Show me your sapphire (or other colored stone) and diamond cluster (Lady Di) ring

[iloveblue]

I''m about to become engaged and seem to be holding up the process by waffling about my engagement ring. I love, love, love sapphires and have always liked the sapphire ring a la Princess Diana, although I''m discovering that there are different versions (square, round, oval) and wildly different prices for the settings. If you have such a ring or anything close (i.e., colored stone surrounded by diamonds--but not the teeny tiny halo style), please post a photo and let me know some of the specifics if you have them (size of the sapphire, where you purchased, etc). Actually, it doesn''t have to be a sapphire--I suppose any color would give me an idea.

I''m wondering about having a wider shank so that it will seem more like a wedding band than just an engagement ring, because I''d imagine that you couldn''t wear a band with this type of ring (right)? I haven''t seen any out there.

I''m also discovering that not a lot of bricks and mortar stores have many sapphires to choose from, so I suppose I should look online. But, I''m definitely a "I gotta see the ring on my hand" type of person. I''ve tried on rings that I think are lovely only to discover that they make my hands look kinda comical Do people buy the stones and then try to find a setting? That makes me nervous. I live in the Atlanta area, if that helps.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[chrono]

I prefer to choose the stone first then the setting. Doing it the other way makes me more nervous. This way, I can concentrate on the stone. Then once I know it''s the one, I have the exact measurements and the setting can be built around it.

 

[simplysplendid]

Here''s my blue sapphire and red ruby rings..

 

[simplysplendid]

.

 

[chrono]

SS,
Your sapphire and ruby rings are beautiful...

Were they purchased and set locally?

 

[iloveblue]

So, considering the fact that I know I like the cluster style setting, do I just go into a jeweler and ask whether they have that style and what the price is?

One problem I encountered in one shop was that I felt the jeweler wasn''t clear on giving me a setting price. It wasn''t their setting, so I can only assume that the setting had "a price." When I asked what the setting cost was without the center stone (because it was a tanzanite, and I''m getting a sapphire), the person gave me a price without the diamonds in it, saying that the actual price would be dictated by the little surrounding diamonds. But at another place, a person showed me a Jabel setting and gave me an exact price with the surrounding diamonds--he said that Jabel only uses G/VS1 diamonds in that setting, so the price is set; the final price would be dictated by the sapphire I bought (if I got it from them--otherwise, I''d bring it in).

The other thing I''ve been told is that if I like the cluster type of setting but get a "nontraditional size" (say, an 8X5 oval sapphire instead of an 8X6--I''m making up those sizes because I can''t remember them), I''d have to get a custom-made setting rather than the standard. I have no problem with custom, but it seems silly to go this way when I''m looking for such a traditional setting that people already make. So, I have to look for a certain size?

 

[iloveblue]

Oh my goodness--I love them both! And they''re just slightly different that the traditional Lady Di types I''ve been seeing--which kind of have "pointy" parts at the edge of the diamonds. Sorry, I don''t know the setting lingo. I''ve attached a picture of what I''m calling the more "pointy" style. So, what''s different between yours and what I attached? Is it a prong thing? I can''t tell what''s different in the clusters.

I''m new to Pricescope--am I allowed to ask where you got your settings?

The ruby looks just like one I downloaded from Leon Mege a while back. I''m attaching that in the next message. Is your ruby round? Or cushion? And what sizes (in millimeters, if you have that) are the ruby and sapphire?

 

[iloveblue]

Here''s the Leon M one I mentioned.

Oh--how the heck do you fit a wedding band with the sapphire ring? Is it set up high? I figured I just couldn''t do that.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

You might want to go have a look at The Natural Sapphire Company. Not only do they have some beautiful stones but they also have settings and some finished pieces. That will give you some ideas and prices.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I was just looking around and found this setting. Not Lady Di style but I think it is quite nice link. [The pic is too big to post.]

 

[Catmom]

Simplysplendid, your rings are...............well........................SIMPLY SPLENDID!!!!!!!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 12/4/2007 9:47:52 AM
Author: Catmom
Simplysplendid, your rings are...............well........................SIMPLY SPLENDID!!!!!!!

+1

 

[simplysplendid]

Hi Ladies, thank you very much.. I love them very much as they were both from my hubby, so they are very special to me..

Hi iloveblu, the sapphire is a heated approx 2.6 carat blue sapphire from Ceylon. The setting is custom made with 8 points melee around the centre stone with a plain shank. The ruby is a 1.5carat untreated/unheated burmese ruby and the setting too is custom made (I bought it already set but but the jeweler has custom made the setting for this ruby), again with approx 8 points melee around the centre stone but the shank has pave setting.

I think the difference between my setting and the pointy one that you posted is in the prong. My rings do not have the extra prong at the "tip" of each melee diamond, if you know what i mean. They have two shared prong between each melee diamond instead of one shared prong between each melee diamond and another prong at the tip. Also, I have a small ring size so the rings do look substantial on my fingers. Depending on your ring size, you may wish to go slightly bigger or smaller for the centre stone and melee stones to achieve a certain look you prefer.

I second the idea of searching for a beautiful stone first and then custom making the setting around the stone. You might wish to take a look at the following threads I posted for more pictures of the setting.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ruby-advice-please.61775/

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/rings-from-hubby.54631/

Good luck and have fun!

 

[LostSapphire]

Here is my original (from 1987) engagement ring. 2 ct sapphire. I have a very thin wedding band that fit underneath the head of the ring.

The photo is rather dark, it''s a scan of the 1" x 1" photo that was attached to the appraisal certificate....

Unfortunately, it was lost during the construction of our house (hence my log in name & avatar). I continue to hope I will find a suitable replacement.

This is my first try at posting a photo, so here goes....

 

[DiaDiva]

Here is my new 5 carat ruby ring - it was a present for our wedding anniversary last week. I''m wearing it here with a 2mm eternity band.

 

[DiaDiva]

Here is a side shot of the ring...

 

[Maisie]

OOoOOh DiaDiva!! That ring is stunning!!!!

 

[iloveblue]

Diamanteblu--Thanks for the link! It''s a lovely ring, although I think I like the larger stones rather than the tiny ones. (Sorry folks--I don''t know the lingo exactly. What''s the difference in a pave halo and the rings I''m looking at?) I want the more substantial diamonds (like, 10 or so) rather than a whole bunch of teeny ones.

SimplyStunning--Love, love your rings! I''m not sure what a "small" ring size is. I''m a 5 1/2. But, I''m short (5 feet) and small and wear no other jewelry--this will likely be it in the "fine jewels" department. So, I don''t think I want anything bigger than the 2 carat size. What''s "melee?" I think the prong at the end is precisely what is different.

DivaDia--What a beauty! I love the profile, too.


So, it sounds like a consensus that I should sapphire shop before I shop for the setting, even if I''m picking a fairly common type of setting.

 

[iloveblue]

Oh my goodness--how awful to lose your ring! It was stunning, and is just the type of thing I''m looking for.

I had one person tell me that I''d "get tired" of this type of setting (i.e., a nontraditional engagement ring), and I wasn''t exactly sure what she meant. Perhaps that it''s trendy? But, hasn''t this style been around since Victorian times? I kind of thought of it as a classic. Anyway, I''ve always like this cluster style and always liked sapphires.

 

[poshpepper]

Simply -- your rings are fantastic!!! They are perfect colors for both blue sapphire and ruby... so beautiful!!!

 

[simplysplendid]

Hi Poshpepper.. thank you.

Hi iloveblue, i wear a size 3 1/2. By melee, i meant the small diamonds surrounding the centre stone..

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 12/5/2007 10:24:58 AM
Author: iloveblue
Diamanteblu--Thanks for the link! It''s a lovely ring, although I think I like the larger stones rather than the tiny ones. (Sorry folks--I don''t know the lingo exactly. What''s the difference in a pave halo and the rings I''m looking at?) I want the more substantial diamonds (like, 10 or so) rather than a whole bunch of teeny ones.

Here is another setting from the NSC that is probably more what you are looking for:

 

[iloveblue]

Yes--that''s precisely the style! Not the newest thing around, but I love it!

 

[Addlepated]

Here''s my color change garnet - pic

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Wow! That garnet is gorgeous!

Let me display my ignorance - the color you showed is beautiful! What color is it in a differnt light? [My birthstone is garnet and I have not found a garnet I am in love with so I am still looking. Maybe a color change is the way to go?]

 

[DiamanteBlu]

iloveblue -

You might want to look at the settings here:Unique Settings of New York

They have a bunch of princess di type semi-mounts. I have not used them so I don''t know the quality but they look like their settings may be interesting.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 12/5/2007 10:24:58 AM
Author: iloveblue
Diamanteblu--Thanks for the link! It''s a lovely ring, although I think I like the larger stones rather than the tiny ones. (Sorry folks--I don''t know the lingo exactly. What''s the difference in a pave halo and the rings I''m looking at?) I want the more substantial diamonds (like, 10 or so) rather than a whole bunch of teeny ones.

So, it sounds like a consensus that I should sapphire shop before I shop for the setting, even if I''m picking a fairly common type of setting.

That ring is a pave setting. It has lots of teeny diamonds. I would say that a halo also had small diamonds surrounding the main stone but the are in a single layer and are bigger than the pave stones. I don''t know what a surround of more substantial, individually prong set stones is called [and I have sapphire earrings just like that]. How embarrassing!

Here are the earrings if you want to see them:

 

[DiamanteBlu]

And, absolutely, you will want to pick your sapphire first!

I can''t wait to see what you select. Blue sapphire is my favorite colored stone!

 

[Addlepated]

Blu - thanks! The stone has all sorts of colors, from raspberry to bluish teal. Most often it''s an amethyst-like purple in incandescent light, and a teal in sunlight/fluorescent. Here are ideal lighting pics from Richard Homer, who picked the rough and cut it for me:

 

[Addlepated]

I can''t figure out how to put more than two images in a post...