To Halo or not to Halo? OMC 1 ct stone

[familystone]

Hi just looking for an opinoin on what you all think about a thin halo on a ER custom made from Leon Mege. (Iscrapped the x-prong idea becuase I didn't like the way it looked with a eternity band) Anyways at first I was hesitant on the idea of a halo but Leon thought it would be best for the stone of that size and period. My mother voted for a halo as well however I am not sure if it is right for an ER or if a tappered shank would be better.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[FireGoddess]

Well, I''m biased but I vote halo...and all the more if Leon says it would look best.

 

[Jelly]

I would try to find out if the future owner of the ring (your girlfriend I''m guessing) likes the look of halos. If you get approval, then go for it. Also, don''t forget to post pics when you''re done! Sounds like it has the potential to be a stunning ring! GOOD LUCK!

 

[familystone]

There is the problem, I don''t know if she likes halos or not but I want the ring to be a true suprise and I know she wouldn''t want to pick it out herself afterwords. She would like it better if I did it on my own and got it right. Oh btw she is 25 and I am 28 if that makes a difference.

 

[decodelighted]

What color is the OMC certed? It''s distracting to me when halos appear whiter than the center stone, which might be an issue with a vintage stone. Though I don''t think Leon, with his eye, would do that.

I think halos on vintage cuts look even MORE awesome than they do on modern cuts. Can''t wait for pix!

 

[sarita]

I think the older stones look best in the halos too... more appropriate somehow, as that''s where they came from. I''m thinking of an authentically vintage look... like a Fay Cullen design ring, or BrightSpot''s mounting, which (I think) was a replica of that style. Let me see if I can find a nice pic...

 

[Jelly]

Have you read this thread? Link

Before spending a ton of money on a custom setting, you better make sure your girl likes the vintage look of an OMC with a halo. Once you go this route, there is no turning back.

I''d say most of the girls here would be thrilled with a custom Leon Mege setting, but there may some that would just love a plain solitaire.

 

[sarita]

Here we go

Wearing a wedding flush with this type of setting would not be posisble without customizing the base of the head or wearing a curved band though. I haven't looked at the thread where I pulled the pic from but I noticed they were discussing that issue there, which may help: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fay-cullen-antique-halo-ring.29578/= or "Fay Cullen Antique Halo Ring" in search if that didn't work

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Familystone ~

I know you would like to do this as a total surprise, however, if you are in doubt about a halo ... I would suggest talking to her best friend, sister, mom whomever you could and see if they think she would like a halo vs a different type of setting. Maybe she has said something to one of her friends or family members re: ring designs. It''s a thought.

Personally, I love halos

, however, I don''t think I have enough fingerage to pull one off. I saw one on the Good Old Gold site last night of a halo that they custom made, and oh my! It also had a vintage cut stone it in, I was definately drooling.

I also agree with Deco ... just make sure if you do choose to have a halo made, that the center stone and the halo are similar in coloring of stones.

Good luck and best wishes! Have a great day!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Here is the one from Good Old Gold ... It too is an Old Mine Cut diamond. So yummy!

 

[sarita]

Just one more for now, here is Rowan''s new ring, a b-day present. It is a split-shank halo.

 

[mrssalvo]

I think if you trying to surprise her and Leon says the stone would look great with a halo than go for it. I would guess most women are not obsessed with settings like most of us here on PS and would be happy to be engaged. my best friend received and halo cushion e-ring from her now hubby and it was a complete surprise and she loves the ring he chose. I would suggest maybe having someone double check, a sister/friend. You could have them look at a celebrity magazine or something and show her a picture of an e-ring with a halo and get her reaction. If it''s "wow, that''s gorgeous" you''re good to go. If it''s, "wow, that''s cool, but not something I''d want" skip the halo. Leon isn''t cheap so I think you should be pretty darn sure she''s going to LOVE what you do. I do think Leon is an amazing artist and would value and consider his input though, so if he says halo for your "familystone" then I''d really lean in that direction

 

[diamond_quester]

The halo sounds like a great idea to me. It complements the antique look of an OMC and is classic enough to be a safe choice IMO.

 

[familystone]

Well I just got in from an amazing B-Day steak dinner that my girlfriend brought me out to and have gotten a chance to take in all the imput. Well, the center stone is definately a "warmer color" (K) but I have faith in LM to make the presentation of the ring unbelievable no matter what way I decide to go. I like the idea of showing her a celeb rag with a halo and getting her feedback on em but, does anyone know someone with one to show her a sample pic without her being to obvoius of hinting at her future ring?

Thanks again and keep the feedback coming
-Dave

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/27/2006 7:12:30 PM
Author:familystone

Leon thought it would be best for the stone of that size and period.

Agreed

And it could be a halo setting with a tapered shank if you wish. IMO, that would not be mandatory for the looks or stability of the ring in this size, but if the looks appeals to you regardless, why not.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/28/2006 1:03:35 AM
Author: familystone

... does anyone know someone with one to show her a sample pic without her being to obvious of hinting at her future ring?

No, and I believe that hinting at the future ring is important. Otherwise, most folk I know would say they ''like'' allot of still they would never wear. Not that I don''t do the same... so this may be a biased vue.


Anyway, the style is a true classic, quite en vogue right now and a perfectly done ring can''t hurt either. Unless your girl feels very strongly about the style of her jewelry, I can''t quite see how your choice could be in the wrong.

 

[familystone]

Ana,

thanks for the support I am definately starting to lean heavilyy towards going through with the halo. However, I think I will explain to Leon that I want the halo to be a thin as possible so that the center stone does not get lost in the surroundings. I just want it to be obvious that the ring is a ER and not just a equisite antique ring.

Still trying to find a pic of a halo ring in a more comercial/ everyday magazine that we could "stumble upon" so I can get some feedback from her on it without showing her that I am casing diamond forums. (any suggestion would be greatly appriciated)

More feedback would defiantely be a plus especially from someone around her age (25). I am still a little hesitant only becuase it is a truly antique and timeless look but I don''t want her to feel it looks "too old" Originallly my idea was to combine new concepts with old styles but the creations just didn''t work out.


On a side note I think the diamonds in the halo are going to be single cut to center the OMC, a concept that LM came up with and I think will truly compliment the center stone.

-Dave

 

[valeria101]

Date: 3/28/2006 12:32:05 PM
Author: familystone



More feedback would definitely be a plus especially from someone around her age (25).

I'm not that much older

I am still a little hesitant only because it is a truly antique and timeless look but I don't want her to feel it looks 'too old' Originally my idea was to combine new concepts with old styles but the creations just didn't work out.

It is very trendy - just look over the hot e-ring designs of the day: Tiffany, Cartier, VCA... dunno - Beaudry, DanielK.. there's a long list of jewelry designers and engagement rings on jewelers websites. Pearlmansjewelers.com comes to mind first because the shop is so often talked about here. You may want to check the individual websites of some of the designers cited there (a dozen or two!).




On a side note I think the diamonds in the halo are going to be single cut to center the OMC, a concept that LM came up with and I think will truly compliment the center stone.

Me too. Below 2mm, I would choose single cuts over full cut melee any day (precision cut counted for both, of course). I would not worry that the ring setting will take away from the diamond - you are in good hands there!

The style is a classic with universal appeal, IMO. Much like the simplest solitaire - up and running and for ever 'modern' since the 1900s.

Perhaps someone dead set on modernistic design would feel strongly against it (

imagine layering a wispy pave ring with a titanium tension setting or something!). Otherwise, I doubt this project could turn to be anything but a good choice.

 

[KittenKat]

I''d vote for a halo, but I admit I am biased

OMC + halo is amazing to me. OMC''s are one of my favorite cuts!

Honestly, at 25 or 45 - many women love that style.

 

[SoonIHope]

Honestly, I LOVE halos, and would kill for one for an RHR....but I wouldn''t want one for my engagement ring. Even with a skinny halo, I still just feel that they don''t look as "engagement ring"-y as a non-halo ring. I certainly don''t mind this on other people, and it actually irritates me about myself a little since I loooove looking at halos but now I''ll most likely never have one

, but for some reason, it was really important to me that my engagement ring scream "ENGAGEMENT RING" really blatantly, which is why I also didn''t consider a colored stone, or a three-stone ring, or any of these other styles that I adore, but just aren''t engagement ring-y enough to me. So I am of the DEFINITELY CHECK WITH HER FIRST camp!!!! As for what magazines have pictures...bridal magazines are packed with them but I''m not sure what non-bridal-industry magazines are, and if you''re planning to be subtle about asking about the ring, I don''t think bringing home a bridal magazine is going to cut it.

Is there any chance you could say you were thinking of buying some earrings/bracelet for your mom/sister/her for her birthday and take her to a website that you know has halo rings? Then you could possibly say, "Let''s see what else they have" and click around a bit trying to find "other gift ideas".

In any case, an OMC in a Leon setting is going to be spectacular!!!! CANNOT WAIT to see it!!!!

 

[roxy7]

Familystone,

I don't know if you have heard my story, but it is remarkably similar to yours. My bf iherited a 1.6 carat old mine Cut. Pics here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/his-antique-heirloom-cushion.39619/=. It is being set in a Leon Mege setting (should be back in the next month or two!) with a halo.

Initially we didn't want to go with a halo. Then Leon highly recommended it. I have always loved halos, but initially i didn't want one because (i) I thought it would be too showy, and (ii) the stone is already bigger than most of my friends and I thought that with the halo, it would be huge.

But then bf and I considered it and we decided to get the halo for these reasons (not in order of importance):

1. (HUGE) Leon is an artist with vision. If he highly recommends something, that should be given very heavy weight. He said, "the difference between a halo and no halo would be the difference between a nice ring and a really beautiful ring." Good argument, IMHO.
2. The halo will probably protect the delicate gridle of the OMC from wear and tear, just as if it were a solitaire, it would be exposed.
3. the cushion shape of the OMC looks breathtaking in a halo. I believe that cushions and asschers especially are suited for halos, and the OMC is cushion-shaped ( I know you said yours is rounder - a picture would help. We thought ours was round until it came out of the old setting.).
4. Shrinkage syndrome -- even though I might feel like my ring is huge now, in 10 years from now, it will seem a lot smaller.
5. The delicateness of Leon's work. Even though halos look huge online in pictures sometimes, I saw some of Leon's work in person and it is so delicate and gorgeous and small. The halo truly complements the stone and doesn't overwhelm it, and Leon wouldn't have it otherwise.

As for the person who mentioned color concerns, we were worried that the center stone might look yellow compared to the halo stones too. But Leon assured us it wouldn't, and we trust him.

For your viewing pleasure, here are my two favorite Leon pieces on the site, with and without halo:

Reena's cushion with halo -- https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/you-can-call-me-reeyonce.21349/=

Ginger's round w/o halo -- https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/no-longer-a-girlfriend.28664/=

 

[familystone]

Roxy,

Thanks for the input and the links to the other LM rings. They look absolutely spectacular. Also your stone is incredible and thank you for reassuring me about Leon''s work/ vision. He really wanted to do a halo with my stone unless my girlfriend was dead set against it. I am definately leaning towards letting him run with it.

-Dave

 

[familystone]

Well I think I am going to commit and give leon mege a call today and schedual a time to sit down and design the ring.
( I am going to go with a small halo)

 

[KristyDarling]

Dave - after reading through this thread I am impressed by your thoughtfulness and the logical way in which you are approaching this. I am a huge fan of Leon''s work and trust in his artistic vision completely. (he''s making a 3-stone ring for me right now) He can make some really delicate halos that don''t take the spotlight away from the center stone at all, and OMC stones just seem to belong inside halos, IMO. I''m sure your girlfriend will love it!

 

[familystone]

Kristy,


thanks for the reassurance

-Dave

 

[familystone]

Ok last question:

(I am going to meat with LM tommorow to design the ring)

Leon had suggested using single cut diamonds in the halo to accent the OMC, what is everyones opinionn on using the single cuts as opposed to the modern brillants for the surrounding stones.

Originally I thought the modern stones might make a good accent as they would sparkle better in different (modern) lighting then in low light and the OMC would take over in the low light (Candle exct.) where the modern stones wouldn''t. (my original thinking was to combine old and new styles however I must admit I am falling away from this concept and more towards a classic style to compliment the OMC.

Do you think modern surrounding stones would take away of the OMC center stone?

and do you think the single cuts should surround the center simply becuase it better fits the period and is more complimentary of the style of the ring.

Sorry I have a tendency to ramble on but everyones feedback has been a huge help

-Dave

 

[Morticia]

I have a 1ct Old European Cut diamond and I had it set with a halo. I like it. I wanted a little more bling so it worked perfectly...

Also, trust Leon. He is truly and artist and will make your soon-to-be an amazing ring. I''m sure she''ll love it.

**Still kicking myself for not having Leon do my setting**

Good luck!

 

[mrssalvo]

Leon actually wrote an article here about why he prefers single cuts in the small melee. I'd trust Leon to know what will work best..

his article is long but very interesting to read when you have time. Here is the section he wrote on single cut melee:


Typically each stone used in micropave is a “full cut” diamond, which means that it has the same 58 facets that you would count on any ideal cut round brilliant. However, full cut diamonds are not the best to use in micropave. The very best diamonds to use in micropave are “single cut” diamonds because they have far fewer facets (17 total facets). High quality, perfectly cut, single cuts are also known in the diamond industry as “eight cuts.” The fewer number facets on a single cut diamond are proportionally bigger and tend to reflect more noticeable flashes of light. High quality single cuts are mainly used in expensive watches to decorate the dials and mark the hours. But single cuts are very scarce, not to mention expensive, with the luxury watch industry consuming almost all of the production. I use eight cuts only for the most exclusive pieces or when a customer specifically requests them. Sometimes it takes weeks for certain sizes of single cuts to be delivered from Europe. From my point of view as an artist, it definitely is worth the money and effort to go with single cuts instead of full cuts. However, if you talk to most retailers (the majority of whom is simply ignorant on the issue or must go far out of their way to get single cuts), they would rather impress their customers with the tale of how each tiny stone has all 58 facets just like the larger ones. Although it’s a good sales approach, you simply cannot get the same rich look from full cut melee that you can get from single cuts.

 

[familystone]

Mrs Salvo,

Thank you again for your informative post you have truly been a wonderful help in the whole process of finding me a perfect setting. It definately appears that the single cuts are preferable in the pave mele, I was just wondering opinoins on the halo stones. Again I will most likely differ to Leon when there is a doubt just trying to poll others opinoins.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

I'm a little late...

I personally have never been drawn to halo rings. Something about them doesn't appeal to me, so I vote no halo. My mother has a beautiful OMC cut diamond in an art deco setting with small diamonds scattered on the setting (not really pave), which I prefer to halos:

Wish I had a better picture of it, but this is all I have right now.

I really think you should find out the future owner's feelings about halos before making this decision. You never know if she's among the minority that doesn't care for them, like me.

ETA: Another PS member has the only halo piece that I would love to own. I think they're very pretty, don't get me wrong, just not my style.