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Need help with oversized halo setting

swaye2010

swaye2010

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
1,194
Hello all - I have been reading some posts over the last month trying to figure out what to do with a redo on my wedding ring. I have been married for quite awhile and actually redid my wedding ring in 2008 when my husband bought me a surprise new 2 carat stone. At the time when I went to a local jewelers, I didn't know they were called 'halo' settings and I tried to describe to the jeweler what I wanted (whom was supposed to be the best in my town). The ring turned out horrible and was terribly top heavy so it never sat upright and the guy was less than helpful after that when I complained because it was a special order. Well after 8 years of living with it, it has so much damage on it that my husband said I could redo it again for Christmas. In the meantime, I inherited a beautiful diamond pendant from a great Aunt. It has what looks to be a 1/2 carat center stone and '8' 1/4 carat stones around it in a tight cluster. It is in a European style and cut. I was using this as my inspiration for the new ring. I am working with an online jeweler and I just don't want to make a mistake. I like the look of a pave eternity band (.85 carat tw) but the 10 stones that go around the 2 carat round brilliant he is talking about 15 pointers. I have had a hard time trying to find anything like this online so I wanted to get some people's input. I wear a size 7 and am 5'10 with long fingers so big rings don't necessarily look out of place on me. I don't want to make a mistake and end up with a cocktail ring instead of wedding ring though. Does anyone think that going down to 10 pointers would be a better decision. I have a CAD design but I still can't tell from this what the real life proportions are. Thanks!
 
You need to post your cad design if you want better feedback. I think even 10 pointers is going to be large but that's just my opinion.
I'll try to look around and see if I can find a halo with large stones in it for comparison.

Edit ...did find this. It says its a 1.15 center with .97 halo (12 stones) so they work out to be 8 pointers. So maybe the 10-15 pointers
on a 2 carat will be fine. I thought it may look out of proportion. It will surely be a big halo.

http://raymondleejewelers.net/products/products-page/diamondsdiamond-engagement-rings/platinum-1-15ct-old-european-cut-diamond-flower-engagement-ring/
 
I am not nearly as experienced as the other posters but I am going to include my two cents and hopefully something I say will help you. Please make sure you see this ring in a cad design or wax of the ring before you proceed. I also think the 10 pointers around your two carat diamond will be too large. I had a similar ring made with the 10 pointers sounding a blue sapphire and hate it. The ring ring looks huge (think red carpet jewelry) and in all honesty it would still look like a large cocktail ring if I replaced the sapphire with a diamond in the center. I would hate to see you spend a lot of money and end up with a setting you are unhappy with. Please also look thru threads in Show Me The Bling with haloed diamond rings and when you find a picture of the look you are going for I'm sure Gypsy or one of the other posters would be able to help you figure out the size of the stones used in the halo. I hope something I said helps you and you end up with the ring of your dreams.
 
I have added some CAD renderings. I definitely want it to look like a cluster ring and not a circle halo around the stone. I have asked them to make the stones as tight as possible but there is always the problem of trying to work around the circle. Do you do more stones that are smaller or less stones that are bigger? I am trying to find the right balance. I quite like a blingy ring but I am trying to avoid making a cocktail ring. Even with the renderings, I still have a hard time trying to tell if the proportions are right. I have tried ordering in person and online and I am finding it very difficult to get exactly what I want. Most of what I am asking for is only seen in old Victorian rings or with sapphire type rings. Not so common with a regular halo. I have tried the small halo with chunky band and it cuts in my finger so this time I was trying to do the opposite with a pave style milligram band and a chunkier halo.

Last picture was my inspiration from a pendant that is around 60 years old. I set it on top of a regular wedding band just for picture purposes and it is a little fuzzy. The difference being is that I am trying to make a cluster ring with no gaps (which I hate) and no pointy edges on the outside either.

Your feedback is much appreciated. This is such a big financial decision and a hard one to make on your own sometimes.

29857-rend-1.jpg

29857-rend-2.jpg

dsc04140.jpg
 
Your inspiration pic shows all the diamonds of a similar size - the center being only slightly larger. So if you want to replicate that look you'd be better off going fewer but larger stones.
 
I think it looks pretty good if you are going for a blingy look. Just FYI, this is not a cluster ring...I believe this would be considered
a flower ring (when you want the halo to look scalloped like petals). Do you know how many mm it is across the top?

Here is another one I found that says it has 9 pointers on a .87 old cut. Looks pretty to me.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/167060562/art-deco-inspired-flower-shaped?ref=shop_home_active

My opinion (feel free to ignore), I'm not sure I like the way the diamonds are in the shank vs the halo. I think I would
go more without the metal on the side (although it makes it easier to wear with other rings that way).
 
The CAD drawing was incorrect as I told him I wanted a full eternity. It doesn't exactly look like that but more like the one I had posted in the camera phone picture. The inspiration pendant is just inspiration and I am not trying to exactly duplicate. I don't mind a small scallop but I don't want it to look like petals on a flower. That is why I keep insisting with the jeweler that the diamonds need to keep that tight fit. The one on etsy looks proportioned correctly and I like it but I just worry about going up to a 2 carat and that picture shows a .87 that having 15 pointers is excessive. I stopped by a local jewelry store today and they had a 1.5 with a 5 point cluster. I think I could go bigger than that. I do seem to have 'man size' hands so it won't look crazy big but maybe 10 pointers are a reasonable place to be. I guess I will have to find out if one can still go around with 10 stones on a 2 carat or if they would have to increase them to 12. I saw some nice floral's on Tacori but when I look at them in the store, they were so tiny. Wish website would put actual photos and not just stock photos so people can actually make an educated decision. It is very deceiving!
 
I took some advice and tried to find some other posts. I can across the Tacori 'full bloom' series which I think best represents the look. The posting had the stat's in it listed below but can anyone tell me how I tell what size the stones are in the bloom. I have no clue to my naked idea. Thanks!

he setting is Tacori's Full Bloom line, has 0.69 ct. The centerpiece is 1.51 ct.

Centerpiece:
Carat: 1.51 ct
Color: I
Clarity: VS2
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None

Setting:
12 stones around the bloom
Carat: 0.69 ct
Color: G
Clarity: VS
Shape: Round

tacori_ring.jpg
 
I was going to suggest them, but I thought you'd find them too small.

If its 12 stones @ 0.69 ct = 5.75 pts
 
The jeweler said that the center stone is 8.32 and the side stones would be 10 stones at 3.3

All feedback welcomed! I am feeling the pressure now to make a decision but I can't let myself rush this process.

Thanks!
 
swaye2010|1447794161|3950932 said:
I took some advice and tried to find some other posts. I can across the Tacori 'full bloom' series which I think best represents the look. The posting had the stat's in it listed below but can anyone tell me how I tell what size the stones are in the bloom. I have no clue to my naked idea. Thanks!

he setting is Tacori's Full Bloom line, has 0.69 ct. The centerpiece is 1.51 ct.

Centerpiece:
Carat: 1.51 ct
Color: I
Clarity: VS2
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None

Setting:
12 stones around the bloom
Carat: 0.69 ct
Color: G
Clarity: VS
Shape: Round
Click to expand...

This ring features a 1.5 carat stone. Yours will be substantially larger with a center stone of 8.32. You just about have to have CADS to see the real time size of the ring you are considering.
 
If those measurements are correct this ring is going to be huge! 8.32 + 3.3 on each side

On size 7 finger

_35309.jpg
 
I agree with the last post. I painstakingly cut out the 2 carat and the individual .15 stones and put them around with glue and then cut that out. It fills out exactly the diameter of my ring finger. I was told by the jeweler to let him show me some examples tomorrow but I am getting the feeling that he is running with idea a bit more than I am. I sent 'ideas' and 'inspirations' but specifically said so many times that I didn't want a cocktail ring. I have huge hands and I am tall but I think people can always tell the difference between a cocktail ring and a wedding ring no matter what the size finger!
 
In all honesty, I think the scalloped edge in a ring with that size center stone will lend itself more toward a cocktail ring. Maybe you would want to consider a halo around the center stone with a finished edge instead?
 
So for me I would do slightly smaller halo stones. And I would set the center stone above the halo and angle the halo stones outward so it doesn't look so space shipish.
 
swaye2010|1447812812|3951059 said:
I agree with the last post. I painstakingly cut out the 2 carat and the individual .15 stones and put them around with glue and then cut that out. It fills out exactly the diameter of my ring finger. I was told by the jeweler to let him show me some examples tomorrow but I am getting the feeling that he is running with idea a bit more than I am. I sent 'ideas' and 'inspirations' but specifically said so many times that I didn't want a cocktail ring. I have huge hands and I am tall but I think people can always tell the difference between a cocktail ring and a wedding ring no matter what the size finger!
Click to expand...

With the size of side stones you are using, it is hard for it not to look like a cocktail ring, regardless of what the jeweler does. So sorry if that offends. Just MHO
 
No offense taken. I need some honest feedback. I have a cushion halo already with small stones around my 2 carat round brilliant and I hate the gaps. I told the jeweler I hate the gaps and now I am replacing the setting with a mossianite just so I don't have a completely wasted ring. This is what I was trying to get away from. I don't mind the scallops to make it look a bit like a flower. I just don't want the look of a center diamond like the sun hovering over the ring and a bunch of planets around it. It looks too much like what you can buy anywhere without bothering with a custom job. I saw a ring at a jeweler for a lady who's wedding did not go through and she had a 3 carat center ring with 8 stones around it. You couldn't tell where the center stone began and the side stones started. I think they call them hidden prongs. It was too huge for my tastes but she didn't want a wedding ring anymore and it was very pretty. I am really trying to go for a cluster and not a halo. I am waiting to talk to the jeweler again. He wants to do some sort of mock up before I make up my mind. Does anyone think going to 10 pointers will be a significant reduction in size? Maybe 12 stones instead of 10. I do still really like the 'look' I am going for but I must not be expressing it correctly. Can't seem to find any real life images on hands so I am stuck trying to convey my idea. They should apply 3-D printing to the ring business so you could try on a version of your ring and know exactly what it was going to look like before it is made. I think it would be a great tool for some of these online retailers!
 
I think even 5 pointers will be very blingy, and anything bigger is going to look like a cocktail ring. Can you post a pic of your current ring to show what you *don't* want?

I also don't love the channel set shank, especially with the flowery cluster head.
 
Cant you get your designer to CAD it up with 10 pointers and 15 pointers to see what you like better?
 
Thanks Sphene for the reply and the links to 1st dibs. The items for sale are actually very pretty but they are so definitively cocktail rings. My jeweler says he is still waiting on his package of diamonds to show me a mock up. In the meantime, I keep going through the boards to find what I want. I came across this ring on another thread and I think this is really what I had in mind. I want the tight diamonds around the stone so not exactly a halo so I hate to call it that. The band on this ring is so much more pretty as well. My fingers swell so easily so I want to make sure that I have a band that is comfortable and the u-prong band on my last ring that I changed is so uncomfortable that I have a red mark within an hour of wearing it.

Can anyone tell me what they think the melee size is around the stone.....4 or 5? Or is it much less? I like everything about the top of this ring, I just don't like how ornate it is underneath. I want something more modern but I still like the look of the top and I think it is different. I was having trouble finding it for sale anywhere. I think I need to have the CAD scaled down to this size. I like how it is not bezeled and change the band? Maybe that will fix it and get the look I am going for.

_35316.jpg

dsc04080.jpg
 
Great...thanks! I think 5 points is already considered an oversized halo without going to 15!
 
I'm a long time lurker but I just got my ring done by David Klass and it looks similar to the Veragio setting you posted. So I figured I'd post pics as a reference. Center is 1.25 G AGS000 with 2 mm melee surrounding halo. Ring size 4.image_182.jpgimage_181.jpg
 
ksmom|1376518461|3503182 said:
This is such a reassuring thread to read, I'm glad I'm not the only one who photographs her bling left and right! I have sometimes had more pics of my jewelry than of my own child on my phone... But like a true addict I know how to cover it up well: whenever I share my phone with someone I make sure to erase all bling pics first (that sometimes takes a while to do!)

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/files/image-211531494.jpg']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/files/image-211531494.jpg[/URL]

Here are a few
Click to expand...

Found this in Shameless Show offs thread
 
Gypsy|1447815839|3951090 said:
So for me I would do slightly smaller halo stones. And I would set the center stone above the halo and angle the halo .
Click to expand...

Ditto. My two cents, for what it is worth, I love an underhalo. Also smaller diamonds on halo (and Im flashy). Considered double row also for my round 2ct. Very different than the look you are wanting to achieve -just tossing it in the ring.

Also.....when I was looking at the halo style, I definately preferred a cushion halo around my center RB. I didn't even notice this subtle different until halfway through my halo journey. Again, different than the "bloom" look you seem to be preferring. Just tossing out ideas. Good to hear them all. :) Helped me a lot with my decisions to have input from PSers. GL and post pics :)
 
Gypsy|1447815839|3951090 said:
So for me I would do slightly smaller halo stones. And I would set the center stone above the halo and angle the halo .
Click to expand...

Ditto. My two cents, for what it is worth, I love an underhalo. Also smaller diamonds on halo (and Im flashy). Considered double row also for my round 2ct. Very different than the look you are wanting to achieve -just tossing it in the ring.

Also.....when I was looking at the halo style, I personally preferred a cushion halo around my center RB. I didn't even notice this subtle different until halfway through my halo journey. Lol. Again, different than the "bloom" look you seem to be preferring. Just tossing out ideas. Good to hear them all. :) Helped me a lot with my decisions to have input from PSers. GL and post pics :)

screenshot_2015-11-28-16-29-38-1.png

screenshot_2015-11-28-16-29-00-1.png

screenshot_2015-11-28-16-27-24-1.png

screenshot_2015-11-28-16-26-09-1.png
 
JWO's ring is STUNNING! :)
 
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