New here, need help & advice regarding setting :)

[SophiesDream]

Hi all I have been lurking the forums for a long time, but with the final decisions being made on my 2nd engagement ring i thought id better sign up and ask for all your much appreciated opinions and advice!

A bit of background I got my first engagement ring 4 years ago on my 21st bday. It was a .75ct yellow diamond vs2 marquise cut with two .35ct side stones s13 clarity i think k in colour? I cant quite remember it was very pretty set in 18k gold & platinum but over time i just grew sick of it cos it was not as classic as id want in a life time ring and also the cut of the diamonds and shape of the ring made it snag on everything... i know that sounds sooo bad but to be fair i did chose it haha. Any way we got rid of it and the time has come for a new ring.

So at this point i have been doing my research on diamonds and i have finally settled on a hearts & arrows round cut VS1 clarity F colour between .5 & .6 ct I know its small but with the cut color & clarity i chose i cant really go any bigger than that. I beleive it will be about the size of a thin round pencil if that makes sence? And i think its big enough for me (between 5.2 & 5.5 mm width) i have only a size 5.5 finger and i dont want to be overwhelmed by a huge stone id rather it nice and petite and super sparkly! If anyone has any opinions on this diamond feel free to voice them

Now comes the part im super in need of advice opinions a point in the right direction!
The setting!
Originally I was looking at James Allen thin french pave setting in 14k white gold (eventually will upgrade to platinum) note is has the 4 prongs. I love that it is so thin and delicate and with a small stone it will make it look slightly larger if its not overwhelmed by a thick band.
Then I started looking at just plain solitaire 6 prong settings which are also classic and stunning. But again with the smaller stone will it be over whelmed by all the prongs and band ?

Oh & one last thing ...
In either of the bands seen as how both are pretty common, to make it more special and more me settings i would love a hidden pink diamond! On the inside underneath the ring.
Does anyone know if a jeweler can add that in or is it mandatory to have something like that made? :/ its something i have my heart set on but i dont know if it will be in the budget to pay to have it made. Also where would i find such a small pink diamond online? It needs to be like .02ct to fit in such a delicate setting.

Sorry for the long post! Any & all opinions are really appreciated thank you x

 

[Niel]

hey! What exact settings are you talking about? Lots of places sell settings with a surprise diamond, so it should be too hard to ask them to swap it out for a pink one instead of a white. Now, as for the stone, I understand you want the best cut, but i will say if you get an AGS 000 ora GIA triple EX that has a good HCA score, you dont have to pay the premium for a H&A, also you could save money by going to an I, SI1. I do not think at the size you are paying for you would really notice a difference, but you will notice a size difference. You fingers are a nice side, but diamonds shrink so fast once they are on your finger!


assuming your budget for the stone was 2500, you could get a .7+ stone for that
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.70-carat-i-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-184721


if you were talking about a setting like this, just ask JA to put pink melee in instead. I bet they could do that pretty easily. And no i dont think the prongs would overwhelm
http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/engagement-rings/solitaire/18k-white-gold-double-claw-prong-surprise-diamond-engagement-ring-item-1428

 

[Christina...]

I agree with nielsee. You are paying a large premium by selecting a D or E color and you could easily find a clean stone without paying the premium for a VS1....of course this is that you would prefer a larger Ct weight if it were in budget. I think that if you were ok with EGL or IGI K color side stones in your previous ring then you would be ok with a GIA H or I color center. Another thing to consider is that your Marquis likely appeared much larger than a .5 or. 6. Rb is going to, with the additional side stones you likely had nice finger coverage...you will be giving that up with a solitaire as well.

As for the settings...I bought and returned both the thin French pave and the 1.5 knife edge solitaire. The pave band appeared to show a lot of metal and often looked more like an engraved band to me at an arms legnth. The prongs on all of JAs rings are bulky in my opinion. The only issue I had with the solitaire were the prongs. I ended up with the larger version of the French pave setting and aside from the prongs have been happy with it. Its still very dainty at 2mm. I was nervous that it would appear much thicker than the thin version but it really didn't and I was much happier.....prongs aside.

 

[Niel]

I agree with nielsee. You are paying a large premium by selecting a D or E color and you could easily find a clean stone without paying the premium for a VS1....of course this is that you would prefer a larger Ct weight if it were in budget. I think that if you were ok with EGL or IGI K color side stones in your previous ring then you would be ok with a GIA H or I color center. Another thing to consider is that your Marquis likely appeared much larger than a .5 or. 6. Rb is going to, with the additional side stones you likely had nice finger coverage...you will be giving that up with a solitaire as well.

As for the settings...I bought and returned both the thin French pave and the 1.5 knife edge solitaire. The pave band appeared to show a lot of metal and often looked more like an engraved band to me at an arms legnth. The prongs on all of JAs rings are bulky in my opinion. The only issue I had with the solitaire were the prongs. I ended up with the larger version of the French pave setting and aside from the prongs have been happy with it. Its still very dainty at 2mm. I was nervous that it would appear much thicker than the thin version but it really didn't and I was much happier.....prongs aside.

very good point! i forgot the part about her side stones being K's.... if those didnt bother you when you had your previous ring, i think that a k would be wonderful! A lot of bang for your buck, and put in a simple solitaire you wont have any pave diamonds to compare it to

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I definitely would at least drop to H VS2 to get a little more size.

 

[SophiesDream]

Thank you all so much for your opinions! I did go to a jewler today and checked out the stone sizes of .25 .5 .75 &1 carat.
1 is definately too big for me so im thinking now between .6 & .75 so now im back to square one on chosing the stone as i really dont want one i could just buy at a michael hill or whatever. I do want that extra something special. Im being super fussy by wanting the f vs1 ideal/hearts & arrows arent i?
The k stones in my last ring were sooo cloudy and they had no sparkle at all the onky reason they seemed white was because the centre stone was an intense yellow.
As for the setting can anyone else reccomend a nice pave or tiffany style 6 prong solitaire ? The surprise diamond i want to set on the inside of my band and my partners. Like you wont be able to see it unless the rings are off. I know this seems like a waist but i like the idea of a tiny pink diamond only we will know about

Does anyone think betweent .5ct & .6ct there is a difference or really not ? Thanks again all especially for the links and advice on settings stone colour etc. This will be the 2nd diamond purchase we have ever made and i really dont want to mess it uo again haha

 

[Niel]

I would not say you are being fussy, butaybe a bit too limiting.

Honestly at that range a well cut good clarity stone will be white even at an I color. And I think you are probably weary of clarity sense your last stone was cloudy.. but you can find perfectly eye clean stones at an si1 level. And I really think you'd be quite happy with a stone at .75 I si1.


And I understand now what you mean about the inside stone. I still think all you have to do is ask and they will do it. I'd maybe think about putting it on the bottom outside of your band though, I've heard inside ones like that can get gunky and dirty from lotion and other things you get on your hands in everyday life.

And yes I do think when its stones under a ct all the CTW matters. So a. 5 to a .6 or .7 will be a marked difference.

 

[Mico]

Re: New here, need help & advice regarding setting

Hi ,
If you want a knife edge six prong, the Vatche u113 is wonderful. It's my ering. I also have the surprise stone on the inside which they placed for free. You can look back in my topics and see my thread for pictures.

Good luck!

 

[Mico]

Re: New here, need help & advice regarding setting

Hi ,
If you want a knife edge six prong, the Vatche u113 is wonderful. It's my ering. I also have the surprise stone on the inside which they placed for free. You can look back in my topics and see my thread for pictures.

Good luck!

 

[SophiesDream]

Thank you again for your replies ! Well it looks as if i have settled on a setting which has a matching band & you can get a gents one too! The best thing is that they all have the surprise pink diamond in them. They are by demarco! And im truly all heart fluttered over this particular setting its exactly what i wanted.

I have to start again now with my diamond search as i do need to come down in specs as the setting is $1000 more expensive than the JA one i was originally looking at.
I do still need to look at the best cut as i want maximum sparkle. Hoping to do .65-.7 ct but will come down if i need too. And i really dont want anything below I at the absolute most & Si1 eye clean.

 

[Niel]

whats your budget for the stone??

 

[SophiesDream]

Hi Niel between $1500 & $2500 i would think. I have found a .6ct VS1 I color on GOG which seems ok. Im wondering if i can put a cushion cut in this particular setting. It does say made for round stones but ita 4 prong so maybe it can accomidate a cushion, if so thats another option

 

[Niel]

what setting are you using exactly and is there an store around you that sells this setting? Also a cushion is going to seem smaller than the same CTW round. But yes if its a simple solitaire I'm sure they could have it made for a cushion.

Eta never mind. The one in your avatar I assume

 

[SophiesDream]

Hi yes the one in my display picture lol !! Im thinking i will purchase the setting and let my partner buy the diamond for it. I did realise that cushions face up smaller than rounds. Im really feeling a cushion cut with this ring. For some reason i like to take things and make them different with everything. And i have not seen this ring with a cushion which was my other diamond cut choice so im waiting to hear back from david at GOG to see if he thinks it can be done. But im not sure he will work with this particular setting as it is not one of his.
Im so excited to buy this setting ill probably make the purchase sometime between start of may and start of july. Which gives me plenty of time to find a diamond and do more research on them. I also want to get my partner a demarco ring now so im trying to find a place to view the gents collection online . Though i do know on the outside he just wants a plain band. Ahh i feel like the perfect ring hunt will never ever be over lol