To halo or not to halo??

[mrsj8610]

I posted a thread before about haloing my ring. Since then, I have spoken to some jewelers who say that it is possible to add a halo, but my question now is should I?? Would it look good or possibly take away from my setting? I just keep going back and forth on it. Thoughts?

 

[Mike R]

My vote would be, don't add a halo to this ring.

Adding a halo to a ring that was never originally designed to have one could end up looking awkward and I'm also picking that the structure might not be there to support a halo well.

Think of it like adding another level or extention to your house, sure occasionally this can be done well if you find a really good contractor and spend a lot of money, but more often than not the results can look very tacked on and out of proportion.

I also worry about the heat needed to solder on a new halo and the structure to support it, when you heat metal it expands and contracts loosening all the diamonds in your band. They can be re tightend if the jeweler notices they are loose but the metal will always be softer from annealing during soldering.

Finally I do not think it would make good economical sense, having that sort of work done by a really skilled jeweller that is going to deliver a durable and beautiful end product is not going to be cheap. You could probably buy a whole new pre cast setting for the price of the alterations, the new setting would have been designed to be a halo ring from the beginning so the proportions and structure of the ring should be better.

Good luck, please if your going to add a halo to your ring ask to look at samples of other halos the jeweler has done first, make sure you are happy with the results.

Have you thought about having two bands made to wear with your ring? You could have curved horseshoe shaped sections of pave on fine bands, when you wore the two bands with your ring it would give you a halo look.

 

[plummiecat]

I like your ring as it is now. I believe adding a halo will be too busy and detract from the center stone.

 

[distracts]

Personally I think that if you want to halo your stone, you should get a whole new setting for it. A halo on that particular ring would just look crazy and way too busy. Why do you want a halo? It looks like your ring has a lot of finger-coverage and presence already.

 

[Enerchi]

I like your ring as it is now. I believe adding a halo will be too busy and detract from the center stone.

+1

Your setting + a halo might be competing with each other. If you'd prefer a halo, I think it may be best to select a completely new setting altogether.

 

[milton333]

I don't think a halo works with the proportions of this ring. I think you'd also want to do a new setting entirely (perhaps set a colored stone into this setting, there are lots of oval colored stones out there that would work, you could wear it as a RHR). Maybe get a CZ halo setting with an oval center stone to wear for a bit and see how you like it before making any big decisions. Is it possible that there's "too much" going on with your current ring, such that the center stone seems lost? Maybe you want to try out a solitaire setting, too, one with a narrow or tapering band to emphasize the solitaire. Again, I'd find a CZ of similar size to wear around for a bit and see if that addresses what's bugging you about the current setting.

 

[alene]

I agree with the others, I'd go with a completely different setting if I wanted a halo. I like your ring as it is.

 

[Amys Bling]

I don't think you should do it. If you really want a halo I think you should just get a new setting.

 

[Christina...]

I agree, I think that a halo in your current setting would distract from the diamond. I'd get a different setting and halo your diamond though. I'm also wondering if it would be cost productive to add a halo to your current setting, it may be less costly just to buy a new setting for it.

 

[LD]

I disagree with all the other posters. If you look at the sides of the ring, you have central diamonds surrounded by a haloesque look. So having a central halo would be sympathetic with the rest of the ring. Actually I think that your oval looks very lonely on it's own in that setting as the sides are quite busy but then the centre is all alone so your idea of a halo will marry it together.

I love ovals - you don't see enough of them! Can your jeweller sketch you out the design so you can see the proportions? If he/she can't, print out the photo of the ring you've taken above and then draw on a halo. It'll give you an idea of what it looks like. That should help with your decision process.

 

[LD]

Please forgive the rubbish sketch but this is sort of what it would look like! I think the halo would need to be a little bigger but at least this gives you an idea.

 

[SweetAsscher]

I vote for the halo. I like the sketch you drew.

 

[SparklyOEC]

I was going to say "no", but after seeing the sketch, I love that.

 

[mrssalvo]

I was going to say "no", but after seeing the sketch, I love that.

Me too.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yeah, I think the sketch is good. But just how complicated that might be is another whole question. Sometimes it is better to just start over.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yeah, I think the sketch is good. But just how complicated that might be is another whole question. Sometimes it is better to just start over.

Totally agree, and also a word of caution, very few benches could add a halo that delicate to your ring and do it well. I strongly urge you to start over. You may think you are saving money by adding to an existing ring but most likely you are not.

 

[LD]

Do you have a side view of the ring? I believe that head is totally separate from the setting (have seen this design before) and different size heads can be put it in to accommodate different shapes and sizes of stones. If it is, it's a very easy job to add a halo - which is why I think your local jewellers are saying that it can be done.

Hope that helps.

 

[Eilonwy]

Although I think it would look nice with a halo, I don't think it would actually be possible, or at least it would be very difficult to have it done. I really think it looks great as it is.

 

[mrsj8610]

The head on the ring is seperate. The local jeweler told my husband and I that a new head can be custom made with a halo and easily just changed out. It doesn't seem very difficult and the quote she gave seems very reasonable for the custom work. She said it would be between $620-$720 depending on the amount of stones needed, etc. My other photos of the ring aren't uploading, but I did find this one that shows the side of the ring, sorry if it is blurry.

 

[tyty333]

My initial thought was no-halo on this ring becaue I wasnt sure what the final details (how the attachement/profile would look).
I do like the picture you sketched though. Have you seen lots of work by the jeweler that gave you the quote? Would it be
done with CAD so you can see the profile and how the attachement would look? Those would be my main concerns.

 

[LD]

The head on the ring is seperate. The local jeweler told my husband and I that a new head can be custom made with a halo and easily just changed out. It doesn't seem very difficult and the quote she gave seems very reasonable for the custom work. She said it would be between $620-$720 depending on the amount of stones needed, etc. My other photos of the ring aren't uploading, but I did find this one that shows the side of the ring, sorry if it is blurry.

Having seen the profile and hearing what your jeweller has told your husband I completely agree this will be a simple job to do. I'm not sure why others are saying it'll be hard as I've done this sort of modification a number of times (ie swapping out heads). The price seems reasonable considering the amount of work, the cost of gold and IF the diamonds are good quality.

 

[Dreamer_D]

My initial thought was no-halo on this ring becaue I wasnt sure what the final details (how the attachement/profile would look).
I do like the picture you sketched though. Have you seen lots of work by the jeweler that gave you the quote? Would it be
done with CAD so you can see the profile and how the attachement would look? Those would be my main concerns.

Mine too.

LD: Perhaps I am too cynical, but we see so many people pop on here with poor jobs done by local benches, I think people should proceed with caution when trying new things with a jeweler. OP if you can see exampled of this type of work your jeweler has done before, great. If not, then it is a bit of a gamble.

 

[canuk-gal]

My initial thought was no-halo on this ring becaue I wasnt sure what the final details (how the attachement/profile would look).
I do like the picture you sketched though. Have you seen lots of work by the jeweler that gave you the quote? Would it be
done with CAD so you can see the profile and how the attachement would look? Those would be my main concerns.

Mine too.

LD: Perhaps I am too cynical, but we see so many people pop on here with poor jobs done by local benches, I think people should proceed with caution when trying new things with a jeweler. OP if you can see exampled of this type of work your jeweler has done before, great. If not, then it is a bit of a gamble.

HI:

Agreed. In the end it might look like an "add on" (setting not originally designed for new look) instead of adding value. Since you asked for opinions, I think your original setting and wedding ring are complete.

cheers--Sharon

 

[LD]

My initial thought was no-halo on this ring becaue I wasnt sure what the final details (how the attachement/profile would look).
I do like the picture you sketched though. Have you seen lots of work by the jeweler that gave you the quote? Would it be
done with CAD so you can see the profile and how the attachement would look? Those would be my main concerns.

Mine too.

LD: Perhaps I am too cynical, but we see so many people pop on here with poor jobs done by local benches, I think people should proceed with caution when trying new things with a jeweler. OP if you can see exampled of this type of work your jeweler has done before, great. If not, then it is a bit of a gamble.

I don't disagree Dreamer. In fact in the colored stone forum we see this all the time! However, I think this is a standard setting (not custom to begin with) and so changing the head should be fairly straightforward. Of course, the goldwork on the halo and balance of diamonds/metal WILL reflect the skill of the bench. I totally agree the OP should see examples of work. I was sort of assuming that would happen - perhaps I shouldn't have. I think sometimes (because we've seen horror stories) we can be over-cautious and put people off doing what they want however in this instance I truly believe the ring will be enhanced by a halo if well done. Thanks for clarifying Dreamer. I do appreciate it and I wasn't trying to be argumentative