my REVISED WF CAD images are here!! comments please!

[denverboy]

another update! sorry to keep buggin you all but your opinions and ideas are very very helpful so thank you!

I talked to Joe and he said if we do 4 prongs that are evenly spaced out NW/NE/SW/SE then there is room to have 2 melee stones on the halo/basket strip on the north side of the strip, 2 stones on the south side, but NO room for any stones on the west/east sides b/c the shoulders have to attach to the basket there and it just doesn''t leave enough room for stones next to it.

Pros - 4 prongs means more space and air around the center stone, doesnt cover it up as much

Cons - no good flow of melee stones around the basket - no stones at all on the east/west sides (which might look a little off), and 2 stones b/n the prongs on the northand south sides

I''m going to spend the day trying to visualize how this would look. If anyone has any opinions please chime in!

P.S. - We discussed having the 4 prongs separated by different angles (elongated into more of a rectangular layout) either to the east/west or to the north/south but we both thought it may look weird in this particular setting.

 

[stone-cold11]

But if you just set the prongs to N, S, E, W, then it should not be a problem right? Or is that arrangement too unsafe?

 

[denverboy]

Date: 10/1/2008 12:46:03 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
But if you just set the prongs to N, S, E, W, then it should not be a problem right? Or is that arrangement too unsafe?

actually that option is still on the table - we didn''t discuss it in depth though for some reason.

assuming that that would allow 2 stones b/n the prongs, the main con w/ that would purely be in the look and design of that arrangement - the prongs would cut through the "surprise stones" when looking at the front on view. That may look ok or may look weird/harsh... I''ll keep trying to visualize it

I''ve only seen a couple of rings w/ the N,S,E,W prong arrangement and at first I didnt like it b/c your vision runs straight into a prong when seen from a front on view, but I''ll keep thinking about it.

stonecold - by the way, you''ve been one of the most helpful ppl of all w/ my CAD''s - thanks!

 

[stone-cold11]

No prob... It is a fun project. Good luck.

 

[sparxs111]

Love the new design. Much more fluid and graceful, and the prongs more refined and don''t take away from the diamond as much as the first! I think she''ll love it, even more so that you designed it!!!! Congrats, great job, and can''t wait to see the end result!!!!!

 

[LGK]

I really love the revision. Lovely style you''ve chosen, you''ve got great taste (OK, I''m biased, it''s definitely similar to what I like too!) I especially love how much more delicate the top-down view is.

Would you want to do the three surprise stone thing a la the Tiffany Legacy ornate version? I keep looking for the other two after seeing the one; but that''s such a personal taste thing I don''t think it would necessarily be an improvement, just another option...

I like the 6 prongs with the diamond basket detail... not sure why, I just do.

 

[denverboy]

thanks so much for the kind comments! Joe said his manager is pretty set that any CAD revision will require another CAD fee since I had so many small changes the first time around. Either way, I decided that I liked the 6 prong design better than the 4 prong ideas I was thinking of. However he said he will make the prongs just slightly thinner for me before sending the CAD off. So I''ll basically be approving this CAD later today.

Thanks for all your ideas and help! I''ll definitely post some pics once I have pics of the final thing or a CAD of the wedding band that will be made to match.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

I like both. I actually like the first one a lot. I know that the prongs always come out more delicate IRL. The side view is great.

 

[denverboy]

received the wedding band CAD today. I did consider the option of having the melee on all 3 sides (top, front, back), but it would just add cost, mean that one whole side will always be hidden, and also possibly mean that the melee will rub against the other melee on the Ering. Plus I went w/ the reasoning that it will usually be viewed from a top-down view .

oh and by the way - all the melee borders on both rings will have milgrain added later.

 

[denverboy]

another view w/ the Ering - Joe said the prongs in these views are thinner and shorter to look more like it would in the actual ring just to get a better idea

 

[stone-cold11]

Looks great.

 

[vespergirl]

Gorgeous! I love the 6-prong basket too. I like the new one better.

 

[AprilBaby]

LOVE the new design, so much more feminine!

 

[denverboy]

just recieved the pics but there is a slight problem - I wanted milgrain around the basket strip of melee around the center stone . You can''t see it clearly in this image so check out the CAD images I posted earlier (there is 1 stone between each prong). They said there is not milgrain there so I said I had asked for there to be, and now Leon is saying that they could only do it on the upper border not the lower border b/c the tool won''t fit in there to do the lower border. What are your thoughts on this? My concern is that it would just look weird w/ it ont he top edge only but Leon said the bottom edge is so small that they can''t physically do it

 

[stone-cold11]

I think it will look weird too. I will keep it the way as it is.

 

[denverboy]

ok Joe said he can inquire to see if they can do the bottom edge by hand instead. waiting for answer.

and actually a bigger issue has come up. in the CADs there is a distinct border between the "shoulders" of the ring and the "front/back sides" of the ring where they merge together on the shank. The idea was to have milgrain on the inside of each border. But on the actual ring they have put just one row of milgrain right down the middle of the edge where they merge. Joe said that he did intend for there to be a defining border/line between the two sides and that that was their mistake. he''s going to talk to leon about this and ask if it can be recast possibly.

the only issue there is if having two adjacent sides w/ milgrain borders on each side would look too overpowering.

i have to get back to work for a couple of hours now , i''ll explain in more detail later tonight. but right now i don''t know what to feel... kinda nervous, upset, and worried.

 

[LostSapphire]

I think it''s perfect. Sometimes it helps to stand back a bit and see the piece as a whole, as opposed to bits and pieces of details.

This is a beautiful work of art. Remember, the CAD is a mechanically produced drawing. Then the metals (liquids!) and the diamonds get into the hands of a talented benchman and he takes the CAD inspiration to the next level.

Now, this is just me and my humble opinion. And I''m a bit of a control freak so I understand how you want things to be *exactly EXACTLY* as in the CAD. My ring too, had a few artistic flourishes that the benchman brought to the project. That''s what makes it truly custom and hand made, as opposed to mass produced.


Your ring is reallly, really lovely.

LS

 

[denverboy]

here''s another image

So now I''m finally back home. There are basically 3 issues with the design.

1) Milgrain around the 2 ''surprise stones''. I''ve asked them to add milgrain around those. What do you guys think? I think not having milgrain around them makes it pop out a bit too much. Milgrain I hope will make them more subtle. But I don''t want to make it TOO busy.

2) Milgrain around the gallery strip. I''ll await Joe''s answer on this tmrw to see if they can do both the top edge and bottom edge by hand. If they can only do the top edge I''ll be pretty disappointed b/c I don''t think it will look right with just the top edge, or without milgrain altogether.

3) The joint between the shoulders of the shank and the front/back sides of the shank. In the CAD there''s obviously a separation between the two sections and a kind of border for definition. In real life I''m beginning to wonder if it''s even possible to have this kind of separation with milgrain there. I''m going to attach another photo showing my inspiration ring and how it still had milgrain and also a defined border around the shoulders.

 

[denverboy]

inspiration ring w/ "borders" around the shoulder and very subtle almost worn out milgrain too

 

[neatfreak]

I think it''s beautiful as is! But of course you are the one who needs to be 100% happy with it, so I suggest pursuing whatever you need to to make you happy with it.

 

[denverboy]

Date: 10/22/2008 6:41:18 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
I think it will look weird too. I will keep it the way as it is.

i agree just the top edge would look weird. but the catch is - don''t you think the current state looks weird too since that strip around the head doesn''t have any milgrain while the rest of the ring does?

that''s why i feel like its a lose-lose option right now , but im HOPING that they can add in some milgrain to the bottom edge by hand... Joe will let me know the answer tmrw.

 

[LGK]

I like that there is not a double edge of millgraining on the shoulders- that''d look a bit odd to me. It isn''t exactly like the inspiration ring, and that''s fine, I think. Both are beautiful. I have a couple of rings with three sided millgrain and all of them but one just have the one edge done. (The one that has double sided millgrain looks a bit weird to me, always has... it was a custom piece with a non-diamond center.) Still, you are the one that needs to be happy with the piece. I know it''s hard to let go of how you expected a custom ring to look, especially when you have an inspiration piece you''re working from. The less metal/more diamonds, the better!

I would have them millgrain around the surprise stones.

I''ve got no strong opinion on doing the gallery bits- but I''d say either have them do all of it, or none- half would look a bit strange. It really does look lovely as it is, though!

 

[denverboy]

Date: 10/23/2008 3:25:59 AM
Author: LittleGreyKitten
I like that there is not a double edge of millgraining on the shoulders- that''d look a bit odd to me. It isn''t exactly like the inspiration ring, and that''s fine, I think. Both are beautiful. I have a couple of rings with three sided millgrain and all of them but one just have the one edge done. (The one that has double sided millgrain looks a bit weird to me, always has... it was a custom piece with a non-diamond center.) Still, you are the one that needs to be happy with the piece. I know it''s hard to let go of how you expected a custom ring to look, especially when you have an inspiration piece you''re working from. The less metal/more diamonds, the better!


I would have them millgrain around the surprise stones.


I''ve got no strong opinion on doing the gallery bits- but I''d say either have them do all of it, or none- half would look a bit strange. It really does look lovely as it is, though!

thanks so much for your comments, they are very encouraging. I''ve been so nervous and worried all night, and trying to overcome the initial disappointment and "it isn''t what I expected" reaction and I''m trying to move to the "ok it still looks nice" mood. I also studied the photos last night of all things (CAD, actual, inspiration, other rings) and I think I do agree that there isn''t a great way to have a border/separation around the shoulders of the ring. So I think the single milgrain border merging the two sides may be the only way to do it without it looking weird like you said. So that might be fine. Just isn''t what I expected, but sometimes what you are imagining just isn''t possible in real life if that makes sense.

since i''m trying to keep this a secret from her and her friends, etc I can only post my comments and reactions on here haha - so you guys have been great support through it all I hope you realize! thanks!