Five stone band

[gemgirl]

I would like to make myself a five stone anniversary band for my next anniversary and I''ve found five ideal cut GIA certified stones that I''d like to use. My question..... if you were choosing your own stones and were thrilled with them, who would you choose to set your stones? I''m looking for a combination of excellent quality mounting and excellent quality setting skills. I''m debating between shared prong and four prong mountings for each stone.

Opinions? Show them if you''ve got them, but the most important part is who to buy the mounting from.

 

[misskiss]

Hi gemgirl,

I''m in the process of doing the exact same thing, though my five stone shared prong will be my engagement ring. We''re buying the stones from James Allen (hopefully next week! just waiting for the credit card to come in the mail) and having them set at a local jeweler in Chicago that specializes in custom design. What sealed the deal for me was that they had a wax mold of the exact setting I wanted from a ring they made someone else, so it was easy for me to tell them that was exactly the setting I wanted, only for bigger stones.

If I hadn''t found this B&M store, I would have probably have kept looking for another jeweler. I''m confident about buying the stones online but I agree with you that the setting is just as important and I''d be hesitant to have it made online without really getting to see it (or touch it) before it''s made. But there are lots of PSers who are happy with their rings made by Whiteflash and other online vendors.

What size stones are you thinking of? Do you already have them picked out?

Good luck!

 

[gemgirl]

Yes, my five stones are picked out and on reserve. The reason I didn''t buy them is because one of them is out on memo from the cutter, which means it could have been sold to someone else. I''ll have to wait until the start of the work week to find out if all five are in fact available.

I''m not at all in a rush to find a setting. My anniversary isn''t until next Spring. I have time. It will be nice to shop around for mountings after all of the winter holidays are over. I''m also actually trying to decide between shared prong vs. each stone having four prongs for a more "old fashioned" look.

I must admit that I wouldn''t feel very comfortable having the ring made through an Internet vendor because I took such pains to find five almost exactly matching GIA certified stones. I''d rather bring them to someone, preferably my own jeweler, because I trust him. Internet vendors can always change stones and we''d never know it.

 

[lyra]

I''m just curious, how big are the stones, and what shape? I''d be confident enough to pick an online vendor to do custom work to be honest. I have a graduated 5 stone bezel set band (1.0-1.25 tctw?). It has been the most durable ring I''ve ever worn, but it''s not at all blingy really. The diamonds are all nice quality too, and it does cover my finger. I think I''d love a 5 stone ring like in misskisses avatar! Something around .50 per stone maybe? Really the ring in her avatar is probably exactly what I''d do if I could.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 10/27/2007 12:37:49 PM
Author: gemgirl

I must admit that I wouldn''t feel very comfortable having the ring made through an Internet vendor because I took such pains to find five almost exactly matching GIA certified stones. I''d rather bring them to someone, preferably my own jeweler, because I trust him. Internet vendors can always change stones and we''d never know it.

That is a possiblity with any jeweler, and actually happened to me with a "trusted family jeweler" with some studs I bought pre-pricescope.

I am FAR more trusting of many of the vendors that are talked about here, and that I''ve used, than many of the people I''ve dealt with locally.

I''m not trying to talk you out of going local, it''s preferable for many reasons, I just wanted to point out that there are vendors here I''d trust with my most valuable possessions. And have.

 

[gemgirl]

Lyra, they are .30pt rounds, 1.50 total. I tried on these rings in person and that will cover the top of my finger from pinky to middle finger well. My ring finger is a size 6 1/4. I think I''m going to buy three of the five now because three are a dead perfect match. I''ll hunt down the other two. I love the hunt. That doesn''t bother me. I''m more concerned with finding a mounting. Now is an awful time to buy mountings anyway. The metals market is still going beserk!

 

[musey]

I would set it JUST like kcourcolle''s 5-stone from Whiteflash, so I guess I''d go through them for simplicity''s sake!

 

[risingsun]

I have a shared-prong, five stone with a closed gallery because I wear it next to my e-ring, which is also a shared prong. If you are going to wear it on it''s own, I would go for an open gallery design, as shown above

 

[asscherisme]

I would use quest jewelers.

 

[gemgirl]

MissKiss,

How are you doing? Have you seen your stones yet?? The three I am taking now are still stuck in the inspection process for some reason and I''m getting anxious! I''m dying to see them and loupe them myself.

How''s your ring coming a long? I forgot to ask, how big are your stones? and are they round?

 

[misskiss]

Thanks, gemgirl! I''ve posted pics of my new stones here:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-pics-of-my-h-a-loose-stones-and-my-first-handshots.71859/

 

[gemgirl]

I bought three of my five stones today for my five stone anniversary band. I''m going to wait until after the holidays when the new inventory comes flooding in pre-Valentine''s Day, pre-Easter, pre-Mother''s Day for the other two. You''ll see why when you read the specs. I''m going to find two more than are also perfect matches. I LOVE the hunt!

All are GIA Certified .30 pts., G color, SI1 clarity, completely eye clean on inspection, two are Ideal cuts and one is Very Good cut. All have no flourescence and no culets.

4.33 x 4.36 x 2.65 d- 61.0 t- 57.0
4.33 x 4.36 x 2.64 d- 60.8 t- 57.0
4.34 x 4.36 x 2.62 d- 60.2 t- 57.0

I''m VERY happy to say the least!! It mattered to me a lot that I find them as close as humanly possible in diameter and definitely as close as possible in table percentage. For some reason, my eye always catches the size of the table when I''m looking at stones.

Happy Thanksgiving to me!

 

[kcoursolle]

I really wouldn''t worry about having an internet jeweler make your setting. I bought my stones and my setting for my five stone band through WF and I couldn''t be happier. WF did an amazing job with the setting and I actually felt *better* having them set the stones since they would take responsibility for them if something happened since they sold me the stones.

 

[misskiss]

Congrats, gemgirl, 3 down, 2 to go!

When our rings are done, we''ll be ring twins!

 

[Maisie]

Can''t wait to see the finished product!! My next project is going to be a 5 stone ring!!

 

[Po10472]

can''t wait to see your set as I am a lover of 5 stone rings too.

 

[gemgirl]

I know it''s been a long time. It took them a month to get me my stones, but they arrived yesterday and I just looped the three I have while Tom the Turkey is doing his thing in the oven. Three little G colored .30 pt. muskateers. Triplets! They couldn''t be more of an exact match. I''m putting them away until after all the winter holidays. Then I''ll search for their other two sisters.

And if I could take a decent picture, I''d show you guys, but I absolutely suck when it comes to taking pics.