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Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rings?

F

FieryBrilliance

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
64
I'm looking to purchase a platinum split-shank micropave e-ring with a rose gold halo around a ~1.4-1.5ct stone and am curious to know who the PS community recommends. I've seen recommendations for Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch, and Victor Canera here on the boards, and all of their pieces look beautiful, but are there others as well?

I'm based in Virginia, so the NY jewelers are closer to me than Victor in LA. Are there any others who are really great at crafting the type of setting I've described above?

Many thanks!
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

FieryBrilliance|1353280516|3309664 said:
I'm looking to purchase a platinum split-shank micropave e-ring with a rose gold halo around a ~1.4-1.5ct stone and am curious to know who the PS community recommends. I've seen recommendations for Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch, and Victor Canera here on the boards, and all of their pieces look beautiful, but are there others as well?

I'm based in Virginia, so the NY jewelers are closer to me than Victor in LA. Are there any others who are really great at crafting the type of setting I've described above?

Many thanks!
Click to expand...


Most people on here will have favourites, but few have worked with a combination of vendors and so can offer comparative reviews. The forum as a whole also tends to cycle through darling designers, and Victor Canera is the preferred flavour of the year - from everything I've seen and heard he does excellent pave work, as do your other choices.

If you're planning to get stone and setting from the same vendor and you want an RB you might add Diamonds by Lauren in NYC to your shortlist, as they also have an association with Crafted by Infinity. I'm 100% sure that there are other designers who do equally beautiful pave work, but they haven't come to the attention of this forum (yet).
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Oh and Engagement Rings Direct! Their work is beautiful!
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Quest Jewelers in Fairfax, May Jewelers at Tyson's Corner, M.Beem Jewlers in Reston, Aspen Jewelers in Herndon, White & Ivory in Leesburg.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

I think the other PS Darling of the Year is Mike Robinson (Robinson Designer Goldsmith) in New Zealand. I think ERD has been putting out some really nice pieces this year ... creeping up there for me. I can't form an opinion on DBL because I haven't seen any of their pave work in real life and although the photos of their work is good ... still too much metal on the pave for me. They did an amazing job on yssie's ring though (non pave).
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

My preferences are for Steven, Victor, or ERD (they have a handforged bench).

I have worked with Steven and can attest to the quality of his work and would recommend him again, and have.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Thanks, this is VERY helpful!
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

diamondseeker2006|1353297662|3309895 said:
A comparison of rings from three of the best:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/[/URL]

I don't see location as an issue since you'd be shipping to any of the three, right?
Click to expand...


I do think this thread is helpful but at the same time with each remake the bench person was able to improve upon the design of the previous. Even though I'm not a huge fan of leon I feel it does paint the leon and SK almost in a negative light when both have fantastic pave. The same could also go for Yssie's post on her WF, VC and DBL's rings. Just my .02 cents.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Sarahbear621 said:
diamondseeker2006|1353297662|3309895 said:
A comparison of rings from three of the best:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/[/URL]

I don't see location as an issue since you'd be shipping to any of the three, right?
Click to expand...


I do think this thread is helpful but at the same time with each remake the bench person was able to improve upon the design of the previous. Even though I'm not a huge fan of leon I feel it does paint the leon and SK almost in a negative light when both have fantastic pave. The same could also go for Yssie's post on her WF, VC and DBL's rings. Just my .02 cents.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think VC does beautiful work but I don't think this thread necessarily proves that he is "better" than LM or SK, since each ring was an improvement of the last...
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

I’m not a fine jewelry expert, and I’m new here, so my suggestion may be total bunk, BUT! My future husband and I are both engineers with experience in precision manufacturing, and are able to notice things like one-thousandth of an inch difference in small parts. He also has a metallurgy background. We chose an A. Jaffe ring for my e-ring. Split shank, square-ish halo, with pave. We saw a “real” version of my ring before buying it (platinum set with live stones), although there were only two stores in all of Denver that carry A. Jaffe. I think A. Jaffe sent it out special so we could see it first, as it wasn't my size and my jeweler said she had to send it back in a few days. We wouldn’t have ordered it if we didn’t think it was beautiful and well done, although like I said, we don’t have years of experience comparing different jewelers’ work.
Anyway, A. Jaffe has several BEAUTIFUL examples of two-tone rings (rose gold and yellow gold), including a couple rose gold halos with pave on their site, and I know they work with platinum and will customize the ring to your stone. You might take a look at their designs. Mine will be the MES412 with a 1.0 ct Asscher, but they told us that design would take up to a 1.5 ct. center stone easily. Check out MES595 – it has a rose gold halo on a platinum ring and looks about the right size for a 1.5 ct stone. Also, A. Jaffe is in New York. My jeweler told me they were closed for a little while due to Hurricane Sandy, but were only two days late on a recent order for another customer.
http://www.ajaffe.com/details/two-tone-split-shank-with-regal-carriage-center-setting-engagement-ring-mes595.html
(edited to add link)
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

asscher-engagement,

I have that very ring bookmarked on my computer - i LOVE it. The Mrs., however, wasn't so sure she was crazy about the carriage, but I think it's a gorgeous ring. The only other thing is it's pretty pricey for something that's not hand-forged. Victor Canera got me a quote that was just about 20% more expensive than this ring "starts" at, so i can only imagine in platinum it may be more than I have in my budget. But I do agree that it is an absolutely GORGEOUS ring. If i was my finger, i'd love to have one on it.

By chance, would you be able to upload a photo of the one you got so that I could see it in real life vs. on their site? If not, that's fine, but thought I'd ask :)

Thank you for your suggestions and great taste!
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Heh - that's funny!
Unfortunately we just ordered my ring this Saturday, but if you can wait 3-4 weeks I will definitely post a picture!
p.s. I'm pretty sure the A. Jaffe website prices are for platinum. We ordered 18K/Palladium and it was less expensive than the website price by a few hundred on the MES412. I think the "starting" price has to do with the size of the center stone but I'm not sure. Like - if they have to use more material/pave diamonds to accomodate a 1.5 ct vs. a 1.0 ct, they charge more.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Sarahbear621|1353330373|3310019 said:
diamondseeker2006|1353297662|3309895 said:
A comparison of rings from three of the best:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/[/URL]

I don't see location as an issue since you'd be shipping to any of the three, right?
Click to expand...


I do think this thread is helpful but at the same time with each remake the bench person was able to improve upon the design of the previous. Even though I'm not a huge fan of leon I feel it does paint the leon and SK almost in a negative light when both have fantastic pave. The same could also go for Yssie's post on her WF, VC and DBL's rings. Just my .02 cents.
Click to expand...

The only thing is, the original ring should have been that vendor's best work. And from what I have seen, VC seems to be very consistent.

I don't consider Yssie's ring the same because VC states on his site that he prefers to work in platinum and Yssie wanted wg.
Plus, the style of ring she wanted was not his specialty area. So his outcome on that style of ring was unknown. But LM, SK, and VC all specialize in pave, so each example from each vendor certainly should have been their best work.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Hey Fiery brilliance - I had the wonderful experience while in NYC a few weeks ago, of meeting with David at DiamondsbyLauren.com and I was BLOWN AWAY by the fantastic finishing and detail on their halo erings. I have a thread on PS and show cases a lot of their pieces but here are some of the pink halo ones....

Just to add - I have never seen an SK, VC, LM or ERD ring in 'the flesh', so to speak, so I can not compare between one or the other, but I sure did admire the skilled craftsmanship of these pieces!

img_2486.jpg

img_2487.jpg

img_299.jpg

img_300.jpg
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

(can only fit 4 / upload so here is an EC and a pear in pink + RG + some pink diamond melee)

Hope you enjoy the pics! Good luck in your search!

img_301.jpg

img_302.jpg

img_303.jpg

img_304.jpg
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Enerchi|1353359143|3310380 said:
Hey Fiery brilliance - I had the wonderful experience while in NYC a few weeks ago, of meeting with David at DiamondsbyLauren.com and I was BLOWN AWAY by the fantastic finishing and detail on their halo erings. I have a thread on PS and show cases a lot of their pieces but here are some of the pink halo ones....

Just to add - I have never seen an SK, VC, LM or ERD ring in 'the flesh', so to speak, so I can not compare between one or the other, but I sure did admire the skilled craftsmanship of these pieces!
Click to expand...

This is not meant to offend but honestly curiosity. In the last pic, the basket looks lope sided. Was it like that in real life?
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Not at all! I'm probably angling my chunky mitt to make my finger look thinner! :lol: it was perfectly balanced IRL. THis it the pointed end of the pear and because my finger is bent, it's is on a tilt. Sharp eyes, charmypoo!!
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Enerchi|1353379076|3310692 said:
Not at all! I'm probably angling my chunky mitt to make my finger look thinner! :lol: it was perfectly balanced IRL. THis it the pointed end of the pear and because my finger is bent, it's is on a tilt. Sharp eyes, charmypoo!!
Click to expand...

Confirming ... are you talking about this pic? Sorry for the questions ... I have another project in mind and trying to decide if I should venture to someone new ;)

img_300.jpg
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

CharmyPoo|1353379553|3310701 said:
Enerchi|1353379076|3310692 said:
Not at all! I'm probably angling my chunky mitt to make my finger look thinner! :lol: it was perfectly balanced IRL. THis it the pointed end of the pear and because my finger is bent, it's is on a tilt. Sharp eyes, charmypoo!!
Click to expand...

Confirming ... are you talking about this pic? Sorry for the questions ... I have another project in mind and trying to decide if I should venture to someone new ;)

img_300.jpg
Click to expand...
No, that ring is the infinity round diamond, in the above pic you included. I thought you meant the very last pic in the second posting of mine and that was the double halo pink pear. Is that the one you meant? The pear or the round? My pictures aren't as detailed as the ones on the web...if you go to the site, does it look the same there?
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Hi All,
Charmy,
I hope you don't mind me poking my nose in...I see exactly what you do in the photo.
It looks as though the culet is not in the center of the struts holding up the halo.
Looking at other photos, it seems centered.
I'll have a look at it tomorrow in real life to see.
if it's off center it looks like the kind of thing that can be adjusted.
Some asymmetrical aspects of hand forged rings are just due to the facts of life- a handmade piece may not be microscope perfect due to many factors.
- but I agree that if a culet is not centered on this type of a ring with an Ideal Cut round diamond, as the photo seems to indicate, it needs addressing.

Sharp eye Charmy! :appl:
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

Thanks again Charmy!!
It turns out we will need to slightly re-position the halo portion.
From one axis, it's perfectly lined up- but looking i the other, the culet is a few degrees off center.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

i personally would not go with ERD. lately they having been giving some PS'ers a huge headache
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

What diamond did you decide on? All of these vendors, LM, VC, SK, DBL, ERD can source antique cushions (true antiques or new cut antiques). I still think you should go with an antique cushion diamond because it's what your GF said she likes.
 
Re: Who is the best jeweler when it comes to Pave Halo e-rin

stargurl78|1353331620|3310034 said:
Sarahbear621 said:
diamondseeker2006|1353297662|3309895 said:
A comparison of rings from three of the best:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/[/URL]

I don't see location as an issue since you'd be shipping to any of the three, right?
Click to expand...


I do think this thread is helpful but at the same time with each remake the bench person was able to improve upon the design of the previous. Even though I'm not a huge fan of leon I feel it does paint the leon and SK almost in a negative light when both have fantastic pave. The same could also go for Yssie's post on her WF, VC and DBL's rings. Just my .02 cents.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think VC does beautiful work but I don't think this thread necessarily proves that he is "better" than LM or SK, since each ring was an improvement of the last...
Click to expand...

In my opinion VC is "better"...when you speak about "each ring was an improvement of the last" holds true if the SAME ring maker is making each subsequent ring better because he gets more practice. You should read that thread with the mindset that the QUALITY of the VC ring is better than SK or LM.

For example, look at the images of where SK and LM place their prongs. Also, look at the precision of how the VC prongs are identical in shape and size. You are telling me because of how SK and LM did their rings affected how VC made his ring? No, I don't think so because the only way to do it in the first place is to make it how VC did it.

Yes, to Frankie, her idea of the perfect ring DESIGN kept getting better because she made changes to the previous ring. These design changes aren't tied to the QUALITY or skill set of the ring maker.

VC has a better eye for perfection than LM or SK.

This is just my opinion.
 
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