Setting dreams

[allycat0303]

Alright yesturday when I should have been in class, I went ring shopping instead....my friend actually called me to ask if there was something terribly wrong because I NEVER missed class. I didn't tell her or she would have thought I was insane.

So I wandered over to Birks, to get a look at the Vera Wang setting (price tag 12 500 $ + tax) for a 0.5 ct stone. So I liked it but.....believe it or not, I found in my opinon anyways, that the band was too thin for my tastes. It looks to me like it's under 1mm. It was very pretty with the 0.5 ct stone, very low key.

Went all over the place, tried on solitaires, tiffany six prong...baguettes etc., and nothing spoke to me the way my old ring ring...

So then I started dreaming up of a custom ring, what I would like to do. Now oddly enough Birks has this special day on April 20th, that with an appointment you see there ring designer, and you detail what you want, and they make the setting for you. If it's a simple setting, it gets done right way in front of you. Scary thing about that....well you don't know how much it's going to cost before hand. So I didn't take an appointment, wanted to mull it over.

This is what I'm thinking (now I've never seen this, so if anyone has, you could also point me in the right direction):

I want a 1.5 mm band, platinum, slightly rounded feel to it. No diamonds, nothing. With scroll work antiquish feel like tacori?)on the band. So can this be done? Are there any serious issues with this? I'd be looking at a 2ct diamond (although it might go up to 2.3-2.5 if I keep looking at the latest additions to the PS family). Oh and I'm also mulling over the Michael B petite princess. I like that too. And the ritani endless love with no halo. Have to admit, I love the pave, but I'm cautious with the issues I've had.

It's so nice to have a diamond obessed place to let out all my feelings. My friends would have me committed.

 

[mrssalvo]

Ally, I think just looking and trying on the settings is a great idea. As for the custom, sounds like it could be fun but I guess I''d be a little nervous, 1) not knowing the price ahead of time and 2) not really knowing exactly what the ring will look like when it''s done. I LOVE the michael b 3-sided princess and it''s a possible upgrade setting for me. I love the Ritani too. For some reason the michael b and ritani owners don''t seem to have the pave problems that others experience. Some of it has to do with whether the rings are cast verses handmade. I asked about it in this thread.

 

[allycat0303]

Mssalvo,

I have to admit, I''m nervous about the whole setting thing too (for all the reasons you are). It does sound as though the Michael B people have been spared trouble...I haven''t heard much from the ritani either. But I''m hesitent. Guess you''ve never heard of anything that matches my description? I would rather just buy it stock setting...easier...I''m wondering if plain platium has the same 2mm restriction for security.

In any way, thanks for the response. I''ll check out your link

 

[Jelly]

How about contacting Bill Pearlman at http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/ and talk to him about getting a designer setting? I''m sure he has the inside scoop about secure settings. Not to mention a collection of fabulous designer jewelry.

 

[mrssalvo]

I don''t know if you saw this thread but it was very interesting regarding the loss of pave stones. it might be helpful too. I believe Bill chimes in with some of his experience with the settings he carries.

 

[MissAva]

Solitiare settings
This one is pretty thinA Jaffe but does not have any scroll work, however I think RMS has the same ring, bit with a little diamonds sprinkled on. If I find it I will post it.

 

[MacClure]

jelly.....thank you for posting that website, i''m tryin'' not to get frustrated with finding a setting. and, the link you provided for ''pearlman''s''....has helped me already. you see, my babe and i aren''t interested in all the pave and deco stuff. and, we don''t want diamonds on the engagement ring to distract from the engagement diamond.

you''ve helped a great deal, thanks.

thank you alleycat for postin''....other-wise i wouldn''ta got this ''hookup''....

 

[valeria101]

Almost every other setting mentioned has pave too... and I doubt that any is more trouble free than yours.

It sounds like plain metal is not going to work after all that diamond lace either. The other way to leave no metal in the open on the finger would be side stones; definitely trouble free too. Any thoughts? It doesn't have to be boring... fancy sides (shields for a round?) or some small colored ones would make a seriously cute ring, IMO.

And there could be engraving n what's left 'naked' of the band, although a narrow ring would make that rather unimportant.

 

[blueroses]

Alley, I am SO behind....I remember your initial problems with your Leon (and the not-great crafstmenship when one of his cohorts screwed up some repairs) but I must have missed a LOT--is there a thread you can direct me to so I can get caught up? Your Leon is one of my all-time faves, but if it''s caused you too much grief, I understand!

 

[MissAva]

Still No Ring

 

[Mara]

Ally, do you have a Bailey Banks and Biddle nearby? Or someone who carries Ritani?

I really loved that Ritani solitaire that I tried on recently, it had some head detailing like little scallops holding the diamond in, not lacey but really beautiful and solitaire plain platinum. Looked STUNNING with large stones in it, I tried on one with a 3c and of course I adored it. It''s a little more flat than rounded but it looked great with my w-ring. LOVED IT. Never was able to find a good picture of it online unfortunately.

Also you may want to consider the MB plain platinum solitaire with diamond encrusted head ala lenhejo, I tried that on at Joe Escobar also, flattened band rather than domed by maybe they could modify it. I personally did not like the diamond encrusted head, but it definitely was unique and maybe that is a way to get some bling on the ring but not deal with it all over the band where it may be easier to knock and fall out etc. However the price tag on that puppy was $3500 and for what? Plain platinum and a head with diamonds on it.

Another idea is to do something like slammie''s ring but in plain platinum on the shank, and then put a ring of melee around the basket on the head as the only adornment. That would be stunning.

I think I would probably still go custom because it sounds like you have a good idea of what you want in your mind. Not sure who best to go custom with for you in Canada but if you don''t find it ready made, consider it.

Just personally, I am so over these micro-melee settings that we have seen here in the last year. Sure they are pretty, but talk about high-maintenance! And you can''t ultrasonic them? That would drive me nuts. I am more about the sturdy, not gonna have problems (hopefully) kinda rings (and always have been, my rings may have a bit more metal than some others but I bang them around like you wouldn''t believe and so far so good, knock on huge wood of course!), you can still do adornment but I would want that ''wearability'' factor, esp if you want to wear your ring every day the way it is meant to be worn. Sure some people say that ''well made'' designer melee or micropave rings don''t have issues, but we have had people here say they have had problems with MB melee falling out too and they pay thousands of dollars for that brand name, so I don''t buy that it''s necessarily any better to buy designer vs handmade or whatever. I think that those kinds of settings will have problems the more little tiny diamonds you pack in there. Just my own thoughts.

Whatever you decide, HAVE FUN SHOPPING and coming up with ideas!!! And 2c...yum! You know I love it. OH and lastly, be sure whatever you buy can do a flush wedding ring, the Ritani I tried on and the MB one both were able to have my w-ring sit 99.9% flush with it...which I really liked.

 

[mrssalvo]

Mara brings up a good point about pave. I do believe workmanship is a huge factor though. Thedoctor posted in another thread the other day if pave is done right, it should never fall out, ever. That said, I know Bill Pearlman has said that pave rings are more delicate by nature and therefore should be babied a bit. This is my dilema now. Do i want to have the beauty of pave but always worry about losing stones, or banging it, or not wearing it because i'm worried or would I rather have something that can handle more everyday wear and tear. I honestly am torn and hope hubby will have an opinion that will get me off the fence. You might not be wearing your ring 24/7 anyway because of your future profession so you might be a great candidate. Bottom line, I think you should get what you really love and as long as you know the pros and cons going in you won't be disappointed. After your ordeal, not sure if you even want to deal with the type of ring that has a potential of needing more maintainance though and having to deal with shipping back and forth to the US. Mara gave you some great options too. Some of the Ritani solitaires are stunning and definitely very thin which you like so much.


I think Milly has a ring like slammie's with only pave around the basket..


here's her thread

 

[Mara]

Oh yeah Mrs Salvo I forgot about Millys, duh!! She totally has that plain setting with the pave basket, perfect IMO for a little bit of bling but not HM. And that ring would be stunning paired with a kind of matching thin melee w-ring band or similar to match the diamonds in the head. YUM.

 

[blueroses]

Mat, thanks for the link. I just got caught up and my head is swimming....OH MY WORD. AWFUL.


We will have to make sure that Alley''s NEW baby is so sparkly and lovely that it will blot out the memory of this horrible thing!!!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 4/1/2006 2:16:11 PM
Author: Mara
Oh yeah Mrs Salvo I forgot about Millys, duh!! She totally has that plain setting with the pave basket, perfect IMO for a little bit of bling but not HM. And that ring would be stunning paired with a kind of matching thin melee w-ring band or similar to match the diamonds in the head. YUM.

I bet Ritani would even modify their "Kayla" ring to just have the pave on the basket and leave the shank plain if you wanted. then you could get the matching wedding band and not really have to go through the trouble of custom. If you think you''d like it, I would definitely look into it further.

 

[pricescope]

Date: 4/1/2006 10:25:50 AM
Author:allycat0303

I want a 1.5 mm band, platinum, slightly rounded feel to it. No diamonds, nothing. With scroll work antiquish feel like tacori?)on the band. So can this be done? Are there any serious issues with this? I''d be looking at a 2ct diamond (although it might go up to 2.3-2.5 if I keep looking at the latest additions to the PS family). Oh and I''m also mulling over the Michael B petite princess. I like that too. And the ritani endless love with no halo. Have to admit, I love the pave, but I''m cautious with the issues I''ve had.

It''s so nice to have a diamond obessed place to let out all my feelings. My friends would have me committed.

Some hybrid for you Ally - very thin from the top, engraved, Pave in present but not "exposed". I don''t know...

 

[valeria101]

Speaking of solitaires with a (small) twist and no pave...

 

[valeria101]

In the spirit of Irina''s drawing... could easily imagine this one below with a knife edge, but it is a vintage piece and have no idea who would make anything like it (thinking... Van Craeynest, but not so sure)

link to original webpage

 

[valeria101]

And then... this isn''t pave, right?

The ring was made for ''SLH'' (Harry Kotlar.

 

[valeria101]

Harry Kotlar ring

link to thread

 

[f0rbidden]

have a peek at ..is it green lake jewelry?
they have an AMAZING selection of simple engraved rings that you might like!

 

[allycat0303]

I swear you all have mountains and mountains of design ideas! So many lovely options. Alright....so this is what I did. Yesturday went back to Birks and got an actual price for a simple Michael B sort of setting (petite princess) ($4000 + tax Canadian) I think that''s a good price. They will also replace stones for free unless it''s clear that I''ve been abusing the ring, in which case, replacement cost will be of the diamond only, and at cost.

The other ring idea, non pave, like Valaria''s options that have scroll work on the sides and Pricescope''s (thanks so much ladies, I especially like the single claw prong''s on the ring), basically a simple platinum band with some sort of scroll work will be 2800$ + tax, with single or double claw prongs. Honestly, this one is my favorite option because I''ll never have to think about pave again. I don''t want the hassle. The only thing I''m worried about is I don''t have a picture of exactly what I want, so it''s hard to describe...and if I can''t describe properly, I can''t imagine them being able to make it.

Now unless everyone can''t tell, I''m a real setting girl. I want this to be decided before I order the stone.

Thanks for all the pics ladies! I''m going to be compiling them all day

 

[moon river]

I wouldn''t be able to choose from all these delicious settings.

 

[Mara]

what about something like kayla''s setting from leon mege with the split claw prongs? it''s very simple but has the LM flair to it?