- Joined
- Jul 12, 2015
- Messages
- 1,080
I am so excited to introduce my new CER studs from VC!! Oh, so much to tell you all…
So as many of you know, I have been on a mission to find new studs for quite a while. I have had 1ctw studs for 15 years and I adore them, but I have had the nagging urge to bump it up just a bit. So the obvious first step was to decide what size to aim for. I know it is common practice to select studs that are up to 50% the carat weight of the e-ring, and I truly did consider this. But honestly, I think that just over a carat each is about all these lobes can manage! I actually tried on some 7mm earrings on in a local B&M store and even the sales associate thought they were too much, so that is saying something! Strangely enough, I can rock 3 carats on my finger without batting an eye, and yet I don’t like the feeling that my earrings are entering a room before the rest of me does if you KWIM! So long story short, after much deliberation, I decided that just above 1 carat each is my sweet spot for studs!
The backstory: I started out on a search for CBI studs (and they are in the works, so stay tuned for those!) but I also had the nagging urge to complete my collection with a set of vintage cuts. Based on my MRB quest I knew that I was looking for a pair in the 2ctw range, and when I searched Victor’s inventory, lo and behold, there, staring back at me was the perfect (and I really do mean perfect!) pair!!
Now I realize that most rational people choose between MRB and OEC studs, and I applaud this choice as doing this was my original intention. But as I will be alternating between an Art Deco-inspired CER e-ring and a more modern CBI e-ring (which Victor just masterfully completed, so another SMTB post will be forthcoming before too long!), a nudging within me said, hmmm, wouldn’t it be great to have two sets of studs, one vintage-inspired and one modern, just to round out the collection? I wrestled with these thoughts for a couple of months, and finally decided to just go for it. What can I say; sometimes my ears are in the mood for hearts and arrows, and other times they are in the mood for flowery disco balls! And I figure that if I ever decide to create a CER trilogy ring at any point down the road, I have totally secured my side stones now! But my ears will be the happy recipients of these beauties for the foreseeable future!
So then came the setting dilemma. I knew that I wanted Victor to make the settings, that much was crystal clear! I have been collecting inspiration pictures for quite some time and was leaning toward a Victorian 6-prong setting, but there were no examples of this featured on the VC site. I e-mailed Victor with a few pictures of what I had in mind, and as usual, he rose to the challenge to create a new design! I am continually impressed by Victor’s willingness to take new ideas and run with them, and I am convinced that he can pretty much work magic at this point! So anyway, in short, he created the most beautiful pair of earrings I could wish for, and they far exceed anything I had envisioned!
Victor was incredible to work with, as always, and he even weathered my last-second panic attack that perhaps the setting I had chosen was not quite true to period. (I have a bad habit of second-guessing my own judgment about settings at times… it has nothing to do with Victor!). Victor typically lets me know if there is a discrepancy between vintage and modern aspects, and I took comfort in the fact that he had not raised any concerns. But for just a split second I thought, what if he is just too polite to tell me that this setting is not “vintagey” enough… what if he is just going along with me on this one? I sent a quick message to Victor just to let him know that I was open to any other ideas he might have, and he instantly reassured me that not only is this beautiful new setting true to period for OECs, the design actually complements these European cut diamonds perfectly. And once again, he was 100% correct!
When Victor sent the glamour shots my jaw just dropped to the floor. The CERs are incredible and those floral facets just take my breath away. And in addition to the gorgeous craftsmanship and the unbelievable quality of these earrings, they are incredibly comfortable to wear as well! And those painstakingly perfect prongs, too!! Having now worked with Victor on quite a few projects, all of which turned out stunningly, I can confidently say that Victor always gets it right!
The center stones are 1.1ct G CERs (6.55 mm) with identical specs on almost everything. And without further ado, here they are!!
So as many of you know, I have been on a mission to find new studs for quite a while. I have had 1ctw studs for 15 years and I adore them, but I have had the nagging urge to bump it up just a bit. So the obvious first step was to decide what size to aim for. I know it is common practice to select studs that are up to 50% the carat weight of the e-ring, and I truly did consider this. But honestly, I think that just over a carat each is about all these lobes can manage! I actually tried on some 7mm earrings on in a local B&M store and even the sales associate thought they were too much, so that is saying something! Strangely enough, I can rock 3 carats on my finger without batting an eye, and yet I don’t like the feeling that my earrings are entering a room before the rest of me does if you KWIM! So long story short, after much deliberation, I decided that just above 1 carat each is my sweet spot for studs!
The backstory: I started out on a search for CBI studs (and they are in the works, so stay tuned for those!) but I also had the nagging urge to complete my collection with a set of vintage cuts. Based on my MRB quest I knew that I was looking for a pair in the 2ctw range, and when I searched Victor’s inventory, lo and behold, there, staring back at me was the perfect (and I really do mean perfect!) pair!!
Now I realize that most rational people choose between MRB and OEC studs, and I applaud this choice as doing this was my original intention. But as I will be alternating between an Art Deco-inspired CER e-ring and a more modern CBI e-ring (which Victor just masterfully completed, so another SMTB post will be forthcoming before too long!), a nudging within me said, hmmm, wouldn’t it be great to have two sets of studs, one vintage-inspired and one modern, just to round out the collection? I wrestled with these thoughts for a couple of months, and finally decided to just go for it. What can I say; sometimes my ears are in the mood for hearts and arrows, and other times they are in the mood for flowery disco balls! And I figure that if I ever decide to create a CER trilogy ring at any point down the road, I have totally secured my side stones now! But my ears will be the happy recipients of these beauties for the foreseeable future!
So then came the setting dilemma. I knew that I wanted Victor to make the settings, that much was crystal clear! I have been collecting inspiration pictures for quite some time and was leaning toward a Victorian 6-prong setting, but there were no examples of this featured on the VC site. I e-mailed Victor with a few pictures of what I had in mind, and as usual, he rose to the challenge to create a new design! I am continually impressed by Victor’s willingness to take new ideas and run with them, and I am convinced that he can pretty much work magic at this point! So anyway, in short, he created the most beautiful pair of earrings I could wish for, and they far exceed anything I had envisioned!
Victor was incredible to work with, as always, and he even weathered my last-second panic attack that perhaps the setting I had chosen was not quite true to period. (I have a bad habit of second-guessing my own judgment about settings at times… it has nothing to do with Victor!). Victor typically lets me know if there is a discrepancy between vintage and modern aspects, and I took comfort in the fact that he had not raised any concerns. But for just a split second I thought, what if he is just too polite to tell me that this setting is not “vintagey” enough… what if he is just going along with me on this one? I sent a quick message to Victor just to let him know that I was open to any other ideas he might have, and he instantly reassured me that not only is this beautiful new setting true to period for OECs, the design actually complements these European cut diamonds perfectly. And once again, he was 100% correct!
When Victor sent the glamour shots my jaw just dropped to the floor. The CERs are incredible and those floral facets just take my breath away. And in addition to the gorgeous craftsmanship and the unbelievable quality of these earrings, they are incredibly comfortable to wear as well! And those painstakingly perfect prongs, too!! Having now worked with Victor on quite a few projects, all of which turned out stunningly, I can confidently say that Victor always gets it right!
The center stones are 1.1ct G CERs (6.55 mm) with identical specs on almost everything. And without further ado, here they are!!
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