Looking for Aqua Halo

[md9nyc]

Hello all,

I'm new to the boards and feel like I'm in good hands.

I'm looking for a picture of a cushion cut center stone in an aqua halo micro pave band. I'm just starting to look for rings for my future fiance. She loves aquamarine and I thought this may be a nice, subtle way of adding some character to an engagement ring.

I've been able to find a pink halo, but striking out finding an aqua one. Can anyone help me by posting a picture? I would rather see one before having one built.

Thanks in advance!

 

[innerkitten]

whoops. I totally read that wrong the first time and answered it wrong. I think it's the allergy medication I took this morning. Aquamarine is not a super durable stone. How about pale blue sapphires or spinel?

 

[Fly Girl]

Ditto. Aquamarine is not a good choice for an engagement ring. Also, most aqua is light in color, and those tiny stones would not be very blue.

I suggest that you save up and get her an aquamarine pendant instead. Perhaps an engagement necklace to go with the ring?

 

[NKOTB]

What about light blue sapphires instead?

 

[talamasca]

Hi, I googled 'ring blue halo' and found this which I think is gorgeous. There were a few others as well, one was a double halo and two were art deco style, but they were a lot darker

 

[talamasca]

Ooo and just found a cushion cut too

 

[chel180]

How about putting aquas in a surprise diamonds instead? If they went in bezels in the underside/basket they would have much more protection.

 

[chrono]

There is good reason why aquamarine halos are a rarity - durability, attractiveness and price.

Durability: Aqua is a softer stone and prone to chipping. It will not hold up well in an everyday e-ring stone. Even if bezeled, only the girdle is protected, leaving the crown facets exposed to damage.

Attractiveness: Most aquas are very light blue. Decrease the size and you'll end up with an almost colourless stone. Expect a super long wait on getting a parcel of matched aquamarines as most jewellers will not be able to find this for you. Most aquamarines tend to grayness rather than a bright blue. They also have low RI so don't expect a blingy sparkle.

Price: The darker the blue, the higher the price goes up and it goes up very quickly.

 

[Euphony]

If you don't mind irradiated diamonds (which is what the above blue halo features), you can get them a shade lighter than the ones above. They look very much the colour of aquas, but their sparkle will be able to hold its own next to your centre stone. The problem with aquamarine as an accent to diamonds is that the diamond has a tremendous amount more sparkle.

 

[Niel]

I agree irradiated diamonds would be a good option. Or even MMD, sense I do believe they make melee. Here's a pick of a light blue sapphire halo, which I know isn't aqua but its lovely and durable.

 

[md9nyc]

Wow, I truly cannot express how thankful I am for everyone's responses.

First off, to those who found the picture of the aqua halo, thank you. I love how the colors contrast, but now I'll explore alternatives.

Thank you for those who dissuaded me from the idea of using an aquamarine halo. The last thing I would want it is for the symbol representing our eternal commitment and happiness to begin chipping away...

Also, thank you for the alternative options of sapphire or irradiated diamonds. I'll begin some due diligence on those two stones.

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[periwinklegirl]

I love the idea of an aqua blue diamond halo!

I have a blue diamond (not irradiated though) and I love it! It's unique and I get compliments all the time!

Irradiated blue diamonds really vary in quality. Just like white diamonds, clarity is still really important.
Here's a nice example of a high quality one. It's DearBuddha's.

 

[md9nyc]

Periwinkle, that is a beautiful ring. If i could swing a blue diamond halo, I would absolutely go that route.

Thanks for posting.

 

[talamasca]

Just wanted to add that the blue halos I found are not aquas, they're all diamonds. It was the blue halo example I was showing

 

[md9nyc]

Thank you talamaska, that's exactly why I was looking for it.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Periwinkle, that is a beautiful ring. If I could swing a blue diamond halo, I would absolutely go that route.

Thanks for posting.

My pleasure - any excuse to post blue diamond photos! (& I have many more of my own stones!). I have a blue diamond project of my own on the go (a reset of my old halo into a three stone).

Luckily irradiated blue diamonds are much more reasonably priced than natural pinks or natural blues! And little ones even more so.
The ring with the pink halo you originally posted is fairly high end (those little pinks can be several hundred dollars each, on top of the centre stone & the basic setting). But the aqua blues are much less so!

I've gotten some greens from Africa Gems and been happy with them. You could contact Marc and see what he can do for you.

http://www.africagems.com/enhanced-diamonds.html

Good luck!

PS. Couldn't resist - here's my original halo. The reverse of what you're going for. And not aqua either, so not really relevant. : )

 

[md9nyc]

That's another beautiful piece Peri. I'll be sure to contact Marc to see if he can provide any assistance.

The pink ring that I posted in the picture is $65k, a little more than I was looking to spend!

Good luck with your projects!

 

[md9nyc]

After doing a little more research, I found a site called Gemvara that has the cushion main diamond and allows the buyer to choose the accent stone that goes in the halo. THe website is great because it allows me to see many options with a variety of different stones. Does anyone have experience with this company? It seems to get great reviews, but I'm going to call them over the weekend because I need to know if i can actually see the center stone before purchasing.

 

[Niel]

how much choice do they give you in diamond selection?? I feel like it might not be the best option if you dont get lots of diamond info.... whats your budget? I think maybe starting a thred over in rocky talky is a good idea.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Did you search Gemvara on Pricescope? That would at least give you an idea of other customer's experiences with them.

Also, FYI, here is the company that sells the first blue diamond halo posted above (by talamasca):

http://fivestarjewelrybrokers.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=47

And the second one. They are in NY!

http://mdcdiamonds.com/engagementdetails.cfm?Stock=ES1048&Country=US#.UXI0EqI3vgc

 

[chrono]

Gemvara is not my top few choices for diamond buying. No ASET to verify light performance of the diamond which buying by the numbers alone is nigh impossible for cushion cuts.

 

[Niel]

If you want a halo like that one in the picture, and you have somewhat of a budget. I would contact engagement rings direct. Lovely halos at nice prices and I've seen them do colored halos before, I think even a sapphire one (though it may have been pink diamond.) And they can get you a nice cushion stone, which its important because picking any ol' diamond isn't a good idea..

Something like this but with a blue sapphire halo would be cool

http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/grace-classic-micro-pave-halo-enagement-ring-bpid-58-18.html

Or one like this if you like vintage
http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/art-deco-platinum-ring-pid-1059-44.html

 

[md9nyc]

Thank you again for all of your responses, everyone has been so helpful.

I have been doing some research on the companies and concensus shows that I need to actually see a cushion cut stone in person before making the purchase. People have posted very good reviews about Gemvara and Joseph Jewelry, two companies that have the capability to make what I'm looking for, but geographically they aren't close enough to visit, thus I am a bit hesitant. Luckily, not only do I live in New York, but my office is on 44th & 5th, two blocks away from the diamond district. I'll be heading to engagementringsdirect one day this week to view and discuss cushion cuts. I'm also going to head out to Good Old Gold in Long Island, possibly this weekend, because I've read that they have great cushions as well.

My budget is around $10k and I was looking to get between a 1-1.2ct cushion center stone in a platinum setting. If I can find / have made the pink halo ring in the original post with light blue sapphires, I'm willing to spend more.

I'm going to take Niel's advice and start a thread in Rocky Talky for further discussion and insight into my inquiry.

Thanks again everyone, I'll be sure to post pictures of whatever I end up with.

Michael

 

[chrono]

You'll be in good hands with ERD and GOG. I'll see you in RT!

 

[Niel]

bah great! i think youll be much happier going this route! i cannot wait to see your ring!

ill wait to post more until you have a RT thread about it, but i would love to see that halo have multiple rows, really bring out the blue, like this

http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/kate-3-row-diamond-halo-engagement-ring-bpid-133-15.html