Quality in settings: designer work vs. JA, WF, BN

[garmin]

Thanks so much for the input on my previous thread, started earlier in the week. The many responses have helped me greatly in my quest for the perfect, yet value-conscious diamond.

I do have another question, for which I did not really find ample answers via a PS forum search:

(I should probably preface by saying that I am a fairly a-retentive person would does notice and care about fine details.)

How does the quality of a designer setting, such as from Tacori or Verragio, compare to the house stuff produced (or subcontracted) by such firms as White Flash, James Allen, etc., mostly in reference to pave, filigree, and other finite details?

My main problem currently is that there's a JA setting high on my list, but unfortunately JA has zero actual physical pictures of the setting, as basically all detail shown on their site is computer-generated. I'm sure JA does some great work, but really, anything and everything is going to look perfect when it's conceptual and not been formed by human hands as of yet.

Can anyone give input as to the real world quality and accuracy of the "house" branded settings versus the designer settings, when it comes to "what you see on the website is what you get in person"?

TIA for you input.

Oh, and here's the JA setting I've really got a thing for:

JA Knife Edge, Split Shank Setting

 

[geoffreysnow]

I''m pretty sure JA does a lot of work with Danhov so this might be one of their settings? It would probably be best to contact a sales rep from JA as they''re super helpful and can probably answer any questions you might have.

 

[tyty333]

I cant really answer your question because I dont own a JA ring but I just wanted to say that I really like that setting!

Hopefully you will get some more feedback from some folks that own some of their stuff.

 

[silverbuggy]

I''m actually in search of my perfect setting at the moment...I am so anal and indecisive that I actually ordered some sample rings from Blue Nile, James Allen, and Excel. Here is my review:

Blue Nile: I ordered the Nouveau in platinum. The quality of the metal as well as the melee diamonds was superb!! The only problem was that it was slightly too wide (2.2mm). I''m going for 1.8mm. I knew this going in, but I thought maybe the .4mm wouldn''t make a difference, but it did.

James Allen: I paid for the white gold version of the common prong setting but I''m not sure whether the ring I got was in white gold or alloy since it was understood these were sample rings. That said, I didn''t like the quality as much.

The metal stuck out a little bit from the band, something that didn''t match the website picture.

Excel: I was told up front these would be alloy and not like the real thing. I ordered 3 samples...didn''t like any of them. But quality could be different on the real thing.

Sorry if my review is not what you''re looking for though, since it''s not fair to compare apples and oranges.

 

[PugLover]

I have a knife edge pave setting from WF and I am very happy with the details of this ring. The milgrain and the pave are just perfect. The prongs holding the pave are all perfectly symmetrical, tiny and just look amazing. I am very satisfied with my piece and would recommend Whiteflash. I have not used any of the other vendors so can''t comment about that but I think you can really get a great quality setting with WF. Hope that helps some. I''m attaching a pic of my ring for reference.

 

[DiamondFlame]

Nice choice of setting frm JA.

I had the same concerns when I was considering an E-ring. Finally went with a Henri Daussi design cuz I have seen some of their actual finished pieces up close, and their pave work is much finer than that of the in-house jewelers.

Someone else''s tolerance for quality may not match yours so I''d hesitate to leave this to another person''s opinion unless high definition pictures can be provided in lieu of evidence.

 

[girlie-girl]

Yes JA does sell settings by Danhov, but they''re all clearly marked as such. Danhov has a couple settings that are similar, but are considerably more expensive than this one.

I purchased the Danhov ME10 and it''s even prettier and more delicate than the CAD makes it out to be.

Good luck deciding, I don''t think you''ll be disappointed with JA.