Seeking your expert help: Custom settings

[Witos]

Introduction (you can skip)
So I've been lurking this forum for a month now and I've learned a lot from you guys, I thank you very much for sharing all your knowledge online. I bet countless people have taken advice from you without you even knowing.
I'm going to pop the question in the medium term (in 6 months or more). We've been seriously dating for 4+ years and I'm pretty sure she is the one. It will be a surprise in the sense that she might not be expecting a formal proposal & ER but we both know (as we have discussed it already) that we want to grow old together
The Ring: Stone (you can skip for now)
So she is a rather small woman with smaller fingers. Her ring size is Ø13.83mm (US 2.75). With such a small finger size and considering her personality (not flashy) I'm guessing the perfect carat range is 0.4~0.6. Somewhere in the Ø5mm vicinity.
I know she'll want a round cut with hearts and arrows pattern and given the carat/size range I can go D colour IF or VVS without caring too much about the budget. After lurking this forum I'm aiming for an HCA <1 perfect H&A. I'll keep an eye on BGD / WF / GOG for the right stone and will probably take the liberty to ask for your advice once the options are really narrowed down.
The Ring: Setting
This is the tricky part. Her taste in jewelry leans toward the rather intricate and vintage. I have a perfect idea of what she'll love and I know that there is no such ring available from major brands, so I'm prepared to go full custom. This is where I need your kind help: which online custom jeweler excels in detailed filigree and has enough finesse to handle a very intricate pattern on a size 2.5~3 ring? So far, the only one who stands out is Green Lake Jewelry, (which also seems to boast superb customer service) but their prices seem a bit high to me and I would really like to know if there are comparable jewelers.
TLDR;
Besides Green Lake, does anyone know a good online custom jeweler which excels at filigree?

Thank you for taking the time!

 

[heididdl]

I know you said she is tiny but size does matter if you have the funds get her 1 carat.....(I'm a tiny woman and I successfully wear a a 3.66 EC)....also just check her pinterest board of friends for ideas of size , shape and setting ideas.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome! I hope after 4 years of serious dating that you are more than "pretty sure" she is the one! (especially before ring shopping!)

I think the perfect ringmaker for you is Caysie van Bebber of CVB Inspired Design. Intricate vintage settings are her specialty. You can see many photos here:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-us-your-cvb-id-jewelry-the-new-cvb-eye-candy-thread.211825/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-us-your-cvb-id-jewelry-the-new-cvb-eye-candy-thread.211825/[/URL]

https://www.facebook.com/cvbinspired

As for the diamond, a H&A stone is a modern cut, and what looks best in antique style rings is an antique style stone! You might find it challenging to find a very well cut D VVS in a true antique stone, but there are newly cut, ideal cut Old European stones that would be perfect for your project! If you look in my avatar picture, you will see an August Vintage Round from Good Old Gold. Right now he has these which would be closest to your specs:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/0-6ct-d-vs2-august-vintage-round-diamond.html

http://www.goodoldgold.com/ecommerce/0-76ct-e-vs1-august-vintage-round-diamond.html

He also will have a stone custom cut if you absolutely will not consider lower than D VVS. I will tell you that I think that is very unnecessary in the big picture with the kind of ring you are planning to create. Victor Canera also sells some newly cut OEC's, but at this time he doesn't have anything close to your specs. He may also custom cut a stone for you.

I look forward to seeing how your project progresses!

 

[JDDN]

What a fun and romantic project! I lurked for a long, long time on PS and something I read time and again is that men often think that their girlfriend would want a D, IF stone over size. Of course we don't know your GF the way you do, but usually us gals would like a bit of size! If you have lurked, then you'll know that a G will face up very white. If she's super color sensitive you could do an F and if you're lucky you could even find a very white H. In terms of clarity, unless she will be louping her stone regularly a VS stone will be very clear and clean in terms of inclusions. These are ways to get a gorgeous stone with a bit more size while staying in budget.

I like DS's suggestion of an Old European Cut stone in a antique style setting for a truly antique style ring. Personally I love OEC's as I think they are romantic and just lovely. But I also really love modern round brilliants as there is something very special about they way they sparkle and shine. Even though they are both round, they have very different looks and I think it's a matter of personal taste. Just food for thought .

 

[Witos]

Wow! That was a fast, thoughtful and helpful advice. Thank you very much DS. I will consider CVB.
I totally agree that GOG's AV Round (or BE's Royal chandelier cushion) seems perfect for this project, but I'm not sure that she'll like it more (if I was a designer I would always use Antique style cuts on vintage style mounts), but I'm more of a blind shopper. Until recently she wasn’t even set on getting an ER, she deemed it as an unnecessary expense (I know, she is totally wife material). But she helped her best friend pick an ER for his wife and when she came back from the jewelry store she was like “Diamonds are indeed very pretty, those hearts and arrows are quite beautiful”. But that is about all the info I have (on dimonds)

All in all, I don’t want her to think that I spent a lot of money in a stone. She wouldn’t be happy with that, so I’d rather focus on quality than weight. Let's put it this way, my budget surpasses the amount she'd like me to spend in a ring … lol

Given that she is not that set on an ER, I can’t tell her we should pick it together (she’ll refuse and tell me she doesn’t need one). So I must go through this process alone. She doesn’t have a Pinterest board (and if she did it would'nt have ERs), none of her hippy friends have an ER either . From a buyer perspective this is challenging, but I do want to give her a thoughtful ER that captures as much as it can her unique personality…

I know no one but I can sort that out, but with your kind suggestions, this project will hopefully come to fruition. I will surely let you know how this turns out, but I must warn you it will be a longer than average process.

 

[JDDN]

Goodness, your thoughtfulness of what she would like and how to capture her unique personality as you put it is just wonderful. Sounds like the making of a loving and respectful marriage!

Will be following your journey to the perfect e-ring for your girlfriend!

 

[danielxlin]

Maybe David Klass for a reasonably priced custom setting?

D/IF is too restrictive when you're looking for an ideal cut diamond. Not many available from branded hearts and arrows dealers. You'll have a better range of choice if you drop to E or F/VS1. Visually difficult to tell the difference between D/IF and F/VS1.

0.60 is fine. I'd question 0.40 carat, you want enough visual spread to be able to distinguish the perfect arrows you've invested in.

 

[Witos]

Ooooh!! David klass sure looks like a frontrunner! Thank you very much Daniel!

 

[JDDN]

I was poking around Love Affair Diamonds and I saw this ring and was reminded of your post. Thought it could be a beautiful solitaire set with a diamond. And guess what…it's a David Klass design!


http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/oec-moissanite-three-stone-ring/

 

[Violetphoenix]

If you're not sure about custom jewelries like me, try David Klass. I used both and found David to be honest and has much better integrity. Caysie was nice so I'm not going to bash her here.

 

[Acinom]

If you're not sure about custom jewelries like me, try David Klass. I used both and found David to be honest and has much better integrity. Caysie was nice so I'm not going to bash her here.

Hmm +1
Like Violetphoenix I have worked with both, but would recommend David

 

[msop04]

I know you said she is tiny but size does matter if you have the funds get her 1 carat.....(I'm a tiny woman and I successfully wear a a 3.66 EC)....also just check her pinterest board of friends for ideas of size , shape and setting ideas.

This... unless she has specifically said she doesn't want a carat, I'd get her a 0.90-1.0 ct stone.