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Let’s talk earrings

KKJohnson

KKJohnson

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
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I went today and had grandma’s jewelry tested, it’s all diamonds! So now that I have two round lovelies @Starfacet suggested I make them into studs because I’ve been wanting a pair. I’m so afraid of losing a stud that it’s scares me a little bit, what kind of earring is suggested? @Pagalkutti even got me thinking of lever backs but don’t know how secure this are either. Any personal experiences with the different type would be wonderful to hear about.

Would it be best to send the center stones off to GIA for grading before setting them into earrings or just get them appraised?


Yes one does appear to be slightly larger than the other lol
0E67D715-2BA9-45FD-9C10-445990C3BD56.jpeg
 
Do you have specs on the diamonds? How large are they (measurements not weight), what color and clarity, etc.
 
LaylaR said:
Do you have specs on the diamonds? How large are they (measurements not weight), what color and clarity, etc.
Click to expand...

I only have specs on one from it being appraised but the new one hasn’t yet been appraised they definitely aren’t the same size as I can see the difference (it’s pretty slight difference). Color does appear similar but because they are set in different color gold settings it’s difficult to say and the clarity is most likely VS2/Si1 on one and the other is I1, only thing that they are both similar in is poor cut.
 
Great information. How OCD are you?
 
Still don’t know the carat weight but i would definitely think about possible recut for these stones to bring out the beauty of these diamonds!
 
MissGotRocks said:
Still don’t know the carat weight but i would definitely think about possible recut for these stones to bring out the beauty of these diamonds!
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Most likely can’t recut the I1 which is the larger of the two due to the placement of the inclusion, this one is estimated to be 1.25 and the other is at least a carat. Most likely a recut would cause significant weight lose or even worse a broken diamond

5A3E090E-B5D5-40E8-9519-6B91763AA44D.jpeg
 
LaylaR said:
Great information. How OCD are you?
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That’s a good question lol strangely the size difference doesn’t bother so much as the clarity difference, I know it’s strange but as they would be on my ears this shouldn’t bother me.
 
I bet certain settings could mask the difference!
Or If you had ALL the money, get the new one recut and buy a match - and then put the i1 in a bezel necklace :D
 
Ideally I would just sell both of these rings and then go buy a pair of Whiteflash but I don’t think my husband will allowing me to do that at this point in time (especially with an infant) so after doing some more google searching it looks like screw backs are good in terms of not losing the earrings? But I am also intrigued by lever backs, does anyone have any experience with these? I also don’t see myself wearing earrings all the time as I never wear my diamonds at home so either type I think I would be ok with
 
My advice. It doesn't sound like they are worth the risk of a recut due to the clarity and the weight loss.

If they have sentimental value and you want to keep them as earrings I would get them set into prong set halo settings. The halos would be the same size as each other with the goal of obscuring/hiding the size difference between the center stones. And since they are poorly cut the prong setting would let them gather light from the side, and the halo itself will make them look like they have edge to edge brightness (which they probably lack) Something like the below design would give you a pair of earrings that look like they are the same size without a recut. If you keep them clean, they should be nice enough on your ears. And you'd get affordable ear bling. ::)

You can do leverback halos as well, if you really want the leverbacks.

halo earrings.png
 
LaylaR said:
My advice. It doesn't sound like they are worth the risk of a recut due to the clarity and the weight loss.

If they have sentimental value and you want to keep them as earrings I would get them set into prong set halo settings. The halos would be the same size as each other with the goal of obscuring/hiding the size difference between the center stones. And since they are poorly cut the prong setting would let them gather light from the side, and the halo itself will make them look like they have edge to edge brightness (which they probably lack) Something like the below design would give you a pair of earrings that look like they are the same size without a recut. If you keep them clean, they should be nice enough on your ears. And you'd get affordable ear bling. ::)

You can do leverback halos as well, if you really want the leverbacks.

halo earrings.png
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for this suggestion! The diamonds might have sentimental value to my husband and one was his mothers original engagement ring diamond and the other is his grandmothers. Looks like I have another project on my hands.
 
LaylaR said:
My advice. It doesn't sound like they are worth the risk of a recut due to the clarity and the weight loss.

If they have sentimental value and you want to keep them as earrings I would get them set into prong set halo settings. The halos would be the same size as each other with the goal of obscuring/hiding the size difference between the center stones. And since they are poorly cut the prong setting would let them gather light from the side, and the halo itself will make them look like they have edge to edge brightness (which they probably lack) Something like the below design would give you a pair of earrings that look like they are the same size without a recut. If you keep them clean, they should be nice enough on your ears. And you'd get affordable ear bling. ::)

You can do leverback halos as well, if you really want the leverbacks.

halo earrings.png
Click to expand...

That would be so beautiful! I love it.
 
I love studs, I am all about timeless, classic looks.:kiss2: Years ago when I got my first pair of super ideal studs from Wink he turned me on to la pousette earring backs. They are wonderful and in more than 15 years of wearing studs nearly every day I've only lost one. (I lost it when I foolishly wore them during scuba training and had my masked ripped off repeatedly.:cry2:)
 
I have a small pr of studs repurposed from a trilogy ring. One is .32 and the other is .36. I’ve had them bezel set in platinum, and although I can notice a difference side by side, once in my ears, it doesn’t notice.

The posts are quite notched, so they’re very secure.
 
I have JbyG clovers for my studs which are slightly different sizes as well, and the clovers really made them "match."

IMG_5836.jpg
 
cokitty said:
I love studs, I am all about timeless, classic looks.:kiss2: Years ago when I got my first pair of super ideal studs from Wink he turned me on to la pousette earring backs. They are wonderful and in more than 15 years of wearing studs nearly every day I've only lost one. (I lost it when I foolishly wore them during scuba training and had my masked ripped off repeatedly.:cry2:)
Click to expand...
I agree the la pousette backs are great..When I first got them I hated them because I had trouble getting them on and off because of the spring in the backing..now no problem. I use a plastic disk first because my earrings are a little heavy and I want them to be upright..and then push the back all the way close to the disk. They don’t move and I feel they are extra secure. There are two notches on the end of the post which prevents the back from coming off even if you don’t use a plastic disk.
 
I love those clover setting earrings as I am not a fan of bezel settings for diamonds.
 
I love the clover settings, I think they would work really well.
 
Thank y’all for posting about your experience with different size studs! I feel better about pulling the trigger on this, I love the idea of a halo, I wonder if I could just get jackets made for when I want to be extra fancy instead of having them for everyday wear :think:

Think this calls for another day of jewelry store browsing and trying on the different types.
 
KKJohnson said:
Thank y’all for posting about your experience with different size studs! I feel better about pulling the trigger on this, I love the idea of a halo, I wonder if I could just get jackets made for when I want to be extra fancy instead of having them for everyday wear :think:

Think this calls for another day of jewelry store browsing and trying on the different types.
Click to expand...

You do you, but if it were me I’d totally get them made with the halos. And then if I needed simple studs I’d just wear cz because they look real!
 
@KKJohnson another vote for bezels of sort for the diamonds and if you want, you can also get jackets. I like thus jackets are versatile. My MIL switched hers between her studs and pearls and they look awesome.

Also, I know you are hesitant on the recut, but BGD will do a free analysis, if you just want to see how they both might end up. I have mentioned this before, but I have done 3 recuts in the past and all of them came out really beautiful. One of them had a significant fracture and I actually ended up losing very little face up size.
 
LaylaR said:
My advice. It doesn't sound like they are worth the risk of a recut due to the clarity and the weight loss.

If they have sentimental value and you want to keep them as earrings I would get them set into prong set halo settings. The halos would be the same size as each other with the goal of obscuring/hiding the size difference between the center stones. And since they are poorly cut the prong setting would let them gather light from the side, and the halo itself will make them look like they have edge to edge brightness (which they probably lack) Something like the below design would give you a pair of earrings that look like they are the same size without a recut. If you keep them clean, they should be nice enough on your ears. And you'd get affordable ear bling. ::)

You can do leverback halos as well, if you really want the leverbacks.

halo earrings.png
Click to expand...

I love this idea! That would be beautiful.
 
SimoneDi said:
@KKJohnson another vote for bezels of sort for the diamonds and if you want, you can also get jackets. I like thus jackets are versatile. My MIL switched hers between her studs and pearls and they look awesome.

Also, I know you are hesitant on the recut, but BGD will do a free analysis, if you just want to see how they both might end up. I have mentioned this before, but I have done 3 recuts in the past and all of them came out really beautiful. One of them had a significant fracture and I actually ended up losing very little face up size.
Click to expand...

I would have to discuss the recut with my husband because of the potential risk.
 
I inherited a pair of diamond studs from my grandmother. I took them out of the setting as it was not my style, was going to recut them to ideals, but decided against it because of sentimental reasons. One of the stones is bigger than the other (both in diameter and depth) so I had DK bezel them and make sure the setting (both from the front and from the side) made it look like the diamonds were the same size. I would not change a thing about them, although I have thought about having him make me a pair of jackets to wear with them for formal occasions, but there is other bling that's on my list first :-)
 
I’m going to have a local cutter take a look at it and determine if both can be recut.
 
Wewechew said:
I inherited a pair of diamond studs from my grandmother. I took them out of the setting as it was not my style, was going to recut them to ideals, but decided against it because of sentimental reasons. One of the stones is bigger than the other (both in diameter and depth) so I had DK bezel them and make sure the setting (both from the front and from the side) made it look like the diamonds were the same size. I would not change a thing about them, although I have thought about having him make me a pair of jackets to wear with them for formal occasions, but there is other bling that's on my list first :)
Click to expand...

I am fine leaving them as is and not just getting them put into studs but kinda feel pressured to even see if a recut can be done, luckily it’s free to just have them looked at and will appease everyone. Thankfully I don’t mind running around with baby in tow (she is an angel in public)

If a recut can’t be done or if my husband isn’t on board with it then I’m going to price out the cost of the different earring options. Either way I’m excited to get some earrings!
 
I’m excited to see what happens!

And props to you for running around with a baby! I always found it to be such a struggle.
 
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