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Compiling diamonds for eternity band

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Philmc99

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2021
Messages
48
Hello.

I'd like to start the process of acquiring diamonds for an eternity band for my wife. My plan is to have the ring done for her 50th birthday which is about 2 years from now.

I know she wants emerald cut diamonds and based on our conversations the ring would be about 8 ctw. She has small hand so anything bigger would likely be too big for her hand. I would need 18 diamonds at. 4 CT each.

My question is how should I go about acquiring these? I'd like to get one to two diamonds per month. I assume they need to have similar dimensions but how precise must they be? Also, in terms of cut, clarity and color, how similar should I aim for?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
I think for eternity bands it is just about always best to find a jeweler you want to work with and trust them to source the diamonds. If you want them each to have a GIA certificate, even at the .4 carat size that would be unusual and add greatly to the expense of the ring. A jeweler will be able to source a matched parcel and it will be easier if they do that all at once versus you doing that individually. If you were buying something like a branded cut that fits in tight specifications I think you can buy individually, but with unbranded emerald cuts? There's too much variation and I think you're making it a lot more complicated than it has to be.
 
I agree with distracts. The main issue will be matching cut - and keel lengths especially.
But if you wanted to do this then you will probably only find certified diamonds online. Using table and depth % will not help at all.
Make sure you store the images of any that you buy so you can compare to the previous purchases.
Corner size is less important as the prongs will hide variances.
Also consider - do the corner facets run all the way to the keel?
 
Thank you very much @distracts and @Garry H (Cut Nut). This is exactly why I wanted to bounce this off of the PS forum. The reasons for my wanting to slowly acquire the stones are budget and since I figure that since I habe time I could grab the stones at a more flexible pace. Anytime I have viewed eternity bands with my desired the specs the price is substantially higher than the setting and stone cost. I thought obtaining the stones myself would be a smart way to reduce cost but it sounds like I might be wrong.
 
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Get one or 2 more for chipping while setting
 
Philmc99 said:
Thank you very much @distracts and @Garry H (Cut Nut). This is exactly why I wanted to bounce this off of the PS forum. The reasons for my wanting to slowly acquire the stones are budget and since I figure that since I habe time I could grab the stones at a more flexible pace. Anytime I have viewed eternity bands with my desired the specs the price is substantially higher than the setting and stone cost. I thought obtaining the stones myself would be a smart way to reduce cost but it sounds like I might be wrong.
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Check out this post from @Fabfashion. She had David Klass make a beautiful oval eternity band for her. Perhaps you could talk to him. My perception is that there is a premium for premade eternity bands...

Floating Oval Eternity Ring by David Klass

This journey was 5 years in the making. I’ve been thinking about an eternity ring for about 5 years now. Thought it would make a wonderful 25th anniversary present but ended up with something else instead. Yet, the idea of owning one would bubble up as each anniversary neared. To me, an...
www.pricescope.com
 
Just start a savings account for this project and gradually put money in! You can't imagine what an impossible task that would be for anyone but an experienced ringmaker. Victor Canera recently made a beautiful one:

Emerald Cut Shared Prong Eternity | Victor Canera

A hand fabricated eternity band in platinum with 1/3ct or 0.33ct Emerald Cut Diamonds set in a shared prong design with eagle claw tips on the prongs.
www.victorcanera.com www.victorcanera.com

I personally would limit the colors to one or possibly two colors, such as E-F or F-G and VS or higher clarity. I have seen people combine three colors, but I would not recommend doing that.

One warning, this can be risky in terms of ring size if you plan this as a surprise. A wider band will need to be slightly larger than a thin solitaire ring or wedding band. A ring this size will be best as a stand alone ring, so you'd also have to know if she wants to wear it on her left or right ring finger, as sizes are often different.
 
@Philmc99, this sounds like an exciting project and you’re so sweet to be working on a band for your wife. She’ll love it! If you’re looking to acquire each diamond yourself, definitely check out @wolfgre’s post as suggested by @123ducklings. You’ll have to know the specs (range) of the diamonds you want and buy them within the range so that they match. Garry H also made a great point above.

I was lucky that when I was ready to get my oval diamond eternity made, DK had access to a collection of GIA certified oval diamonds in the size and specs that I wanted. He needed an extra stone and took about another week to find one that matched the rest. The diamonds on my ring ranged from D-E-F, VVS1 to VS1. You‘ll have to decide whether your wife would prefer white-white or warmer color. For emerald cut diamonds, which I’d love one one day, the inclusions will be more visible because of the cut so I personally wouldn’t go less than VS1. The experts here can tell you more. You should also check with your wife whether she’d prefer more narrow and long rectangle or wider but shorter rectangle.

There are also diamond vendors that sell a collection of loose diamonds ready to be made into a ring. You can look into that as well.

In terms of price, I got quotes from 3 vendors (they’d supply stones). I did the math and I’d only saved about $500 buying GIA stones myself and then getting them made. You may want to get a few quotes just to see how much it would be and compare it to how much it will cost based on average price of a .4 ct x 18 plus setting (about $2K give and take). You’ll also have to weigh the pros/cons of either saving money away each month equivalent to the stone cost and then get them made in 2 years or buy a stone each month and then get them made in 2 years. Don’t forget that your money can also grow if you invest it/put it in some high interest savings account.

Can’t wait to see how this project unfolds for you. Lots of experts here with great advice.
 
Fabfashion said:
In terms of price, I got quotes from 3 vendors (they’d supply stones). I did the math and I’d only saved about $500 buying GIA stones myself and then getting them made. You may want to get a few quotes just to see how much it would be and compare it to how much it will cost based on average price of a .4 ct x 18 plus setting (about $2K give and take).
Click to expand...
Do you think it is better to buy uncertified stones from a trusted jeweler for something like this?
 
Not the person you asked, but imo yes. For both tennis bracelets and eternity bands I think uncertified makes sense because of the cost involved. I wouldn’t bother to certify stones unless they’re of a really significant (like 0.7-1ct each stone) size.
 
Philmc99 said:
Do you think it is better to buy uncertified stones from a trusted jeweler for something like this?
Click to expand...
DK offered me uncertified stones option as well but because his supplier happened to have a parcel of certified oval stones available at that time, I went with it. It was only $500 more than the uncertified parcel. The uncertified ones were G color so I didn’t mind paying just a bit more to get whiter diamonds and certification was a bonus. I personally don’t see any issue with uncertified stones from a trusted jeweler although I‘d make sure they match.
 
so sweet that you want to do this for your wife. A thing to consider is that the height of .4 emerald cut diamonds all around could make the ring “bulky” between the fingers. Perhaps if this is not a surprise, order a similar style ring from Berricle to see if it smushes the adjacent fingers too much.
 
I forgot to mention that when you’re in the production stage, ask your jeweller for a plastic mold of the ring for your wife to try on before they cast the final ring. This way she’s comfortable with the ring size and thickness. I wasn’t sure what size I needed as it was for my right hand and I never wore a thicker band on that finger. I wore the plastic mold for a couple of days throughout the day and I ended up going down 1/4 size from what I originally requested. Eternity rings cannot be resized (a bar or steel balls can be added to the inside to make it a bit smaller), so make sure your wife is comfortable with it.
 
I personally would work with a reputable jeweler to source, and more importantly match, the stones (especially on an investment piece like this). You’ll probably save yourself a lot of stress! I recommend ID Jewelry for emerald cuts. Yekutiel sources beautiful emerald cuts and I believe he will work with you on a payment plan. I’d reach out to explain what you’re looking for and to get a quote. We got my emerald cut engagement ring from him and will be getting my emerald cut eternity band from him as well. We met with many jewelers in NYC and Philadelphia and of them all, we only felt comfortable buying ECs from IDJ or David S diamonds (also great emerald cuts, we just preferred the specific stone IDJ had sourced for my engagement ring).
 
Agree with ALH I have an emerald cut eternity band from IDJewelry he makes bands for all the major on line companies and he special made mine as I wanted 4.8 carats and used .19 pointers instead of .20 because my fingers are smaller .
 
heididdl said:
Agree with ALH I have an emerald cut eternity band from IDJewelry he makes bands for all the major on line companies and he special made mine as I wanted 4.8 carats and used .19 pointers instead of .20 because my fingers are smaller .
Click to expand...

I would love to see your set on! Also, what ring size are you? I am torn between .15 and .2 stones for my band.
 
This guy recently did a very similar project for his wife and was thrilled with Maytal Hannah:

A Maytal Hannah Diamond Emerald Eternity Ring

My wife and I had an upcoming anniversary and I decided to get her a Diamond Eternity Band as she had always wanted one. I commissioned Maytal Hannah with the project and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. In the past, I had worked with a Jewelry designer from LA who is very highly...
www.pricescope.com
 
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