Opinion on a few different Halo settings please help

[garek007]

Hello,

I think I've finally narrowed down my diamond, a .527 Princess cut from White Flash.

Now I just need a setting. My girlfriend likes halo settings but I'm struggling with which one to buy. The one's White Flash sells are a bit pricier than I'd like... I'm looking around and I can find some Halo settings much cheaper if I get it set elsewhere. I need help though picking the best looking one! I've posted them below. I'd love to hear feedback on which settings people like the most, differences in quality, etc, and any other advice you can give. Thank you!

This is the setting my girlfriend has seen and said that she likes, but I don't think I can buy this one because I'm not sure Kay will set a 3rd party stone.

http://www.kay.com/en/kaystore/engagement---wedding/neil-lane-engagement-ring-7-8-ct-tw-diamonds-14k-rose-gold

So I also found these:

https://www.ritani.com/engagement-rings/french-set-halo-diamond-band-engagement-ring-in-14kt-white-gold/6124

http://www.uniondiamond.com/Halo-Engagement-Mounting-for-a-Princess-Cut-Center-Diamond_Princess_JHL10271W

http://www.uniondiamond.com/Princess-Cut-Diamond-Halo-Engagement-Ring_Princess_JHL12152W

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-and-shank-diamond-engagement-ring-princess-center-item-17433

http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/princess-cut-floating-halo-engagement-ring-14k-white-gold_33943?elem=img&track=product

Some of the cheaper ones look like they may have a thinner band (which could be why they are cheaper?) but I can't tell for sure.

Thanks in advance!

 

[telephone89]

None of the ones you posted have the soft square/cushion look the neil lane does. They're all much more square.

 

[tyty333]

Yes, I would stick to the softer corners. BlueNile will not set diamonds from other places. Not sure if the other places will or not.
You need to check that before you pick a setting from them.

 

[garek007]

Thanks see those where the little things I didn't notice, the subtle differences. So that brings me to two things

1. Does anyone know where I can find that Neil Lane setting so I can send my diamond there?
2. I appreciate you noticing that detail, but I'm not sure my girlfriend would remember that, she might still be fine with one of the other ones, so I'd still like opinions on the best one out of the lot

So Ty, are you saying you don't like square corners?

 

[FVierra27]

Have you talked to WF about what you want? Maybe they have something that's not on the site?

Not sure. Just a thought.

 

[garek007]

I did, but they don't have many options...

 

[tyty333]

Thanks see those where the little things I didn't notice, the subtle differences. So that brings me to two things

1. Does anyone know where I can find that Neil Lane setting so I can send my diamond there?
2. I appreciate you noticing that detail, but I'm not sure my girlfriend would remember that, she might still be fine with one of the other ones, so I'd still like opinions on the best one out of the lot

So Ty, are you saying you don't like square corners?

I think softer corners are more pleasing to the eye (my opinion only). Others could feel different.

I also like the one with the cut corners.

 

[garek007]

Thanks TyTy.. but looking at them again, they all appear to me to have at least slightly rounded corners... except for one which clearly has cut corners. So I'm a little confused.

 

[DeBeersorDeSoda]

Hello,

I think I've finally narrowed down my diamond, a .527 Princess cut from White Flash.

Now I just need a setting. My girlfriend likes halo settings but I'm struggling with which one to buy. The one's White Flash sells are a bit pricier than I'd like... I'm looking around and I can find some Halo settings much cheaper if I get it set elsewhere. I need help though picking the best looking one! I've posted them below. I'd love to hear feedback on which settings people like the most, differences in quality, etc, and any other advice you can give. Thank you!

This is the setting my girlfriend has seen and said that she likes, but I don't think I can buy this one because I'm not sure Kay will set a 3rd party stone.

http://www.kay.com/en/kaystore/engagement---wedding/neil-lane-engagement-ring-7-8-ct-tw-diamonds-14k-rose-gold

Looking through your selections, I think http://www.uniondiamond.com/Princess-Cut-Diamond-Halo-Engagement-Ring_Princess_JHL12152W looks very pretty in rose gold and looks similar to the kay jewellers one . Might be worth talking to your SO about your selections again. When I was ring shopping with my GF I went though a couple of itinerations and plans before finding out that just because she "liked" something didn't mean it was exclusively what she wanted.

I had thought my GF only liked three stones because she talked about them all the time when we initially went ring shopping and when I talked to her about it a little bit more in depth (After three weeks of pretty much only three stone shopping) Came to find out she liked fancy Solitaires alot too and we ended up getting a solitaire from JA, go figure

Either way, just my two cents! Also, I didn't like the floating halo one. The gaps do not please me

Oh! And edit, before I forget. Sometimes the reason why one band is cheaper than the other is the karat of the metal they use.

I was looking at a great deal of Whiteflash Solitaire Rose Gold rings (My GF adores Rose gold ) And they were comparably MUCH more expensive than JA rings or Other manufacturer rings of similar metal. Came to find out they would use minimum 18k Rose gold (Some rings even had 20k IIRC) Whereas james allan uses 14k typically, it'll say in the ring what it uses) So, the lower the Karat the less Gold that's in it and therefore the cheaper it is. Honestly, unless it really bothered you. In my opinion 14k is just as good as 18k visually wise. Durability wise...? I have no idea. *Poofs*

 

[garek007]

THanks DeBeers or Soda, I did encounter the 14k vs 18k problem before, but everything I posted above is 14k, which is what I'll go with (it is more durable actually and cheaper). The one you mentioned from Union Diamond is nice on the top, but I wasn't a fan of the way the side stones were set vs the way they are set on other rings. Also, she actually wants white gold, not rose gold, which I should have mentioned, she just tried that particular ring on at Kay jewelers and liked the style. I actually found that exact style in white gold at Kay and I'll see if they can set my diamond, but I'm thinking they won't.

I'm not sure which one you referred to as the "floating" halo, which one did you mean?

 

[DeBeersorDeSoda]

This is the one I meant http://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/princess-cut-floating-halo-engagement-ring-14k-white-gold_33943?elem=img&track=product

 

[garek007]

Oh I see, I hadn't noticed that before! Thanks. Well Kay said the would set a 3rd party stone, but their ring would be the priciest one on this list! If people still think that the Neil Lane (the rose gold one) is the best looking setting then perhaps that's the route I will take...

 

[garek007]

Anyone else have any opinions? What about my idea of having Kay jewelers set it? Worth it? Or will there be quality issues?

 

[telephone89]

I have no experience with kay, but out of the ones you posted, my top 2 would be

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/halo/14k-white-gold-pave-halo-and-shank-diamond-engagement-ring-princess-center-item-17433
http://www.uniondiamond.com/Halo-Engagement-Mounting-for-a-Princess-Cut-Center-Diamond_Princess_JHL10271W


The JA shows 'actual' pics, and if you scroll over theres a few 0.5 cts that look nice. I assume this one is cheaper because if you look at the corners, there are no diamonds on the corners. So the JA is less total carat weight.
I also like how the JA has rounded prongs, rather than the union one, they are kind of flat on top.
Both of these have a nice shape, closer to the Neil lane w/o being too square or blocky.

 

[garek007]

Thanks telephone, yeah the actual pics are definitely nice, it helps to see how it looks with different size stones. Damn, this is tough. Now I'm thinking I may actually get a .36 carat stone instead since it's less expensive, and then go with the Kay one that she likes... or someone mentioned sending new pics to her again to see how she felt about them.

 

[solgen]

How much does Kay want for that setting? I noticed it states the center is a .33ct so I wonder how well a .5 ct would fit.

 

[garek007]

they said it would be 1890, so all of these other settings are less expensive...

 

[PintoBean]

I would recommend reaching out to ID Jewelry. My friend recently had a very similar princess cut in a halo made by them. I had originally steered him towards Gabriel & Co. settings, but ID Jewelry's in house setting price was more competitive.

He had also looked at Kay's and other "maul" stores, and was blown away by the difference in price, quality, etc. He said that there was an obvious difference between the excellent cut he ended up with from IDJ versus the cut quality of the Kay's diamonds and rings he was shown.

 

[DeBeersorDeSoda]

.. or someone mentioned sending new pics to her again to see how she felt about them.

I did! . Just from my own personal experience, when I tried to buy the ring by myself, I just wound up with something I was ultimately unhappy with and the worry over whether or not she'd actually like it was frustrating. Involving my GF through the whole ring buying process and getting educated alongside her was a huge blessing. I don't know if you super wanna' surprise her but it might be worth it! My SO is across the US too (She lives in NC and I live in CA) so when we did ring shopping together we had a guy from JA in a chat box and her and I were both on skype with my screen shared so she could see what I was doing and give input. A bit unorthodox yeah but it worked!

 

[garek007]

Yeah Beers, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise. She thinks I'm never going to propose so she'll definitely be surprised.

Who is IDJ? I've never heard of them? While I'm not opposed to that idea, I really don't want to get yet another party involved, it's only going to make me get further from my goal. maybe I'll just bring in the GF