Need help with design please. Blue diamonds!

[JaneSmith]

Hello all,

I'm re-doing and upgrading my engagement ring. Right now it's an oval three stone in an open basket setting with one bezel set round irradiated blue diamond on each side of the gallery of the centre stone. Phew! I hope I got that description right. I have no idea how to put a pic on here from my ipad.

Anyway, I'm upgrading from a .95 (ish) to a 2ct oval centre, keeping my .90 (ish) ctw oval sides. I want to buy REAL (yes! woo hoo!) fancy blue diamonds in either a round or pear shape to go on the gallery under the centre stone. I am changing the setting to a trellis much like this one:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/three-stone-trellis-18k-white-gold-5376w18

How big should I be looking for? 5 points? 8 points? Here is a pic of a nice 8 point fancy grayish blue: http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/7153.htm

I have no idea how big the ones I already have are. Probably only two points, but I want the new ones to be obvious without sticking out from the sides too much. I thought about putting the new fancy blues on the shank of the ring but they might not get seen there.
Also, should I keep them bezel set? Could I prong set on the side of the gallery? I want to keep that open airy feel of the trellis. If it helps, I'll be wearing this e-ring both alone and with an eternity and spacer.

Thank you in advance for your help, I appreciate it!

 

[Christina...]

First of all, there are a lot of setting experts around, but I'm not one of them. I think I understand what you are attempting though. You want to place the blue diamonds in a similar way as this....?

https://www.pricescope.com/gallery/pricescope_gallery/vendors/white_flash/custom_platinum_three_stone_engagement_ring

If that is what your thinking, then I wouldn't go much bigger than .02-.03.

 

[JaneSmith]

Hi Christina,
Yes, I want to put the wee blues there, just on the centre stone.
I was thinking I could get away with the .05-.08 size because they would be on a 2ct centre. I also want them to be a solid feature of the ring, not just a miniscule accent. But, if it won't work, I'll look for less than .05. I just don't have design skills.
Thanks!

 

[Christina...]

Oh don't take my word for it! I think that it can work. I was actually thinking about it more after I posted and I think that you may be right. You will have a lot more work space available with a two ct center so .05's won't look quite as large. I would definitely bezel them though. I think prongs would have the tendency to catch on clothing etc, and you do NOT want to lose one. There are some really great posters that have fantastic ideas when it comes to settings, so you will receive much more helpful input throughout the day.

 

[JaneSmith]

Thank you Christina, you are always so helpful.
I agree with you about the bezel. I don't want those blues falling out! I will have to get a superfine bezel so I can see as much of my blues as possible.
I was just eyeballing my e-ring today and I think I will be able to get away with 8 pointers on the sides, especially in pear shape. That way I can still see the side of the main diamond.

I would still like to hear from a design person please, I am so very new at this and want to get this right.

 

[tyty333]

Not really a design person either but I was wondering which way you planned on facing the pears? Will the tip of the pear
point up towards the center and the rounded end will be down by the base (by the shank)? I think bezeled would be pretty.

Edit - I just saw this design...picture it in a 3 stones with bezeled pears leading up the shank where the split happens.
I think that would be beautiful but I dont know how big your side stones are so not sure how far down the shank the
blue diamonds would be.

http://www.ethanlord.com/p-778-split-shank-bezel-side-stones.aspx

 

[JaneSmith]

Thank you tyty333. That is pretty.

I was thinking about mounting them on the shank too but am worried that it would look like a five stone. It's going to have a 2ct oval centre and .45ct (each) oval sidestones.
If I did it that way I would have the blue pears pointing away from the clear diamonds. It would look like Enerchi's split shank trellis but with ovals for the main diamonds and bezeled blue pears on the split part.
If I mounted them on the gallery of the main diamond I would have them pointing up.

Is it a bad idea to mount expensive FCD's on the side gallery of an e-ring? I'll be wearing a spacer with my eternity, so it shouldn't scratch.

Are 8 pointers about the right size for this design?

Cheers.

 

[kenny]

Are 8 pointers about the right size for this design?

FCDs are a really different animal than white diamonds.
Obviously the price is very high so few of us can afford large ones, but 8 pointers next to a 2 ct are going to look very small.

I think a pair of matching blue accents would look beautiful, but finding a pair or blues that match in color, cut and size may not be easy.

Here's a pretty pair of Violet Gray rounds, 13 and 14 points.
http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/3475.htm



On their website click on the "DIAMOND PAIRS" on the left side near the bottom.
There are a few nice pink pairs too, and of course yellows.

I like this vendor.
I've bought 20 FCDs from them and have kept 12.
I find their photography to be quite true in color.

 

[kenny]

They also have four pair of blue/pink mixed pear pairs.

Ask them if they'll break up two of these pairs to sell you a pair of blues.
Opps, the bottom one is gray violet, not blue.

 

[JaneSmith]

Hi Kenny, thank you for your help. I would be very nervous about the FCD's if not for reading about your beautiful collection and your dealings with your supplier. Heh, 'supplier' sounds so nefarious.

I emailed Leibish & Co yesterday, and they got back to me today with two recommendations, one not bad and one a miss.
I have asked them to break up one of those blue and pink sets and take a picture of two 8 point grayish blue pears together. I'll let you know if they go for it.

Those two violet gray rounds are very sweet, but I have my heart set on blue. You know how it is!
I need to spend less than 5k, hopefully only 4k for this. That 2ct centre is going to eat a lot of my e-ring funds, but these blues are super important to me.

 

[kenny]

Yes, I know how it is to have your heart set on a certain color.

I'm so pleased to play a part in bringing FCDs into people's lives.
They are so cool!

I was also nervous about my first FCD purchase, so nervous that I personally brought it to GIA for a report-match check.
Now I feel silly for spending that $75, but I understand spending so much money on something so small takes a leap of faith and trust.

I can't wait to see what you decide on.