Low setting for someone who works with their hands?

[Dufarge]

I am looking to surprise my girlfriend with a ring, so I cannot discuss this issue with her: I recently asked her best friend for input on the ring choice. Among other things, the best friend says that my girlfriend said that because of her job, she needs a lower setting. She is an OB/Gyn resident, so she works with her hands all day. Yet she wants to be able to wear her ring at work. [Don''t worry -- she would obviously take it off when scrubbing in for birthing procedures and the like!]. Can anyone out there with a similar job comment? I.e., does anyone have a job where they take on and off latex gloves or have similar hand contact with other people''s skin at work all day? My questions are

A) How much of a difference does the setting really make re this? With respect to the gloves, is the issue that they tear or that they do not go on properly, and if tearing is the issue, then is it really the height of the setting or the prongs sticking up that causes a problem?

B) Do you have suggestions for types of settings that would help to minimize this problem? I generally like traditional elegant and simple, as does she, I think, and I would probably go for a tiffany-style solitaire but for this issue. It seems that something like tiffany''s etoile setting would solve the problem, but that type of full bezel seems too "modern" (or something like that) to appeal to me for an engagement ring, and she once said that she wouldn''t like a diamond to be "set down into the metal". Any other ideas?

Thanks for any input!

 

[winyan]

It's just a thought, but maybe she'd like a half bezel...or an antique setting. Some of the older settings are lower...check out some of the sites for ideas...

Like Faycullen.com or antiqueengagementrings.com

win

 

[Shappy]

Best bet is to choose the ring she likes and forget about wearing to work. There is no ring that will work well for this type of work. Not only do gloves come off and on all day, even when glove are not worn there are too many germs that can accumulate in the ring and be passed patient to patient, even with good handwashing. I am an OB nurse, trust me, this is very messy work.

 

[Robyn12]

I would think a style like the tiffany lucida might be worth checking out... Looks like it's easier to wear than a lot of other styles that are out there, and it's also very attractive.

(The Vatche X Prong Comfort Fit is said to be similar if you did not want to go with Tiffany.)

Good luck.

 

[valeria101]

No ring is safely worn (or permitted) under latex gloves. But high settings are uncomfortable to war anyway - at least they need adjusting to, but to wear something 15mm high on top of your finger all day long is not fun, for most people...

Most inexpensive settings are rather high, just because this "style" is cheaper to manufacture. However, you do not need to go for a bezel setting to have the stone set low. Prong settings can be made as low as to near to height of the stone itself, as long as there is no metal under that culet. The model below is one such low set model, for example. Nearly any type of prong or bezel setting can be made in 'high" and "low" versions, and some designers produce both alternatives for their lines, beginning with staples like Stuller's Solstice and up to whatever you may work out for a custom designed one...