Vendor suggestions & ideas for an e-ring setting re-do

[dtnyc]

So after 7 yrs of marriage & 2 kids and nearly 8 yrs of wearing my e-ring my husband has agreed I could have the setting re-done.

Backstory I will try to keep short- center stone (2 ct transitional M color) is from a necklace that belonged to his grandmother. He had my ring made w/ the sidestones by a jeweler that his grandfather used- his grandfather passed away in the early 90s and his grandmother when he was a child. The jeweler had retired and worked out of a workshop that had been his garage- needless to say he wasn't using CAD, laser welding, etc. I don't think he was all that comfortable working with platinum and sadly it shows. I was of course thrilled with the ring, all of the meaning behind it, and his very meaningful proposal (he was giving me something from his family, so we could make our own family) I do wish he had taken advantage of one of the amazing jewelers in NYC where we lived at the time. Now we are in MD and the nearby options aren't many.

I want to keep the overall design/layout of the ring, using all of the stones currently set in the ring, but am seeking a higher level of craftsmanship.

I would like the new setting to have a lower profile, the stones currently all sit up very high making it less than ideal for everyday wear. In addition to wanting a more beautifully crafted ring, I would also like a ring that is a little more practical to wear.

I think I want at least the center stone to be held in claw prongs and I would like the prongs of the side stone to be shared/less obvious- perhaps have the smallest outer most stones just be held by 3 prongs. I think that the current prongs are too globby and wonky.

I don't know how I want the base of the setting to be- I am looking for ideas and suggestions there. I find the currently baskets to be very bulky.

I do like the currently layout of stones, and enjoy the finger coverage it gives. Also I would like to keep a platinum setting- I know some might be bothered by the color of my center stone, but I am very used to it by now.

I know that many vendors will only work with their own side stones. Ages ago when I was on PS and every other ring seemed to be a LM, Leon had a ring w/ this overall design on his website, but it's not there anymore.

Has anyone else seen a ring with this layout of stones?
So who should I be calling or emailing?

Here are some pics- it is a little overcast here today, but they look much better than the ones I took of this ring 7+ yrs ago!
Thank you for any advice, ideas, links, etc!

 

[lovebug1031]

Some PS'ers have had great success with Quest, they're in NOVA though..not sure where in MD you are. But I'm sure they could help you! One of the girls on here had her ring made into a halo from them...they took her existing solitaire ring and created a halo! It was really gorgeous!

 

[dtnyc]

I remember seeing some Quest rings when I was active on PS a few years ago, but I couldn't tell from the Quest website if they were still doing custom work.
I will do a search and see what they have been up to recently.

 

[SB621]

I"m pretty sure they are. Another option is Michael's Jewelers in baltimore. I love his stuff, but I'm not sure if he is still open.

 

[dtnyc]

I am not opposed to it being an online transaction, but I know that not everyone will work w/ all customer's own stones.

We do have family in NY (on Long Island) so doing a drop off or pick-up isn't totally out of the realm of possibility- but I doubt I could manage both...

 

[AprilBaby]

That design looks really busy. Are you sure that's what you want?

 

[dtnyc]

That design looks really busy. Are you sure that's what you want?

If by design you mean all of the metal and what seems like a zillion baskets and prongs, no I don't like the design, but I do like that my ring is different w/o being avant garde and I like the finger coverage. I don't want to change the number of side stones, but I do want to reduce the amount of metal in the ring and lower the profile.

I have to work w/ what I have. I was never really consulted about what I "wanted" in an e-ring. My DH was offered the center stone by his parents (did they know that it was an M color, far from the standard for modern day e-rings? who knows? ) and then steered to a jeweler who was how shall I say it nicely? past his prime?

When my DH told him that I was interested in an Asscher, he offered to cut the stone, my DH mentioned this to me, and I knew enough to be terrified by this prospect, and told him to work w/ the stone as it.
I had also always told my DH that I liked RBs flanked w/ tapered baguettes. DH said he found that too boring- or maybe the jeweler just didn't have access to those stones? I will never really know.
I could go on, but I won't bore you.
I will say that anytime I hear of a guy going to propose w/ a family stone, I make the suggestion to pop the question in a place-holder type setting and then let the lady have some input into the final product. I don't know what my DH paid the jeweler to set my ring, but chances are it was too much, but that is water under the bridge and I am just happy that he has given his blessing to make the ring more comfortable to wear on a regular basis.

 

[yssie]

Honey, you have three kids with your husband and you've been married to him for 7 years - you've made so many precious and meaningful memories together since, it's not like the ring is a Brand New Symbol Of How He Loves You anymore, y'know? Surely it wouldn't hurt to sit him down and tell him what you just told us re. the design, and that you might like to consider something different?
Maybe even that asscher you wanted originally?

 

[nowicanseethemoon]

I actually think this would be beautiful in a new setting - more streamlined and let's say, elegant. Sure, you could change the round side stones to baguettes, but you could use the diamonds you have and have a kick a$$ custom setting instead. If it were my ring, I'd contact Leon Mege and Victor Canera to see what they would suggest for your stones. Then, you'll have a starting point and can decide if you like either or want to look somewhere else.

Maybe there's some combination of these settings that Victor could work his magic on:

http://www.victorcanera.com/jewelry/engagement-rings/the-jana-five-stone-trellis-solitaire

http://www.victorcanera.com/jewelry/engagement-rings/art-deco-baguette-trilogy

 

[dtnyc]

Honey, you have three kids with your husband and you've been married to him for 7 years - you've made so many precious and meaningful memories together since, it's not like the ring is a Brand New Symbol Of How He Loves You anymore, y'know? Surely it wouldn't hurt to sit him down and tell him what you just told us re. the design, and that you might like to consider something different?
Maybe even that asscher you wanted originally?

We don't have 3 kids- yet- just 2 for now.

I honestly don't know how he would feel about totally starting over, but one of the biggest obstacles to that is that the center stone in my ring is from his family, so we can't trade it in. My MIL overvalues sentimental items. She was hit by a car while walking their dog and had multiple fractures, and lost the stone in her original e-ring and insisted on having the same size stone put in a ring. I would think that after 30+ years of marriage and being hit by a freakin' car, you could get an upgrade, but no, she is still rockin' the .80 pear solitaire, out of sentimentality. She also now wears her mom's small engagement ring and wedding set.

Even if we could trade it in somewhere, I know that it wouldn't bring in enough cha-ching to get me very far.

Do you all really think the overall 3-stone clusters on each side is that awful? It looks like WF did a custom w/ this basic design at one point. I know I saw a ring like this on LM's website years ago, but I don't think I saved the image.

My biggest issue w/ the ring really is what I think is poor workmanship- being able to see the soldering marks, the crookedness of it all and height.

 

[brellymom]

I recently used Quest in NOVA for a custom project - a 3 stone with all 3 diamonds bought elsewhere. they were great, helped with ideas, and i love the new setting. I totally recommend them once you decide what direction you want to go!

 

[dtnyc]

I actually think this would be beautiful in a new setting - more streamlined and let's say, elegant. Sure, you could change the round side stones to baguettes, but you could use the diamonds you have and have a kick a$$ custom setting instead. If it were my ring, I'd contact Leon Mege and Victor Canera to see what they would suggest for your stones. Then, you'll have a starting point and can decide if you like either or want to look somewhere else.

Maybe there's some combination of these settings that Victor could work his magic on:

http://www.victorcanera.com/jewelry/engagement-rings/the-jana-five-stone-trellis-solitaire

http://www.victorcanera.com/jewelry/engagement-rings/art-deco-baguette-trilogy

Thank you for your suggestions. I agree with you, the ring could definitely be made more elegant. I find the current setting rather bulky.

 

[yssie]

Honey, you have three kids with your husband and you've been married to him for 7 years - you've made so many precious and meaningful memories together since, it's not like the ring is a Brand New Symbol Of How He Loves You anymore, y'know? Surely it wouldn't hurt to sit him down and tell him what you just told us re. the design, and that you might like to consider something different?
Maybe even that asscher you wanted originally?

We don't have 3 kids- yet- just 2 for now.

I honestly don't know how he would feel about totally starting over, but one of the biggest obstacles to that is that the center stone in my ring is from his family, so we can't trade it in. My MIL overvalues sentimental items. She was hit by a car while walking their dog and had multiple fractures, and lost the stone in her original e-ring and insisted on having the same size stone put in a ring. I would think that after 30+ years of marriage and being hit by a freakin' car, you could get an upgrade, but no, she is still rockin' the .80 pear solitaire, out of sentimentality. She also now wears her mom's small engagement ring and wedding set.

Even if we could trade it in somewhere, I know that it wouldn't bring in enough cha-ching to get me very far.

Do you all really think the overall 3-stone clusters on each side is that awful? It looks like WF did a custom w/ this basic design at one point. I know I saw a ring like this on LM's website years ago, but I don't think I saved the image.

My biggest issue w/ the ring really is what I think is poor workmanship- being able to see the soldering marks, the crookedness of it all and height.

Gosh, no!!

PSers as a whole tend to have very specific tastes - whether that's because many of us share tastes or whether because we're influenced by each others' tastes, who knows! Probably a good bit of both. That style is not to the communal PS taste but that doesn't mean it's "awful" or "clunky" or anything like that! I do agree that the same concept could be executed in a more delicate and refined way to better highlight the centerstone.

 

[dtnyc]

Thanks-
I know it's not the PS standard- but neither is my center stone.
I am going to reach out to Quest first, since they are closest and take it from there. I am 90% sure that I emailed w/ someone @ LM 7 yrs ago, but I don't want to go back and see what the quote they gave me then was, because it will probably be very depressing!

I do go the beat of my own drummer a bit - when I was wedding dress shopping I insisted on no strapless gowns- which 7+ ago eliminated 90% of the dresses @ Kleinfeld's according to the consultant who had me that day, which made me happy, because I didn't want to look like every other bride.
Before deciding on my kids names, I wanted to make sure they weren't in the top 500 (both of them now are!) because I didn't want them to share a name w/ multiple kids in their school classes, etc. I don't want to be a total weirdo, but I am happy to not be like everyone else either.

 

[nowicanseethemoon]

I had a dream last night about your ring. It was reset into the VC trellis ring and you posted fabulous photos of it. We were all raving about it Too much PS before bed??

 

[TC1987]

Maybe the L/M color was why the jeweler used rounds instead of baguettes. Most bags, unless he can special-order from a cutter, will be very white. And the contrast between those and L/M will be dramatic.

I usually have seen that triplet sidestone style done with a peg head. If you use something like a Stuller tuliphead 6 prong (Item #: 314:166:S, not tulipset head) the head is narrow at the base where the peg is and then is flares out above that.

This semimount is from traxnyc but I just picked it for an example that I could find fast.

 

[packrat]

dtncy-I had straps on my gown and made sure my kids' names were not common by any stretch. It's good to be different, lady!

Looking forward to what you find out from Quest and how your ring turns out!

Do you wear a rhr? Maybe you could get an asscher down the road for your right hand? Or a pendant maybe? I hate to see you not have the cut you wanted originally.

 

[Aoife]

It's all in the execution! If you want to stay with the design that your DH picked out, getting an artist who can make that design flow is the most important thing--look at Brian Gavin, Victor Canera, Steven Kirsch, ERD, etc. I do think your challenge is going to be finding someone who is willing to work with the exact same sidestones--perhaps you could emphasize the sentimental aspects of the redesign when you contact different vendors?

 

[dtnyc]

It's all in the execution! If you want to stay with the design that your DH picked out, getting an artist who can make that design flow is the most important thing-

Exactly!
Any one I ever told I was unhappy with the ring looked at my like I was crazy (probably because they had never been on PS!)
When I first got the ring and was active on PS, I didn't have a great camera and couldn't get good pics of my issues with it.

TC1987- I have seen some settings with the side clusters stock settings, and I think you are right most of them are peg head, but I am not a huge fan of that look.