Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pave??

[orchidlala]

Alright, now that I asked my custom setting questions I'm moving on to my second area of confusion.


Another person on Pricescope posted an image of this ring (thank you!) and I showed my mom's jeweler and he told me no no don't get that made, after a while the ring is going to bend, the way the v-cut of the pave is will eventually cause some stones to fall out



I've already read Leon Mege's description of various pave styles http://www.artofplatinum.com/vault/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=36 but I am still a bit confused as to which one is the sturdiest of the bunch. I am actually leaning towards having millgrain work done on the edges of the metal but would that even still be a pave? or just channeling? I want the pave to come all the way down to the 4 and 8 o'clock around the ring. I don't think I like most teeny tiny micro-pave styles because it reminds a bit of costume jewelry. Is there some kind of graph that shows real life size of each stone?

Also based on your experience which pave style is actually the sturdiest of the bunch?

Thanks again!

 

[yssie]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

No idea on pave type safety but I can say with surety that the micro-thin rings will bend, warp, and deform with long-term wear - and this deformation of shape increases likelihood of melee falling out.

A shank of a ring is under all sorts of pressures during daily wear - from your palms, as you bend and move your fingers, as you grip various items in your hand or push and pull other objects. A thicker, sturdier shank is more able to maintain its shape in the face of these pressures because of A) the sheer amount of metal present and B) the distribution of metal: vertical metal thickness (increased height off your finger) will prevent bending from round into oval, horizontal metal width (increased width of shank) will prevent waviness from torque.

Of course a 4mm thick 10mm wide band is unreasonable for many, despite the fact that it will undoubtedly be very strong - each person has to decide where to draw the line between aesthetic and practicality depending on how much she is willing to baby the piece and whether she is willing to deal with issues down the road. But yes, your jeweller is definitely right on the money w/ this part: a 1.5mm pave-encrusted band is just not going to stay flat and round for years to come if you wear your ring daily, no matter how well-made or well-finished.

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

No idea on pave type safety but I can say with surety that the micro-thin rings will bend, warp, and deform with long-term wear - and this deformation of shape increases likelihood of melee falling out.

A shank of a ring is under all sorts of pressures during daily wear - from your palms, as you bend and move your fingers, as you grip various items in your hand or push and pull other objects. A thicker, sturdier shank is more able to maintain its shape in the face of these pressures because of A) the sheer amount of metal present and B) the distribution of metal: vertical metal thickness (increased height off your finger) will prevent bending from round into oval, horizontal metal width (increased width of shank) will prevent waviness from torque.

Of course a 4mm thick 10mm wide band is unreasonable for many, despite the fact that it will undoubtedly be very strong - each person has to decide where to draw the line between aesthetic and practicality depending on how much she is willing to baby the piece and whether she is willing to deal with issues down the road. But yes, your jeweller is definitely right on the money w/ this part: a 1.5mm pave-encrusted band is just not going to stay flat and round for years to come if you wear your ring daily, no matter how well-made or well-finished.

I appreciate this info and I guess that I had to hear it. My center stone is 2.9 ct F VS2 RB but I am not planning on adding any sides stones because it's a very pretty stone and I really want to just add a very thin halo to it.

I wasn't planning on getting a 1.5 pave encrusted band. I was thinking more like a 2.0 or 2.2 mm band. Do you think that's still going to get a bit screwed up over time?

 

[yssie]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I think a plain 2mm band would be fine for a good long time with proper care and caution, if you're going with melee or pave I would do 2.2mm+ to be safe.

a 2 or 2.2mm band is still a delicate thing, if that is a concern


ETA: In the end it is truly your preference as to how you weight durability and aesthetic when they are in competition - there is no real wrong or right answer, outside of the extremes

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I think a plain 2mm band would be fine for a good long time with proper care and caution, if you're going with melee or pave I would do 2.2mm+ to be safe.

a 2 or 2.2mm band is still a delicate thing, if that is a concern

yay! excellent!

My mom's jeweler is this old school guy from NYC and his family has been making settings by hand for years... he has not really made a setting like mine, which is why I wrote my other post about custom made setting, but the moment he looked at a few of the pictures that I had of Harry Winston and Leon Mege deigns he was like "these are gorgeous, but if you want heirloom piece they will not do, one or two of these stones are going to pop out within five years" you should have seen my face.

Yeah I would rather be safe than sorry, so I think I will be going for the 2.2 mm. Thanks girl! BTW I just checked out your wring and OMG it is delish! our diamonds are around the same size but on your hand it looks HUGE! my ring size is 5 1/2, what's yours?

Do people just stop you on the street to gawk at it? you have amazing taste, your mama raised you well... I can tell

 

[yssie]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

haha aww, thanks!

I'm a size4. And where I live my ring is considerably smaller than average - so no admiring looks my way, sadly, but I get lots to gawk at!


I do think with melee it's rather inevitable to lose a stone or two, even in the best-made pieces. Such small stones, such tiny little prongs.. even a little movement is enough to jar one out. Obviously though this is less frequent in a well-made piece! My real concern with the ultra-thin shanks that are popular is the shank deforming

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I'm a size4. And where I live my ring is considerably smaller than average - so no admiring looks my way, sadly, but I get lots to gawk at!

I do think with melee it's rather inevitable to lose a stone or two, even in the best-made pieces. Such small stones, such tiny little prongs.. even a little movement is enough to jar one out. Obviously though this is less frequent in a well-made piece! My real concern with the ultra-thin shanks that are popular is the shank deforming

where do you live? before I got my diamond I didn't even notice the size of other rings... but now I do. I live in an affluent area of Southern CA and although I see older ladies w/ very huge rings, I figure that I can work my way up to that. haha

yeah I didn't even think about the ring warping :/ I've worn a lot of 24k gold (I'm Middle Eastern and 24K gold is used a lot in our jewelry) and that can be so easily bent. what size is your shank? Now I'm worried do you think channel setting would be better? I need to study up on the major difference between pave and channel

Also I read that your ring is 18K unplated white gold. I've only seen that once, but have no idea what the process is like. Did you have it special made? and what did they do in regards to polishing it? I'm real interested in that.

 

[yssie]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Palo Alto, CA!

I'm Indian, lots of 22k and 24k here, too the alloys used in 18k yellow and white gold make it much, much sturdier. I didn't mean to scare you! Truly, I think 2mm+ is fine. If you wanted a 1.5mm shank I would say.. worry, but that extra 0.5mm in width adds a *lot* of metal and structural strength.

My wedding band is 2mm, my engagement ring tapers from 2.63mm at the bottom on the palm-side to 2.15mm on the shoulders of the cathedral (the part of the band that's leading up to the sidestones) - it's a pretty big taper, and I think 2.6mm is thicker than you're looking for.?


The most common metal to alloy white gold with (in the US) is nickel. The colour of this Ni-wg metal alloy is not really white - it is a slightly creamy colour, and to get the bright chromium white colour of white gold that you see on new rings the rings are plated with a very thin layer of a different metal rhodium. Depending on your skin chemistry, how often you wear your ring, what sorts of activities you do whilst wearing your ring - this layer of rhodium will get slowly rubbed off - for some people this takes years, for some people it takes weeks, and when it rubs off you can see the real colour of the white gold alloy underneath - most people replate when they start seeing the yellowish patches. I fell in love with the slightly yellow colour of unplated Ni-wg in combination with my slightly tinted diamond, so I just asked my vendor not to rhodium-plate I'm liking the way the gold is wearing - it's shiny even through the scratches, so I don't imagine I will ever polish!


ETA: channel-set is just one specific way to set the small melee stones into the shank, where the stones are held by in place by indentations in the sides of the channel rather than with prongs:

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I have a pave halo setting and a pave wedding band. My wedding band has not lost any stones, my setting has lost two. I had both replaced with relative ease.

My halo is 1.8 my shank is 2.1 plain metal. I love my plain metal shank. I love my halo but I am glad I didn't get pave on my shank.

If you are looking for something to wear all the time, pave isn't it. I only wear mine on weekends out of the house. During the week I wear my Aurora band as a standalone and again, and not when I am cleaning, or anything like that.

You'd be best off with a three stone or shared prong 1/2 eternity if you are looking for more wearability. Pave needs some babying.

As for pave styles. Whatever the style that that your designer does best, and says is safest is the what I'd go for.

If you are going to a pave 'master' like Leon... then you have more of a choice. I like the cut down pave.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I have a pave encrusted 2.2 m shank. I haven't had any trouble with it so far, but I am also not really gentle on rings.
My stone is 2.57 but my ring size is 6.75. Here is a shot for perspective for you on the size of the band.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

That picure is the Harry Winston Micropave setting. Honestly, I do not believe it will fall apart on you - it isn't as dangerous as it is made out to be. I have a ring that is like it with a 1.5 mm shank with v-cut pave - no issues to date. I also have a Leon Mege split shank (pave everywhere) and 1.3 mm shank - that ring is sturdy!! In fact, I have over 10 rings gold or platinum that is pave with an under 2mm band. You cannot have miligran with v-cut, mushroom, cut-down, etc.

This is my ring like the one in the photo above ...
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-year-in-the-making-maytal-hannah-halo-erd-cushion.147719/?hilit=maytal']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-year-in-the-making-maytal-hannah-halo-erd-cushion.147719/?hilit=maytal[/URL] hannah

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

That picure is the Harry Winston Micropave setting. Honestly, I do not believe it will fall apart on you - it isn't as dangerous as it is made out to be. I have a ring that is like it with a 1.5 mm shank with v-cut pave - no issues to date. I also have a Leon Mege split shank (pave everywhere) and 1.3 mm shank - that ring is sturdy!! In fact, I have over 10 rings gold or platinum that is pave with an under 2mm band. You cannot have miligran with v-cut, mushroom, cut-down, etc.

This is my ring like the one in the photo above ...
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-year-in-the-making-maytal-hannah-halo-erd-cushion.147719/?hilit=maytal']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/a-year-in-the-making-maytal-hannah-halo-erd-cushion.147719/?hilit=maytal[/URL] hannah

Thanks for the info and I LOVE this picture



I really like how the prongs/stems/head (what is the correct term for the little feet holding up the diamond?) basically swoop inward a bit like this )(

I am leaning towards a 2.0 or a 2.2 mm ring. I've been to the Harry Winston show room and was shown their original micropave, I asked them the size and they told me depending on the center stone the width is anywhere from a 1.8 to 2.0

do you wear yours everyday? how do you clean it and how often? Also, what's the size of each of the diamonds used in the pave and halo? did you ask for that size or did she suggest that to you?
Also, I'm a bit confused. do you have 2 engagement rings? one from LM and one from HM? that would be amazing!

BTW I read a few of your other threads and noticed how you mentioned getting married at a science center and not having a very traditional. I'm in the same situation, we're getting married at a very large aquarium/ocean institute. There will be floor to ceiling shark tanks in the location where we're having our reception. It's very exciting but not typical and many people are trying to talk us out of it but we're sticking to our guns. I found a really great site that has similar non-traditional weddings posted, let me know if you want the link.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Wow, Charmy, your ring is gorgeous!!!

I do agree that pave has to be babied. I've read on here that even a Leon ring has lost a stone or two. I am super careful with my Legacy band that I wear daily...for one thing, I don't want to damage the milgrain. Part of wearing delicate rings successfully is having an awareness at all times that you have them on so that you can attempt to protect them. For example, I don't grasp things firmly with my left hand. I take my rings off before doing dishes or any other kind of work where they could be damaged.

I would really recommend speaking to Maytal on the types of pave and durability. And in regard to pieces with milgrain, I usually consider those stones bead-set. Most of the types you mention above would not have milgrain because of the way they are made.

 

[PinkTower]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

haha aww, thanks!

I'm a size4. And where I live my ring is considerably smaller than average - so no admiring looks my way, sadly, but I get lots to gawk at!


I do think with melee it's rather inevitable to lose a stone or two, even in the best-made pieces. Such small stones, such tiny little prongs.. even a little movement is enough to jar one out. Obviously though this is less frequent in a well-made piece! My real concern with the ultra-thin shanks that are popular is the shank deforming

I agree with your opinion, Yssie. So long as your jeweler is local, it is no problem to lose some pave. I have lost two 1/2 point diamonds recently. Both times, I just dropped in and my jeweler replaced them in minutes while I waited, gratis. He also emphasized each time that the pave was guaranteed for life, and it was not a problem. Since the OP says she knows her jeweler well, I would consider pave loss a non-issue.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I am on my bb so I may miss some of the questions. I do wear my rings daily but I always take them off when I get home. Like Diamondseeker said, you have to be aware that you have a delicate ring on. I don't do heavy lifting or smack it around. I wouldn't say I baby it but I look after my rings.

I do have two e-rings. I actually have my Maytal Hannah diamond for sale right now but I came to realize that I don't want to sell it. I said no to offers. I don't need need the money right now so maybe I will keep it until I do and if that day doesn't come .. I still have a diamond that I love and that my hubby originally picked out. I love my Leon setting - it is close to the design we always wanted and Leon did an amazing job. The diamond also meets all my spec criteria and took me over a year to find and gave GOG enough pain in the process.

I did give Maytal exact specs for the ring including melee size and widths. Based on my history with her, she knew I wanted it executed to the tee. I gave Leon flexibility because he got it and makes rings that delicate anyways.

Yes - do let me know cool wedding sites. We could not be talked out of our venue. The whole wedding is really not traditional right now. Our church ceremony is though.

 

[slg47]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

charmypoo did you ever start a thread for your Leon? I remember seeing some pics with your FI's wedding band-do you have more? would love to see it

sorry for the threadjack

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

charmypoo did you ever start a thread for your Leon? I remember seeing some pics with your FI's wedding band-do you have more? would love to see it

sorry for the threadjack

Not yet. I haven't had the chance to taKe more photos of the ring. I have some handshots uploaded but not tied to a thread. Only regret is that I wish I went with single cuts melee. The ring is very much me - my friends always say this is what they envisioned for me. I am finding that people are a bit shocked by how the avc looks with the big chunky facets that are all perfect.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Oh Charmy, an AVC in a Leon? We DO need to see that!

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

I did give Maytal exact specs for the ring including melee size and widths. Based on my history with her, she knew I wanted it executed to the tee.

ah, got it! would you mind telling me specs on the melee, size of the stones in your pave? I am also having a difficult time with that. What made you decide to get the Leon Mege after you had the Maytal Hannah made? should the halo be thinner than the ring itself or would that look bad? that's where I'm stuck.

I'm Middle Eastern everyone has tried to talk us out of a lot of things. Our ceremony is going to be a very traditional Jewish ceremony, but the party before and after not so much We have decided to get around that problem of having people nag us about our choices by taking on the hefty price tag Picking the Aquarium is also great because I know the money we're spending on the venue rental is going towards a great educational non-profit. I'm a big geek, so I always knew that I wanted to get married in a museum, aquarium, or planetarium.













Anyway, the website is http://www.offbeatbride.com but I have to warn you because a lot of things posted on there are pretty wacky and a bit too much for me, but I have come across some very unique ideas that I have not been able to find anywhere else. Whenever I show people the site they come back with a weird look on their face and try to say how weird some of it looked, and while I agree, I think there are some really creative ideas on there. I also like IndieBride but it's hard to maneuver through the site, but Offbeatbride is a little more user friendly and has a better search function. I honestly have not been able to come across such great weddings ANYWHERE else, and just browsing the site has made me become a lot more creative and open to different ideas.

I also like their articles, some are political, but I appreciate that because we're both into being challenged to live our life in a way that lives up to our personal beliefs. My fiance and I are both vegan and we found our 4 star caterer via the site and I know that everyone attending will have an amazing feast. I had also never heard of a ring warming ceremony prior to visiting the site, but now we're incorporating that into our wedding. Because of the site I also decided to hire a professional fashion photographer (and his team) instead of a traditional wedding photographer to take our engagement announcement and wedding pictures. He's already taken some test photos for us and there is such a HUGE difference, I am SOOOO pleased about this specific decision.

Here are some of my favorite weddings that inspired me

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/01/ohio-cave-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/12/new-jersey-wedding-photography

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/08/georgia-science-museum-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/06/maryland-science-museum-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/02/geeky-vegan-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/07/bowers-museum-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/02/vegan-planetarium-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2010/09/california-improv-wine-wedding

http://offbeatbride.com/2009/11/north-carolina-wedding


LOOOONG POST!

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

charmypoo did you ever start a thread for your Leon? I remember seeing some pics with your FI's wedding band-do you have more? would love to see it

sorry for the threadjack

anytime you ladies (and gents if any posted) are great!

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Palo Alto, CA!

oh hahaha ok I get it now. Whatever, your ring is to die for and you have tiny fingers, so work it!

I'm Indian, lots of 22k and 24k here, too [/quote]

oh cool cool! yeah your peeps and my peeps love their jewelry and their 22 -24K gold. I have a ring and bracelet that was given to me when i was teeny tiny and I remember being able to literally bend it. It's been fixed up but I wouldn't even put on a necklace now to wear. It's like butte soft

I think 2mm+ is fine. If you wanted a 1.5mm shank I would say.. worry, but that extra 0.5mm in width adds a *lot* of metal and structural strength.

Yeah I think so too, today I went and looked at some rings (again!) and I would even be ok with 2.3, so I'm glad that the option is there

The most common metal to alloy white gold with (in the US) is nickel. The colour of this Ni-wg metal alloy is not really white - it is a slightly creamy colour, and to get the bright chromium white colour of white gold that you see on new rings the rings are plated with a very thin layer of a different metal rhodium. Depending on your skin chemistry, how often you wear your ring, what sorts of activities you do whilst wearing your ring - this layer of rhodium will get slowly rubbed off - for some people this takes years, for some people it takes weeks, and when it rubs off you can see the real colour of the white gold alloy underneath - most people replate when they start seeing the yellowish patches. I fell in love with the slightly yellow colour of unplated Ni-wg in combination with my slightly tinted diamond, so I just asked my vendor not to rhodium-plate I'm liking the way the gold is wearing - it's shiny even through the scratches, so I don't imagine I will ever polish!

That is absolutely fascinating! how did you even figure it out and decide that you wanted it that way? See I started out wanting platinum because... well honestly, I don't know why. People talk about it and make it sound like such an important/expensive metal. But after having some platinum pieces I just don't like the color that much, it's very cold and sterile feeling to me. I like palladium a little more, but only in certain lighting. I like white gold, but everyone keeps trying to talk about out of it by saying that I will have a lot of metal loss over the years and since my band is thing it will only last half the time as the platinum because there's no metal loss w/ platinum. But on the other hand I've seen how bad the patina on platinum looks over time and I just don't know if I want that...

ETA: channel-set is just one specific way to set the small melee stones into the shank, where the stones are held by in place by indentations in the sides of the channel rather than with prongs:

See, I do like that. I guess the only channel setting's I've seen show A LOT of metal and just look dated. So I am not sure what do at this point. I don't have to have pave, I am fine changing it up but I don't know what exactly to ask for because there are so many different ways to set pave and all these other similar types of settings. The more I learn about these things the more indecisive I become :/

did you pick out other engagement rings too? what did you start with and how many tries did it take for you to get "the one" ? I feel like I am all over the place and I need to make an inspiration board or something.

 

[Love Street]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Are you getting married at the Aquarium of the Pacific in the LBC? I live here and LOVE that place! They do a very cool "Aquarium after dark" type event about once a month where it's open after hours, with band and bars and cool peeps - and it is definitely a fun, awesome and memorable venue! I think it would be so cool to get married there (but I'm biased because I had a somewhat nontraditional wedding as well).

I love the design you are considering for your e-ring! And it's going to be HUGE!!! 2.9RB wow!!

Anyway, I can't help much regarding your question about pave since I have stayed away from it since I think I'd be too hard on it. I wear my rings everyday and only really take them off to clean them. Even when I had Leon do my upgrade, I went with something non-pave (difficult to do because his pave is so gorgeous!), because I knew I would be worrying and I'm not so easy on my rings. And actually, I ended up going with something channel-set with milgrain - though I haven't gotten it yet (hopefully this week or next) so we'll see how it turns out!

Also, from personal experience I can tell you that after nearly 7 years of wearing my 2.2mm shared prong wedding band (from T&Co), it has gone out of round. I haven't lost a stone (knock on wood) but it's noticeable when I take the ring off that it's no longer round. However, as I said, I'm not easy on my rings and do wear them all the time (including horseback riding and working out... probably won't do that with my new Leon). However, it is platinum; since you're planning to get WG maybe you wouldn't have this problem with a 2.2mm ring. And it has otherwise worn VERY well - low maintenance, for sure.

Also, I always have to share my experience with my shared prong - it DID eat my e-ring's prongs in 4 years or so (I posted in this thread back in 2008 [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-my-eternity-band-is-ruining-my-engagement-setting.76460/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-my-eternity-band-is-ruining-my-engagement-setting.76460/[/URL] - tho on the plus side, it seems to have reached its "angle of repose" after chewing a right-angled groove into the e-ring).

Good luck with your decision process - it's a fun journey!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Your venue is stunning! I would so love to have a beautiful aquarium as a backdrop. Our venue - the Science Center actually is a bit special for my fiance and I. Some back story - we dated when we were 16 for a few months .. we broke up but were friends still. When we were about 21, we were both at a large party at the Science Center. I was with my boyfriend at the time and he was with other friends. During the party, we sort of took off together and went exploring the Science Center. It was sort of a .. "think there is something special here still" night. Anyways, I still stayed with my boyfriend for 6 months or so after that then I started dating someone else but then eventually ended back up with my fiance by the end of the year. We are now at 10 years later.

I had a feeling you were going to link me to offbeatbride. I love that site and check it out all the time.

Back on topic. Below are the instructions I gave to Maytal. She did come back and said 0.8 mm diamonds are too small and we agreed to use 1mm diamond instead for the halo. I think it worked out very well. One point - my finger is actually 2 5/8 but I like my rings loose and I wanted to be able to wear this ring on my right hand too. I went with a size 3 but because the shank is so thin - the ring is really big on me and spins around all the time. I haven't taken it to get resized because it is delicate. So .... just a warning when sizing - width of the ring makes a big diff.



Should the halo be thinner than the ring - for me, yes! I didn't wan a big fat halo and I wanted it to be barely there. I did not want my diamond to appear any larger than it did already. However, this is all personal. Why did I go wih Leon after? Leon simply does the best pave and best curves. No question in my mind. BUT Maytal offered better prices for me and is much more accomdating. Maytal aims to please.

 

[yssie]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Your venue is *gorgeous*!!


I know the feeling of -not *knowing* what to choose, I do! I got married with my fourth (and final) E-ring iteration. The first was poorly made so we sent it back and started over, for the second I chose plated white gold and was happy with it (I also had a G stone though so there was no worry about seeing diamond tint contrasting with the bright white metal). I wanted a different setting so I did my first custom project, and this time I chose plat. - well, honestly because everyone and everything seemed to be telling me that it was the better/more noble/more beautiful/whatever metal, but as it turned out I couldn't stand the patina, and finding the time to polish every couple of months just wasn't going to happen. Back to white gold for the final iteration.

I would ask your vendor about metal recommendations for the specific type of setting you have in mind, and tell them your concerns - I have heard that different metals can be better for working with and retaining different styles - lots of filigree & milgrain, pave, etc., your vendor is a good source of information and advice on this one.

That channel I posted isn't particularly well-done IMO - too much metal on the sides for me! It was just to show the way the stones are held. There are some really stunning channel pieces in SMTB -
-jgny's Leon "Antique Calibre" setting has channel-set french cuts [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reset-by-leon-mege-antique-calibre-band-w-tiffany-metro.150452/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reset-by-leon-mege-antique-calibre-band-w-tiffany-metro.150452/[/URL]
-pingu's bgd pink diamond eternity - has thicker sides, but they are well-shaped and well-finished [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pink-diamond-eternity-band.152420/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pink-diamond-eternity-band.152420/[/URL]
-Crossing's gorgeous MWM [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mwm-channel-set-eternity-band.150494/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mwm-channel-set-eternity-band.150494/[/URL]
-chicagogirl's baguette channel eternity [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-signed-pieces-baguette-wedding-band.74376/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-signed-pieces-baguette-wedding-band.74376/[/URL]

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

...but then eventually ended back up with my fiance by the end of the year. We are now at 10 years later.

aww that's so precious. it's the place where you found each other again. Very very very sweet. Yeah my FI and I are both southern CA beach babies. Although his hours keep him away from the beach, we try to surf a few times a month. we love this location because we can have the ceremony and reception in once place. What really did for us was knowing the money was going towards the educational non-profit, just like your museum.

I had a feeling you were going to link me to offbeatbride.

haha, nice! yes I adore that site, I even read their sister site Offbeatmama (or something like that)

Below are the instructions I gave to Maytal.

I have to say that I LOVE that you made this, because just a few hours I was thinking of doing something similar using my horrible photoshop or MS Paint skills. hahahaha

my finger is actually 2 5/8 but I like my rings loose and I wanted to be able to wear this ring on my right hand too. I went with a size 3 but because the shank is so thin - the ring is really big on me and spins around all the time. I haven't taken it to get resized because it is delicate. So .... just a warning when sizing - width of the ring makes a big diff.

oh wow! you are a teeeeeny teeeeny tiny lil dainty bird! my fingers are mmm *ALMOST* twice the size of yours... My height is 5.8 and refer to myself as amazonian, I guess it shows in my fingers Yeah I think I am going to be ok w/ a 2.0 or 2.2 band

Why did I go wih Leon after? Leon simply does the best pave and best curves. No question in my mind. BUT Maytal offered better prices for me and is much more accomdating. Maytal aims to please.

Yeah, I know. His work is exceptional and amazing but honestly what little interaction I had w/ him just gave me weird vibes. I didn't want to write a bad post about him, but since we're talking about it I'll vent. I live in Southern CA aka Hollywood land. My FI and mother are both lawyers in the industry, and I've done some work (not acting) in the "biz" - This experience has made me realize that I loath pretentious people... especially those who think it's okay to behave in a rude manner because they are an "artist" There are plenty of artists in the world, but a true sign of a genius (IMHO) is someone who is not self-righteous.

I never once disrespected him, I didn't send extra emails/make calls. Beyond the first one, all of my emails/calls were replies. But I was very specific & firm about what I wanted. I didn't even ask for multiple quotes, just one. I just wanted to know if what I wanted was possible because I didn't want to waste his time or my own. In the end I felt like I would be paying him thousands of dollars so he can have *HIS* artistic vision come to life... but I'm going to be the one wearing the ring, so it's not about his artistic vision, it's about mine. I just wanted someone who was skilled enough to tell me if they were able to do what I was looking for. I don't want to financially contribute to someone who thinks it's ok to behave that way.

I don't need to be scolded or talked down to by some grown man who comes off very bitter and cynical... and again, I'm around people who are VERY cynical and have a dry sense of humor. But when I spoke to him I didn't feel like he was trying to educate me, I felt like he was talking down to me. I'm in my early 20s and he even brought up my age at one point and said something close to "you want this now but you wont when you get older, you'll see when you grow up, you'll see" - come on! do you know me or what I want? and so what if I want it now and wont want it later? for all he knows I'm going to order a bunch of rings that I like or just this one and wear it around my neck as a necklace, what of it? If he wants to put himself on that level he shouldn't take custom orders. He should just create and sell his own "creations" alone. The moment you put yourself out there and ask consumers to come to you w/ their custom orders, you should try and be a little more open. He's providing a service and I am the consumer. I don't expect him to bend to my every whim or to not tell me if what I want is compromising the integrity of the ring, but at least treat me as an equal, give me the respect that I was giving you. He kept talking down to me, brought up my age AGAIN and that was it for me. He's not my father. Even my father respects me more than that to ever speak to me in that tone, and if I wont let my own father speak to me that way, what makes this guy think that I was going to let him?

No way! I wouldn't go back to him for any price at this point. This is my engagement ring. The design process should be fun, educational, and at least respectful. I don't want to look down on my ring and have bittersweet feelings because I was annoyed the entire time it was being made. I'm totally fine w/ having someone else, even a local jeweler make it, even if it means it wont be 100% perfect.

I honestly LOVE your Maytal ring, I adore the 30 degree angle. If my ring comes out like yours I will be VERY pleased I'm not going to ask you for any specific price, and you should totally feel free NOT to answer if you don't want to, but was Maytal's quote over $4K or between $3-4K? I'm planning on contacting her in the morning, but I'm anxious right now!

If commend anyone who actually read my oh so looooong rant. Thanks for letting me vent! I'm glad he treated you well and you didn't have a bad experience. Maybe I just caught him during a bad month or rubbed him the wrong way

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Your venue is *gorgeous*!!

Thank you! while looking at your ring yesterday I saw your wedding pix too... being the good pricescope stalker I am you two had an interfaith wedding. Very non-traditional and traditional indeed. We're thinking of doing the same. Jewish, Persian, and aquarium, sharks, fish, vegan... haha it will be the weirdest day ever, but hopefully everyone will enjoy.

I chose plat. - well, honestly because everyone and everything seemed to be telling me that it was the better/more noble/more beautiful/whatever metal, but as it turned out I couldn't stand the patina, and finding the time to polish every couple of months just wasn't going to happen. Back to white gold for the final iteration.

yup yup yup! I feel the same way. On some people it looks sooo pretty and nice. On my fingers not so much, it actually makes me look grey around my fingers. My skin looked washed out. I have tanned and has yellow/golden undertones in my skin. I know that I look much better in yellow gold, and although I love yellow gold small earrings and necklaces. I just don't like it for a e-ring.

I would ask your vendor about metal recommendations for the specific type of setting you have in mind, and tell them your concerns - I have heard that different metals can be better for working with and retaining different styles - lots of filigree & milgrain, pave, etc., your vendor is a good source of information and advice on this one.

Good idea, yes I will do that. But first I have to find a vendor. I plan on bothering them all during this upcoming week.

That channel I posted isn't particularly well-done IMO - too much metal on the sides for me! It was just to show the way the stones are held. There are some really stunning channel pieces in SMTB -
-jgny's Leon "Antique Calibre" setting has channel-set french cuts [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reset-by-leon-mege-antique-calibre-band-w-tiffany-metro.150452/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/reset-by-leon-mege-antique-calibre-band-w-tiffany-metro.150452/[/URL]
-pingu's bgd pink diamond eternity - has thicker sides, but they are well-shaped and well-finished [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pink-diamond-eternity-band.152420/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pink-diamond-eternity-band.152420/[/URL]
-Crossing's gorgeous MWM [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mwm-channel-set-eternity-band.150494/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mwm-channel-set-eternity-band.150494/[/URL]

Yeah, the first one did have a lot of metal. I was looking at the way the stones touched each other, I don't really mind that space on the outside edge that they have with each other. Are channel settings more protective of these smaller stones?

The last one by Mark Morell is really nice, I like it a lot actually. I think I'm going to be seduced into staying up as I browse all these new sites.

Thanks ladies!

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Are you getting married at the Aquarium of the Pacific in the LBC?

yes it is! I live in Westwood but go down there a lot. I love the Aquarium sooo much! I've actually attended a few of their "Aquarium after dark" events. I always encourage people to go there and donate to their programs. They do some incredible work for the public, and have some exceptional programs that are offered for free to younger students in public schools.

I ended up going with something channel-set with milgrain - though I haven't gotten it yet

I don't always get a chance to check out the "show me bling" section of the site, because I'm too busy trying to learn tiny tiny details on this forum, but PLEASE if you get a chance will you link your post here when you get it? So exciting!! I'm sure that it will look AMAZING! I don't have a lot of nice things to say about LM (see above) but his work is in fact great.

since you're planning to get WG maybe you wouldn't have this problem with a 2.2mm ring. And it has otherwise worn VERY well - low maintenance, for sure.

Hopefully +crossing fingers+ from your mouth to God's ears my clumsy self will figure out a way to baby it. These channel settings are sounding more and more appealing by the minute

Also, I always have to share my experience with my shared prong - it DID eat my e-ring's prongs in 4 years or so (I posted in this thread back in 2008 [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-my-eternity-band-is-ruining-my-engagement-setting.76460/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-my-eternity-band-is-ruining-my-engagement-setting.76460/[/URL] - tho on the plus side, it seems to have reached its "angle of repose" after chewing a right-angled groove into the e-ring).

GAH! I'm so glad you posted this!!! I was almost sold on them!! I still like it and could just invest in a cheap spacer band. I swear to the lord almighty on all that is holy and my dearest puppy and kitten that if this does not get figured within the next two-three weeks I will get a ginormous 10mm solitaire -- that goes all the way up to my knuckles -- and call it a freaking day. *Must protect Le Diamond*

Can you tell it's late and I'm sleepy because I've been staying up the late for ohhhh the last week looking at site after site about this ??

Good luck with your decision process - it's a fun journey!

Thank you. I act like I am annoyed by it, but it is pretty fun.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

Your Leon story is not too different from what we hear about all the time. I was originally turned off because of the "horror" stories which is what drove me to Maytal along with her price being around $1000 less. I was not pleased with the original ring Maytal made for me - note, she was really great and remade the whole ring even in a completely different style. I am very happy with the second go around. You do not get customer service like this which is why I will continue to refer her to others. She makes things right. I don't think my price from Maytal matters because we are a really strange case and I am sure no one else will be quoted what we paid.

It became apparant to me that no one could make the ring I wanted other than Leon so we ended up going with him anyways. I was nervous about dealing with his personality given that I am a total control freak. As it turns out, I didn't have an issue with him at all - I find his dry straight to the point sense of humor refreshing. He has his views but I just tell him - yes, I agree or no, I hear your point but I still want it this way. I knew when to stand my ground. With my luck, the first ring he made for me was wrong (he hade my split shank going into 2 bands when I wanted 1) and I flew all the way to NYC to pick it up. He fixed it and the second ring turned out perfect but it did require a total remake.

In terms of pricing, Leon is a bit higher than all the rest but the difference is not that much considering the quality you get. It's funny but for my fiance's wedding band - Leon was the second cheapest other than ERD who was the cheapst (Mark was giving me a deal because I am a repeat customer). In the end, I went with Leon because I knew he could make the complex piece and all our wedding pieces will be made by LEon.

Based on my observations and experience, order of cost - 23rd Street, Leon, SingleStone, Ocean, Maytal, JbEG, BGD, Whiteflash, ERD. Obviously, this is not set in stone and the pricing could vary depending on the piece and we are not talking about massive price differences here. Many of them are close in price - ie. Leon, SingleStone, Ocean, Maytal that is basically a toss up. Ocean offers CAD drawings which none of the other custom folks offer. Out of the CAD/CAST bunch, I found Whiteflash and ERD have more flexibility on their pricing and can offer greater discounts for certain customers. I find BGD to be really responsive but I had issues with their "sales" style. JbEG has top knotch customer service - I would love to work with them one day but it would probably be for one of their consignment pieces.

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

CharmyPoo every single one of your posts are SO informative. I even went back and read some of your other postings, and I learned something new each and every single time. Thank you again, don't ever stop posting here!

 

[orchidlala]

Re: Which one? Frech, V-cut, mushroom, fishtail, belgium pav

It became apparant to me that no one could make the ring I wanted other than Leon so we ended up going with him anyways. I was nervous about dealing with his personality given that I am a total control freak. As it turns out, I didn't have an issue with him at all - I find his dry straight to the point sense of humor refreshing. He has his views but I just tell him - yes, I agree or no, I hear your point but I still want it this way. I knew when to stand my ground. With my luck, the first ring he made for me was wrong (he hade my split shank going into 2 bands when I wanted 1) and I flew all the way to NYC to pick it up. He fixed it and the second ring turned out perfect but it did require a total remake.

This makes sense. My cousin is also getting married and she's been looking at Leon. BTW, when you made the switch over from Maytal to Leon what specifications did you change and focus on in order to get what you really wanted? I am just trying to focus on the details that I might be missing.