I have a 1.53 ct emerald cut and I am thinking about resetting it with a halo. My question is how do you decide what size diamonds to use in the halo? Is there an example somewhere of the different type of ways these stones are set? I know I dont like seeing a lot of metal.
The size of the halo diamonds are definitely preference, but generally, I could recommend treating your halo as a design element, not a size filler. Since you have a 1.53ct emerald cut (large size and less "brilliant" than your accent halo diamonds), I'd say comfortbaly go with 0.01ct each.
For the second question, if you don't want a lot of metal to show, choose micropave setting. Micropave setting is small pave prongs split in between (a fraction of traditional pave shared prongs) that securely fasten your accent stones in place. This type of setting will not show bulky shared prongs; rather if you look closely, you'll see 4 tiny prongs holding each stone in place.
If you have anymore questions, please feel free to reach out. Hope this helps!