Please help me with wedding band and small diamonds.

[in_need_of_help]

 

[in_need_of_help]

Hello all,

I am shopping around for a wedding band now.The picture that I attached is the setting that I am looking for.It is sold on Bluenile.com for 2k, with average color H and average clarity VS2.I think that 2k may be too expensive which is why I am searching for separate stones, but with little luck.

I have been having a hard time finding loose diamonds in the .20ct range.I think that I was aiming for five in total.If it is too expensive, I will search for five loose diamonds in the .10ct range.Any leads for the loose diamonds or setting will be appreciated!

Please not that I am looking for excellent cut diamonds, not ideal/super ideal/ideal with H&A.

Thanks!

 

[valeria101]

I am not sure at all where to find these... but in my perpetual quest for tiny stud earrings (I was horified lately to find really a handful in my jewelry box!) the best buy in this size range I could scoop was 0.18ct, E, VVS, 250 USD. This makes the 2K price look attractive, unfortunately. The stones I got were of average commercial, cut, at 3.6mm diamter. The same shop had G-VS2's, 0.2 cts for 220 at 3.7mm diameter. I assume that such small sizes are not ment to be sold piece by piece to end users, but rather in parcels to jewelers, so the prices were not all that great. Another choice was 0.18 cts, I, VVS2, 3.6mm, 208 USD apiece. However. I wanted a pair and got it ( the E, VVS2) since I it seemed to take forever finding a better opportunity.

I have no idea what a setting might cost though...

 

[caratgirl]

The main problem in sourcing your own stones is finding good matches in table-size (yes, you will notice if they are different), crown height and dimension. You would need to spend literally hours of time comparing a bunch of tiny diamonds to get to your goal. Why not just see what one of the Internet vendors can come up with, if you want a custom choice of color/clarity? Otherwise, most ready made bands have had those decisions made by the manufacturer - and most higher-end ones are nicely matched.

One thing that I was NOT aware of when I was getting my 5 stone band reset - The stones will, apparently, be very slightly graduated in size from the center stone outward. Why? I was told that if you put exactly the same width stones in a 5 stone band, it will look too 'clunky', and most bands are made this way. Interesting, eh? Don't know if that was true, but did measure my stones, and sure enough, that was the case for mine.

 

[valeria101]

------------
One thing that I was NOT aware of when I was getting my 5 stone band reset - The stones will, apparently, be very slightly graduated in size from the center stone outward. Why? I was told that if you put exactly the same width stones in a 5 stone band, it will look too 'clunky', and most bands are made this way. Interesting, eh? Don't know if that was true, but did measure my stones, and sure enough, that was the case for mine.

----------------

Interesting....
When I bought those tiny two, they came out of a huge crowd (

) of calibrated cut stones (with slight maybe 5% variances in weight but identical 'faces', as you say). Also, the seller held such stones in groups with only 0.05mm difference in size. I was forever wandering why bother worry about such minute differences !? It seems like your band story could be the (unexpected enough) answer.

 

[in_need_of_help]

Thanks for the info. Can anyone else chime in?

 

[diamond dazed]

I don't know if you're still looking into buying, or only building your own, but there's an E-Bay company, Facets, that sells this same type of ring in the <$1500 price range (5-.20ct diamonds, F, VVS, or VS). I don't have any personal experience with them, so I can't recommend them one way or the other, but they seem to have what you're looking for, and a good return policy, too.

http://stores.ebay.com/id=8463733

Kris

edited to turn my greater-than sign around to a less-than, I never could keep those straight.... :-/

 

[jenibear]

I am getting that exact ring for my wedding band and I will have Jan at Diamond Brokers of Florida pick the stones and Brad set it. She handpicked the ideal cut .20 ct sidestones for my e-ring and they are perfect. My fiancee just noticed last night that you can see little hearts and arrows - and he doesn't even know those should be in round diamonds. Hee hee.
It should cost you below $2K to have them do it. You can play with the quality and color to meet your budget.
I would approach them. They do great work.
My ring is on the show me the ring thread - you can see how well matched the side stones are.
Good luck!

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Actually, 2K for 5 stones isnt bad at all if the setting is included, & even more so if the setting is platinum.

Judy

 

[in_need_of_help]

Yes its plat. (I think 950).




Other models cost $925 for .5ct tw., $1375 for .75ct tw., and $2025 for 1.0ct tw (as pictured above).

 

[ccuheartnurse]

The price seems fair to be honest with you. I would email Jan of DBOF & ask her what they can do for you. They have fair pricing as well & the quality of the stones would probably be better than the BlueNile ones. I too am going through some dilema re: my wedding band.

Judy

 

[fire&ice]

You may want to price out whiteflash. They have high quality melees. You have to call them though as they are not listed on their site. If you do a search, Derekinla is purchasing & building his own 5 stone ring w/ melee's from Whiteflash.

 

[derekinla]

Yes,

Whiteflash does carry superideal H&A melees.! I actually purchased a 7 stone (0.6 TCW) band and verified (at least in the face up arrows position) the crisp arrows with a H&A viewer. Very cool. Chris (from Dave Atlas / Accredited Gem Appraisrs) also agreed that the stones were high end. My fiance wasn't too keen on the platinum setting (minor style issues) that I initially chose so WF is taking the same stones and they are going to custom make a 7 stone band (will keep you guys updated).

 

[sxn675]

My five stone band is also graduated. I purchased a similar band in platinum from my local B&M store for about $2k (or rather, my husband purchased it!). It worked out well since my e-ring is from Whiteflash, but I can get my prongs checked for both rings at the same time locally. Also, I could look at the diamonds before they set them to make sure they were well-cut. The mounting was much more substantial than what I've seen from Blue Nile as well. It may be worth it to give your local store a try. Otherwise, you might want to contact Greg Gates at ringdesigner.com or Brad from DBOF. I didn't go with either of them, but they were very helpful in answering my questions. Good luck!

 

[Mara]

I would definitely recommend WF for their ACA melee stones. They have .02, .10, .15 and then onward from .20 I think. I am planning on getting their .02 stones for my wedding ring--could it be more fun to have superideal melee stones, hee hee.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Hi Guys this may help...I originally received this email from Lesley when I was purchasing my accent stones..




Message and description are as follows...




Dear Josh:

Your ring turned out so beautifully. We appreciate your desire to work with Whiteflash and we will be
happy to work with you on this project. All the smaller ACA's are E/F VS and
following are the LIST prices for the smaller sizes:

Prices are per stone:
.02 $25
.03 $45
.05 $85
.08 $118
.10 $148
.15 $245


6 different sizes in the smaller ACA's Cool.../idealbb/images/smilies/wavey.gif




Mara..When are you going to have this done..I know you have been talking about it for a while..Is Greg still putting the clamps on your spending /idealbb/images/smilies/6.gif (Just Kiddin /idealbb/images/smilies/wacko.gif)

 

[Mara]

Josh--Ooh I didn't know they had .03 and .05...

Well the 'clamps' are slowly loosening....esp as we are finally locked into our loan and got the final approvals and have met the reserves etc. We just bought our new couch today (its SO cool) and have some other financial house things to take care of that take precedence over sparkly baubles (shutters, some new furniture) but since we're moving in late Jan--by early March we should be able to turn our attention to the rings.




I am still researching his ACA from WF (but found a really nice .31 G VS that I think could be great) and we're discussing what we want to do with my wedding ring (one larger eternity style with maybe .03 or .05 stones or 2 super slim ones with .02), but I figure in late Feb/early March is when we can start really taking care of business! Though I don't know...if I can squeeze in that ACA purchase, I may do so as soon as possible!

 

[in_need_of_help]

All the smaller ACA's are E/F VS...




I am worried, if I had 5-7 smaller ACAs color E/F on a wedding band, would you see a difference next to the e-ring 1.5ct, H color, SI1 (eye clean), HCA 0.6.






Thanks!

 

[Mara]

I don't think you'd see a difference...melee or smaller stones I think it is harder to view color visibly. I would ask WF what they think about doing something like that, they may or may not recommend it but IMO..something like an F vs a well-cut H would not be a huge difference. Esp in .20c stones, pretty small.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Well it might show a slight off-set in color positioned right under your center stone, but how big of a visual difference where it would be noticable..I'm not sure...




Maybe WhiteFlash markets smaller ACA's in a different color range besides e/f...For how small these stones are and depending on how they are set I am not sure you would detect that much of a visual difference when the rings are sitting flush up against one another all stones being viewed face up....

 

[Mara]

Also actually for .20c stones I think WF carries more of a range. Anything .20 or over carries an AGS cert with it I believe. I think their melee is considered under .20. So you may have more options in larger size stones?

 

[Mara]

Quickie chart search....they seem to group them together for size/color combos so you can do 3-5 stone rings quite easily etc.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Good point Mara...




I remember at one point you were considering the .20 ct they were marketing....Don't see those smaller stones that often...

 

[in_need_of_help]

Thanks everyone! I will speak to WF about it.




Doesn't anyone sleep?

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

10 Oclock in Alaska...