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My Stuart Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

Lula

Lula

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
4,624
I've been searching ebay and other online jewelry sites since March/April of this year for a new temp setting for my Infinity to replace my too-large half-bezel setting. I looked at a lot of settings -- it is surprisingly hard to find a decent used setting for a reasonable price. The vintage platinum settings go for $$$$ and often need repair. And I can't believe what ebay sellers are asking for 1980s yellow gold settings :o -- too expensive to buy to use for "parts" and too dated to use as-is :rolleyes:

I was about ready to give up on a temp setting and start work on my custom setting much earlier than I'd planned, when I spied this ring on ebay for a Stuart Cathey ring.

I'd seen this listing before, but I always skipped over it, because I thought it was some kind of vintage 1960s ring

cathey1.jpg

cathey2.jpg
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

Whoops -- hit "submit" too soon!

Anyway, on a closer inspection, I saw that it was actually a handmade, 18 kt. and platinum ring designed by Stuart Cathey!

http://www.stuartcathey.com/

It's part of his "wedge" ring series
http://www.stuartcathey.com/Stuart_finejewelry.html (click on 5th "dot" on webpage)

And the prongs looked to be added, not original to the design.

cathey4.jpg
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

So I looked up the designer, Stuart Cathey, and found that he has an Etsy site. I contacted him about the ring and asked him if he'd be willing to size it for me if need be, and whether or not the prongs were original to the ring. He e-mailed me back right away, and he was so helpful, a really great guy. He said he could size the rings for me, and that the prongs were not original to the design; the design originally held a bezel head, and he'd be glad to replace the prongs with a bezel for my Infinity stone, if I wanted! :appl: :appl:

So I bought the ring from the ebay seller, and it arrived today. It does not need to be sized -- but I like my rings loose, so I may have it sized later, when I have the prongs replaced with a bezel. For now, I'm just going to have my local jeweler set my stone in the prongs, and wear it as-is for a while.

Here's some photos of it with my diamond (not set yet; hand shots to follow next week):

Ring size: 6 3/4
Diamond: Infinity branded cut, .778 carat, G VS1
Diamonds in band: .25 ctw; F-G color; VS clarity -- set in platinum in 18 kt yellow gold.

The bands have a matte finish.

CIMG2365.JPG
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

They are very thick (about 2 mm high)

CIMG2398.JPG
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

I think the bezel will be a big improvement over the prongs, but for now it's got that "Madmen" mid-century minimalist look...my diamond is too small for these prongs, but my jeweler will adjust this...still it's going to sit a little high -- don't know how long I'll be able to live with that, but, hey, the price was right -- a little above melt value. This setting weighs over 13 grams :o

The blue in my diamond is the reflection of my turquoise linen shirt.

CIMG2391.JPG
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

Last photo -- I don't think I ever posted very detailed photos of my diamond...here's a close-up. Thanks for looking, and more photos next week!

CIMG2368.JPG
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

What a great deal! I love the matte finish too :appl:
Are you going to replace the prongs for a bezel?
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

akmiss|1309916856|2962413 said:
What a great deal! I love the matte finish too :appl:
Are you going to replace the prongs for a bezel?
Click to expand...

Thanks, akmiss! Yes, I will replace the prongs with a bezel, probably this fall. I want to wear it for a while (I change my mind a lot...) ha-ha.
 
Re: My Stuary Cathey ebay find -- new home for my Infinity

That is a great find. Your rings are very pretty.
 
What a striking set! I really love it, and it seems like it was meant to be. I can't wait to see it when/if you bezel it, but it looks great with the prongs too. Just make sure your jeweler checks that the head is securely attached--it would be heartbreaking to lose that Infinity if you knocked the ring on something ;(
 
Thank you, Marcy!

Thanks, karpouzi! More about the bezel -- here is a link Stuart sent me to archived photos of the ring with the bezel. http://www.stuartcathey.com/version_1/ring_3rdpg_frameset.html The more I see it, the more I like the ring with the bezel. The prongs are platinum, and are very secure, but they sit up very high, and I am a bit concerned about that.
 
Wow. That setting is beyond cool. Find a way to swing getting the bezel done and forget about the prongs IMO. They take away from the architecture of the ring. That is just a totally funky setting! Score.
 
really cool set! I really like the way it looks with the bezel. Can't wait to see pictures of it!
 
Another vote for getting the bezel done. It definately works with the modernish feel of the ring. I love it. Congrats

:bigsmile:
 
Thank you, Begonia, slg, and lovemybling. I think it's unanimous -- the prongs have gotta go, and sooner rather than later! I wore the setting around the house last night and the prongs are definitely too high for my liking. I agree, Begonia, the prongs take away from the architectural quality of the ring.

Stuart Cathey's studio is closed until mid-July, so when he gets back, I'll be contacting him about the bezel. Update to follow...

Thanks, everybody for your comments and compliments!
 
What a unique set and a great Ebay find! I think with the bezel it will be a stunning piece.
 
Thank you, mrsacornblue and rhbgirl!

So it's unanimous -- bezel! I just e-mailed Stuart asking if he had any photos of the profile of the bezel ring. The bezel ring appears to sit flush against the other band, which I like.

I'll try to get some photos of the rings on my hands. They are comfortable, despite being very thick.
 
maybe they'll give you a break on the bezel as you're restoring its original look!?
 
Lula, Great find, I love it! very modern eque to me, and I can definitely see it with a bezel! Beautiful! different, unique, but still invokes a classic feel to me too! kinda reminds me of a niwaka shimmer band set
 
What a very cool set! I really the asymetrical look, it adds some modern flair and with the bezel....wow!! It's so hard to find something unique, it sometimes feels as though we all have some type of variation of what someone else has, which is fine of course and a compliment I suppose, but it's nice to be able to stand out in the crowd and be 'the chic with the very cool ring.' Great find! I can't wait to see the finished product! :appl:
 
motownmama -- thanks! The designer of the ring has agreed to size the ring for me (if needed). He said that the prongs were a special order request from the customer who originally bought the ring. They look like they were just soldered on, so it *should* be possible to simply remove them. I'm thinking of either having the designer replace the prongs with a full bezel. Or perhaps have Wink's bench replace the head with a half-bezel similar to this design http://www.krikawa.com/jewelry/body-of-work/details.aspx?style=57&cat=9, which I prefer to the full bezel.

D&T -- hello! :appl: I love the modern design of this ring; I think it's a great match for the super-crisp faceting of my Infinity. And it's a nice contrast to my halo, which is now a RHR. I looked at the Niwaka website, and you are right -- the Shimmer ring set is very similar. Stuart's designs are a bit more geometric, and the Niwaka designs are more organic. I've always liked Niwaka, but I thought they went out of business (?) Guess not.

Christina -- it is really hard to find something unique. I've always liked the modern look of designs by artists such as Anne Sportun, but it's almost impossible to find settings by small artisan designers second-hand. I looked at this ebay listing several times before I realized that it was a hand-crafted, artisan-made setting. And, yes, the interesting thing about this ring is that the design is basically a classic solitaire/diamond band combination with a modern twist.

Now that I've worn the band for a few days, I can say that the "wedge" shape and the graduated diamonds look great from all angles. Even when the band spins a little bit, it never looks like it is upside down or sideways because of the asymmetrical design!
 
great find!
 
Thanks, Amy. And thanks for posting my rings in the yellow gold thread.

An update: I'm working with Stuart through Etsy. He's easy to work with, very patient, and takes the time to thoroughly explain things. I sent the rings to him to be sized, and he gave me a quote to bezel-set my diamond in a platinum bezel. I'm not sure if I'm going to have my diamond bezel-set now, or wait until later this fall. But I'll be sure to post photos when I get the rings back.

Thanks again, everyone!
 
Oh....hand shots!
 
Beautiful! You gotta love Ebay!
 
I really like your ring, Lula! It's got such modern, sleek lines and your stone will look amazing in its bezel. Can't wait to see the final piece!
 
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