Please Help Halo setting bezel vs prongs

[pspaniac]

Can you please help me with a setting question? I ordered a custom platnimum halo setting for my RB diamond from a very reputable designer. The ring was ordered with a prong setting and after waiting 6 long weeks came back bezel set. The jeweler returned the ring to the designer to be remade. When the ring came back (3 weeks later) the prongs were lopsided, the bezel appeared to be too small and the diamond set higher than I expected (the diamond appears to be setting "on" the halo instead of "in" the halo). The ring was sent back again to be remade and came back 3 weeks later with the prongs "reworked". Although the prongs are not as lopsided the halo still seems too small and the the diamond still seems high. Does anyone know if a prong set stone would require a larger halo than a bezel set stone? I suspect that rather than remaking the ring after the initial mistake the designer just added the prongs on to the face of the halo and set the stone higher to make it "fit". But seeing that I am not a jeweler, I though I would ask the experts here.
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[diamondlil]

That''s a good question, GE. Would it be possible to post a picture?

I''m sure the ring was not totally remade. As you said, they probably removed the diamond from the bezel and reworked the mouting to have prongs. I understand what you are saying, and I can see how the halo would proportionally need to be different based on whether the main stone is prong set or bezel set.

Hopefully one of the pros will chime in here and give their opinion.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 9/2/2005 3:11:26 AM
Author:green_eggs

I suspect that rather than remaking the ring after the initial mistake the designer just added the prongs on to the face of the halo and set the stone higher to make it 'fit'.

Without seeing the ring (crazy, no?) I would give it a good chance that you are right

Prongs are added like that to make stones fit in settings off the rack, so why not this time!

As far as I know, the diamond does sit a hair over the setting if set in prongs anyway. But just a bit. Seen this one ?

Now, that might be a bit much to ask from the poor unsuspecting jeweler ... but this one below is rather mainstream and the diamond does not sit to high over the bezel underneath although the girdle is out in the open:

Hope some of this helps

 

[pspaniac]

I had a hard time taking a picture that would demonstrate. Let''s try this one. I LOVE the design, I just don''t think the head is quite right.

 

[pspaniac]

Here is a side view

 

[pspaniac]

Also important to note that I paid "extra" to have the designer set the ring. They had the diamond the entire time they were making ring.....

 

[tawn]

That is such an incredibly beautiful ring! But, make sure you get the ring the way you want it! You paid for a certain design, and that''s what you should get! It will drive you crazy if you don''t!! Or it would drive me crazy because I think I have a mild case of OCD!

 

[mrssalvo]

I agree, if you''re not 100% happy they should fix it. I love your rings by the way

 

[diamondlil]

Wow, what a beautiful design, GE. I really do love it. It''s hard to tell by the pictures exactly how the prongs are attached to the halo and whether the diamond looks to large for the inside edge of the halo.

From the examples posted above, it looks like there really is no right or wrong way of doing it. As another example, there is split-shank halo with pear center (MaryAlaina) posted here at PS where there is a small space between the edge of the center diamond and the inside edge of the halo. When I had my halo made, I specifically told my jeweler that when I look straight down on my ring, I did not want to see a gap there. I think all the examples look fine, it just depends on the look that YOU want.

I agree with the others that if you are not happy with the ring, it should be redone to your satisfaction. If it bothers you now, it will make you angry later.

Unfortunately, you''ll have to give up your ring again for probably another few weeks, but that''s still better than living with something for years that you just are not happy with.

Tawn, I would bet that most of us posting here at PS are sligtly OCD-ish.

 

[MrsFrk]

Oh wow, that is a gorgeous ring! (and I''m not really a halo person- blasphemer, I know

)

In any case since they:
A) got your order TOTALLY wrong
and
B) had your diamond the whole time, and indeed you paid EXTRA to have them set your diamond

they need to step up and do the right thing and remake your ring to your satisfaction. Do not settle. Otherwise, every time you look at your ring you''ll have a frisson of doubt and angst and regret, and I''m sure you''re paying a nice chunk of change for this. So have them do it RIGHT. Good luck, come back with more pics when it''s finished.

 

[pspaniac]

Diaomondlil
I agree with you I don''t want to see a space when I look down but I would like to see the inside of the halo perfectly surrounding the diamond that is set even with the girdle. My preference would be to have that prong set with the prongs all the way on the inside of the halo but think I would be happier with a bezel than what I have now. Right now the prongs are set on the halo--there are 4 little diamonds a prong, 4 little diamonds an prong etc...

Does that sound reasonable?

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Green Eggs.

I suppose I should start by asking, how far is the diamonds point from touching your finger? The job of changing the bezel to prongs is involded enough that they could lower it as far as you like without much extra work. It may have been an oversight, but maybe there is no room to make it lower. I can''t tell by the photos.

Another question. Are the prongs angled outward before they go over the stone?

 

[pspaniac]

Hi Platinumsmith:
The tip of the diamond is quite far from my finger. 3 of the prongs go straight up and the 4th prong actually is more angled inward (it sits closer to the edge of the halo).

Thanks so much to all of you for your feedback!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

You’re fussy,

Retailers don''t always budget for that and more likely don''t have setters who accommodate for the quality you like, plus they live in fear of upsetting the setters they use.

It is not hard to take the stone out and lower the seats to set the diamond lower. I am guessing, but $100 should cover it easily. The hard part is finding the right setter! Most high end setters Bork from improving other peoples work and the setter I envisage may not exist where you are. Then again I am just guessing.

In situations like yours I always find myself saying ''find a good jeweller'' and stick with them, (though most of the time it translates to ''find the jeweller with the best words''). As a jeweller I don''t know how to go about this! Actually you need a good setter and you might need to throw a little money their way. I have lost confidence with the people who made your ring, but you can send it back and try your luck again for nix.

I personally would not like the job, but money talks and us setters work pretty cheap, if that helps. It looks like we are getting down to fine grades of workmanship, so the choices become more rarefied

 

[Demelza]

GE -- so sorry to hear about all the problems you''re having. I know what it''s like to have a ring come back not right again and again. Have you lost confidence in the jeweler''s ability to do it right? Do you think they just don''t have the skill to fix it or do you think they''re just trying to do it cheap and easy? Is there another jeweler in your area whose opinion you would trust? Again, I feel really bad that you''re going through this after being without your ring for so long. Hope it gets resolved soon!

 

[pspaniac]

Demelza
Interesting enough, the jeweler hasn''t done anything but talk to the designer and shuttle the ring back and forth to the designer

I talked to them today and they have an appt scheduled with the designer on Wed to try and get resolved once and for all. Will keep you all posted! Wish me luck

 

[diamondlil]

Date: 9/2/2005 5:32:50 PM
Author: green_eggs
Diaomondlil
I agree with you I don''t want to see a space when I look down but I would like to see the inside of the halo perfectly surrounding the diamond that is set even with the girdle. My preference would be to have that prong set with the prongs all the way on the inside of the halo but think I would be happier with a bezel than what I have now. Right now the prongs are set on the halo--there are 4 little diamonds a prong, 4 little diamonds an prong etc...

Does that sound reasonable?

So, if I''m understanding it correctly, your halo is no longer a continous circle of diamonds because they added a prong after every 4 stones? I would not like that at all. I think that is what I see in the picture posted. I totally agree that the prongs would look better if they came up from the inside edge of the halo and over the girdle of your center stone.

On my ring, I can see the inside ede of the halo just under the girle of my diamond, and my halo has the same size melee all the way around my pear.

It definitely needs to be done right.

 

[diamondlil]

Okay, GE, here is the best super-magnified pic I have of how my prings are attached to my halo. Can you see that there is no interruption in the size of the melee around the halo?

 

[pspaniac]

Diamondlil,
That is correct the prongs interrupt the diamond melee. Is this picture any better?

 

[pspaniac]

Maybe this one?

 

[Art Nouveau]

Green Eggs,

The prongs should be attached at the inside edge of the halo, not on the halo. Your photos are a bit blurry, but from what I can see, the lower left prong seems to be sticking out too much over the halo. Is the bottom of this prong actually on the halo? If that''s the case, then it''s not done properly and should be fixed. From top view, the stone can extend over the halo a bit, but you should see a continuous frame of small diamonds. It''s a matter of choice, but typically center stones in halo settings with prongs are set with the girdle of the stone just a little above the halo, like the second picture posted by Ana. This gives the ring more height. If you want the girdle to be flushed with the halo, then it will look like the first photo Ana posted. You may see a little "air line" between the center stone and the halo and you said you didn''t like to see a space there. Alternatively, you can go with bezel setting, but you have already seen what that looked like and you didn''t like that either. With both the bezel and prongs at the girdle, the ring will look more flat. You have to decide what you really want. If your jeweler is meeting with the designer, I would suggest that you ask to be present at the meeting. Tell the designer what you want to see and how he can make it happen. There are several possibilities:
1. Fix and lower the prongs.
2. Change to bezel
3. Remake the halo to make it slightly bigger

I hope your issues are resolved to your satisfaction. You should be 100% happy with your ring.

Art Nouveau

 

[diamondlil]

Date: 9/3/2005 10:52:29 AM
Author: green_eggs
Diamondlil,
That is correct the prongs interrupt the diamond melee. Is this picture any better?

It''s still hard to see in your photos, but if the diamonds are interrupting the melee around the halo, I would not like it either. For them to attach the prongs at the inside edge of the halo, it would seem that the halo needs to be slightly larger than it is so that the girdle of your center diamond does not hang over the melee in the halo.

I agree with Art Nouveau, if you can be present at the meeting that might help a lot. Trying to relay exactly what you want to the jeweler and then have it passed on to the designer could be like a game of telephone -- each person interprets the words a little different, and the end result is not how it was stated to begin with.

Keep us posted.

 

[GoveyMaru]

Date: 9/2/2005 9:59:10 AM
Author: valeria101

Date: 9/2/2005 3:11:26 AM
Author:green_eggs

I suspect that rather than remaking the ring after the initial mistake the designer just added the prongs on to the face of the halo and set the stone higher to make it ''fit''.

Without seeing the ring (crazy, no?) I would give it a good chance that you are right

Prongs are added like that to make stones fit in settings off the rack, so why not this time!

As far as I know, the diamond does sit a hair over the setting if set in prongs anyway. But just a bit. Seen this one ?

Now, that might be a bit much to ask from the poor unsuspecting jeweler ... but this one below is rather mainstream and the diamond does not sit to high over the bezel underneath although the girdle is out in the open:

Hope some of this helps

Hi,

The top two pics are my ring, and yes there is a space between the halo and diamond, and the prongs are in that space. But, that was my choice in the design - it is what Leon Mege calls an "airline." I like it because I think it makes the center really stand out and pop - but it does not sit above the halo, and the only the table comes a bit above. But, I have seen halo rings where the halo is set below the stone, and I have seen halos where they are almost like a bezel, but also with prongs - ie no airline.

Make sure that the designer does exactly what you want - it should be your dream ring! Maybe send some pictures of how you would like it, that way the designer will have no choice but to redo it if need be.

 

[pspaniac]

All of your rings are SOOOO beautiful and I can''t tell you how much I appreciate all the input!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Govey,
Your ring is probably the finest example of craftmanship I have seen!

Back to the case in point. Using Govey''s ring as an example, there is space inside the halo for the stone to go lower. If this is not the case with your ring the prongs must have space to angle outward, or they must be set joined on the halo and iterrupt the pave'' It doesn''t really matter if they were soldered onto the halo or if they were soldered inside the halo as the stone must either be smaller or the halo bigger if the girdle is going to sit flush. (Either way the pave'' will be interrupted).

If the stone is able to fit inside the halo, the setter can lower it into place and it can be set with prongs. In your case, it will probably look much like a bezel setting.

I suspect your meeting will go well. That is, unless the best they can offer is not good enough and they would have to provide you with a new ring.

Best of luck,

Phillip

 

[GoveyMaru]

Date: 9/4/2005 12:25:58 AM
Author: Platinumsmith
Govey,
Your ring is probably the finest example of craftmanship I have seen!

Thank you so much Platinumsmith - what an amazing compliment!

 

[pspaniac]

Hi guys. Thanks so much for all of your help. I sent the ring back to Beaudry and even got a call from Stephen Moore yesterday to make sure they understood exactly what I wanted. He couldn''t have been nicer and more helpful--amazing customer service!! They are remaking the head by hand to fit the diamond perfectly and I should have the ring back by the end of the month. I wouldn''t have known exactly what to ask for without all of your help. Thanks again and will post pictures when it comes back.

 

[mrssalvo]

oh that''s wonderful news. I bet you are so excited..

 

[MissAva]

Congrats I hope it is 100% what you are hoping for!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Good news!

Make sure you update us with the photos