The CADs are in! Custom Round Halo ER

[scottylmt]

OK, so for any of you who have been following, the first round of CADs have come in today!

First I will post the links for the two original rings, for which this ring is supposed to be a hybrid...

The top of this ring (Center is pictured with .63, and I went with a .75 instead, but the halo dimensions were specified to be the same... with a LARGE halo to center stone ratio) including the halo:

http://www.helzberg.com/product/1+1-2ct+tw+diamond+engagement+ring+1772573.do?sortby=ourPicks


And the bottom of this ring (basket, shanks, and band)
http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER7923W83JJ


CADs are pictured at the bottom of this post...

Upon first look I LOVE it! But, it appears to me that BGD has taken the gabriel ring and made a copy of it, only better IMO.. That's awesome, but the concern I have is that the halo stones are NOT larger than most I've seen, and to me it doesn't resemble the helzeberg ring at all. I had also asked for stones on the side of the basket in my quote, which were said to have cost $150, and those seem to have been left out (though I am waiting on a profile view without the WR in the way)

I definitely don't like the wedding band; I think the curve is WAY exaggerated... but that can be addressed later.

The concern I have is that when I asked for a copy of the gabriel ring, the price I was quoted was considerably less than my final quote. The price had gone up because of the extras I asked to be included... but the problem is that this ring IS a copy of the gabriel ring, not the one I had designed. I don't attribute this to lack of attention on Brian or Lesley's part, but I feel that the design job was passed to someone who wasn't up to speed on where we were at in our design. It is an awesome ring, and I would buy it at the originally quoted gabriel copy price, but it isn't the ring that I had described.

There also seems to be an overabundance of metal... I understand that a certain amount will be cut away, but the stones in the halo from the overhead view don't protrude out past the metal at all (see helzeberg link for the top view I'm going for...)

I must admit I'm kind of discouraged. It seems like I'm paying a lot more but not getting what I am specifying. I'm going through all my emails with BGD so I can call Lesley and explain my case to her with concrete evidence, but the price just seems too high for the ring CAD they sent me.

Thanks for looking and I EAGERLY await input!

 

[Enerchi]

I think the CAD's achieved the combination of both rings, beautifully! CAD's more often than not, always look a bit 'chunkier' than the actual item. I think that may be what you are seeing more of = the computer's idea of prongs.

It is a beauty! you and BGD did very well !

 

[scottylmt]

OK so my first post may have came off a bit negative... I was actually having a bit of a bad day because business is slow and I was worried about money lol. I talked to Brian and got some perspective by viewing other halos. I didn't take into consideration that my stone is smaller than most halos pictured, and looking at the stones without the metal you can see the ratio is larger. And when comparing to other BGD halos, I can see now that I'm actually getting a pretty AWESOME price! A lot of the metal will be shaved off, and the wedding ring won't fit like that after it has been made. I think CADs can be a little tricky for somebody not in the industry because what we see isn't going to be what it looks like exactly after the fact. The small stones on the basket weren't included in the price, because he is only able to put them on IF there is room, and he will know during making it.

I can't wait to get the profile view of the basket because he added his own design to it!

Yeah sorry I came off negative at first but now that I'm looking at what it's ACTUALLY going to look like, I love it! And with the quality of stones going into it, it's going to blow away all the local rings in my area!

 

[Enerchi]

There you go! Much better perspective after talking to Brian - glad you feel better about your GORGEOUS ring!!! Its gonna be a beauty!

 

[scottylmt]

Yeah I gotta say it's pretty awesome! When I went with the .75 instead of .63 center I remember saying to myself that I would trade that for having very large halo stones. They went as large with the halo stones as they could to stay within my price range. I'm actually glad I did it this way because that center stone is going to annihilate the helzeberg one!

 

[Enerchi]

Yeah I gotta say it's pretty awesome! When I went with the .75 instead of .63 center I remember saying to myself that I would trade that for having very large halo stones. They went as large with the halo stones as they could to stay within my price range. I'm actually glad I did it this way because that center stone is going to annihilate the helzeberg one!

that's the spirit!

 

[yssie]

OK so my first post may have came off a bit negative... I was actually having a bit of a bad day because business is slow and I was worried about money lol. I talked to Brian and got some perspective by viewing other halos. I didn't take into consideration that my stone is smaller than most halos pictured, and looking at the stones without the metal you can see the ratio is larger. And when comparing to other BGD halos, I can see now that I'm actually getting a pretty AWESOME price! A lot of the metal will be shaved off, and the wedding ring won't fit like that after it has been made. I think CADs can be a little tricky for somebody not in the industry because what we see isn't going to be what it looks like exactly after the fact. The small stones on the basket weren't included in the price, because he is only able to put them on IF there is room, and he will know during making it.

I can't wait to get the profile view of the basket because he added his own design to it!

Yeah sorry I came off negative at first but now that I'm looking at what it's ACTUALLY going to look like, I love it! And with the quality of stones going into it, it's going to blow away all the local rings in my area!

Congrats scotty - glad you are feeling better about it!! It'll be blinding, that's for sure

 

[Gypsy]

It's going to be beautiful. I know it's hard when you are new to jewelry to understand what's going on with CADs and pricing and everything but I really am happy you talked to Brian, they really care about their customer's happiness and I know this ring is going to be beautiful and it won't be just the center that knocks that helzberg ring into orbit, you will be amazed by the quality of the melee stones too, I know.

Congratulations! Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[mandasand]

I don't think it looks like a copy at all. And, it won't look like so much metal in the end. This is computer generated....the final will be super sparkly and gorgeous! I like the basket, very unique. With that kind of basket, you'll have to go for the curved band because it won't sit flush to the ring. Otherwise, you will have a gap between the ring and wedding band. I think it looks nice as a set.

 

[slg47]

have you considered not ordering the band now and letting her choose? she may prefer a straight band, plain band...

I think the CADs look really nice.

 

[Gypsy]

have you considered not ordering the band now and letting her choose? she may prefer a straight band, plain band...

I think the CADs look really nice.

Totally agree with this. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to pick my band for me.

 

[scottylmt]

No I'm definitely not ordering the band yet. I had them do that as an idea, and if that's what she likes, then it will at least be on file so they don't have to have us send back the ER for them to match it.

Just for the hell of it... I sent BGD a request to see how much more the ring would cost me if we upgraded the halo stones even further so that only 10 will fit around the center. The more I look at it, it may not be necessary, but I like having options

 

[Enerchi]

My opinion, the current melee seem in proportion and well balanced for the halo. I wonder if larger, would they be taking some focus away from your beautiful centre stone? Get his opinion and the cost, but thought I'd just throw that out there --- balance is what makes the design appealing.

I'd leave it as is - it is stunning as shown!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, CAD's look terrible compared to the finished product! But I am going to have to tell you something honestly, I think it is a real mistake to make the underside of the halo like that where a band can't sit reasonably near the e-ring. There are TONS of halo designs that let a wedding band sit next to it better than this one. And I am sorry if this offends anyone, but I really hate curved wedding bands. You can't ever just wear the band with a couple of other bands when you don't want to wear the e-ring.

I have no doubt that the finished product will be beautiful. But there are several Gabriel and Co halos that would work better with a wedding band than this one. A few examples:

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER8270W44JJ

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER7524W44JJ

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER7259W44JJ

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/style/ER6873W44JJ

 

[Christina...]

I think it's gorgeous Scott! Absolutely lovely!

And I just wanted to say, that even at your most negative your still a sweetheart! I think you both will love this ring! You did good!!

 

[slg47]

what about having the basket like this
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/glamour-shots-of-my-bgd-pink-tourmaline.169270/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/glamour-shots-of-my-bgd-pink-tourmaline.169270/[/URL]
but slightly raised to allow for a band?

 

[scottylmt]

Yeah im going to ask him about a straight band today after I hear my quote. My gf says she doesn't care, but I would if I had to wear it. Im guessing that's not going to be a big deal to her. I think she's under the impression she's gonna be wearing this er around everywhere... not when im dropping 7 G's she's not lol! So the curve would really bother ME.

Yeah im gonna see what brian says about the large halo after I get the quote. Im guessing he's going to say keep it small, as it seems like that's what 99% of designers do. Of course, I am also thinking that may be to keep total price down.

We'll see, but odds are its gonna come back too expensive for me to justify anyway; for gods sake that wedding band alone is $2K!

Thanks for the "sweet" comment too

 

[Laila619]

Hi Scotty,

I'm going to be honest and say that I think it looks like a ton of metal is showing in the CADs. I think it's the pave style, the number of prongs holding the melee diamonds. I would see about switching to a different pave style. I think it's pretty, but BGD can do much better.

 

[slg47]

Yeah im going to ask him about a straight band today after I hear my quote. My gf says she doesn't care, but I would if I had to wear it. Im guessing that's not going to be a big deal to her. I think she's under the impression she's gonna be wearing this er around everywhere... not when im dropping 7 G's she's not lol! So the curve would really bother ME.

Yeah im gonna see what brian says about the large halo after I get the quote. Im guessing he's going to say keep it small, as it seems like that's what 99% of designers do. Of course, I am also thinking that may be to keep total price down.

We'll see, but odds are its gonna come back too expensive for me to justify anyway; for gods sake that wedding band alone is $2K!

Thanks for the "sweet" comment too

why not? I wear my engagement ring everywhere (except to sleep/shower/gym/etc)

 

[stargurl78]

I love the suggestions that DS and slg posted for the basket. However, I think the one you choose is fine too and honestly, I don't mind a gap, however like DS, I'm just not a fan of curved bands. I'm sure your gf will be thrilled no matter what you choose and she can pick out a wedding band based on her preferences.

Also, I am a fan of going with larger stones in the halo, if you want it to have the proportions of the Helzberg one.

 

[scottylmt]

Yeah I'm extremely happy with the basket BGD came up with, especially after seeing the profile CAD. I double checked and she's positive she's cool with a band with a small curve to it.

To the poster above who thinks there's a lot of metal showing, thank you for your honesty. I thought that at first, but only from the bird's eye view. The more I look at it though, I kind of like the look of the prongs (kind of modern vs the traditional prongs) Her main concern was that there is no CIRCLE of metal around the halo... the prongs in between the diamonds are a different story. I am going to find a way to show her the CADs before I give any final GO-AHEAD though, but I'm kind of afraid to spoil the surprise!

LOL. Yeah that's what I was talking about (physical work and gym etc) Told her I'm gonna get her a Walmart ring to wear to the gym since she wants to still wear one!

Thank you all for your opinions... apparently they are making me CADs with the larger halo stones, and then I will know exactly how much more it would cost to do that option, and what it will look like exactly.

 

[scottylmt]

So I showed her the Bird's Eye Photo last night, and she said it was gorgeous and that the prongs on the outer ridge of the halo are awesome and she loves how modern they look! Little did she know it was the ring we designed for HER lol; I told her don't get your hopes up this one is WAY out of our price range

 

[stargurl78]

So I showed her the Bird's Eye Photo last night, and she said it was gorgeous and that the prongs on the outer ridge of the halo are awesome and she loves how modern they look! Little did she know it was the ring we designed for HER lol; I told her don't get your hopes up this one is WAY out of our price range

Awesome, she is going to love it! You better post lots of pics once you get it and share your proposal story!

 

[scottylmt]

I gave BGD the go ahead!

They sent me the CAD with the ten larger stones like I requested... and most of you were right, the balance wasn't quite there. It actually was only going to cost $250 more, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of the original. Brian agreed to shave down the outer prongs as much as possible too and that was my major concern when I first saw the CADs.

I went ahead and splurged for the larger center stone so why the hell would I not show it off!? I think I was really disappointed that they didn't do the larger halo stones AT FIRST, because its what I asked for and I thought they didn't listen to me... BUT I see now that they made what they thought would look the most pleasing. Its funny because I eluded to that to brian on the phone, and he said "I made the first one because its what I thought would look the best. I made the second one to make you happy." Awesome.

One poster said to me that I should give BGD some room to add their own artistry to the piece. I actually wanted to minimize that. But they did anyway and im SO happy they did! What I wound up with is basically something they designed under my direction. I can't wait to show her the CADs after so she can see the difference; I think she will like hers much better.

Judging by the thousands of rings I've seen, I can honestly say this is my favorite one. Funny its not what I wanted, but after seeing what I wanted, this is BETTER than what I wanted! And that's even with the 15% extra metal in the CADs; im imagining now what it will look like after being shaved!

Totally happy to admit I was wrong on this one!

And of course I will be posting pictures on hand and everything. If this ring is as cool as I think its gonna be, im also gonna make a video for youtube with a review of BGD.

The proposal will be more basic, but heartfelt with the right words. I will tell that story here too

Thanks for your help so far everybody!

 

[Laila619]

Yay! This is so exciting. She is going to be so surprised and happy when she sees her ring!

 

[Enerchi]

Fantastic news Scottylmt! I'm so glad you had the other larger halo to be able to compare --- and see that the original was the way to go. Glad that Brian was so wonderful to go ahead and show you the difference, too!

I'm so excited for you and your FFI. This is going to be such a wonderful thrill for her to learn of the background that went into creating this ring JUST FOR HER! How awesome is that???

So excited for you both!!