Opinions needed on David Klass CAD: Finishing touches on sapphire solitaire

[kikume]

Hello there,

I hope I am posting in the right subforum and following the rules here. Pardon me for any mistakes in advance.

I am in the process of designing an e-ring upgrade with Amy at David Klass Jewellery for a lab sapphire cut by Jeff White (cushion, 9.13mmx9.13mm):

The reason for the upgrade is that I have a cushion cut natural sapphire e-ring, but the sapphire itself has average to poor light return, and we did not get enough guidance during the design phase so I ended up with beautiful stones surrounded by too much metal.

Back to the present! Amy recommended I go for designs that are solitaires with some small side round diamonds, so that we could showcase the sapphire and not overwhelm my relatively short/small finger (size 5-5.25 depending on the day, 6cm long). She showed me some styles to try on in store, and we determined I tend to go for vintage-inspired designs.

After pointing out some side round diamond designs I liked, and wanting to incorporate a fleur-de-lis into my design, we came to this design with some iterations:

I'm close to finalising my design but just have some questions, and would also like opinions too if you could share any!

1. The green/orange stones are supposed to be birthstones for my husband and I (thinking spinel/topaz). Is that placement weird? Our understanding is that the gemstones will be hidden by my fingers when worn.

2. If the placement's not weird, should the gemstones be sitting flush on the shank or in a raised bezel?

3. Is there too much going on, on the ring, or is it a good balance so far?

4. If I wanted to incorporate fine milgrain on the ring, where do you think it should go? So far I'm thinking it should go on the raised bezel around the side diamonds, but haven't decided where else!

5. (Very broad question, I know, but...) Is there anything I should add or remove from this ring?

Thank you in advance, PriceScope has been SO helpful in the whole process of creating my dream ring!

 

[voce]

I like the overall design. If you want millgrain, yes, it should be around side diamonds. Get bright cut pave setting instead of scoop pave for the side diamonds.

The one thing I did not like is the placement of your birthstones. 1) they are too far apart on opposite sides of the ring, and symbolically I don't like the implication of that. 2) do you like that they'll be hidden, even from your view?

A better placement of those symbolic birthstones in my opinion would be in the gallery, so the stones face you when the ring is on your finger. I would choose to put it on either side of the fleur de lis on only one side of the ring so others don't see/notice it.

 

[kikume]

I like the overall design. If you want millgrain, yes, it should be around side diamonds. Get bright cut pave setting instead of scoop pave for the side diamonds.

The one thing I did not like is the placement of your birthstones. 1) they are too far apart on opposite sides of the ring, and symbolically I don't like the implication of that. 2) do you like that they'll be hidden, even from your view?

A better placement of those symbolic birthstones in my opinion would be in the gallery, so the stones face you when the ring is on your finger. I would choose to put it on either side of the fleur de lis on only one side of the ring so others don't see/notice it.

Thank you for the detailed response. I don't want the birthstones to be immediately obvious as I don't want to detract from the sapphire.

Amy initially put the birthstones on the fleur-de-lis, one on each side of the ring, but since I wear a wedding band with my e-ring we moved them away from the gallery. I also considered putting them together elsewhere on the shank, e.g. on the side closest to my palm, but am afraid they may sustain damage through day-to-day activities.

Perhaps the only placement for them is on the inside of the shank then! I'm trying to find some inspiration pics that aren't of birthstones on the gallery.

 

[voce]

Thank you for the detailed response. I don't want the birthstones to be immediately obvious as I don't want to detract from the sapphire.

Amy initially put the birthstones on the fleur-de-lis, one on each side of the ring, but since I wear a wedding band with my e-ring we moved them away from the gallery. I also considered putting them together elsewhere on the shank, e.g. on the side closest to my palm, but am afraid they may sustain damage through day-to-day activities.

Perhaps the only placement for them is on the inside of the shank then! I'm trying to find some inspiration pics that aren't of birthstones on the gallery.

If I were spending the money on upgrading a custom engagement ring, and intend to wear it with a band, the first thing that comes to mind is getting a contour or chevron band to replace the old band. To me, the engagement ring is more sentimental, and the wedding band should be designed to go around my engagement ring.

 

[elle_71125]

I don’t prefer the birthstones being on the outside of the shank. They are sweet and sentimental but I feel like they’d detract from the beauty of the ring. Your ring will most likely tilt, at which point they will definitely be visible.

I’d probably put them on the inside of the band.


And heck yes to the milgrain! I’d put it around the side diamonds and on the profile.

 

[Stone Hunter]

How exciting! I agree with the other posters about changing the placement of the birthstones.

Could you show us a photo of the band you will wear with this ring? Will it sit flush with this new ring? Does that matter to you? Have you thought about sending the band in for a polish and perhaps to add some milgrain to pull the two bands together as a set?

 

[kikume]

I don’t prefer the birthstones being on the outside of the shank. They are sweet and sentimental but I feel like they’d detract from the beauty of the ring. Your ring will most likely tilt, at which point they will definitely be visible.

I’d probably put them on the inside of the band.

And heck yes to the milgrain! I’d put it around the side diamonds and on the profile.

Thank you! Your advice was very helpful and I will be sure to follow it.

How exciting! I agree with the other posters about changing the placement of the birthstones.

Could you show us a photo of the band you will wear with this ring? Will it sit flush with this new ring? Does that matter to you? Have you thought about sending the band in for a polish and perhaps to add some milgrain to pull the two bands together as a set?

For reasons I won't go into, I stupidly ended purchasing this ring as my wedding band last year: https://www.tiffany.com/jewelry/rings/tiffany-co-band-ring-GRP02847/

It will not sit flush with this ring, and I don't want to make any changes to the band. A future project will be to design a new wedding band that matches this redesigned ring. But for now, I will probably only wear either this new ring or the band on its own since they don't match.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Thank you! Your advice was very helpful and I will be sure to follow it.



For reasons I won't go into, I stupidly ended purchasing this ring as my wedding band last year: https://www.tiffany.com/jewelry/rings/tiffany-co-band-ring-GRP02847/

It will not sit flush with this ring, and I don't want to make any changes to the band. A future project will be to design a new wedding band that matches this redesigned ring. But for now, I will probably only wear either this new ring or the band on its own since they don't match.

They don't have to match unless YOU want them to match. They don't have to sit flush with each other unless YOU want them to!!

 

[kikume]

They don't have to match unless YOU want them to match. They don't have to sit flush with each other unless YOU want them to!!

Appreciate it I eventually want them to, and it's an excuse to get more jewellery haha.

 

[kikume]

Hope it’s okay to reply here rather than make a new post.

I ended up starting to design a wedding band as well to complement the engagement ring since it cost less than we anticipated. I was wondering if anyone had ideas on how to adjust the band to make it tie in better with the e-ring.

The e-ring and band won’t be flush against each other but I didn’t want a curved band (personally I feel it looks weird when worn alone). I’m a little worried about the band rubbing on the fleur on the e-ring but my current e-ring/band rub against each other too and I don’t see much damage to either ring.

I’ve already asked for the parts of the band that don’t have diamonds to have concave edges to match the curves on the ring shoulders, like my crappy sketch below.

 

[CSpan]

Aren't bands the biggest PITA? You'd think something so slim and consistent would be so much easier. Or maybe that's me I love the look of the band and the subtle flash that the stones will provide.

A question, are the metal bits (that you show as concave) supposed to mirror the shape of the milgrained shoulders?

I like the idea of curving the long side slightly, another possibility is to thin if out so it is no thicker than the thickest part of the other ring's band. I have been on a band bender and the best matches have consistently been the same width and height as the main ring

 

[natasha-cupcake]

Love the band with your modification! I'm a huge fan of fleur-de-lis as a motif and it looks lovely in your ring design. I'm no expert in CAD critique, so I have no constructive advice. I just wanted to say that I'm really excited about seeing how this set turns out for you.

 

[Stone Hunter]

The concern with bands that rub against the ering is with diamonds cutting into the metal of the ering prongs. It looks like the diamonds in your band are surrounded by metal. This protects the diamonds and the prongs of the ering.

Love the design and the change to concave!!

 

[kikume]

A question, are the metal bits (that you show as concave) supposed to mirror the shape of the milgrained shoulders?

I like the idea of curving the long side slightly, another possibility is to thin if out so it is no thicker than the thickest part of the other ring's band. I have been on a band bender and the best matches have consistently been the same width and height as the main ring

Yes, they’re supposed to be the same shape. Initially I tried exploring the exact identical shape, but wasn’t fond of the asymmetrical look so went for a more symmetrical flattened hexagon. Hope that makes sense.

I didn’t ask to thin the band but now that it’s been made concave it appears to be thinner! And ties in better with the shoulders of the ring

Love the band with your modification! I'm a huge fan of fleur-de-lis as a motif and it looks lovely in your ring design. I'm no expert in CAD critique, so I have no constructive advice. I just wanted to say that I'm really excited about seeing how this set turns out for you.

Thank you! I love the motif too and while pondering ring designs I figured I’d ask to incorporate it. Will post pics when done.

The concern with bands that rub against the ering is with diamonds cutting into the metal of the ering prongs.

That makes way more sense now! Thank you for the explanation.