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Diamond stud settings - martini 3prong vs 8 prong vs basket 4 prong

Lookinagain said:
I have a pair of studs in a 3 prong setting. My jeweler called them a three prong basket but they look like martini's to me but the base near the post is a bit flatter. They sit better on my ear than the standard martini's that I had in the past. This is a lousy photo and maybe these are just flatter versions of martini's. I don't know. But they don't sit so far down in the piercing as my prior martinis.
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Yes, this seems to be similar to the 8 prong on whiteflash. Whether it's technically martini or not, it's a similar style but more rounded. Seems like the best of both worlds to me.

LLJsmom said:
Jumbo backs: check out my thread. best earring decision ever. easier for my fingers than la pousse (those hurt my fingers) and super secure.
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Cheers, I'll check the prices on the jumbo back and la pousse before committing. Although reading your thread, I was shocked at the cost ($275 for just the backs!). Not sure if I can justify that price, but I'll enquire what the cost is when I'm ready to commit.
 
I think if you do a google search for jumbo earring backs you will find many sites selling them for much less. Perhaps they aren't as sturdy as the ones from WF but you could try the less expensive ones and if they seem to work well, then you could decide if it was worth it to buy the ones for the higher price. I bought a pair of 14k YG from an ebay seller and they work fine for me and they were about $60 or so.
 
fruxo said:
Yes, this seems to be similar to the 8 prong on whiteflash. Whether it's technically martini or not, it's a similar style but more rounded. Seems like the best of both worlds to me.



Cheers, I'll check the prices on the jumbo back and la pousse before committing. Although reading your thread, I was shocked at the cost ($275 for just the backs!). Not sure if I can justify that price, but I'll enquire what the cost is when I'm ready to commit.
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My studs were from WF so I wanted the backs to fit exactly. My posts from my studs are especially fine so I knew they had to be custom made by WF. They are also platinum. I have learned the hard way. Comfort, ease of use and security are the priorities in very often used piece of jewelry, or anything in life really. If these criteria are not met the item just won't be used.
 
I also "upgraded" my earring backs. I got Stuller medium weight friction earring backs that are just a bit larger and quite a bit more snug at a local jeweler. They cost less than $40, as I recall. WF's regular backs were just a tad small and lightweight for comfort, for me.
 
fruxo said:
I was coming around to the idea of 3 prong martini, but seems like it's very personal. Any ideas how I can check if she will be happy with martini style, without giving it away? She doesn't really have any similar earrings. She doesn't wear earrings much anymore, and in the past she was all about the massively oversized dangling type of earrings.
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You can start by asking why she stopped wearing earrings. That could lead to discussion on comfort of studs vs dangly type of earrings and what she prefers. If she never worn studs before, perhaps she dislikes this particular style of earring altogether.
 
I'm with VRBeauty on this. I had a pair of .82ctw studs (.41ct each) and I did mine in 3 prong martini. Although the prongs were very delicate, I thought it still bumped them towards a slightly triangle shape, which meant I was always trying to line them up so they matched. Ditto 4 prongs. If I was doing studs again, I'd do 6 prongs - I think they're super elegant. And definitely the la pousette backs; I had screw on diamond studs for a while and never wore them, they were so ANNOYING to put on and off.

And just to add, VRB's studs drop my jaw every time I see them. She started a bit of a run on 8 prong-set studs on Pricescope when she posted those beauties!

VRB - if you see this - who did yours? Was it WF?
 
baby monster said:
You can start by asking why she stopped wearing earrings. That could lead to discussion on comfort of studs vs dangly type of earrings and what she prefers. If she never worn studs before, perhaps she dislikes this particular style of earring altogether.
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She has been talking about wanting diamond studs for many years. We also have a significant anniversary coming up. I've been racking my brain trying to come to with a line of innocent questions, but I can't think of anything that wouldn't immediately give it away.

I had a look at her earrings, and all studs are just costume jewellery. There is nothing resembling either martini or basket setting. She definitely want studs, but as she's never had this style, I doubt she'd even know herself what setting would be best for her.

I was going to purchase from whiteflash, and I had a soft decision on the 8 prong with jumbo backs (which for anyone interested was an extra $80). But now it's all up in the air again and I might be going with my first retailer that only seems to have 3 prong martini or 4 prong basket. Typical.
 
mrs-b said:
VRB - if you see this - who did yours? Was it WF?
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If you are referring to the ones she posted in this thread, then she mentioned that it was whiteflash (ie same setting as what I linked in first post). If you are referring to another pair she has, please link :)
 
if it were me, I would probably go with a basket style if I didn't know if she could wear the martini's. If her piercings or not exactly straight on a martini sometimes doesn't sit right. Baskets will sit flatter in this situation. That's just my opinion.
 
I'd personally do 4 prong baskets with claw prongs...they will sit nicely on the ear especially if you have jumbo backs. If the prongs are done right and at that size, you shouldn't see them at all anyway. I don't really like the triangular look of 3 prong martinis and wouldn't want them stretching out my earlobes either.
 
VRBeauty said:
No, absolutely not. The prongs are tiny as compared to even my little diamonds. The photo is actually misleading because you're seeing the earrings at an angle, and seeing much more of the prongs than you do when you're looking at the earrings head-on.
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I'm about to irreversibly make the final decision tomorrow, and I'm still tossing up! I like the 8 prong setting the best, but I'm super worried about the prongs being overpowering. Although a few people like them in this thread, it feels like everyone else thinks it will be too much prong :( how easy all of this would have been if I could see things IRL.

Any last advice or encouraging words about this setting? I don't suppose you have any on-ear photos? The one on whiteflash was not very good.
 
fruxo said:
I'm about to irreversibly make the final decision tomorrow, and I'm still tossing up! I like the 8 prong setting the best, but I'm super worried about the prongs being overpowering. Although a few people like them in this thread, it feels like everyone else thinks it will be too much prong :( how easy all of this would have been if I could see things IRL.

Any last advice or encouraging words about this setting? I don't suppose you have any on-ear photos? The one on whiteflash was not very good.
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Why not 6 prong? Just curious.
 
LLJsmom said:
Why not 6 prong? Just curious.
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That would have been ideal. They only have 1 and it's for bigger diamonds. It's $500 instead of $300, and says to for 0.7 to 3ct diamonds. I asked if they had an unlisted 6 prong that was exactly like the 8 prong, but they said they only had the listed one.

That said, it looks like it lets me add smaller diamonds, and I can also see purchase history for smaller ones. It's getting up there in price though, and my best guess from looking at pictures is that it's a lot chunkier than the 8 prong. Which makes sense if it's designed for bigger diamonds. The prongs look massive, unless it's just in my head?
 
fruxo said:
I'm about to irreversibly make the final decision tomorrow, and I'm still tossing up! I like the 8 prong setting the best, but I'm super worried about the prongs being overpowering. Although a few people like them in this thread, it feels like everyone else thinks it will be too much prong :( how easy all of this would have been if I could see things IRL.

Any last advice or encouraging words about this setting? I don't suppose you have any on-ear photos? The one on whiteflash was not very good.
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I'd suggest taking a deep breath and remembering that if she doesn't like the setting it can always be changed. That's the easy part of this process! Finding the beautiful diamonds you did was the hard part. And she will love the thought regardless.

Ask Whiteflash if there would be a charge for swapping the setting if she wanted something different. That's what we did; my BF surprised me with diamond studs but made arrangements with the jeweler that if I wanted something different we could swap them at no charge, only the price difference of whatever we chose vs original purchase. As it happened we completely changed diamonds and I also wanted LaPousette backs (jumbo backs had come off on previous earrings so I wanted extra security) but all we paid was the difference in diamond and back price.
 
I wish I could send you a better pic of the 8-prong setting head on, but I don't have a camera that will do that. All I can tell you is that if you're getting the earrings from Whiteflash, it's not something you need to worry about. If you are concerned about it though, a 4-prong basket setting 1) has half as many prong(!), 2) is pretty much guaranteed to sir comfortably on the ear, and 3) is classic and pretty much the standard. You can't go wrong with either of these choices - the 3-prong martini is the setting that has some detractors, because of the pointy end, though also lots of adherents. If you're still unsure, just ask WF what gauge wire they'd use in each basket style and use that as a guide

Good luck!
 
ILikeShiny said:
I'd suggest taking a deep breath and remembering that if she doesn't like the setting it can always be changed.

Ask Whiteflash if there would be a charge for swapping the setting if she wanted something different.
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Yeah I know setting can be changed, but with overseas purchase it can't be sent back. I'd have to try and get it done locally, which is probably not terribly easy or cheap.

For example, the biggest diamond store I know literally only had 1 setting (4 prong basket) for all their diamond earrings. And from the nonsense they told me when I looked at their diamond studs, I wouldn't trust them to re-set earrings to begin with.

I just want to get it right.
 
VRBeauty said:
If you are concerned about it though, a 4-prong basket setting..
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Yes, that is the safe choice and probably what I should get. But it feels like the boring choice. And it doesn't sit as close as 3 prong martini and it makes the diamond look square. The 8 prong sits closer, but is not as pointed as 3 prong, and it feels a bit more personal (ie not an exact clone of every other diamond stud earring out there). I mean, once it's on you'd only want the diamond visible, but it's nice with some small touches off ear.

But yes, obviously pros and cons, and I've clearly thought about this for too long that I'm just going in circles now.
 
I disagree that the 4 prongs make the diamonds look square if you ask for dainty claw prongs. As I mentioned earlier, if the prongs are done right, you shouldn't see them at all. I gave threads on my first pair of .90ctw studs from IDJ and my recent upgrade to 1.6ctw. Look at the perspective pics and you'll see how the prongs just disappear (you'll see my old ering in the first thread that had huge bulky prongs and those you would definitely notice).
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-so-far-2016-bling.221262/
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/idj-1-6-ctw-stud-upgrade.229748/

ETA: remember that you're looking at macro shots and in person and on the ear you won't be able to see nearly as much.
 
Fruxo -

I don't think you can go wrong with a 6 prong setting. It will give you the roundness you're looking for - as well as something just a little bit different to anyone else's. I definitely agree with baskets - they're only small diamonds, so it's not like they'll be dangling off her ears - they're the safe, secure, and most aesthetically sure choice. Pls stop worrying about them sitting close enough to her ears - this is a problem that comes with size.

If I had choices of 3, 4, 6, 8 and bezeled - with apologies to all those who disagreed - I'd probably go bezeled, 6, 8, 3, 4. I recently had 2 stones set as earrings - one was 30 pts and one was 32. The 30 pointer was delicately bezel-set to match another earring, and it looked far larger than the .32 stone, which was set in a basket. After bezel, I like symmetry, and earrings do spin. If your wife is very particular (which for most of us here would read as 'anally retentive about jewelry') - this will bug her. If she isn't, she probably couldn't care less. But the same as with rings, 6 prongs, or 8 prongs, *will* make the earring look larger and more symmetrical. And it's just that tiny bit individual.
 
IMG_2583.JPG IMG_2584.JPG
ILikeShiny said:
I'd suggest taking a deep breath and remembering that if she doesn't like the setting it can always be changed. That's the easy part of this process! Finding the beautiful diamonds you did was the hard part. And she will love the thought regardless.

Ask Whiteflash if there would be a charge for swapping the setting if she wanted something different. That's what we did; my BF surprised me with diamond studs but made arrangements with the jeweler that if I wanted something different we could swap them at no charge, only the price difference of whatever we chose vs original purchase. As it happened we completely changed diamonds and I also wanted LaPousette backs (jumbo backs had come off on previous earrings so I wanted extra security) but all we paid was the difference in diamond and back price.
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I have the six prong and. It at all chunky. Very refined and proportional. These are close ups. Note that he WF posts are finer than other posts, in general. Even though your stones are smaller WF should make it proportional.
 
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LLJsmom said:
IMG_2583.JPG IMG_2584.JPG
I have the six prong and. It at all chunky. Very refined and proportional. These are close ups. Note that he WF posts are finer than other posts, in general. Even though your stones are smaller WF should make it proportional.
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Good gracious those are beautiful :clap:. What size are they? I have 3-prong martinis (and am very happy with how they fit and sit on my ears) but I'm quickly becoming a fan of 6 and 8 prong earrings!
 
I've had both 4 and 6 prong WF studs (with claw prongs), but prefer 4 prong basket for your size stones:

4-Prong-Diamond-Basket-Earrings-in-14k-White-Gold-by-Whiteflash_41215_18914_f.jpg IMG_2308.jpg
 
mrs-b said:
Fruxo -

I don't think you can go wrong with a 6 prong setting. It will give you the roundness you're looking for - as well as something just a little bit different to anyone else's. I definitely agree with baskets
. . .
If I had choices of 3, 4, 6, 8 and bezeled - with apologies to all those who disagreed - I'd probably go bezeled, 6, 8, 3, 4.
. . .
If your wife is very particular (which for most of us here would read as 'anally retentive about jewelry') - this will bug her.
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Just to clarify. You mention baskets as being preferable, but does that include the 8 prong martini (which is rounded and really more of a basket)?

In other words, if your choice was strictly between the 3 exact settings that I linked, you would pick the 8 prong as your first choice?

I'm not sure if I want to start considering the 6 prong due to price. It's more than twice the average price of the other 3 settings.

I'm not sure that it would bug my wife, but I'm a bit OCD and I think the 3 prong would bug me :) probably part of the reasons I prefer 6/8 prong as it feels more symmetric etc.
 
Yes, I would choose the 8 prong. For sure.
 
LLJ's mom - ditto ILikeShiny's question; what size are your studs? They're gorgeous!
 
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