Wax pics from WF are in!

[hot4teacher]

I must say I don't know where I would be without this site!

Little history: I've been lurking for quite some time and was having a hard time with myself deciding if I could give an engagement ring that I purchased over the Internet. We had looked at Tiffany's over here in Japan but I knew I could definitely do better. We were both very open about it which I think had a positive impact on our decision to purchase over the 'net.

OK, we decided we should first look at one of the many reputable companies mentioned so much all over this forum.

They all had good things about them, so we shopped all of their inventories and talked some more. My job was to pick out the diamond, and her job was to pick out a few settings. I did the calculations and research about cut, clarity, etc, and she looked at the hundereds of settings available.

I was narrowing my search and so was she. We had looked at a few Tiffany style with the bead style settings, but they didn't quite do it for us. We then found some threads here about Whiteflash custom rings...and good lord are there some beauties!

Wouldn't you know, we came across Lynn B's thread with her new "fishtail" pave and we looked at each other and said "WOW!" So, we looked at all of her pictures and read all of her threads NUMEROUS times...slept on it for a little over a week, and asked if WF could do a 1/2 eternity of Lynn's fishtail pave.

Well, wouldn't ya know? They can!

Today we got our wax setting pics from Bob:

We had two "thoughts" we wanted to share.

1) Do the prongs look a little 'long' in the pictures? Without compromising strength, can we go with thinner prongs?

2) Are there any negative effects to having the 0.924 ct I IF A Cut Above H&A sit lower? (<-- Our primary concern)

We are very happy with the experience thus far.

What do ya'll think?

Dana

 

[decodelighted]

OOOOooooh ... looks GOOD!!! Stone & wax!! Congrats!!!

Don''t let the prongs fool ya ... jewelers cast long prongs so there''s more material to work with in the setting process. If you wanted *thinner* prongs ... they''d shave material off of them AFTER the casting process. If you think about it ... it''s much safer to cast things thicker & shave to order rather than try to cast a teensy prong, ya know? It''s like seams on a dress ... cut big, take it in if necessary .. but if you cut small ... oops!

As to setting it lower -- that''s my preferance too. Maybe in the next call you could describe where you envision the girdle sitting (or have one of those private consults via the new Rocky Talky tool & drawing boards etc). Maybe one we all listen in on even! If you want the pavillion (bottom) of the stone to sit down INTO the basket area - just let them know ... that may affect how they cast it, it may not - but at least you''ll get it set the way you want on the first try! Also mention that you''ll probably want the prongs shaved as small as safety will allow AFTER casting.

GREAT CHOICE!!! Can''t wait to see the finished product!!

 

[cpster]

Can WF place the "swoopy" wire that forms the basket cover up the girdle reflection? That''s what I had done for my ring. I just like the view better from the side. Looking good so far!

 

[ILikeBond]

The choice of an IF center stone is an interesting one you don''t see around these boards too often, especially when combined with the lower I color. Is my understanding correct that the Japanese culture highly values such extreme clarity?

 

[hot4teacher]

Thanks for the replies all!

Yes. After all my searches, I don''t think I found more than a few people on here with an IF clarity stone. I think that was one reason it made it unique to me...not something you see often and I felt it kind of captured my feelings about her.

I''m not sure how Japanese shop for diamonds, but they do have many everyday products that focus on cleanliness and purity. We shopped around locally and didn''t find any stones the tickled our fancy, not to mention the prices weren''t all that persuasive.

Thanks again for the advise, and keep it coming! We have the long holiday weekend to think about it!

Dana

 

[Lynn B]

OOOOH, Dana!!! Me likey!!!

I am totally flattered and honored!

It really is a KILLER ring in person... you are GONNA LOVE IT!

I promise!

PS Where are you in Japan? We have traveled to Japan, and have dear friends in Osaka.

 

[AndyRosse]

It''s gorgeous!! And don''t worry about the prongs, WF can shave them down later as necessary.

 

[kcoursolle]

Waxes look thicker than the finished ring, the prongs would be fine. However, it does look like the stone is sitting a bit high and this is mostly preference. Have you asked WF whether they can set the stone lower? It could be an easy thing to modifty.

 

[onedrop]

I am a *copier* of Lynn''s fishtail pave as well!! It''''s going to look gorgeous, trust me!! As for the waxes, this is always a concern, but don''t be fooled. I too was concerned about my waxes and it was all for naught, the finished product was perfect. I had a similar concern about the prongs, but after the waxes came I mentioned this to my WF sales rep, she made a note to the design folks and the prongs were indeed thinner after casting.

If you are interested, John @ WF provided a very detailed description of the casting process in a thread of mine, you can read it here.

 

[FireGoddess]

Looks beautiful! As has been said, the wax is always thicker than the final product...they need some room to work with on the metalsmithing! If you are worried about how high the diamond sits, have them show you the setting before the stone gets put into it so you can discuss it with them, but at least you''ll be on the same page (can''t really tell precisely from the wax).

 

[hot4teacher]

I am surprised that Bob and others at WF work on holiday weekends! Maybe I'' m spoiled being an educator. (Running joke for teachers: What are your three favorite things about teaching? A: June, July, and August!).

Bob said they will be able to lower it and thin out the prongs when it gets to the metal phase.

Fingers crossed! (Does that really help?)

Will keep everyone updated!

Dana

 

[snowflakeluvr]

dana,
don''t worry. i specifically requested a low sitting(custom) 6 prong basket with 3/4 eternity band for my stone. bob and whiteflash made it EXACTLY as i imagined it. it will be worth the wait! what a beautiful ring. enjoy