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Tennis bracelet - Largest size you'd be comfortable wearing regularly?

agingsparkle

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Forgot — for the semi bezel that’s a very dirty f-g vs. I’ll clean it soon, I promise!
 

Wewechew

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You guys have me wanting to purchase a tennis bracelet now:twisted2:. I’ve never wanted one before because I thought it wasn’t practical since I am on the computer 9 hours a day at work and with my arms on a desk (ie the desk and bracelet scratching each other).
 

kgizo

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I think 5-8 carats sounds nice for your wife. Since you mentioned she has a tsavorite ring you could do a tsavorite bracelet as it would be less “blingy”. I have a smaller wrist, most of my bracelets are 6.5-6.75”. I don’t recall the weight of the tsavorite bracelet, the small round is about 3ct and the larger carre is about 11.5cts. If you would like a pic taken further away to get a better idea of perspective let me know.
88F1CF58-DCFB-4430-9F55-4BEC6AE08420.jpeg
 

phoenixgirl

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https://www.pricescope.com/communit...ctive-shots-of-tennis-bracelets.205194/page-7

Please see the link to the above thread. I bought a tennis bracelet a few years ago and did a lot of research to figure out the size and length and type of tennis bracelet I wanted. I think all the pics will be helpful to you.

I am 5’2 and small boned and ended up with a 4.7 ctw bracelet that felt easy for daily wear. I don’t wear it much anymore because I fell in love with Van Cleef and Arpels and Cartier and like those bracelets more but I don’t regret getting a tennis bracelet because it is such a classic piece and a staple and looks good with everything.

Please do look at the thread and let us know your thoughts. Just FYI. 8 carats will be very attention grabbing for someone with delicate wrists. And in my opinion a wee bit blingy for daily office wear. BUT if your wife is the type who owns and Blings it out With an I-don’t- give-a-rat’s-ass-what-you-may-think attitude then by all means go for an 8 carat. And that is not criticism in any way. We have plenty here on this board who do exactly that, and proudly, every single day.

What length did you get? I am small boned too. My wrist measures about 5.4 inches. I think a 7 inch bracelet would be quite floppy on me.

(Sorry for the thread jack, but a tennis bracelet is something I've been thinking about)
 

cokitty

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Is your wife in charge at work, owner or high level manager etc? When you are at the top of the food chain and work regularly with people who are not close to your pay grade it is wise to be careful with what you wear at work. It is not fair but if she is a leader she may wish to be more reserved with what she wears at work.
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

I will be the dissenting opinion. Personally I would buy a small, carat weight bracelet from white flash (app. 3 ctw). Whiteflash ACA's look like a million bucks even if you didn't spend that amount. And you don't need large stones to get the effect.

That said, what I surmise you are looking for is likely around 5 ctw. Happy project!

cheers--Sharon
 

LLJsmom

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What length did you get? I am small boned too. My wrist measures about 5.4 inches. I think a 7 inch bracelet would be quite floppy on me.

(Sorry for the thread jack, but a tennis bracelet is something I've been thinking about)

I have a 5 inch wrist and I got a bracelet that was about 5.5 inches or a little over. I’m weird. I like my bracelets relatively tight. I don’t like any length hanging down on my hand.
 

Greenmailer

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Hi All,

Thanks for the additional thoughts, and kgizo and kama_s, for the helpful pictures. So I wandered down to the diamond district this afternoon on the way to my office and took a look at a number of tennis bracelets in varying sizes, settings, and carat weights. Easiest thing for me to decide, based on appearance, was that I did not care for the 4 prong setting, as it looked too much line a line bracelet and showed more metal than I was comfortable with.

The first one I looked at closely was a three prong, 11.5 carat, 7" bracelet, which, not surprisingly, I thought was lovely, but the kind clerk I was dealing with quickly pulled out a 3.5 carat tw so I could see how much bling-ier (technical term), the 11.5 carat was than the 3.5 carat, and she admitted that she wouldn't feel comfortable wearing the 11.5 carat for anything other than special nights out (and to all of you ladies who wear such pieces on a regular basis proudly, more power to you - my wife just tends to be a little on the shy side, so I am certain she wouldn't feel comfortable with such a dramatic look on an everyday basis). So I liked the 3.5 carat look, but felt it was a little too delicate, and that this might actually discourage my wife from wearing it. the 3.5 carat had 9 point stones, and the 11.5 carat had 33 point stones.

From there, I went on to another place that had a broader selection of carat weights, and made the case for going with a two prong setting. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated, as I hadn't really thought about 2 prong, for the security of the stones. They showed me bracelets from 4 carats to 8 carats, and while I was drawn to the 8 carats, again, they made a convincing case that it might be too much for a work environment on everyday basis (and cokitty, to answer your question, she's not in charge, but she is a member of management, and I think would want to be mindful of the impression she would leave, both on her peers, as well as on those people who report to her). So I think where we are right now is that I am leaning towards 6 carats, both as striking the right balance between presence, not overwhelming her engagement ring, and not making her too self-conscious about it to wear it regularly.

I'm also still leaning heavily towards a three prong setting (but I would love to hear the arguments for two prong, if anyone would like to make the case, or for other settings, for that matter), and actually going to 6.5 inches, given how delicate my wife's wrists are (so we might actually end up below 6 carats, but with the same size stones as would be in a 6 carat which, I think, were 12-13 pointers).

I'd welcome additional thoughts on all of this, and as my work takes me to NYC fairly regularly, will plan on visiting with ID Jewelry to chat this through with them the next time I'm there.
 

LLJsmom

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At least 3 prongs. I don’t care what Jewelers tell me about why 2 prongs are safe. I know myself and one inadvertent hooking on anything sturdy and you potentially have little diamonds everywhere, or worse yet, you look down and say, “Didn’t I have something on my arm this morning?”
 

AprilBaby

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Three prongs!
 

canuk-gal

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Hi All,

Thanks for the additional thoughts, and kgizo and kama_s, for the helpful pictures. So I wandered down to the diamond district this afternoon on the way to my office and took a look at a number of tennis bracelets in varying sizes, settings, and carat weights. Easiest thing for me to decide, based on appearance, was that I did not care for the 4 prong setting, as it looked too much line a line bracelet and showed more metal than I was comfortable with.

The first one I looked at closely was a three prong, 11.5 carat, 7" bracelet, which, not surprisingly, I thought was lovely, but the kind clerk I was dealing with quickly pulled out a 3.5 carat tw so I could see how much bling-ier (technical term), the 11.5 carat was than the 3.5 carat, and she admitted that she wouldn't feel comfortable wearing the 11.5 carat for anything other than special nights out (and to all of you ladies who wear such pieces on a regular basis proudly, more power to you - my wife just tends to be a little on the shy side, so I am certain she wouldn't feel comfortable with such a dramatic look on an everyday basis). So I liked the 3.5 carat look, but felt it was a little too delicate, and that this might actually discourage my wife from wearing it. the 3.5 carat had 9 point stones, and the 11.5 carat had 33 point stones.

From there, I went on to another place that had a broader selection of carat weights, and made the case for going with a two prong setting. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated, as I hadn't really thought about 2 prong, for the security of the stones. They showed me bracelets from 4 carats to 8 carats, and while I was drawn to the 8 carats, again, they made a convincing case that it might be too much for a work environment on everyday basis (and cokitty, to answer your question, she's not in charge, but she is a member of management, and I think would want to be mindful of the impression she would leave, both on her peers, as well as on those people who report to her). So I think where we are right now is that I am leaning towards 6 carats, both as striking the right balance between presence, not overwhelming her engagement ring, and not making her too self-conscious about it to wear it regularly.

I'm also still leaning heavily towards a three prong setting (but I would love to hear the arguments for two prong, if anyone would like to make the case, or for other settings, for that matter), and actually going to 6.5 inches, given how delicate my wife's wrists are (so we might actually end up below 6 carats, but with the same size stones as would be in a 6 carat which, I think, were 12-13 pointers).

I'd welcome additional thoughts on all of this, and as my work takes me to NYC fairly regularly, will plan on visiting with ID Jewelry to chat this through with them the next time I'm there.


Cannot she pick out her own bracelet?
 

cflutist

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If you look closely, my two bracelets from HPD are actually 4 prongs with the look of 3 prongs. Best of both worlds, the safety of 4 prongs where the girdle outline is visible.
These bracelets are hand assembled and are 6.5 inches long. My very first bracelet was 6.5 ctw and was made of 16-17s FG/VS diamonds and was machine made. It rolls around my wrist because it doesn't have the stiffness that the hand-assembled ones have. There was a photo of it in the JOTW link that I posted earlier. Sounds like this is best option for your wife.

20180329_110558.jpg
 

canuk-gal

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If you look closely, my two bracelets from HPD are actually 4 prongs with the look of 3 prongs. Best of both worlds, the safety of 4 prongs where the girdle outline is visible.
These bracelets are hand assembled and are 6.5 inches long. My very first bracelet was 6.5 ctw and was made of 16-17s FG/VS diamonds and was machine made. It rolls around my wrist because it doesn't have the stiffness that the hand-assembled ones have. There was a photo of it in the JOTW that I posted earlier. Sounds like this is best option for your wife.

20180329_110558.jpg


Cheryl: your wrist texted me and told me they are tired, and that you should send your bracelets to me so they can rest. :cheeky::lol-2::mrgreen2:

Sorry OP for the hijack. Back to regular programming.

cheers--Sharon
 

Sparkles88

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A three prong for extra security. When you go to IDJ, from memory they have two models of 3 prong, one with less metal and one that has a heavier metal look, I chose the less metal as I preferred a more delicate look.
If you choose the size diamonds you like the look of, then depending on the length you require, you may end up with a bracelet between 5-6 ctw, which may be the perfect size your wife. From memory mine are 11 points x 45 stones = 4.95 ctw. My husband thought I could have gone larger, but I plan on stacking it with other bracelets too, so that may influence the size you choose.
 

Dandi

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I have a 3ctw 3 prong bracelet from IDJ and absolutely love it, it's delicate but safely set with minimal metal. Definitely 3 prong!
 

Catmom

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My everyday bracelet is 4.27cts. There are days when I wish it was bigger and days where I wish it was a little less blingy so I guess it is the perfect size for me for an everyday bracelet.

cmsdiamondbracelet17.jpg
 

ac117

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Like I mentioned, I have a 2 prong setting and have never lost a diamond in the almost 5 years that I have it. I also added a safety chain for added protection. That being said, my DH did choose this all on his own since he liked seeing more diamond and less metal - if I were to do it now, I'd probably choose the 3 prong but only bc the extra prong adds a bit of width and makes it look slightly larger.
 
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