Packrat's five stone AVC ring project

[packrat]

I've been posting about this on FB for a while and thought those that aren't there might find it interesting and maybe some things might be helpful to posters down the road thinking about doing a five stone.

I originally had a lavender spinel in a bezel setting made almost two years ago for an engagement ring, but..it just never was really what I wanted. It's going to a new home where it will get the love it deserves. But I didn't know what to do for a new ering. I was all over the place trying to decide what to do, because I didn't want to spend much money. Talking to Whitby on FB made me sit back and take stock. She helped me to realize it's better to wait and save the money up for what you *really* want than fritter around changing and changing again. When I sat down and really thought about it, what I wanted was an AVC from Good Old Gold.

I'd never thought much about diamonds, until I became friends with Jonathan on FB and started browsing the GOG inventory. I became so incredibly enamored of the AVC's I couldn't get them out of my head. It was Whitby's idea to do a five stone band, a graduated one. I was resistant to the idea at first, much as I was also intrigued by it. I didn't want to spend the money. I can think of a million other things to do with the money, pay bills, buy things for the kids, buy things for the husband..none of them had anything to do with *me*. It took me a while to see that it *is* ok to spend money on myself and that I do deserve it..and even though I spent a lot of time having hot flashes and feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of buying something like that for myself...the more I looked at the GOG inventory, the more I thought I do completely and totally deserve something nice, something forever.

I've talked to Jonathan a few times via email and to Marie there as well about the project. It's still in the beginning/planning stages, as the sizes/color I am looking for aren't available. I'd originally planned on doing L color, but it sounds like it will be quite a while before smaller sizes are available in the lower colors, so right now I've gone to J. I'm looking to do around 1.5tcw, something like .2x/.3x/.4x/.3x/.2x is what I've got in mind.

I'm going to do a U prong kind of a combination of the BGD Nightengale and a LM U prong I found in an old thread. It will have a little change to it to make it *mine*. I've loved Yssie's unplated white gold since I saw her three stone the first time so I'm copying her and doing that too! Got a really great quote from Kelpie's vendor, Hunt Country Jewels.

So, that's where I'm at right now..just saving what I can until the right stones become available. I'll post a couple pictures too..one of the proportions guesstimate..they could be smaller than that, I just did them on the bigger side..the graduation is more what I'm after, not so much the *exact* carat weight of the stones. (between 1.4 and 1.6, somewhere in there I suppose) And a picture of a LM ring that is pretty much what I'm going for, without the pink halo and no pave in the shank.

I know absolutely *nothing* about diamonds, so if anyone has any advice or thoughts on anything, please feel free to chime in, I'm all ears!

 

[HeatherL]

It will be beautiful!! I can't wait to see it...Congratulations!!!

 

[Dandi]

How exciting, what a fantastic project!! Oooh it will be so worth the wait!

 

[yssie]

Ohhhh that is going to be AMAZING!!! Those proportions are *perfect* - and I have to say I think you will adore the look of lower colour AVCs in unplated wg - all the creamy colours together make for such a beautiful, romantic piece, and with those chunky stones.... this is definitely gonna be one for the books


VBnet's ring comes to mind - it's gorgeous, and so simple! I think the graduation from her centre to first pair of sides is a bit more than what you're considering though...?

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-leon-mege-5-stone-cushion.147609/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-leon-mege-5-stone-cushion.147609/[/URL]

 

[slg47]

packrat it sounds like it will be an amazing ring and you should enjoy it

 

[lknvrb4]

It is going to be gorgeous.

 

[moosemom]

That will be a stunning ring! I hope don't have to wait too long - did Jonathan say when he thinks he will be getting the smaller cut lower colored AVC's in? I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[zoebartlett]

I'm glad you posted this here! I don't visit FB often and had no idea about this project. I think it's going to be gorgeous and I can't wait to see the ring once it's completed.

 

[packrat]

Thanks everyone! I'm a bit over the moon about it. Thought for sure my poor husband would go crazy over the cost but..not a peep, not a pause, he didn't even blink an eye. He may have been in shock tho..I've never wanted anything like this before so he was probably so stunned he didn't know how to react. I even informed him when he came back from his vacation Friday night that I also will be having a smaller AVC band (maybe of .12's) made later on down the road to wear w/the five stone.

Moosemom, I'm not sure..Jonathan said it could be months. Maybe by the time I'm ready to do a small band they'll have them in the lower L range. L is originally what I'd planned on doing for the five stone but when Jonathan said it could be months before they came in well..I don't know if I want to wait that long, you know? (and who knows, by the time I get the money saved up in a couple few months maybe they'll be starting?..course then I'd have to make up my mind for sure what color I'm doing!)

Yssie, yes I saw VBnet's lovely ring! I've been going mad doing all kinds of searches to look at finger size/stone size..my finger is about 4 1/2, and I want to get as much side to side coverage as I can w/out touching the other fingers. I've read your three stone thread about 10 times b/c I knew you had a smaller finger than mine and had kick ass coverage. I cut out little squares and taped them to a band and took pictures to see how it all looked. Your stones are J's right? That's what I'm looking at doing too..the even lower colors just probably won't be available for a while in the smaller sizes I need. As it is I have to wait until more come in to get started really..there's a couple J .40's but no other smaller ones..those are missydebby's earrings!

And just ignoring the carat weight for a moment and looking at mm's..how much of a difference between the stones will give a nice graduation like the first pic? I'll post another picture of the original graduation I wanted..I still really like it but am not sure once set if it would show that the stones are slightly graduated or if it would just look like a straight band?

Should I be looking for say..a 1mm difference between the stones? Like 3mm/4mm/5mm etc? I just want to max the coverage side to side without going over my budget. (which is another reason I'd thought to do the lower colors, I could get bigger stones for the money!)

 

[yennyfire]

OMG, that will be stunning! Can't wait to see it!

 

[Cachette]

OMG it will be an AMAZING ring!!!!

Good luck with the project!!

Cachette

 

[yssie]

Haha we all have our different ways, I guess! Though I somehow have no doubt he'll perk right up when he sees how happy you are... enjoy it Packy, this is your hobby and you're so careful in other ways, you're allowed to splurge on yourself!


Mine are all Js, yup! The colour against the metal is something I am still in love with a year later - romantic really is the best word


Finger coverage - I admit, the camera lies! My finger coverage is actually something I'm excited about adjusting a bit w/ my reset, I drew some pics of the issue I'm having on pg4 of the reset thread. My issues are the result of 18.7mm (4.9-8.9) of stone on a 14.8mm diametre finger, and the sides don't actually tuck under at all - it just looks that way b/c the ring is a small round, y'know? Anyway - my point is that I wonder if you feel the same way. If so I would definitely recommend talking to GOG/Hunt Country - the heights of your stones and relative sizes will be different, but at 3-4-5mm your sidestones won't tuck under either, and 19mm of stone on a 15.3mm finger is similar proportions to mine. Of course, you have five stones, not three, so you have more wiggle room since you'll need the extra prongs on both sides... just food for thought.

Your first pic looks more like the L to me, and your second pic more like R. I think both are really pretty - and definitely won't look like straight bands! I'd go with the second though - going up in mm size in the smaller ct wts is cheaper than going up in the bigger cts, so if max coverage is the goal what's a wee bit less graduation between the sidestones...

 

[packrat]

Thanks Yenny and Cachette! *So* excited I can't even believe it!

Oh yes, he just wants me to be happy for sure! He'd only been home from vacation for about 30 minutes and stopped the story he was telling me so I could show him what I'd come up w/so far. Even tho jewelery isn't something he has the slightest bit of interest in, he manages to stay alert and actually pay attention when I show him things..which I can't say about myself when he tells me about his hobbies..I know my eyes glaze over and I'm thinking of *my* things again, wanting to get back to my project.

So..hm..I might need to work on the sizes a little more. I've given myself a budget of $5000 for the stones. Obviously if I can go under that, that's great. I may need to keep the sizes a little smaller, especially since I plan on doing a small band later. I want the stones to sit up high enough that I can wear that future diamond band next to it and not have the stones touching if I don't have a plain band in between. But I'd still like to be able to see the profile and not have it be covered by the wedding bands.

This LM five stone picture is very similar to what I figure it to look like and this links to the BGD Nightengale http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5394

Gah. I suck at figuring out sizes.

Yssie, the L and R pics you did, is that to show how the stones will curve up over the finger? My brain doesn't want to function today, I'm sorry!

 

[yssie]

Hah. I understand, it's a working Sunday in my neck of the woods

Just reread, and I'm not sure? I'll try a better pic -




Edit*

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Wow packrat! that is going to be gorgeous!!!

 

[packrat]

Thanks Bella!

Ohhh der! Sorry Yssie, I totally get it now. Sometimes my brain is..obstinate about working. Dangit..now I'm wavering about doing a slighter graduation. That was the one I'd originally planned on and then wondered if it might not be enough and it wouldn't look like much of a difference between the stones.

The LM w/the pink halo is pretty close to what I'd like it to look like, proportions wise. It looks like a gentle slope/arch up and over, maybe more like the 2nd set as opposed to the first set, which seems like it might be more..steep?

ETA I do want to have the little surprise stones on the end as well..so I wonder how that will affect things.

 

[Amys Bling]

Can't wait to see the final project!

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Sounds like this will be a stunning piece! Looking forward to it's completion!

 

[packrat]

Thanks Amy and Zesty!

Browsing thru Haven's thread in SMTB comparing her O/P to the eternity band..I'll be danged if it doesn't make me think about waiting and hoping GOG will get in lower colors in the smaller sizes...even if they weren't super duper small, like .3x/.4x/.5x or so..dangit.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow, Packrat, that is going to be really gorgeous! I so love AVC's, too! (Not that you asked for opinions on this, but I think it would be beautiful as a standalone wedding ring or with a thin, plain band. I think it might be overkill (too busy) to put an AVC wedding band with it.)

I also don't see how a u-prong can work with graduated stones??? Do you have an example of that?

 

[packrat]

Oh no, I most definitely welcome opinions! I'd originally planned for it to be a stand alone wedding ring and just wear a plain band next to it but then I wasn't sure if I could get as much coverage/bling as I wanted for the budget so I thought if I had a smaller band w/it, it would increase the sparkle factor.

I don't have any pics of a graduated U prong. I figured since the U's are all separate, it wouldn't be a problem, like a graduated basket setting, only U prong...I could ask Hunt Country about it tho, to make sure. They didn't mention any foreseeable problems w/it but I'd hate to get my heart set on something and then find out it won't work.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh good! I sometimes just state something and hope not to offend! I am just brainstorming with you, really!

From what I can see, the u-prongs share prongs from the top view (as in they come up from the sides and the prongs connect 2 stones), unless there are two types of u-prongs. I was looking at the nightingale from BG to see how the prongs worked and that is why I thought it wouldn't work graduated. I have also heard that u-prong stones MAY sometimes get loose more easily. My other concern is that there are more exposed girdles, and I'd really feel safer with the style of setting Leon does on the graduated rings (not that he'd have to make it, of course). Just stuff to think about!

 

[packrat]

I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here so I will definitely take any help I can get, no problems!

I want it to be a little different than a U prong. I want the U from the side, but I want the U to come up and be a prong on the corner of the cushion so each cushion has its own set, not one prong shared by two stones. Like the top down view of the LM ring above w/the pink halo, but the side view of the LM five stone that is also above. You can see on the far end of that five stone that the U's are separate but next to each other at the top. I have a solitaire ring w/a U gallery that comes up and is a flared semi bezel and I LOVE it. It's like a cup under the stone. So..I want a..cuppy ring. With prongs.

ETA which style of Leon's are you talking about? I don't know if I've seen? Well..I probably have and just don't remember!

 

[Haven]

I
cannot
wait
to
see
this
ring
!!!!

 

[packrat]

Oooo there's naughty Haven! I'm shaking my fist at you, woman! Welll that's more waving than shaking but still..Your O/P makes me seriously consider waiting longer to do my ring so I can do L's. I think the wait time is going to be pretty long tho so..I'll have to console myself by looking at pics of your lovely!

 

[SB621]

Packrat!
I can't add a whole lot except to say how excitied I am for your new ring project. I think it will be beautiful! congrats!!!

 

[packrat]

Thanks Sarah! Soon as I find something out about the diamonds I am ON it!

 

[packrat]

oh oh oh by chance I happened upon another five stone w/a design similar to what I'd thought about in the first place but didn't think could be done. Going to check w/Hunt Country and see if it will work!

 

[yssie]

oh oh oh by chance I happened upon another five stone w/a design similar to what I'd thought about in the first place but didn't think could be done. Going to check w/Hunt Country and see if it will work!

Um, you're going to have to give us more than that!!

I really like the cuppy prongs, will this new design incorporate that?

 

[packrat]

hehe sorry, I was running out the door to work! It would still have the cuppy U's but then the prongs would be flat-ish like in this picture. I'm not sure if it will work for a graduated cushion, I'll have to check w/HC first. And actually, now I'm trying to figure out if I should just do this one the way I planned (Graduated Leon type w/U's) and then get the other for a RHR. I'm completely torn!