Purpose of hole in setting/shank for solitare setting?

[warheadwl]

Hi all,

I've just ordered a custom-made 6-prong tiffany-style solitare setting from a local vendor. I requested that the "donut" (i.e. the circle on the shank beneath the diamond) have a hole in it (only because Tiffany and Co. has one), but it came without a hole. He offered to send it to the manufacturer to have the hole drilled, but I really wouldn't want to wait that long unless necessary.

My questions are:

1) What's the purpose of the hole (ease of cleaning, lower the cost, etc.)?
2) Could/should I set the culet within the hole?

Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The hole is likely just to make cleaning easier. And no, you definitely don't want your diamond set down so low where the culet is in that hole! That would be much too low. My culet is about at the level of the top of the shank where it meets the head....maybe 2-3mm above the doughnut depending on which Tiffany repro setting you are talking about.