no name engagement settings and wedding bands

[viscera912]

hello all!!

It''s lunch time and instead of eating I am posting a question that came to me while I was in class. From searching around for engagement settings and wedding bands there are a few like d vatche that are simply exquisite, hwoever, for my limited budget there is no way I can afford them. I looked around on WF and did not find any white gold no name brand there. I am heavily leaning towards white gold over platinum but that isn''t the final decision yet. I know blue nile has a "lovely and interesting" reputation here but I noticed an 18kt white gold solitaire cathedral 2.9mm setting for $295. I don''t know enough yet about engagement settings as I have devoted my time to researching diamonds. So, are no name engagement settings bad/good? I have searched some threads but nothing has really popped up about the no name brands. Hypothetically, if I had to choose today an engagement setting, I would have to go with the one from blue nile. It looks nice, it is a thicker band (which my girlfriend has mentioned she wants), and its very affordable. I guess I am just not sold yet about the quality of the ring. For sure I am looking for a solitaire setting and a band thicker than 2.5mm. Thanks for your replies!!

 

[Griffin]

Quality and "name" are two different subjects entirely.

For the price you have to pay for "name", you can usually assume the mountings aren't of poor quality, but this is not a guarantee of exceptional quality either. Usually they fall in between.

"No name" mountings will run the gamut from thin mass market junk to unbelievable quality well in excess of any mass production mountings - including the "name" brands. You just have to investigate.

It is sort of like restaurants. You can't say nationally recognized food chains are categorically any better than local "no name" restaurants - most often the opposite is true.
About the only thing you can say about a recognized "name" is that although the quality is consistent and of a known level, it is almost never the best available. This is just as true for restaurants as for mountings.
The advantage of "name" certainly isn't high quality, it is that you are dealing with a known level of quality - or simply put, convenience.
If you want to spend the time investigating local goldsmiths, online sources, etc. you will probably find "no name" to be your best bet.