Wholes inside the Eternity Band

[tacorigirl]

What''s the purpose of putting the wholes inside the eternity band? I''ve heard two different responses to this question when asking two different online jewelers. So I figured I would place this question on Pricescope.

 

[D&T]

some say its for cleaning purposes, but that it also gets dirty faster and collects oil faster, but the ones that don''t have the holes, its harder for dirt and oil to get in there, but it is also just as hard to clean them out So I have one that does have holes and one that does not, I still clean them just as much, however the ones with the holes, I need to get to a professional cleaner unless you have an ultrasonic cleaner, as my manual brush do it your self doesn''t get it there very well. That was what I have been told a few times.

 

[mrssalvo]

there was a thread a while back where there were questions as to why the Michael b rings do not have holes. i emailed Michael b and Matthew from there emailed me back and i posted his response. Most handmade rings won''t have the holes, leon''s don''t for example. HIs response make''s sense to me...

here''s the quote from Matthew as to why MB rings don''t have the holes:

Traditionally, yellow gold was in vogue and the yellow background made the
diamonds look yellow, so holes were used to avoid the yellowing effect of
yellow gold.

MB focused on platinum for bridal and the diamonds actually looked
whiter with the reflection of the pure white metal beneath the diamond.

Also, holes in the back often result in lotion and other residue coming up
into the hole and making the diamonds filthy, forcing you to constantly use
ultra sonic cleaners which in turn loosen the diamonds.

Finally, holes are most often seen in jewelry that is cast to save the
manufacturer money on the amount of metal being used, so that you end up
with a more flimsy and less structurally integrous ring.

We make everything by hand, so structurally the ring is more sound, more
pure, more solid and more beautiful.

A jeweler making a ring by hand won''t sit there and drill holes in the back
on purpose, that comes straight out of a wax/mold process which also results
in greater porosity than hand made jewelry.

 

[oldminer]

The holes under the diamonds were traditonally there because setting a diamond 100 years ago required someone to drill in and then to cut out the outline of the diamond carefully with a flexible saw blade. The tools to make blind settings were less common back then, so holes and careful fitting of each diamond were the "tradition". Today, the nice squared off ajoured holes of yesteryear are round circles with no real beauty to them to admire from inside. However, the larger the hole, the less costly metal is used in making the ring. This is definitely a factor in some items. it is easier to clean items with open backs, but with ultrasonic cleaning it is less essential than years ago when this was not an available option.

Blind, closed settings, were used a hundred years ago to set flat back rose diamonds, many cabochon colored stones and 1/2 pearls all of which have flat pavilions. It was really unusual to use a closed back on a fully faceted diamond. Some Victorian, Georgian and rennaisance jewelry does contain closed back diamond setting, but this is way off our discussion and much miore unusual than common. Closed backs were often used with colorless stones accompanied by colored foil to imitate colored gemstones in antique items.