Re-set Engagement Ring – Help!

[whiteflasher]

Hi Everyone!

Four years ago, after lots of lurking, I bought a stunning 1 carat stone from Whiteflash. I was living in Houston at the time and was able to pick it out in person. It’s currently sitting in a sort of crossover 8 prong (4 double) solitaire setting.

Fast forward……I got divorced, but I love my stone! I need to reset it, but I’m having trouble finding something I like that that does not look too E-ring like. Here are ideas I’ve had so far: keep the band somewhat narrow and the stones not too high. Maybe unusual side stones like sapphires in brown, cognac (can’t find them anywhere!) or pam. Maybe round or pear. Maybe a solitaire that does not look E-ring like (does that exist?)

I love onyx but my local jeweler recommended against it because it’s fragile. Still would like any other stones to be somewhat neutral.

I’ve even seen some Mokume-Gane rings online and wonder if a solitaire in that style would look not E ring-ish.

Any ideas or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

 

[MonkeyPie]

What about something like this? With your diamond in the middle? Black diamonds will give you that neutral color you want (like the onyx) without being too soft for daily wear.

 

[ma re]

You could buy two smaller colored stones and two even smaller diamonds, and make a graduating band-type ring. Or get some less common side stones (in terms of shape) like asschers, or make sure they''re not diamonds. In the neutrals, there are nice garnets (hessonite, malaya, spessartite), andalusite (rare and durable) or you can even go with a brownish citrine. You can also make some mix with cabochones, or have a gemstone inlay made around the center stone (a black opal inlay with a diamond can look stunning). A diamond can even be set in another stone''s carving, but that could be one of the pricey solutions.

 

[bookworm240]

What about a pendant? I am currently in love with the three stone stationary ones.

 

[whiteflasher]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the wonderful answers.

MoneyPie- I like that ring very much! I wonder if I could buy it from them without the center stone or if I’d have to have it custom made. Some black diamonds I’ve seen look very flat. Do all black diamonds look very flat, the pic on the web site looks great. If I had the ring custom made and skipped the bamboo part, do you think it would more E-ring like? (That would be bad!)

Ma ra – I’ve never heard of these stones: garnets (hessonite, malaya, spessartite), andalusite, cabochones or brownish citrine. Can I find pairs of these on any websites that you know of?

What is a gemstone inlay? That sounds very interesting, but I’m not sure what it is.

Bookworm – I’d like to move the stone to another ring. I stare at it a lot.

Thank you everyone for the great feedback!

 

[arjunajane]

How about something from James or Caleb Meyer?

JM

CM

They provide that something different, in heirloom quality, and tons of non-engagementy ideas.
Why don''t you use cognac diamonds for the sides? I''ve seen caleb use them in his pieces..

here''s some examples of what I would suggest:

 

[arjunajane]

one of my fave styles (not sure what your tastes are like, but just throwing ideas out there)..

 

[arjunajane]

another suggestion, a lil more sleek...I'd love this!

anyway, if *you* like any of these images at all you should check out their sites.
Prices are very reasonable too for the level of quality they deliver - James is Caleb's father, but they both own separate jewellery businesses.
All of the above images are from CM's site - JM's work is similiar, but perhaps not as modern as CM's (which would make sense, lol)..

 

[whiteflasher]

Wow! A quick look at the sites shows some truly stunning rings! I will go through both sites with a fine tooth comb tonight!

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 6/12/2009 11:57:39 AM
Author: whiteflasher
Wow! A quick look at the sites shows some truly stunning rings! I will go through both sites with a fine tooth comb tonight!

yup, look at archived collections on caleb''s site - soooo many nice pieces!
and in the section of jim''s site for bracelets etc, there are some sincere works of art.
I hope you enjoy the eyecandy!

 

[ma re]

WF,

when it comes to learning more about stones and what varieties there are, I think it''s a good idea to check www.gemstone.org and read their gem by gem section. That should inform you a bit more about all the different possibilities. Garnets are a species that has several varieties in several colors, and the ones I recommended can come in some orangy-brown shades and look pretty neutral. Andalusite is not a one color stone, but shows three colors at once (one of which is brown). Brownish citrine is just a citrine with a particular shade of color, not a variety. It''s usually (in case you don''t know) some shade of orange or yellow, but often has some brown in it. That happens when it''s orange/yellow isn''t saturated enough and is slightly darker than the ideal (the same happens if you pour some black paint in orange or yellow paint - it becomes brown). And cabochon is a term used to describe a cutting style. Cabochons are the "domed" stones, which I''m sure you''ve seen, so they''re the ones without facets. Gemstone inlay is a special method of setting stones which is mostly used with non-transparent materials. A stone is cut in an exact shape and dimensions, and insterted in a "hole" in the metal, made specifically for that stone (so there are no prongs holding it). And I''ll stop here since I''m pretty sure this is a lot of new information for you

 

[whiteflasher]

Mr. ma re- Thank you! The web site you gave me is exactly what I am looking for. I did lots of research 4 years ago on diamonds……but as you can tell I know nothing about colored gemstones. The site will be very helpful.

I did send an email to CM to find out about a ring I love in his archived collection, so I’m waiting to hear back about that.

And I did contact My Solitaire about the black diamond ring....they are willing to sell me the ring without the center stone. Their return policy is unclear. Since I’ve never seen a bamboo style ring in person I think I’d need to check one out first.

Last thought, since I may want to do lots of research on this, I was thinking of a temporary setting so I can wear my stone on my right hand now.

I like this ring because it’s a little unusual for a solitaire, looks like a tension setting but is more secure.

Honest opinions: On a scale of one to ten………how E-ring like does this look?

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/diamond-solitaire-engagement-rings.html

Thank you everyone for all of your assistance!