Setting for pink sapphire

[tabulem]

I received a beautiful pink sapphire (0.78 ct, 5.5 mm) from Rick Martin at Art Cut Gems. It was not one that he cut himself, rather, he got it from a source for me, but the quality is excellent and I''m very happy with the stone. I wish I could show you guys a photo but none of the ones I tried to take did the stone any justice at all!

Now the next step is to put it in an e-ring setting. I''m aiming for a simple delicate 2mm band with a few small diamonds to accent the center stone. I have narrowed it down to two options, with similar prices.

One is this one from James Allen:

James Allen setting

The other option is that Rick said he could make me a ring BASED ON this Tacori design that I sent him (but more within my price range):

Tacori setting

I would be interested in all your thoughts on:

(1) Am I going to get a better ring by going with the James Allen one, or having Rick custom-make one? I am sure his work will be great quality, it''s just that I won''t know exactly how it will turn out in advance. (He says it would be hand-fabricated, not cast, so I wouldn''t get to see a wax model.)

(2) Which of the two designs do you like best?

(3) If anyone has jewelry made by Rick, I would greatly appreciate your experiences with it, and photos!

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

 

[chrono]

The Tacori design is very pretty but the diamonds on the prongs are going to be incredibly teeny tiny when the center stone is 5.5 mm. I don''t know the quality of Rick''s work or JA''s first hand so I can''t comment on that. The JA design appears straightforward and would be something I''d pick.

 

[D&T]

Date: 8/7/2009 4:18:29 PM
Author: Chrono
The Tacori design is very pretty but the diamonds on the prongs are going to be incredibly teeny tiny when the center stone is 5.5 mm. I don''t know the quality of Rick''s work or JA''s first hand so I can''t comment on that. The JA design appears straightforward and would be something I''d pick.

Ditto Chrono. those are tiny melees in the head of the Tacori- I''d also stick with the JA design, or the original Tacori (if that''s what you would) but not replicate it.

 

[tabulem]

Oh okay. Actually I don''t think he intended to try and replicate the diamonds on the prongs. The things I like about the Tacori are how thin and simple it is, and the sidestones. As for the head, I think Rick was just thinking of something more standard (which would be fine with me).

 

[QueenB29]

I really like the Tacori!

 

[packrat]

I like the Tacori too! But I wonder like they mentioned above, about the little diamonds in the prongs..can the setting be made without them?

 

[ma re]

Here are some pros and cons of each:

#1
+ simple, elegant, better chance you''ll enjoy it for longer
- four prongs for the center stone might not be enough protection if you''d like to wear it daily

#2
+ quite unusual and original, higher sparkle factor, speaks special occasion, accents in the shank are set more securely
- melee in the prongs is asking for trouble (especially in case of 24/7 wear), 8 prongs protect the stone but hide/cover it too much as it''s only 5.5 mm

I don''t think melee in the prongs would necessarily be too small, especially if it would be of high clarity and done in the single cut - but otherwise it wouldn''t sparkle much.

 

[marcy]

I like the JA setting the best and think it would look amazing with pink sapphires.

 

[chrono]

I''ll still stick with the JA; even without melees in the prongs, I''m concerned 8 prongs in the Tacori will "hide" too much of the stone.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I like the JA setting better too