Need a lil hand-holding...

[Emperisse]

okay, so anyone that helped me before w/picking a setting... you''re going to kill me cuz i had to start over with the search. my b/f and i went to tiffany''s last weekend to try on various settings and everything that i thought i would like didnt look right on me.

anyways, i tried on their new novo setting, and though the center stone they showed me was actually not that impressive, i loved the setting and it actually looked right on me!

since we already picked out the stone through WF, we really wanted to stay w/them for the setting.

up until this point, i probably bothered our rep twice on questions for the setting.

that night after tiffany''s, i did this powerpoint (i know, overkill) with questions on their stock settings and customizing, since i saw another poster here from PS that had a stunning setting that was similar to the novo setting.

ANYWAYS... our rep wasn''t very warm or fuzzy and dismissed my gazillion questions with a ''she''ll love this one we have in stock'', and that was that.

while i understand it''s valentine''s day and she''s probably very, very busy, i still would have appreciated some of my questions and concerns answered. i mean...we''re not purchasing a pencil here. but i do understand she''s busy and probably didnt have time w/my powerpoint pictures and questions.

so because you all have always been so supportive, i''ve decided to come again and bother you all for your opinion.

do you think that the novo setting, which I will post, resembles the legato setting for the princess cut (which i will also post below) enough for me to not go custom? or should i seriously consider going custom? i know it will cost more if i do, but if it''s a lil more, i would certainly go for it. i had asked for a guestimate price, but didn''t get one.

anyways, what do you all think? and do you think there are alternatives? i love the thin 2 mm band look, and my center stone is a 2 ct princess. i''m also not crazy about pave, but w/a 2 mm band, it''s hard to have diamonds set otherwise, right?

thank you all again for listening to me whine and fret... i just didnt know where else to go.

--E

 

[Emperisse]

this is the novo...

 

[Emperisse]

this is the legato for a princess cut...

 

[Maisie]

Date: 2/9/2007 12:26:11 PM
Author:Emperisse
okay, so anyone that helped me before w/picking a setting... you''re going to kill me cuz i had to start over with the search. my b/f and i went to tiffany''s last weekend to try on various settings and everything that i thought i would like didnt look right on me.

anyways, i tried on their new novo setting, and though the center stone they showed me was actually not that impressive, i loved the setting and it actually looked right on me!

since we already picked out the stone through WF, we really wanted to stay w/them for the setting.

up until this point, i probably bothered our rep twice on questions for the setting.

that night after tiffany''s, i did this powerpoint (i know, overkill) with questions on their stock settings and customizing, since i saw another poster here from PS that had a stunning setting that was similar to the novo setting.

ANYWAYS... our rep wasn''t very warm or fuzzy and dismissed my gazillion questions with a ''she''ll love this one we have in stock'', and that was that.

while i understand it''s valentine''s day and she''s probably very, very busy, i still would have appreciated some of my questions and concerns answered. i mean...we''re not purchasing a pencil here. but i do understand she''s busy and probably didnt have time w/my powerpoint pictures and questions.

so because you all have always been so supportive, i''ve decided to come again and bother you all for your opinion.

do you think that the novo setting, which I will post, resembles the legato setting for the princess cut (which i will also post below) enough for me to not go custom? or should i seriously consider going custom? i know it will cost more if i do, but if it''s a lil more, i would certainly go for it. i had asked for a guestimate price, but didn''t get one.

anyways, what do you all think? and do you think there are alternatives? i love the thin 2 mm band look, and my center stone is a 2 ct princess. i''m also not crazy about pave, but w/a 2 mm band, it''s hard to have diamonds set otherwise, right?

thank you all again for listening to me whine and fret... i just didnt know where else to go.

--E

If you aren''t being listened to by your rep you should really ask to speak to someone else. You are the customer after all and you should get exactly what YOU want. With all due respect your rep doesn''t know your girlfriend and can''t possibly know if she will love that setting or not.

You say she probably didn''t have time to deal with your questions - its her JOB! She has to make time.

I like the WF setting and it is similar to the Tiffany one - but if you want a replica of the T&CO design you need to go custom.

Just my opinion anyway

 

[coda72]

I think both settings are nice, but I like the head on the Novo setting better. I think in order to see if the Legato is close enough, you will need to see it in person. I can''t really tell from the pics if the side diamonds in the Legato are set in the same way as the Novo. But I guess you can''t really see the setting before ordering it, so I don''t know what to tell you. Maybe custom is the way to go.

 

[hikerchick]

I also like the head on the novo setting better and to my eye the size and the way the side stones are set look different between the two. Also if you have tried on numerous settings and have found many you thought would be nice NOT look right, you might need to accept that you are looking for something VERY specific. I would go the custom route also . . . or give the legato a test drive knowing you might return it if it isn''t what you want.

 

[Stone Hunter]

The prongs are different in the photo of the novo. Did you try the novo on with the same cut you are getting?

The shank of the novo has a cathedral arch look to it. The stones appear to be set differently. And as others have said the head is different.

So I really think you should try the second one on before committing to it. But it''s worth a try before going custom! And your life will be ALOT easier if you buy the stone and setting from the same vendor, custom or stock.

 

[Emperisse]

the head is indeed different. the one from Tiff''s is 4 pronged and not really for princess cuts -- the one from WF covers the sharp corners of a princess, which is fine by me.

my main concern is that the head isn''t as sunk in as i would like, and that the side diamonds from the shank are different.

i believe both bands are 2 mm, so the diamonds should be comparable in size. also, the tiffany rep told me that the diamonds are ''bead set''. i understand there is no difference really from pave and bead set, according to the posts here at PS, but somehow, the 2 just look difference.

should i just go ahead and insist they give me an estimate on a novo shank w/a legato head?

and thanks everyone for being so patient.

 

[E B]

I actually much prefer the Legato setting, because it looks to allow a band to sit flush. I also kind of like the little wave basket toward the middle of the head. Now, not everyone cares about a band sitting flush, but when you have small, short fingers like I do, even 1mm counts.

That being said, absolutely ask to speak to someone else at WF if you''re not comfortable with your rep. WF seems to be having some issues in that department, so don''t feel like you''re the only one. I recommend John Pollard. He was incredibly nice and listened to exactly what I needed.

 

[tangoecho]

I also like the looks of the Novo setting better. Since you tried it on and know it''s a setting that works for you, I would go custom rather than try to go with another setting you''re not sure about.

Also, since your vendor wasn''t at all responsive to your questions, nor did they offer to work with you to make a custom setting, I wouldn''t give them the business to do the setting.

I checked with WF regarding a setting when searching for my e-ring. I sent an email question about the estimated gram weight of a platinum solitaire setting. While the answer wasn''t going to be the deciding factor on which setting I ultimately choose, it was a consideration and I was trying to gather information for my boyfriend who is very logical and wants all the facts beforehand. (He is an engineer). We were even willing to come into Houston to look at the setting (it was a frontrunner) and choose a diamond from WF and I told them upfront that we wanted approximately a 1.5 carat round. Well the response was to totally ignore my question about the setting and move directly into "what color and clarity of a diamond do you want", "what''s your budget" and "I''ll pull some diamonds, let me know when you want to come". Then the 2 follow up emails from them stated the same thing. No effort was made to look into the setting answer or even acknowledge the question with a reply of "we''ll look into that and let you know". We were very disapointed and choose not to go with them because we felt our sales contact dismissed the setting question (small money) for the larger money aspect not realizing that sometimes it''s the small things that make or break a deal. We ended up spending over $20,000 on the diamond and setting from another vendor that WF might have enjoyed if they had at least acknowleded our question.

Emperisse - good luck. Let us know what you decide.

 

[bargaincrazy]

What EBree said about the WB sitting flush is a huge concern for many people. Have you guys thought about that, i.e. do you care? I also see the cathedral as another big difference, so if you going to go custom, you might want to replicate that as well. As far as the way the diamonds are set on the shank, it kind of looks like the Novo has some metal detailing on the metal around the diamonds, like little v-cuts. However, I could be totally wrong. I really love fishtail pave, which is when the v-cuts are on the sides of the ring (seen from the profile). I like both heads, but actually generally prefer heads like the Novo where the base is a little circle (i.e. not a single point), hence bands won''t sit flush. Part of the reason why I like it that way is because I''m under the impression that you can set the diamond lower. I''m not a big fan of diamonds that stick up really high in the air, but that''s because my first ering did that and now I''m biased. Both the style of head AND the cathedral shank on the Novo are intended to make the head blend with the shank. So, the two rings are quite different styles IMHO.

 

[Emperisse]

thank you everyone!

actually, our rep was very proactive when it came to selecting the stone. we have a budget similar to tangoecho''s, and we figured because of the large sale on the stone, we would get comparable service on the setting. like i mentioned, perhaps it''s the valentine''s day busy-ness or whatever the case may be, things just seem rushed.

at any rate, i just sent all my specs (2 mm band, platinum, bead set down the shank, legato princess head, but a little more lower set into the shank) and a picture of the novo to my boyfriend. since the rep has been dealing with him, i asked him to just email the rep again, one last time. i would sleep much better knowing i''m getting exactly what i want, especially after spending so much time on the stone itself and knowing this is my e-ring!

are there any other specific things i should send to help them see what i want? or things that can affect cost greatly?

 

[Shay37]

Date: 2/9/2007 2:34:45 PM
Author: Emperisse
thank you everyone!

actually, our rep was very proactive when it came to selecting the stone. we have a budget similar to tangoecho''s, and we figured because of the large sale on the stone, we would get comparable service on the setting. like i mentioned, perhaps it''s the valentine''s day busy-ness or whatever the case may be, things just seem rushed.

at any rate, i just sent all my specs (2 mm band, platinum, bead set down the shank, legato princess head, but a little more lower set into the shank) and a picture of the novo to my boyfriend. since the rep has been dealing with him, i asked him to just email the rep again, one last time. i would sleep much better knowing i''m getting exactly what i want, especially after spending so much time on the stone itself and knowing this is my e-ring!

are there any other specific things i should send to help them see what i want? or things that can affect cost greatly?

Don''t know that I would e-mail unless I was on the phone with the rep at the time. Like you said, it is nutso busy right now. I used to work with Renee (no longer there) and we would e-mail stuff back and forth while on the phone to illustrate stuff to each other. That way, you know it''s being seen and addressed. Good luck.

shay

 

[Emperisse]

i totally understand it being nutso there. and in fact, i''m not in a rush to get this ring. if they told me upfront that they were busy, but would get back to me after it died down a bit, that would have been alright too. just as long as i knew that my estimate would be worked on sometime in the near future.

but about the flush fit -- i didnt think about that, so thank you for pointing that out! i would like the wedding band to fit flush, so i guess it is important to me.

i agree that the head on the legato seems to protrude out a lil more than i would like. allowing it to sit a bit lower, but still being raised a bit up like the cathedral style the novo has looks nice. i don''t know if they can replicate that, but yes it would be nice. and i too like the wave basket that the legato has.

my rep''s out today, and she left someone else''s contact info, so my boyfriend''s sending it to that rep now. i did ask my boyfriend to be nice and apologize for bothering them at a busy time. i forgot to say no rush though...oops.

 

[FireGoddess]

I do like the legato. It is a slightly different look, but if you want the rings to sit flush, they will with the legato.

 

[Molly1024]

Th first setting you posted, the Novo, looks remarkably like mine, 2mm WG with bead set diamonds 1/2 way around, except for the head (IMO); here's some shots in case you want to use it for clarification (if you want to):

 

[Emperisse]

Thanks so much Molly! I certainly will be showing them plenty of pictures so they understand what I want.

Actually on Friday I had submitted my request, and Sheerah, who was covering for my rep while she is away, came back with a proposal. She was quick about it and knew exactly what kind of shank I wanted, so I was so happy when she came back with a price that fit my budget. yay!

So now I''m waiting for my rep to come back for some last detailed questions (like making sure the stone isn''t set too low).

Other than that, I''m just waiting now... things are so far so good going the customized route.

Will definitely send an update as soon as I hear anything new.

Thank you for all the suggestions and opinions!

--E

 

[Shay37]

Yay, that''s good news then.

shay

 

[Emperisse]

just as an update... i did speak to my rep again and the jeweler there, who answered my questions about not having the prongs too low set, but high enough to have things flushfit.

that was about a week ago.

do you all know how long wax/cad images take for custom settings?

thanks!

--an anxious bear

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 2/22/2007 12:04:49 PM
Author: Emperisse
just as an update... i did speak to my rep again and the jeweler there, who answered my questions about not having the prongs too low set, but high enough to have things flushfit.

that was about a week ago.

do you all know how long wax/cad images take for custom settings?

thanks!

--an anxious bear

It depends, anywhere from 1 week to a couple of months depending on the complexity of the design and how busy the designer is. I''d ask the vendor if you want a better estimate. Lovely project by the way, can''t wait to see the final ring!

 

[Emperisse]

thank you kcoursolle.

the overall process of doing a custom setting has been a bit unnerving for me, so i guess i will sit tight a lil while longer.

my boyfriend contacted the rep for an update, so we''re still waiting on that.

while i am a total control freak and wanted to be in on the whole process of picking out the engagement ring, sometimes i regret it b/c now i''m totally on edge and worried about it. i dont think i''ll be able to sleep well until i see the ring completed and done.

so far the process hasnt been disastrous, but certainly frustrating at times.

but i guess that comes with the territory.

i hope this will all be over soon.

thanks again,

--E