shank width

[emeraldgreen]

so, i have a 1.51 carat asscher that i am looking to have set...getting the wax models soon. trying to figure out if 2mm is really the lowest width that one can safely go with. lxwxd is 6.42*6.41*4.39. can one safely go below 2mm w/ a platinum setting (doing melee in the shank as well)?

 

[pebbles]

Someone asked this same question a couple of months ago. If I remember correctly, John from Whiteflash said 2mm is the thinnest they will consider making a shank b/c after that it becomes too thin to safely hold the melee in place. Let me see if I can find the thread...

 

[emeraldgreen]

yeah, i know that is WF''s sentiments...but there are also a ton of other people out there who do go lower....so i guess, is there anyone that posts here (i remember someone going to a 1.7 or 1. with a smaller (width-wise) shank?

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 10/18/2005 12:26:11 PM
Author: pebbles
Someone asked this same question a couple of months ago. If I remember correctly, John from Whiteflash said 2mm is the thinnest they will consider making a shank b/c after that it becomes too thin to safely hold the melee in place. Let me see if I can find the thread...

Thanks Pebbles.

With no diamonds we will consider 1.8mm, but that would be a slim, comfort fit style band. We will make a 2mm band using 1 point diamonds or smaller. It is a matter of security and product integrity to us, and is our position with our warranty and guarantees in place.

A comparison: If you ride a roller-coaster without restraints it could be great fun and you *may* not get pitched out of the car. But many theme parks will insist on those restraints for their sake as well as yours. We''d just rather not take the chance with a lifelong piece of jewelry, so we have the safeties in place. Another comparison provided by Bob, our senior gemologist, is this one: A wooden dowel about 7 or 8mm in diameter is secure and bends, yes? However, if you drill holes in it (to put in diamonds) and try to bend it, it will break easily. This is why do not make bands thinner than 2mm if they contain diamonds. It is not structurally sound enough for our standards.

Other options may be found elsewhere, but I hope this clarifies our position.

 

[emeraldgreen]

not challenging WF''s position at all.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 10/18/2005 1:33:11 PM
Author: emeraldgreen
not challenging WF''s position at all.

EG - I apologize if it sounded like I was over-defending. When this question is asked and WF is mentioned I include our complete position, for anyone reading who may be curious. I appreciate you bringing the subject up.

 

[ame]

2mm is pretty thin. And your stone is slightly bigger than mine and it''ll just pop against a 2mm. Don''t justify the risk because you want it to look huge. Itll look really bad when you have a shank and no stone.

 

[belle]

ame is right, 2mm is pretty thin. i would say anything under 2mm with diamonds is insanely thin.

 

[mrssalvo]

i agree, i recently tried on a ritani that was 2mm and it was super thin. i don''t think i''d want to go any thinner. your diamond will look plenty big

 

[Demelza]

I totally understand about wanting a super thin band. I love them too. Before you make your decision, though, I would recommend looking around to see how thin you would really want to go (putting aside the structural issue). The reason I say that is I used to think that I would want the thinnest band possible, but I recently saw the Vera Wang collection and some of her shanks are super, super thin -- maybe 1.7 at most -- and I wasn't totally crazy about the way it looked.

 

[appletini]

You aren''t going to notice a difference between 1.7 and 2mm. I tried on one that was under 2mm, and I actually thought it was *too thin*. But the 2mm is still very tiny.

 

[emeraldgreen]

yeah, my gf just really wants a thin band. she actually saw the vera wang stuff yesterday in a mag and liked it. i just hope that 2mm is thin enough...as crazy as that sounds.

here is the diamond:

 

[belle]

ohmygosh
that is one beautiful looking asscher!

very well done emeraldgreen.

 

[emeraldgreen]

thanks...now i am just anal about getting the setting done..............

and the better half is ready to KILL me......haha.

 

[belle]

i don''t blame the better half... i''d be going veruca salt myself. i want it now!

 

[emeraldgreen]

she doesn''t know i have picked it up yet....

trying to get the setting to look like this (tought to judge by molds):

 

[belle]

nice! that looks definetly looks like a 2mmish band. i tried one on that was very similar. i like the flat sides, especially if you want the w-band to sit flush.