Secondary stones in setting:quality & options?

[Appreciative-of-expertise]

I am starting to work with a designer (Mark M.) to design a setting for a 3ct princess center stone that I hope to buy soon. I''m anticipating the primary stone to be F/VS. Initial thoughts for the setting include small rounds that will be channel set. My questions are:


1) What general advise should I heed when purchasing the secondary stones?




2) Should I look to purchase the stones independent of the designer but based on his specs for size (mm)?




3) I''ve heard/read to purchase stones that match the center perfectly in color. Is this true?




4) Do the clarity of the stones need to be the same as the center or would SI quality sufice?




5) Given that Princess stones generally do not give off as much brilliance as rounds, will this present a challenge? ie, should I downplay the brilliance in the rounds? Should they be superior to the Princess?




6) Lastly, are there special vendors that I should consider that specialize in small stones like this?




THanks, all.


Frank


Appreciative-of-expertise

 

[Hest88]

Your questions depend on how small these side-stones are going to be. Are they also going to be princesses?

 

[Appreciative-of-expertise]

Hest, the current thinking is "rounds." I don't know the sizes yet until the designer creates some mock-ups to look at. I believe that other posts have suggested a 2:1 ratio. Therefore, i'm just guessing now that we're looking at around 1-1.5 C in total weight for the channel stones spread across 6-8 stones.

 

[weemodin]

Whiteflash has small H&A sidestones available that would likely meet your discriminating taste. I think some of them are on their website, though I've heard rumors that they have smaller ones that aren't listed that you can inquire about.

 

[weemodin]

And by the way, I can't wait to see pics of this ring! It should be fabulous -- you've done some very good, very target research and everything I've ever seen by Mark Morrel has been nothing short of fabulous!

 

[valeria101]

Hm... I think that the 2:1 rule of thumb applies for the sides in a three stones ring, and has little to do with accent stones. Have you ever considered princess-cut for the channel seting? I am not a big fan of the gaps between the rounds, and small princess cuts can surely be very fiery indeed. I am not goig to dispute the supremacy of the H&As in this respect, but the small princesses can really produce that "band of brilliance" - something that rounds are not up to by design. The smaller the individual rounds the smaller those gaps would be too, but for anything bigger than 0.05cts, there's nothing like the squares, I believe. Surely you know what I mean by now...

 

[Appreciative-of-expertise]

Weemodin,Valeria - thanks for the response.




Valeria, thanks for setting me straight on the ratio. Is there any guideline to follow on cwt for the channel stones or, is it driven by the stones dimensions as warranted by the setting? Regarding the use of Princess for the sides, I'll talk to the designer and see if he can show me the look both ways. The current plan has the rounds decreasing in size as they proceed down the ring.




All, Can someone please provide some guidance regarding the color/clarity questions in this thread. Thanks much!




Appreciative-of-expertise

 

[Griffin]

Good SI's should be fine for the side stones. I'd stick with the same color, but there really isn't a reason to go nuts with clarity on well cut melee, especially because the price gets nuts quickly.

 

[sumi]

My wedding band is a channel set eternity band. I have princess cuts in the wedding band and it really does sparkle even though the diamonds are quite small. I agree with Valeria, I'm not too crazy about the gaps that round stones have. With my band, it just looks like a solid band of sparklies.


Does MM have anything to say about the side stones? The designer would be the first person I would go to for any questions. You are so lucky to have a ring by him. I love seeing pictures of his rings, please post a pic when you get it!!

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 1/25/2004 4:08:36 PM Appreciative-of-expertise wrote:



#1) Is there any guideline to follow on cwt for the channel stones or, is it driven by the stones dimensions as warranted by the setting?

#2) The current plan has the rounds decreasing in size as they proceed down the ring

#3) Can someone please provide some guidance regarding the color/clarity questions in this thread.
----------------

Oh!

#1) NO. The model of the setting is the only ref. You may want to consider the resulting thickness of the band (in the region going between finges) as a constraint. If the ring gets to thick there (for me, more than 2) it is no longer confortable and probably imposible to wear every day.

#2) WOW! By far my favorite and very impractical (if at all achievable) with squares. Don't hesitate to experiment with quite a bit of difference between the largest and the smallest stone in the line. The effect obtained in old jewelry this way is just great

#3) I know SI would look clear, but given the small size of the stones, VS will not hurt all that much and I believe it is worth it. For once, the grading of "parcels" of accent stones is not all that precise (they may come with split clarity grades) so SI is farely close to I for them and VS is safer. Would you consider those precision cut accents (Whiteflash's) ? If your jeweler uses high quality stones this might be overkill, but this is not common at all. Some accent diamonds look just like glass chips...

 

[Appreciative-of-expertise]

Thanks for the continued help!




Q). You asked "Would you consider those precision cut accents (Whiteflash's) ? "




i guess at this time, i'd consider a lot since i don't yet know what the financial impact is. How do most people buy accent stones? Does one apply the same vigor as with the center or, does one just ask a vendor to match up "x" number of stones with the same color and "chosen" clarity? Outside of Whiteflash, what other vendors play a lot in this space? Lastly, are the mainly purchased by dimensional specs vs. ctw?




/idealbb/images/smilies/read.gif

 

[valeria101]

="padding-bottom:0;marginTop:0;marginBottom:0;">----------------
On 1/26/2004 8:38:01 AM Appreciative-of-expertise wrote:

]
You asked 'Would you consider those precision cut accents (Whiteflash's) ? '

----------------[/quote]


I don't think the Whiteflash production is substantialy more expensive. And there are no other suppliers of ~ 'ideal' cut pinheads out there. Accuracy? I would surely not worry THAT much - as long as the stones are not dull. About size and weight, the same logic applies as for the bigger ones. However, matching diamters is key here (matching usually done up to 0.1mm). It is customary for the jeweler to source sthese stones, since they are sold bulk (parcels of more than a customer might need). Whiteflsh is again, a rather uncommon exception to this rule.

If your accent diamonds matter in the pattern of the piece (as oposed to just adding sparkle to some engraving) which they do given the graduated arrangement you mentioned, I would worry about their quality. These small stones are great "money-saves" for less quality-oriented jewelers, and their quality can easily get scary indeed (in absence of any reference, let alone certification).

 

[caratgirl]

I have never worked with Mark M., but does he require you to source your own melee? I have always worked with custom jewelers that want to use their own stones based on what specs you give them (F, VS, etc). They then decide which exact millimeter sizes to use to complement the design properly. Usually, the design determines the sizes and quantities of stones used. I know my custom jewelers always give me a reality check in this regard.