which setting for my cushion?

[sweetpea&babycorn]

hello everyone! a long time ago, i was itching to get a new setting but didn''t really think about it. since my fiance has been away, i have been a little bored and finally starting seriously looking for some options. my budget is no more than $3,000. i haven''t found THE setting yet, but have found some options. what do you all think? i have a 2.09 cushion brilliant and would love a setting that shows off the stone but doesn''t sit too high. at the same time, i would like my wedding ring to sit flush with my engagement ring if possible. my fiance is quite picky about the profile and does not like basket settings nor peg head settings.

also, if anyone else has suggestions, i totally welcome it. thanks a lot!

here are some setting options:

tacori 2638 with a cushion (normally made for a princess, i think it could fit a princess, no?)
http://www.tqdiamonds.com/shop-online/engagement-rings/tacori/tacori/tacori-dantela-18-karat-engagement-ring-2638prp55.html

precision set pave setting:
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-rings/precision-set/precision-set-pave-setting-17ct-tw-ps-7259-set-1914.aspx

martin flyer flyerfit setting:
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-rings/martin-flyer/flyerfit-pave-diamond-setting-mf-5152e-set-1433.aspx#CompleteImage

another option would be this scott kay solitaire:
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-rings/scott-kay/scott-kay-contemporary-solitaire-setting-sk-m0655rd10-set-1251.aspx
but instead of the knife-edge and double prongs, we could modify the ring to not have the knife edge and use single prongs. if we did this we would have to order directly from scott kay instead of going with a retailer that has a stock setting.

thanks to everyone in advanced!

 

[CharmyPoo]

I was happy to see you pop up on the other thread! I haven''t seen you around.

I am lazy and making the links clickable first ..

tacori 2638 with a cushion (normally made for a princess, i think it could fit a princess, no?)
http://www.tqdiamonds.com/shop-online/engagement-rings/tacori/tacori/tacori-dantela-18-karat-engagement-ring-2638prp55.html

precision set pave setting:
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-rings/precision-set/precision-set-pave-setting-17ct-tw-ps-7259-set-1914.aspx

martin flyer flyerfit setting:
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-rings/martin-flyer/flyerfit-pave-diamond-setting-mf-5152e-set-1433.aspx#CompleteImage

another option would be this scott kay solitaire:
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-rings/scott-kay/scott-kay-contemporary-solitaire-setting-sk-m0655rd10-set-1251.aspx

 

[CharmyPoo]

I love the Tacori. That''s my pick!

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

I also like the Tacori of the ones you posted. It is more special looking.

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Date: 3/9/2010 9:57:52 PM
Author: CharmyPoo
I was happy to see you pop up on the other thread! I haven''t seen you around.

hi charmy! thanks for the warm welcome back i have been surprisingly busy with work travel, vacationing with my fiance, and doing some preliminary wedding planning. even finding a venue has been exhausting since we have a large guestlist and small budget. just a few days ago we decided to go with a destination wedding, which is sort of what i wanted to begin with but needed the support of my mom, family, and friends to feel better about going ahead with it and not feel selfish.

anywho, my fiance loves me, but hates my setting. it makes me a little sad, but i totally understand why he doesn''t like it and the idea of resetting is always good with me!

thanks for your feedback, i agree the tacori is beautiful and such a tempting choice! it''s a wee bit over our price range ($3330 in platinum) but i do love it so and i guess i would want to see a cushion in a non-halo tacori setting. i''ve done a ps search and couldn''t find anything, so i guess that''s my only hesitation. and the only hesitation i have

 

[CharmyPoo]

You might be able to sell your current setting and make some money for this one

I can''t help you with a non-halo tacori photo. I have one tacori setting and it is a round halo.

I know Overstock.com has tacori settings - I haven''t looked lately but maybe something there?

 

[Luckyeshe]

I vote for the Tacori as well!

 

[mrssalvo]

i pick the tacori too.

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

ooo tacori is popular! it is really pretty and unique i must say
oh so i guess i do have on more concern with the tacori... the side stones they are are G-VS stones, and my cushion is a J... it shows up pretty white in natural light, but in some other lighting conditions, you can definitey see a yellow tint, and even in some other lighting scenarios, a greyness to it... are the sidestones small enough that you wouldn''t notice the difference?

 

[Laila619]

I like the Flyer Fit. They are good quality.

 

[D&T]

While they all are very pretty, I think I would try to narrow it down even further.. First determine whether you want diamonds on your shank or not? I''m a sucker for Scott kay settings but this is the plainest out of all of them, So I''m not sure what your wedding band will be like, whereas the others, you maybe limited on wedding bands. The plainer setting like the scott kay, there are endless choices on wedding bands

. I really like the look of cushions with double claw prongs as well as the safety factor with those, but i guess it doesn''t really matter if you have insurance though

 

[MichelleCarmen]

The Tacori is beautiful! That''d be my choice.

 

[tyty333]

Most cushions have an old world feel to them...the tacori setting also has that feel. That would be my choice.

 

[Collee]

Great to see you back

!

My vote is for the Tacori or Scott Kay. In re: to the color difference of the center and pave, I wouldn''t worry to much. My cushion is a D and we ordered the Tacori 2620 (halo and micro-pave). Still waiting for FH to propose (ring was ordered over a month ago

) and although I haven''t seen the finished ring, the vendor did not express any concern about the color difference.

Not sure if you have seen but the Ritani Endless Love (hope Mara doesn''t mind) is another beautiful setting.

Can''t wait to hear what you decide!

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Date: 3/10/2010 4:41:56 PM
Author: Collee
Great to see you back

!

Not sure if you have seen but the Ritani Endless Love (hope Mara doesn''t mind) is another beautiful setting.


Can''t wait to hear what you decide!

hi collee!

glad to be back on the market for settings

so, in terms of the style, we''re pretty open to everything, we just want something that speaks to us. my fiance is pretty picky about the profile of the ring, and im not sure he would like the profile on the ritani, i can show it to him

i threw in the scott kay because it was the only solitaire without sidestones that i liked, and im open to it because it gives more flexible wedding band options. but i think i would prefer diamonds on the band just because sometimes i feel like a solitaire is too vanilla, kwim? i''m not a huge sucker for diamonds on the shank, but if it adds an extra something to the ring, why not?

Laila: do you own a flyer fit? im not familiar with the company, i just liked the setting a lot i haven''t been able to try any on, as none of the jewelers i''ve been to carry martin flyer.

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

yay i have an update! after much deliberation and online shopping with my fiance, we at least know what the wedding band will be so taht we can match an ering setting.

i''ve mentioned before that my fiance has two of his grandmother''s stones that he''s very attached to. after visiting his grandparents in florida a few weeks ago, we were able to trace the diamonds back to his grandmother''s grandmother (my fiance''s great-great grandmother), so these stones are very old, which makes it seems more imperative for us to use and preserve them. since my cushion is square and these stones are round, we decided to make a custom wedding band using OEC stones.

with that figured out, i decided that i really don''t want my wedding set to be blaringly blingy with the wedding ring, so i will go with a plain solitaire setting for my cushion. we are going to a local jeweler to look at the scott kay setting. i''m a little weary becaues nobody seemed to be a fan of the scott kay choice. luckily, the jeweler also carries tacori, so we could also look at tacori solitaires.

what do you guys think? the wedding band will be a five or seven stone wedding band with each stone being about 0.20carats (points?) each. i''ve been doing PS searches and have found lots of threads on 5-stone wedding bands and they look beautiful. My hope is that my wedding ring won''t look too chunky and big (my ring size is 6.25) and can pair well with my engagement ring. do people think there are better solitaire options to go with the wedding band?

thanks for all the help so far!

 

[shimmer]

Hi!

I had my cushion in that solitaire and it was gorgeous! The setting let in tons of light and holds the diamond at a perfect height, not too low or too high. I love it and think it would be perfect with an OEC band!

Here's a picture:

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Date: 3/17/2010 11:49:29 AM
Author: shimmer
Hi!

I had my cushion in that solitaire and it was gorgeous! The setting let in tons of light and holds the diamond at a perfect height, not too low or too high. I love it and think it would be perfect with an OEC band!

Here''s a picture:

thanks shimmer! do you happen to have more pics?? i was looking at the same setting for a princess cut with the single prongs. your ring is beautiful! do you happen to know how wide the band is? the setting i saw on pearlmans and the scott kay website had a knife-edge finishing, and i called them to ask if they could smooth it out to get rid of it, and they were ok with that.

how comfortable is the ring? do you think it sits too high? does your wedding band sit flush with the ring? and finally, if you don''t mind sharing, about how much did the setting cost? i can''t get an estimate until i talk with the jeweler and ask for all the modifications...

sorry to bombard you with questions! but it''s the first scott kay i''ve seen with a cushion and it''s just lovely and i hope it works out for us too

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

I love Shimmer''s ring.

I think a simple solitaire is a great idea. As strange as it may seem to someone who is not yet engaged, there will be *many* occassionas when you do not want to wear your e-ring, and I think then you wil be very happy to have a nice blingy 5 stone band. But I do suggest that you also get a plain band to go with your e-ring too, that way you can be more subtle some days if you want. And the plain band will look good stacked with the 5 stone. And a plain band highlights to diamond better than a larger 5-stone will, and some days you may prefer that look. It will just give you so many options.

One thing to check out is the depth/height of the e-ring shank off your finger. A 5 stone band will likely stick up pretty far off your finger, and so a very low profile e-ring will not match the thickness well. This may or may not bother you, but be sure to check it out before you commit.

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

thanks for pointing all those factors out, dreamer. i was always under the impresion taht you were already engaged!! are you still patiently waiting? do you have any ring designs in mind? i know you are a cushion fan

the 5-stone rings that i''ve been seeing around PS definitely have height to them, but at least on the surface they seem ok with the engagement ring. but i am the type of person who would notice profile differences and whatnot. I really want the wedding ring to sit flush with my engagement ring, and maybe then the height differences might be minimized a little? i''ll address that point with whoever we decide to go with to get the wedding ring made.

i will also want to make sure that the wedding ring doesn''t "take away" from my cushion. i''ve gotten so many compliments from all sorts of different people (even men!) and kind of want to keep that sort of attention to the diamond rather than the wedding band. i think a solitaire would help with that.

for now anyway i would plan on always wearing my set unless there were situations where it may not be appropriate to do so. i that case i think i might just wear my wedding ring alone. to me, the wedding ring carries more importance than the engagement ring.

 

[Collee]

I''m a fan, I''m a fan

. I think the SK will be GORGEOUS. Thanks Shimmer for posting the pics again!

 

[shimmer]

Date: 3/17/2010 12:08:13 PM
Author: sweetpea&babycorn

thanks shimmer! do you happen to have more pics?? i was looking at the same setting for a princess cut with the single prongs. your ring is beautiful! do you happen to know how wide the band is? the setting i saw on pearlmans and the scott kay website had a knife-edge finishing, and i called them to ask if they could smooth it out to get rid of it, and they were ok with that.


how comfortable is the ring? do you think it sits too high? does your wedding band sit flush with the ring? and finally, if you don't mind sharing, about how much did the setting cost? i can't get an estimate until i talk with the jeweler and ask for all the modifications...


sorry to bombard you with questions! but it's the first scott kay i've seen with a cushion and it's just lovely and i hope it works out for us too

I'm sorry but I don't have more pics as I returned the diamond and am selling the empty setting. I can upload the full size of those pictures I just didn't want to bombard your thread with 4 huge photos! If you would like pics of the empty setting that I can do as well.

The widest part of the band is about 3mm at the sides, tapering to less than 1.5 at the top (I can't get my caliper that close, it's really cheap and bulky).

The ring is knife edge and is very comfortable, I had to return a previous stock knife edge so I am very sensitive to them. It is only knife edge on the upper half, it's really not noticeable comfort-wise. I would try it on with the knife edge if you can, you might like it! It looks so much different and less exaggerated than in photos.

I was a low-height lover (LHL, ha!) until I had this ring, it is about medium height I would say. But somehow SK makes such perfect rings it never whacked against anything. I just measured it and it is about 6.5 mm from the base to the tip of the prong. The diamond crown would add about another mm I think.

My plain 2mm band sits flush with the setting except the top where it tapers in. Hmm let me try to explain this better. It's flush with the sides and bottom but there is a miniscule gap (less than 1mm) just under where the diamond sits so it's totally unnoticeable from the top. I can snap a photo for you to see but it's kinda scary looking with no stone!

Last, I got it on closeout at Bailey Banks and Biddle so I got a really good deal. Platinum goes for about $2100, and I got it for about $800 CDN. Let me know if you have any more questions or if I missed something

ETA: I uploaded the pics in the Photo Gallery, just click 'Pictures' under my avatar/screen name!

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

thanks shimmer! and thanks everyone for all the input. i really appreciate you answering all my questions.

i will definitely see the scott kay setting in person before committing to buy and keep the knife edge in mind. the current setting i have was bought before it was seen in person, and it turned to be way higher than i anticipated. plus with the new wedding band, it won''t go very well.

i''m glad to hear it will sit flush enough so that there''s not a huge gap

does pearlman''s offer competitive prices on their settings? or are they just an authorized retailer of that huge collection of designers? i would definitely contemplate purchasing online if it''ll save me money, otherwise we will go with a local jeweler.

 

[shimmer]

Well, I just ordered a setting from Pearlmans today and got about 10-15% off their listed price as a PS discount! I think the discount depends on the manufacturer though, mine is Beverley K. Just give them a quick call--they are very nice and answered about 2000 emails before I decided

.

 

[Gypsy]

I like the Flyer setting and the Scott Kay solitaire. I''ve purchased from Pearlmans three times and have always been happy... give them a call, let them know the price you''ve been offered and see if they will beat it, or just ask them for their best price. Doesn''t hurt to ask.

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

Date: 3/17/2010 9:28:41 PM
Author: shimmer
Well, I just ordered a setting from Pearlmans today and got about 10-15% off their listed price as a PS discount! I think the discount depends on the manufacturer though, mine is Beverley K. Just give them a quick call--they are very nice and answered about 2000 emails before I decided

.

Which one did you get?

And for what diamond?

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

thanks guys! i think when we decide on which setting we want, we''ll shop around to see who has the best prices. ive heard really good things about pearlman''s and the pricescope discount sounds niiiiice

shimmer - why did you return your diamond and sell the setting? (it caught me by surprise, so sorry if i''m prying! you don''t have to answer the question). it''s such a beautiful set! but i''m also looking forward to seeing your new ring!

another question for you all: we''re beginning to source the 3-5 OECs for my wedding ring... ive been in contact with old world diamonds, but have also heard JBEG has a fabulous inventory of antique stones, do you think she would carry smaller OECs too? if so, who would be a better vendor to go to?

 

[shimmer]

Heh, sweetpea, I think the answer is that I''m crazy?! It was gorgeous, just the stone was a little too big for me right now and the J color bothered me ever so slightly (my DH a little more). So I am going to wait until I find the perfect square cushion, probably 1.2 ct G or H color, with small to medium culet, and throw it in a Leon Mege three stone with long slender baguettes... I think. I definitely need to take my time to make this decision b/c this is it for a LONG time!

So in the meantime I decided to reset my 0.56 OEC into a halo (I know I am contradicting myself, the cushion was too big but the OEC is too small!) and wear that as my ering until I get this sorted out. I need to reset it from the rose gold as the copper reaction (skin turns green) is really bothering me now that I am wearing it more often. And I want an antique-y setting

Dreamer, it will be based on the same ring that Upgradable has and D&T just got but with a few modifications to make it perfect for me--no airline, smaller halo and the triple wire shank flattened a bit for comfort. I will have a drawing soon and will be sure to post it!

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

Date: 3/18/2010 3:23:21 PM
Author: shimmer
Heh, sweetpea, I think the answer is that I''m crazy?! It was gorgeous, just the stone was a little too big for me right now and the J color bothered me ever so slightly (my DH a little more). So I am going to wait until I find the perfect square cushion, probably 1.2 ct G or H color, with small to medium culet, and throw it in a Leon Mege three stone with long slender baguettes... I think. I definitely need to take my time to make this decision b/c this is it for a LONG time!

So in the meantime I decided to reset my 0.56 OEC into a halo (I know I am contradicting myself, the cushion was too big but the OEC is too small!) and wear that as my ering until I get this sorted out. I need to reset it from the rose gold as the copper reaction (skin turns green) is really bothering me now that I am wearing it more often. And I want an antique-y setting

Dreamer, it will be based on the same ring that Upgradable has and D&T just got but with a few modifications to make it perfect for me--no airline, smaller halo and the triple wire shank flattened a bit for comfort. I will have a drawing soon and will be sure to post it!

OOohh... shimmer I can''t wait to see the photos, those are the changes I would make to the ring too if I were to even have it!

Sweetpea I would contact both vendors and see what they say and who you "clikc" with!

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Date: 3/18/2010 3:23:21 PM
Author: shimmer
Heh, sweetpea, I think the answer is that I''m crazy?! It was gorgeous, just the stone was a little too big for me right now and the J color bothered me ever so slightly (my DH a little more). So I am going to wait until I find the perfect square cushion, probably 1.2 ct G or H color, with small to medium culet, and throw it in a Leon Mege three stone with long slender baguettes... I think. I definitely need to take my time to make this decision b/c this is it for a LONG time!


So in the meantime I decided to reset my 0.56 OEC into a halo (I know I am contradicting myself, the cushion was too big but the OEC is too small!) and wear that as my ering until I get this sorted out. I need to reset it from the rose gold as the copper reaction (skin turns green) is really bothering me now that I am wearing it more often. And I want an antique-y setting


Dreamer, it will be based on the same ring that Upgradable has and D&T just got but with a few modifications to make it perfect for me--no airline, smaller halo and the triple wire shank flattened a bit for comfort. I will have a drawing soon and will be sure to post it!

shimmer, you are definitely not crazy! we don''t judge here on PS! plus, i totally understand your indecisiveness. my fiance and i (mostly i) have been working on getting my ring just right for almost a year now. the most important thing is that you find the ring that''s best for you, after all you''ll be wearing it forever!

dreamer, thanks for the feedback, i will definitely get the best feel for both vendors.

so today, my fiance and i went to a local jeweler to see both scott kay and tacori. i was disappointed by the limited inventory that they had but i talked with the assistant manager who would call the scott kay into her store, and we also saw another setting that we were interested in, and i wanted to get people''s opinions on it. it''s not scott kay, but the setting is made by Jabel... i''ve never heard of this company before. they have been in business for almost 100 years. does anybody know anything about this company and their quality? both my fiance and I liked this setting. we thought it was a little more unique than the scott kay, and i think may cost less in the end (after all the modifications made to the scott kay). i''ve attached a picture below, but i could only find a picture of the profile. what do you all think? thanks for all the great feedback so far!