Setting budget for RHR or pendant?

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Hi everyone,

This is my first topic thread I''ve started on PS, so I hope it''s in the right forum. I want to purchase a gemstone, probably a sapphire or aquamarine, and set it in a RHR or a pendant, depending on what I get. For the ladies out there who have done this (or the men who have done this as gifts!), what was your budget for the setting alone (for either pendant or RHR)? I''m trying to get a sense of what this will cost before committing myself to a gorgeous stone...only to realize I can''t yet afford the perfect setting! Thank you!

 

[FrekeChild]

Depends on what you want for the setting-diamonds, metal, etc. And how detailed you''re wanting it. Halos, solitaires, pave, engraved, a particular jeweler you want to work with (Maytal, Ocean, MWM, Leon, etc). Lots of factors...

 

[innerkitten]

It also depends on the size of the stone and the color. Also a sapphire probably going to cost more. Do you prefer one over the other? You should start looking around on colored gemstone sites to get an idea of stone pricing.You could probably get some quotes from various jewelers too.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Probably something very simple, in white gold. No halo, no diamonds...just very sleek and clean. If I wanted to do a ring, I loved Ellen''s aquamarine Leon reset - probably something along those style lines. I probably prefer the sapphire over the aquamarine ...

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Maybe with a stone like this:

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Blue/Radiant/stoneid=B2918

 

[FrekeChild]

Pretty stone. That size? Or shape or both? Custom I''m guessing? East/West or North/South?

Considering buying that stone? Because it''s really nice (IMO).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Isn''t it pretty? It''s the exact shade I was looking for, and I really like the cut as well. Probably North/South, custom, same shape. I am definitely considering this stone, although I saw a few others that looked nice too. Any recommendations for jewelers? Thank you for all the help!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

And I guess a slight caveat to the setting search for something like the sapphire I posted the link to, is that I would want to keep it pretty inexpensive. That particular sapphire is <$500, so I would want to make sure the setting isn''t twice, thrice, etc. more expensive.

 

[Kismet]

The color is really pretty but the cut looks lopsided. Colored stones aren''t cut the same way diamonds are and they''re not necessarily calibrated to fit stock settings. That stone is 5.47x4.34, kind of an odd size to fit into a stock setting. Native cut sapphires are frequently cut for weight and not optimum looks so they tend to have excess material in the belly which is also something you''d have to factor into being able to set a sapphire into a stock setting.

 

[innerkitten]

Then it sounds like you should put the majority of your money into the stone. A simple setting w/out side stones in white gold shouldn''t be too expensive. I think at the low end with a stuller setting (check out the winkjones site to see a few of those) you could be looking at around $500 incuding the cost of having the stone set , but higher if you go custom or with a popular brand name.
The natural sapphire company does have some great stones but they also have a some very bad cuts. You really have to search through them to find the good ones.I haven''t seen out the one you posted just yet. But there are a lot of other popular colored stone vendors you might want to take a look at. Cant wait to see what you wind up with!

 

[Fly Girl]

I recently priced out a pendant, and am working on a ring. For the pendant, a Stuller setting including setting ran about $150. Custom was 10x more.

I''m also pricing out simple custom ring settings, and those begin about $1,500 (more for platinum, additional stones, engraving, etc). If you want to go with Stuller to save some $$$, try to pick a standard (or close to standard) stone dimensions (such as 3x5, 4x6, 5x7, 6x8,10x12 all in mm).

 

[FrekeChild]

Ditto to what everyone else has said.

I have a 10.2 x 12.2 mm oval topaz that I've been looking into getting set into a pendant, and the stock setting (going to have to go to 11x13, because the stone is pretty deep) will run a bit over $200 for a white gold stock Stuller setting, including the setting fee. That doesn't include a chain, but you get the idea.

ETA: and the topaz cost $115 (I think) but I'm ok with paying 2x more because the topaz is mesmerizing....and probably my favorite stone to date so far.

 

[innerkitten]

If you like high carat gold. I had a ring made by an Ebay seller of 22k and 18k and it was only $300 dollars. That was about two years ago. But the price of gold is up so I'm sure his prices are up too.

http://stores.ebay.com/22K-18K-Gold-Jewelry

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 7/9/2008 3:12:20 PM
Author: innerkitten
If you like high carat gold. I had a ring made by an Ebay seller of 22k and 18k and it was only $300 dollars. That was about two years ago. But the price of gold is up so I''m sure his prices are up too.

http://stores.ebay.com/22K-18K-Gold-Jewelry

innerkitten, I wish I liked yellow gold now! Very pretty.

If you want white gold or even sterling, try this guy: Liebcor

I bought a three-stone setting from him for my moms birthday and it is perfect.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Thanks everyone! I started looking at Stuller and SuperCert as well...hopefully all this will work out!