank go out of round.
 
Greentea: That's the one! Be still my heart....Thanks for finding it!

Diamondseeker: I was concerned about the thin shank but assume that Leon would have that covered and wouldn't fabricate something that would have so many problems. Since I never, ever take my ring off, it gets quite a workout. I'd like for it to be able to withstand my lifestyle and will discuss these concerns with Leon.

In the meantime, I'm also coveting this James Allen pretty, too:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/18k-white-gold-pave-set-4-prong-diamond-engagement-ring.html

So conflicted! :twirl:
 
Beebrisk, one might assume that, but you can find threads on here that indicate that Leon designs more for the art than he does for the practical. There are strong warnings in threads on this site not to do thin pave, even by Leon.

And I do have to mention one more thing. Pave rings are never meant to be worn 24/7. They just won't hold up to that kind of wear. In fact, I wouldn't wear any fine jewelry 24/7 other than a plain metal wedding band. You risk damaging the ring, losing stones, causing excessive scratches and dents to the metal, chipping the center stone, etc. when you wear a diamond ring to do housework, the dishes, cooking, working out, yardwork, to sleep, etc. My rings go to the spot where I keep them if I am going to be using my hands to do any of those things.

The James Allen ring does look more substantial and will cost less than the Leon ring. But it still would be need to be treated with care if you want it to hold up over time and still look nice. You are wise to be doing some homework before choosing a setting! Good luck with your decision! :))
 
I wear my current pave (by Mark at ERD) 24/7 and although it needs serious polishing, it's held up perfectly. I know I shouldn't do it, but I also know myself well enough to know that if I put it down, I'll end up crawling all over looking for it later. I'm terribly absent-minded sometimes! :eek:

You're right.. the JA ring is more substantial and will probably hold up far better to my daily abuse! ;))
 
I think your current e-ring setting is beautiful (gorgeous diamond, too). I can tell you right now that the craftsmanship of your current e-ring will be much better than the James Allen one (just speaking from personal experience). Is there a particular reason why you want to change out your current setting? It really is so rich and beautiful looking....
 
Why thanks, Lewood.

I do love my current setting but there are a few issues I've been wanting to address since I got it.

-I'm not sure it does my beautiful stone justice. While my RB is small by PS standards, I think it could look larger in a more "open" setting. I think there's just too much metal around the stone, which inhibits light performance.

-I also want a more "fluid" looking setting. I've never loved the way the prongs seem to come up straight from the shank. There's no "curvature" and it's not as delicate looking as I would like. I've posted a photo to illustrate.

I adore Mark at ERD so I am considering having him interpret either the Leon or JA setting. I'm concerned now that you say you've had a less than perfect experience with your JA setting. Care to elaborate? I'd love to know what you think.


setting_2profilebb.jpg
 
Ahh, I see what you are going for now. Although I think what you have is pretty, it is not what you are after, and you should ultimately be happy, especially before you go wedding band shopping :)

I don't want to badtalk JA, but I did have a setting from them...well 2 to be exact. The first attempt, the setting was all wonky- one cathedral side was higher than the other, and thicker, (actually the dimensions were all off; it was so odd) and the head was soldered in crookedly. I had it shipped back for a "remake"...well, it came back to me exactly the same, except this time the head was straightened out, but they didn't give me a new head, the fiddled with what I had originally, which resulted in my diamond being smooshed down into the ring. I also have a .85 ct., and shoving my diamond far down into the setting made it look small(er). I decided to have my diamond removed at a local jeweler and purchase a new setting. I'm happy with what I've got now. When the jeweler removed my diamond from the JA setting, you could see where the benchmen at JA created a hole in the setting for my diamond to fit...it was just SO WIERD!!! A diamond should fit nicely into the head...you shouldn't have to drill a hole into the head...just odd, again. As you can see, I didn't have a great experience with them. I'm so lucky we were able to get our money back.

I wish you all the best of luck in finding the setting of your dreams!
 
Your setting is a very differnt type of pave than the Leon one is! Your ring has the pave in a channel which is a very heardy type of pave and a good fir for your lifestyle it sounds. The Leon pave is a much more delicate type. Don't be so quick tp dismiss DiamonSeeker's suggestions, she is trying to save you a lot of money and heartache!
 
Understood. I know I'm spoiled with mine being so sturdy. Yet, I'm willing to go much more "delicate" for the look I want. I am seriously considering the effects of wear and tear on a ring like this. Thus, I'm looking at an alternative like the JA mounting I posted. Oh how I wish I could have two rings! :bigsmile:
 
And the JA setting may be right for you. Please don't think that everyone has had a bad experience with JA (just because mine was less than desirable). I have seen the good, bad, and ugly on Pricescope regarding service/products with JA. If I was you, I'd run a search on JA just for food for thought, as well as Leon. I wonder if either vendor would be able to send you a wax prototype for you to see/test out before you make a definite decision? That may be a ridiculous idea, and I'm not sure if they'd do that or not, but I thought I'd just put it out there!
 
I personally think the Leon is too thin. Especially not for you since you said you wear your e-ring 24/7. Sleeping in a ring puts a lot of stress on it, and I don't think the super thin rings hold up all that well.

The James Allen ring look like it will give you the look you want and will hold up well. You could always just bump the shank size on the Leon up to 2mm and you would have a much more sturdy ring.
 
luv2sparkle said:
I personally think the Leon is too thin. Especially not for you since you said you wear your e-ring 24/7. Sleeping in a ring puts a lot of stress on it, and I don't think the super thin rings hold up all that well.

The James Allen ring look like it will give you the look you want and will hold up well. You could always just bump the shank size on the Leon up to 2mm and you would have a much more sturdy ring.
Click to expand...

This is what I would do, get the Leon with a 1.8-2.0 mm shank. I don't think the JA ring compares to the look of the Leon.
 
I agree that in order of quality (for lack of a better word): Leon, Mark, James Allen

Your current setting is gorgeous and I wouldn't personally change from it to a JA stock setting. And the fact that you have a basket and prongs does not hinder the light performance at all. Light is reflected out of the top of the stone, so you could have the sides and bottom completely covered (as in a bezel) and not hurt light performance. Not only are Leon pave rings delicate and not meant to be worn 24/7, he doesn't recommend wearing wedding bands with them! So I would really think hard about changing your current ring which is made to hold up a little better than the type of pave that Leon does.
 
diamondseeker2006|1325310858|3092102 said:
I agree that in order of quality (for lack of a better word): Leon, Mark, James Allen

Your current setting is gorgeous and I wouldn't personally change from it to a JA stock setting. And the fact that you have a basket and prongs does not hinder the light performance at all. Light is reflected out of the top of the stone, so you could have the sides and bottom completely covered (as in a bezel) and not hurt light performance. Not only are Leon pave rings delicate and not meant to be worn 24/7, he doesn't recommend wearing wedding bands with them! So I would really think hard about changing your current ring which is made to hold up a little better than the type of pave that Leon does.
Click to expand...

Agree.

Thicker doesn't mean better quality. I would not compare a JA stock setting to a Leon.

As DS said, your pave style has a channel-- it's called Bright Cut pave. If you must have a different setting I would commission a sturdy setting by contacting either Leon or Steven Kirsch (who used to work with Leon) for a bright cut pave version of Leon's r1079. And I would stick to one pointers in a 2mm-1.8mm shank. That would be your best bet.
 
Thank you all for your informed answers and helpful advice/suggestions. You've given me lots to think about!

And thanks for the complements on my current setting. I do love it and never really thought I'd want to change it, but I just feel the stone can "stand out" more in a different setting.

I am waiting to hear back from Mark at ERD to see if he has any suggestions for me. I've decided the JA stock ring is not an option for me at this point.

Thanks again to all for your time and thoughts. Have a great New Year!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top