Hello,
I am having an engagement ring custom made for my girlfriend. I am taking design cues from a Peter Storm ring as well as a Birks ring.
Basically, the ring will be a split shank, and the shanks will extend upwards to form the claws holding the center diamond in place. Mounted between the shanks will be princess-cut sidestones, set tip to tip (that''s the Peter Storm design cue).
In the center of the ring, the claws will extend downwards in a crooked-V formation from the left and right side down to the absolute center of the ring band. In the crook of the V there will be a small side sapphire (that''s the Birks design cue).
I have drawn it out on paper numerous times. I have consulted with my jeweller on this.
The problem is, I am an engineer...
...which means that I have to-scale drawings accurate to the tenth of a mm. My jeweller, like those that I''ve read about on these forums, doesn''t work that way.
So I''m in a bit of a bind because I want it to look perfect and so I am examining every detail to make sure it works.
My girlfriend, she is petite and has a size 4.75 finger. She has told me she wants a ring that is not chunky but instead slender.
To get to my questions:
- The top of the ring will have to be 6mm because of the size of the center stone (.83ct, 6.05mm diameter). The side shanks will taper inwards based on the width of the sidestones (2 per side, of decreasing width) and should meet at about halfway down the side of the ring, where the band width will be 3.5mm. Given that my gf is petite and her ring is small, what band width should I taper to? Is 3.5mm enough to be slender? Will too much tapering make the ring look top-heavy?
- My jeweller thinks that the band should continue to taper until the very bottom of the ring, at 2mm or so. I have never seen a ring design like that, in fact most that I see online do not taper at all or only on the top half. How would that design look?
- I am using Pt900/Ir. My jeweller told me that this metal was as soft as 22k gold and that if it were up to him he would be working in 18k white gold. Does that make sense to you? I thought that hardness (or softness) had to do with scratchability, and that platinum was instead known for its high tensile strength. Will Pt900/Ir be soft? I understand that nothing can survive some situations (for instance, being slammed in an elevator door) but will I be able to bend the claws by hand?
Thanks a lot!
Mark
I am having an engagement ring custom made for my girlfriend. I am taking design cues from a Peter Storm ring as well as a Birks ring.
Basically, the ring will be a split shank, and the shanks will extend upwards to form the claws holding the center diamond in place. Mounted between the shanks will be princess-cut sidestones, set tip to tip (that''s the Peter Storm design cue).
In the center of the ring, the claws will extend downwards in a crooked-V formation from the left and right side down to the absolute center of the ring band. In the crook of the V there will be a small side sapphire (that''s the Birks design cue).
I have drawn it out on paper numerous times. I have consulted with my jeweller on this.
The problem is, I am an engineer...
So I''m in a bit of a bind because I want it to look perfect and so I am examining every detail to make sure it works.
My girlfriend, she is petite and has a size 4.75 finger. She has told me she wants a ring that is not chunky but instead slender.
To get to my questions:
- The top of the ring will have to be 6mm because of the size of the center stone (.83ct, 6.05mm diameter). The side shanks will taper inwards based on the width of the sidestones (2 per side, of decreasing width) and should meet at about halfway down the side of the ring, where the band width will be 3.5mm. Given that my gf is petite and her ring is small, what band width should I taper to? Is 3.5mm enough to be slender? Will too much tapering make the ring look top-heavy?
- My jeweller thinks that the band should continue to taper until the very bottom of the ring, at 2mm or so. I have never seen a ring design like that, in fact most that I see online do not taper at all or only on the top half. How would that design look?
- I am using Pt900/Ir. My jeweller told me that this metal was as soft as 22k gold and that if it were up to him he would be working in 18k white gold. Does that make sense to you? I thought that hardness (or softness) had to do with scratchability, and that platinum was instead known for its high tensile strength. Will Pt900/Ir be soft? I understand that nothing can survive some situations (for instance, being slammed in an elevator door) but will I be able to bend the claws by hand?
Thanks a lot!
Mark