Will this preloved setting fit my stone?

[Snowdrop13]

I’m considering buying a preloved setting for one of my stones- cushion shaped.. Only trouble is, although the length of my stone is the same as the one the setting held, the width of mine is 0.35mm less. Does anyone know what the tolerance is for a 4 claw setting? And are there any other considerations? Does the depth of the stone matter? Although it’s a lot less expensive for me to buy this setting, if it’s not likely to work I’d rather save up a bit longer and get something custom.

 

[RockFox]

I’m considering buying a preloved setting for one of my stones- cushion shaped.. Only trouble is, although the length of my stone is the same as the one the setting held, the width of mine is 0.35mm less. Does anyone know what the tolerance is for a 4 claw setting? And are there any other considerations? Does the depth of the stone matter? Although it’s a lot less expensive for me to buy this setting, if it’s not likely to work I’d rather save up a bit longer and get something custom.

Hi there - the depth of the stone, the shape of the belly of it and the metal of the setting will all play a part in whether it can work. The safest bet is to ask a jeweller/setter what they think the possibilities are. Does the pre-loved setting have a return policy?

 

[Snowdrop13]

@RockFox I wouldn’t be able to return, I don’t think. Also don’t have immediate access to someone to ask about setting as had thought to find someone after the event! Maybe not the best plan.

 

[ForteKitty]

Buying pre-loved mountings is a huge PITA. I'm sitting on roughly 20+ empty ones. Some were purchased (no return), but most are plainish and previously held old cuts (rounds and cushions) that were harvested for other projects. I've place tons of well cut but native cut gems in them, and nothing has panned out. I've set maybe 2 in the past 10 years. Like @RockFox pointed out, the belly depth/shape is what prevents it from fitting most of the time. Unless your gem is precision cut with a diamond-depth belly, it'll be hard to fit, even if the length and width fit.

That said, is it a 4 prong basket that tapers/narrows towards the hand? or do the prongs pretty much go straight? If it is straight, and there are enough prong height, it could work. Another issue I had with pre-owned mountings is diamonds generally do not have as high of crown angles as gems, so prongs may need retipping. If you have a jeweler who can look at the mounting and the gem's photos, maybe they can tell you whether it's possible. Email them and see if they are willing to eyeball it for you.

 

[Snowdrop13]

Buying pre-loved mountings is a huge PITA. I'm sitting on roughly 20+ empty ones. Some were purchased (no return), but most are plainish and previously held old cuts (rounds and cushions) that were harvested for other projects. I've place tons of well cut but native cut gems in them, and nothing has panned out. I've set maybe 2 in the past 10 years. Like @RockFox pointed out, the belly depth/shape is what prevents it from fitting most of the time. Unless your gem is precision cut with a diamond-depth belly, it'll be hard to fit, even if the length and width fit.

That said, is it a 4 prong basket that tapers/narrows towards the hand? or do the prongs pretty much go straight? If it is straight, and there are enough prong height, it could work. Another issue I had with pre-owned mountings is diamonds generally do not have as high of crown angles as gems, so prongs may need retipping. If you have a jeweler who can look at the mounting and the gem's photos, maybe they can tell you whether it's possible. Email them and see if they are willing to eyeball it for you.

It sounds like there’s a lot more to consider than I had originally thought! This setting lark is a bit of a minefield. My stone is not precision cut and is quite deep. I think I’d better pass on the setting. More sensible to put the money towards something made for the stone instead, even if that takes a bit longer to come to fruition. Thank you!

 

[T L]

High crowns, deep pavilions, are all things you have to consider, not just mm length and width. I have an 8 mm roval spinel that I haven’t been able to find
a setting for in years, simply because it’s so deep and has such a high crown.

 

[chrono]

If you have a cushion, in addition to what other have written about crown, belly and depth, you have to consider how rounded or squared off the cushion corners are. I once purchased a cushion setting that seemed to fit on paper but I missed the corner measurement (diagonal distance) so the stone ended up far too small for the setting.

 

[JewelledEscalators]

This is a useful thread for me too!

 

[Snowdrop13]

High crowns, deep pavilions, are all things you have to consider, not just mm length and width. I have an 8 mm roval spinel that I haven’t been able to find
a setting for in years, simply because it’s so deep and has such a high crown.

Oh no, that’s too bad! Could you do a custom setting? I’m such a noob at all this, I just thought it was all very easy to achieve.

 

[Snowdrop13]

If you have a cushion, in addition to what other have written about crown, belly and depth, you have to consider how rounded or squared off the cushion corners are. I once purchased a cushion setting that seemed to fit on paper but I missed the corner measurement (diagonal distance) so the stone ended up far too small for the setting.

Bad luck on that! I did actually wonder about the corners, I can see how the prongs would potentially be in the wrong place.

 

[ForteKitty]

High crowns, deep pavilions, are all things you have to consider, not just mm length and width. I have an 8 mm roval spinel that I haven’t been able to find
a setting for in years, simply because it’s so deep and has such a high crown.

Rovals are the biggest pain to fit! They all seem to have different degrees of shoulder bulge, and sometimes one stone can have four different bulges with different crown/pavilion angles. PITA lol. Did you end up going custom?

 

[T L]

Rovals are the biggest pain to fit! They all seem to have different degrees of shoulder bulge, and sometimes one stone can have four different bulges with different crown/pavilion angles. PITA lol. Did you end up going custom?

No, I don’t do custom.

 

[Tartansparkles]

Not sure of the dimensions of the stone but you could look on cooksonsgold.com (UK). They have a range of findings, you might find something there, they also do the prongs and shanks separately (think those are the correct terms) and you can pick the settings based on the size of stone (up to a limit, I was looking to set a 10x8 oval but they didn't have anything in that range)

 

[Laurainthesky]

No, I don’t do custom.

Curious to your reason. How else to find settings for non calibrated stones?

 

[T L]

Curious to your reason. How else to find settings for non calibrated stones?

I have some custom pieces, but it’s just not something I want to spend extra on. I rather just find semi-mounts that fit. I’m lucky my jeweler can set just about anything.

 

[Laurainthesky]

I have some custom pieces, but it’s just not something I want to spend extra on. I rather just find semi-mounts that fit. I’m lucky my jeweler can set just about anything.

Where do you buy semi- mounts? Thank you

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Not sure of the dimensions of the stone but you could look on cooksonsgold.com (UK). They have a range of findings, you might find something there, they also do the prongs and shanks separately (think those are the correct terms) and you can pick the settings based on the size of stone (up to a limit, I was looking to set a 10x8 oval but they didn't have anything in that range)

Oh my
Even with the exchange rate those settings are so cheap (everything is so exspensive here)
Can the general public buy from them ?

 

[T L]

Where do you buy semi- mounts? Thank you

I buy mostly silver ones, so I’m not sure if that’s something you’re in to. I do it to save on cost. I used to spend a fortune on only Diamond and gold or platinum mounts, but I stick mostly to cz and silver. Many people like moissanite side stones, but I find in melee sizes, it virtually impossible to tell the difference between cz, moissanite and Diamond. I also buy mounts with white zircon melee.

My jeweler pops out the existing center stone and puts in mine. I have too many gems in my collection and I can’t do gold, especially at nearly $2k/oz. I just need to put the $$ toward college for my kids now. That’s not to say that I wish I could do custom gold and diamond mounts, but I can’t.

Berricle.com has gorgeous, realistic looking silver and cz rings that are great for resetting stones.

 

[Laurainthesky]

I buy mostly silver ones, so I’m not sure if that’s something you’re in to. I do it to save on cost. I used to spend a fortune on only Diamond and gold or platinum mounts, but I stick mostly to cz and silver. Many people like moissanite side stones, but I find in melee sizes, it virtually impossible to tell the difference between cz, moissanite and Diamond. I also buy mounts with white zircon melee.

My jeweler pops out the existing center stone and puts in mine. I have too many gems in my collection and I can’t do gold, especially at nearly $2k/oz. I just need to put the $$ toward college for my kids now. That’s not to say that I wish I could do custom gold and diamond mounts, but I can’t.

Berricle.com has gorgeous, realistic looking silver and cz rings that are great for resetting stones.

Thank you so much! Most of my rings are in sterling. I am going to give my tricolor sapphire something special, then silver for mostly everything else.

 

[Tartansparkles]

Oh my
Even with the exchange rate those settings are so cheap (everything is so exspensive here)
Can the general public buy from them ?

Yes, just create an account. Not sure what the shipping charges would be though.

 

[shelovesinclusions]

@T L That's what I do too! And, of my rings, the one I get the most compliments on is a JTV one I popped the cz center stone from. Coincidentally, mine was also a roval spinel. I ended up fitting it in a 10x8 that wasn't low set. It was the biggest PITA.

I used to scour eBay auctions for antique birthstone rings if I want something in gold, and have had luck with a few settings. But, I quit for a couple reasons. Firstly, the metal can be thin and you have to be really careful during setting and, secondly, I got a rash from the metal on one of them and started to worry about what other metals were used in the alloys.

I think lots of pre-owned settings were originally for diamonds, so colored stones can end up too fat for them. But, I have had luck with getting prongs lengthened and then reseating stones before. On the other hand, I did destroy a rose gold setting in the process of retrofitting it for a big-bellied oval. Since I'm only playing with my own things, tolerance for failure is high.

 

[T L]

@T L That's what I do too! And, of my rings, the one I get the most compliments on is a JTV one I popped the cz center stone from. Coincidentally, mine was also a roval spinel. I ended up fitting it in a 10x8 that wasn't low set. It was the biggest PITA.

I used to scour eBay auctions for antique birthstone rings if I want something in gold, and have had luck with a few settings. But, I quit for a couple reasons. Firstly, the metal can be thin and you have to be really careful during setting and, secondly, I got a rash from the metal on one of them and started to worry about what other metals were used in the alloys.

I think lots of pre-owned settings were originally for diamonds, so colored stones can end up too fat for them. But, I have had luck with getting prongs lengthened and then reseating stones before. On the other hand, I did destroy a rose gold setting in the process of retrofitting it for a big-bellied oval. Since I'm only playing with my own things, tolerance for failure is high.

Lol, I love JTV for their higher end cz settings. This one looks totally real, and it has a heavy Euroshank, platinum plating, and it was from a designer collection that was being discontinued. I loved it so much, I bought two of them. I set my sphene in the other one.

I know many would be agape at setting their stones in such a setting, but I wear it next to my real Diamond and gold settings, and it looks just as good, if not better. The side half moons sparkle like crazy. It’s also nickel free silver.

Now if I had $$$$$, Liz Taylor would be put to shame. I’d be doing real diamonds the size of golf balls, lol!

 

[shelovesinclusions]

Lol, I love JTV for their higher end cz settings. This one looks totally real, and it has a heavy Euroshank, platinum plating, and it was from a designer collection that was being discontinued. I loved it so much, I bought two of them. I set my sphene in the other one.

I know many would be agape at setting their stones in such a setting, but I wear it next to my real Diamond and gold settings, and it looks just as good, if not better. The side half moons sparkle like crazy. It’s also nickel free silver.

Now if I had $$$$$, Liz Taylor would be put to shame. I’d be doing real diamonds the size of golf balls, lol!

It's beautiful!

 

[T L]

Thank you!! Here’s a better pic with the rainbows it throws off. My jeweler is currently setting TEN gems for me.

Not all cz’s are the same quality though, so I think berricle and some of JTV’s settings use signity cz’s, which are cleaner, and better quality.

My sphene in the same setting.

 

[Laurainthesky]

Thank you TL and Miss Sarah for giving amazing tips for money saving shortcuts. <3