Pave diamonds - holes drilled through?

[oohsparkly]

I think I might qualify for the longest custom journey ever on Pricescope! I first ordered my dream ring in January of this year! It is mostly because of issues with metals but also points of construction with the ring and many delays (sickness, travel, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, unexplained delays - the shop was even ram-raided recently so even more delay!!)

Metal-wise I have been through palladium, then tried for unplated white gold (a disaster), and now I am definitely getting this ring in platinum (previous threads detail all my agonies).

I am now expecting my ring to be ready for diamond setting some time this week and I am just getting clear on my thoughts for the diamond setting. It is similar to the VC Emilya halo ring with pave halfway down the sides of the band.

My question is: Should the pave diamonds on the shank have holes drilled all the way through, so you see the little round holes in the underside of the shank?

I have noticed that Victor Canera doesn't seem to do this, but I think Leon Mege does. I do remember reading on one thread a long time ago that without the holes you can only clean from the top and if gunk gets stuck in there you can't get it out, whereas with the holes you can clean from the underside as well.

I'm not really concerned about the integrity of the ring with holes as it is being done in 95 plat with 5% ruthenium which is the strongest plat option - unless someone can tell me I should be concerned??

What do you think - holes drilled through or not??

 

[distracts]

I think you should let your jeweler set the stones however they usually do instead of micromanaging that. With that said, my engagement ring, which has brightcut pave, has holes drilled all the way through, and I've always thought that was how it was supposed to be done.

I don't think you posted an update since you got the palladium ring - what happened with the white gold one?

 

[oohsparkly]

Hi Distracts,

There are a few other issues I decided not to try to micromanage - maybe this should be one of them as well... but I would like to hear from people regarding the cleaning issue. This ring is IT - I'm not going for another round so it needs to be right.

What happened with the white gold ring? - WARNING: This explanation may do your head in but you did ask

I had asked for palladium - which was made for me but with some deal breakers (donut a different size to band, one strut a bit wonky...). At the same time as looking at the palladium ring the jeweller's assistant pulled out another white gold ring so I could try on the matching wedding band and I saw that the white gold ring was the creamy color I had wanted and been told I couldn't have.

So I said "that is the color I'd wanted all along and it obviously IS possible". So they say ok we'll remake in a creamy white gold. Then the jeweller said to me he has ordered a creamy white gold especially for me. They make it and I am horrified. It is even more grey than the palladium (I like white, I like cream, but I hate grey). They promise to get to the bottom of it and it turns out the ring I saw with the nice creamy color was a melted down version of that customer's old rings and couldn't be duplicated!!

My jeweller had never given me a quote for platinum even though I asked twice, saying it would be 'about' $2,000 more (too much for us). So I hadn't followed it up more than that.

After all this trouble I tried a third time to get a quote for platinum, knowing that on spot metal prices platinum is now actually cheaper by weight than gold.

With the price drop he confirmed it would only be about $500 more (that was do-able for us). The weird thing is the price drop was already in place all this year anyway - so another lack of communication. With that quote I would have gone for platinum in the first place.

So now I am getting platinum... You probably need a coffee or something if you have made it through all that...

 

[HopeDream]

I'm sorry that your custom design has not been going well! I hope you'll be much happier with your chosen metal.

+1 for having the jewler set the stones as usual.

Keep in mind that holes through your setting will decrease it's structural integrity, and if the band is already 2mm or less it may not be a good idea.

 

[Gypsy]

It depends on the ring. You are swiss cheesing your shank, which makes it much more prone to warping and breaking and bending. I would be okay with azures (that's what they are called) under the stones in a halo, or in a handforged ring I would listen to the designer's advice on the issue, and in a cast ring I would want at least a 2.5mm or thicker shank in platinum. But in a cast ring under 2.5mm I wouldn't want them (they exist I just wouldn't personally want them) unless there were vertical walls put in as braces (which can be uncomfortable or can be dirt attractors if they are made comfortably).

I have a pave halo and a pave wedding band. Neither have azures and I have never had an issue getting them clean enough. Personally I wouldn't want it in my pave rings. I consider them a must have for non-pave mind you, but for pave... don't like it.

 

[oohsparkly]

Thanks HopeDream and Gypsy,

The shank is 2.2 mm down to 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock (the bit that has pave) but then it tapers out to 2.5mm.

It is completely hand-forged, no cast parts.

It is interesting that you have had no trouble cleaning your pave Gypsy. That is the kind of feedback that helps me make a decision.

 

[Gypsy]

I clean mine in the house with the cappuccino machine's steam (I was advised to buy one of these instead of a steam cleaner as it does the same thing and is a multi tasker. All you have to do is buy the big jeweler tongs for it to work out). I also have mine cleaned at a jeweler whenever I am in a jewelry store (steam, not ultrasonic). When I'm feeling lazy (often, granted). A nice soak in an HOT! ammonia (for my platinum only, not WG) and dawn bath followed by a nice brushing with a soft toothbrush is sufficient.

 

[ame]

If you have an option, I'd go without the holes. If I had to say one thing that bugs me about this band, it's the holes under the stones. The Flyer, and the remade ring prior...they didn't have those and I vastly preferred it. It was smoother on the finger, felt nicer, and I felt like it actually was cleaner overall (meaning actually clean, no gunk). They also felt more sturdy. The holes on this channel band are pretty deep so I don't feel that it's totally weakened but it sure gets gross under there. I steam that to get the gunk out.

 

[Gypsy]

ame I feel the same way. I have azures in one of my stacking bands (keep in mind I only wear it out of the house for a few hours at a time max and store it safely and separately) in I feel like instead of helping the band stay clean, they get gunked up if I'm not really careful. Fortunately, I'm really careful much of the time. One of my local jewelers rolls his eyes when he loupes my rings (their store policy is that they have to loupe in order to steam clean it) cause there is 'never any wear' and 'all the stones are as tight as they were when they left the factory bench." It's not really me though. My Scott Kay pave is a tank. 6 prongs per stone. Looks terribly metal heavy when magnified (downright hideous) but is as sturdy as the day is long and lovely to the naked eye, which is all that matters to me. And my halo doesn't get worn in the house at all. Only out.

 

[Laila619]

I've asked around about this topic a lot back when I was thinking of a pave setting, and the general consensus from appraisers and other folks was that it's best to have the azures. If you ever spill something gross on your ring (think paint, ketchup, coffee, mud, whatever!), it's MUCH easier to clean out the pavilions of the melee stones when you have the holes. With a closed back setting, you can't really reach the pavilions. Stuff could potentially get trapped.

 

[distracts]

Okay last I heard you'd seen the creamy WG at your jeweler and were going to ask about it. That's really crappy that they told you they could get it but got something else! I really hope this last iteration of your ring will be absolutely perfect.

 

[oohsparkly]

thanks distracts. I am very hopeful that this iteration will be exactly right.

One advantage of all this mucking around is they've done a lot of practising on my ring. The last try was very good in terms of construction. I've given them a couple more modifications, as well as getting them to add a 'horseshoe' sizer to stop spinning which I just didn't know about until recently, and I can't see why it won't get to perfect this time around. So that is why I'm not too upset about the 'runaround'. The upside is I figure I'll get a better ring now... will attempt to post pictures when it's finished!