Semi bezel setting too fragile?

[carasilentium]

Hi guys,

My bf and I are ring shopping and have looked high and low for a setting we like for a diamond we've recently purchased. Since we haven't been able to find anything we thought we would go the custom route and do a mash up of a few rings we like. The diamond we bought is a 1.65carat 7.7x7.73x4.56 roughly and we are hoping to get a ring designed that has the twist of ring one
but has a head and setting of settings 1-3.

We met with a few people today who told us setting the ring in this kind of semi bezel would be extremely fragile because the diamond would chip because the front and the back of the ring would be exposed. That's a big issue for me because I'm clumsey and will definitely bang my hand around more than a few times for the rest of my life I'm sure.

Most semi bezel aren't like this but that is why i like it so much.I am not against prongs but this is a truly unique setting that I have not seen anywhere else. With such a beautiful diamond, I would like it to be exposed not covered. Can anyone tell me how fragile setting the diamond like this really is and if there are any better ideas? Any ideas are welcome!

 

[EvangelineG]

I can't comment on durability of this setting style,although the diamond doesn't look like it would be any more exposed than with your average setting? Less so than with many 4 prong designs. But I wanted to say that what you are after really reminds me of a Sholdt design I was admiring the other day.

http://www.sholdtdesign.com/Vashon/R459.htm

Might be worth considering if it is close enough to what you want. It is a gorgeous ring!

 

[VRBeauty]

I think that does leave pretty large portions of the girdle exposed. Most of the Scholdt designs in Evangeline's link have about 2/3 of the girdle bezeled, and about 1/3 exposed (there are exceptions), whereas this design has the opposite proportions: about 1/3 bezeled and 2/3 exposed. That might not be a big deal with a smaller stone, but if I'm doing my math correctly that means that on your diamond, the you'd have 8 mm exposed on either side of the ring. That seems like a lot of room for oopses.

But - maybe Kenny will chime in. He has a tension-set Octavia diamond that I think has a significant amount of girdle exposed, also on the north and south sides. Maybe it's not a real-life problem even though it looks like one on paper.

ETA Evangeline is right though - the protection offered by that setting isn't unlike that offered by a lot of 4-prong settings.

And - Whiteflash offeres a couple of solitaire settings that incorporate a swirl design that you might want to check out.

 

[carasilentium]

Thanks Evangeline.

I've seen these rings as well. I think they're very nice but when I look at them the diamond is so covered, especially on the north and south sides. I would rather expose the diamond on the north and south sides so someone looking at my ring head on can see the diamond instead of the east and west sides of it. I am just at a loss of how I can move away from a traditional prong setting but still retain the protection of them.

 

[baby monster]

There are lots of Sholdt semi-bezel owners on PS but I haven't heard on any chipped stones. It's possible but, like others commented, a 4 prong setting leaves more exposed surfaces. I have a semi-bezel solitaire and haven't had issues with it but if you're afraid of chipping a stone, then only a full bezel would provide adequate protection. Here's a pic of my setting.

 

[MMtwo]

I had this setting several years ago. Had some issues with the setting (loose stone) but worked through them. I did not have any issues with damage to the diamond. I think the design helped protect most glancing blows.

 

[alene]

OP, I had the Ritani setting for 8 years and did end up having issues with the setting but only because the vendor we bought the setting from squeezed the stone into the setting designed for a smaller stone and messed it up in the process. The stone eventually became loose and the setting had to be replaced. However, I never had any issues with damaging the stone.

 

[OoohShiny]

It seems like you are in a similar situation to me - wanting to show the stone off but protect it from being chipped or similar!

I would look at semi-bezel settings that wrap round a bit more, so the corners of the bezel will touch the surface first when you lay the ring down - that should stop any risks with slamming the stone into objects that are flat across. You would then have to be pretty unlucky for the few mm of stone between the semi-bezel points to be the first thing that is hit accidently!

 

[RockyRacoon]

You may want to try to find a design similar to this one:

http://www.brilliantearth.com/Cascade-Ring-White-Gold-BE134-441/

Brilliant Earth only sets stones from their database, so you would need to buy a stone there to get the setting (I would not advise paying the mark-up).

I have a feeling many of the custom-order makers would be able to provide a similar setting.

My wife has that setting in platinum and it does a GREAT job of protecting the stone, while still providing a small window on the side to see the entirety of the stone.

Best of luck!