Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!!!

[skingsland]

OK, so I recently purchased a Jeff White blue sapphire in a round 6.4mm cut. Here it is with inside lighting:



With outside, natural (but not direct) lighting:



And here is Jeff's photo, in natural light:



She's a keeper, I think. It certainly took a while to decide on this one; here's the thread with the full back story on my sapphire e-ring search:

https://www.pricescope.com/communit...ng-a-sapphire-e-ring-so-i-can-propose.146843/

So my next step is to find a setting, and I am hoping to get your opinions on what might look best with my new sexy sapphire. Since I don't want to overload a single post with too many photos, I'll post again with some ideas for the setting!

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Here's what I've figured out so far, for a setting; sorry if this seems a little "stream of consciousness":

• Band: platinum.
• Diamond side stones: yes; either 3 or 5 stone, or maybe some pave or channel set diamonds. I like larger side stones, so no micro-pave. And nothing too plain.
• Type of side stones: not square or rectangular; I like round, pear, half moon (crescent?) and any other shapes with some rounded corners.
• Don't like halo, even when it's smaller or recessed. Supposedly lots of women like it, though. (Cause it makes the center stone look larger, maybe?)
• Like some design/ornamentation/engraving on the band, but it shouldn't go all the way around, or be too busy.
• Stone should NOT be set up too high off the finger; looks like scaffolding or a bridge span to me, when viewed from the side.
• OK to see the culet through the side? I'd rather not, but maybe it would show off the sapphire better?

I went to a jewelry store in the mall and looked at a bunch of settings in person; plus, I checked out Leon Mage's website and a bunch of others online. Here are some of the ones I liked the best; pay no attention to the size of the ring and/or gem; I just like these because of the shape and other features, and I assume whatever I get will scale up or down as needed to fit my gf's size 4.5 finger.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve, your sapphire is stunning! Are you thinking of going custom for the setting?

 

[soberguy]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

omg i love that color!!!!

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve, your sapphire is stunning! Are you thinking of going custom for the setting?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "custom". I'm cool with whomever can make me a great ring, and the PS forum folks think will do a good job. If that ends up being Wink, Brian Gavin, Leon Mage, or some local jewelry store, I'm alright with that. The local jeweler's prices were $4-6K for the setting (with side stones), though, so I'm thinking one of the online guys could probably do it for much cheaper. Although honestly, even that would be in my budget; I'm most concerned about quality, not cost.

My time frame is sooner rather than later (somebody's been getting antsy), but no need to rush this; it would be great to have it finished in the next couple of months.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Yay!! I've been waiting for this thread - Steve, it's truly stunning. That daylight shot - makes my heart sing.

It sounds like you have quite a few viable and lovely options.

If you want to do sidestones, my personal fave is diamond pear sides ala Ponyo's setting by Brian Gavin - Link. To that, I would probably not add any more diamonds but if you wanted something a little more than a plain shank, I'd add engraving (but end it at 3/4 for easy resizing) like this BGD ring - Link.

Do note - three-sided pave (if you go with that) will be extremely hard on a wedding band worn with that ring (because the diamonds will kill the metal w-band). Similarly, three-sided engraving (like the BGD I linked to) could be band because with two rings rubbing against one another, the friction will wear away the engraving. If she's planning on wearing a wedding band with the e-ring on the same finger, I'd stay away from three-sided anything.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve, your sapphire is stunning! Are you thinking of going custom for the setting?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "custom". I'm cool with whomever can make me a great ring, and the PS forum folks think will do a good job. If that ends up being Wink, Brian Gavin, Leon Mage, or some local jewelry store, I'm alright with that. The local jeweler's prices were $4-6K for the setting (with side stones), though, so I'm thinking one of the online guys could probably do it for much cheaper. Although honestly, even that would be in my budget; I'm most concerned about quality, not cost.

My time frame is sooner rather than later (somebody's been getting antsy), but no need to rush this; it would be great to have it finished in the next couple of months.

Sorry, I meant to ask you if you were going to have the setting custom made to include the things on your list or if you were looking for an already made setting with some of the details you want. I agree with BEG, I think pear sidestones would be gorgeous.

 

[Candice]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

I love that Leon mege sapphire ring. its perfect! low set, lots of detail

 

[purplemelody]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve, what a beautiful, beautiful sapphire!
I think pears would look great as sidestones against your sapphire.
Good luck with your search, look forward to see which setting you will decide on!

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Sorry, I meant to ask you if you were going to have the setting custom made to include the things on your list or if you were looking for an already made setting with some of the details you want. I agree with BEG, I think pear sidestones would be gorgeous.

Ah, gotcha. Well, I'm just starting my search for the setting, so I'm not sure whether going custom makes sense or not. But to answer your question a different way, my list above is just some things that I like or don't like; it's not a shopping list, but more of a guidance for me. So if I find a pre-made setting that has most of what I'm looking for, I'm totally cool with using it.

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Do note - three-sided pave (if you go with that) will be extremely hard on a wedding band worn with that ring (because the diamonds will kill the metal w-band). Similarly, three-sided engraving (like the BGD I linked to) could be band because with two rings rubbing against one another, the friction will wear away the engraving. If she's planning on wearing a wedding band with the e-ring on the same finger, I'd stay away from three-sided anything.

Hmm, that's a good point. Don't most women wear their wedding band next to their e-ring? So I guess it makes sense to only have engraving and/or pave on 1 side of the ring. That's too bad.

I like that BGD setting a lot.

 

[E B]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Another vote for the BGD with pears (and no pave).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Do note - three-sided pave (if you go with that) will be extremely hard on a wedding band worn with that ring (because the diamonds will kill the metal w-band). Similarly, three-sided engraving (like the BGD I linked to) could be band because with two rings rubbing against one another, the friction will wear away the engraving. If she's planning on wearing a wedding band with the e-ring on the same finger, I'd stay away from three-sided anything.

Hmm, that's a good point. Don't most women wear their wedding band next to their e-ring? So I guess it makes sense to only have engraving and/or pave on 1 side of the ring. That's too bad.

I like that BGD setting a lot.

I would say most women do. I think one-sided looks fine (I mean, you won't be seeing the side facing the wedding band anyway right?

This wouldn't work for the engraving, but if you did three-sided pave you could always get her a thin spacer ring to wear between the w-band and the e-ring and that would help save the w-band from being eaten up. But it all just seems like a lot of trouble when you wouldn't see that side anyway you know?

At this point, I'd narrow down what you want to do, and then start contacting vendors like BGD, Whiteflash, Leon, etc. to get some price quotes.

Btw, I am also loving JBEG's settings - maybe one of them with minor or no alterations might fit your taste too? Check them out - Link

 

[T L]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Congrats for finding a stone. It's very pretty.

knoxjewelers.biz has lots of various settings to give you ideas.

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Btw, I am also loving JBEG's settings - maybe one of them with minor or no alterations might fit your taste too? Check them out - Link

Wow, I like JBEG's website a lot. Really helpful photos, and she even has video! However, I only saw one 3 stone ring on there; the rest were pave, and none of them really spoke to me.

I think pears for the side would look nice, but for some reason when I see a plain band (other than the 2 side diamonds), it looks too simple to me.

Does this sound too "busy" to you? A 3 stone setting with pears, half-moons, or some other rounded shape on the side; channel set diamonds going down the side (or possibly pave), maybe getting smaller as they go; and engraving on the top going down half way, and a little on the sides but it doesn't go very far. Maybe something like one of these? (at least, as a starting point)



And I though finding the stone would be the hard part!

I'll check out BGD's and Knox's websites, and let you know if anything speaks to me.

 

[AustenNut]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Hi Steve,

Glad you've found your sapphire. Frankly, you have excellent taste and I think that whichever setting you go for will look great. When I was looking for my e-ring I tried on the non 3-stone version of the Ritani that you're looking at. The side engraving and bezeled diamonds didn't stand out as much as I had hoped, but the additional sidestones probably helps the setting you're looking at. I would definitely ask to see it in person to see if it's the look you're going for, as it's more subdued in real-life than the pictures portray.

Regardless, looking forward to seeing what you decide!

 

[stepcutgirl]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve, the 3 stone with sapphire center on JbEG's site is my ring with my Jeff White sapphire in the middle. I just wanted to say that even though you may think its too simple....and it may be, that even with my size 7.5 ring finger, the side diamonds reach the outer corners of my finger. In other words I have 100% finger coverage, so if I had put pave on the shank only I would ever see it as the band part of the ring isn't vizable unless I take the ring off because of how much finger coverage I get with the 3-stone. I believe you said before that your intended has a smaller size ring finger than I do, so depending on the side stone size (mine are .30 and .31ct each) it will take up her entire finger. Just some food for thought.

Congrats on the JW! I just love mine!

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve, the 3 stone with sapphire center on JbEG's site is my ring with my Jeff White sapphire in the middle. I just wanted to say that even though you may think its too simple....and it may be, that even with my size 7.5 ring finger, the side diamonds reach the outer corners of my finger. In other words I have 100% finger coverage, so if I had put pave on the shank only I would ever see it as the band part of the ring isn't vizable unless I take the ring off because of how much finger coverage I get with the 3-stone. I believe you said before that your intended has a smaller size ring finger than I do, so depending on the side stone size (mine are .30 and .31ct each) it will take up her entire finger. Just some food for thought.

Yeah, I'm starting to agree with you. Her finger is pretty small (4.5), so I guess I don't have that much space to work with. And I've decided that too much pave and/or engraving makes the ring look too busy or antique-y, both of which are wrong for my gf. Maybe instead of pave or engraving down the band, I'll do something on the "bridge" instead. (what's the name of the part of the ring right underneath the center stone and side stones?) Like put our initials in or something. I think some combination of yours and Ponyo's pears, with a low cut, maybe more ornate bridge, would be a top contender for me right now.

Anyway, here are my latest thoughts after looking at Knox settings:

I like this because it's low set, has side stones AND some neat engraving; but the side stones need to be bigger/more prominent (I don't like them very much in this particular ring):

http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/products/design-2089

Would be interesting to see this with a round center stone and round pave/channel set stones instead:

http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/products/design-1956

Nothing quite speaking to me yet off BGD's site.

 

[chrono]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

You have shared many pictures of settings that are very busy and ornate, but I thought you mentioned that your GF’s taste is something simpler, smaller and quieter? Because this is going to be her ring for her lifetime and longer, it’s good to take her lifestyle and personal preference into consideration.

 

[Aoife]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

You have shared many pictures of settings that are very busy and ornate, but I thought you mentioned that your GF’s taste is something simpler, smaller and quieter? Because this is going to be her ring for her lifetime and longer, it’s good to take her lifestyle and personal preference into consideration.

This.

All you have to do is search the Rocky Talky forum to see the number of women who are doing upgrades or re-sets because they weren't that crazy about what their fiance/husband picked out for them. Just make sure you really consider her taste!

 

[Treenbean]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Your sapphire is Beautiful!!! Congrats! You may want to look at Bijoux Extraordinaire too. They do lots of custom sapphire rings with fancy shaped sides (how many times have you seen calf head side stones?)

http://www.jewelryexpert.com/catalog/Sapphire-Ring-Gallery.htm

 

[Magenta]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Yeah, I'm starting to agree with you. Her finger is pretty small (4.5), so I guess I don't have that much space to work with. And I've decided that too much pave and/or engraving makes the ring look too busy or antique-y, both of which are wrong for my gf.

I've got a 5.5 finger, and a 6.5 mm stone - I can certainly say that a 5-stone wouldn't work, and even the bigger 3 stones would be unlikely. Particularly with such a 'wow' stone!

Maybe you find something like mine, where the detailing in the gold makes it look more interesting than a standard solitare, but isn't overpowering. There are simpler, but interesting, settings out there - you just have to look really hard to find them!

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Maybe you find something like mine, where the detailing in the gold makes it look more interesting than a standard solitare, but isn't overpowering. There are simpler, but interesting, settings out there - you just have to look really hard to find them!

Yeah, that's what I'm looking for -- simple, but still unique in some way. I'm trying to find a setting that balances simplicity and elegance with a uniqueness that sets it apart. And I'm struggling with the "unique" part; if I put in too much detailing (pave, engraving, channel set diamonds, etc.), then it gets too busy, or too complicated, or I just run out of visible space on the ring.

Anyway, can you post a photo or link to yours, so I can see what you ended up with?

In the mean time, I'm going to take a look at the Bijoux Extraordinaire settings.

So a 5 stone setting is ruled out; but I really, really want some diamonds on there, so I guess what I'm looking for is a 3 stone with smaller side stones. (or maybe channel set diamonds?) I'll take a look around, and post some more on-target 3 stone photos back on here.

 

[E B]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve,

Take a look at the "Julia" by Jewels by Erica Grace. Simple, no pave on the shank, but a circle of diamonds underneath the sapphire:

http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.c...ulia-Solitaire/12794553_T9nUz#822099885_AiLM5

I know they've modified the design to use only 6 prongs, and I think 4 would work too (my personal choice).

 

[maebelle]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

I am waiting for my own Sapphire engagement ring (Hopefully a Jeff white as well once we get to it!)

I thought this whiteflash setting http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/full-of-surprises-solitaire-engagement-ring-477.htm with the surprise circle of diamonds, paired with one or two ultra-thin diamond eternity wedding bands would look awesome.

Take a look at wenwen's new wedding bands for an idea of what I mean [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-1-8mm-eternity-bands-to-go-with-e-ring-finally-here.150556/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-1-8mm-eternity-bands-to-go-with-e-ring-finally-here.150556/[/URL]



(ETA: I love the Julia too! Same concept, different look)

 

[packrat]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

I'll post some pics of my ring. It's really simple, tho it's a solitaire bezel rather than a prong set three stone but you get the idea! There are swirls in the gallery which I love.

 

[maebelle]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

This is a modified "Julia" that I found after seeing EB's post:

http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.com/JbEG-Signature-Settings-and/Plain-and-Pave-Solitaires/The-Julia-Bezel-Solitaire/13197667_TCNNx#993361170_KFMf6

 

[Magenta]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Maybe you find something like mine, where the detailing in the gold makes it look more interesting than a standard solitare, but isn't overpowering. There are simpler, but interesting, settings out there - you just have to look really hard to find them!

Yeah, that's what I'm looking for -- simple, but still unique in some way. I'm trying to find a setting that balances simplicity and elegance with a uniqueness that sets it apart. And I'm struggling with the "unique" part; if I put in too much detailing (pave, engraving, channel set diamonds, etc.), then it gets too busy, or too complicated, or I just run out of visible space on the ring.

Anyway, can you post a photo or link to yours, so I can see what you ended up with?

Yep, definitely understand that dilemma - and I was picking the setting for me! Here's mine - [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finewater-spessarite-garnet-finally-here.148976/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finewater-spessarite-garnet-finally-here.148976/[/URL]

 

[skingsland]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

Steve,

Take a look at the "Julia" by Jewels by Erica Grace. Simple, no pave on the shank, but a circle of diamonds underneath the sapphire:

http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.c...ulia-Solitaire/12794553_T9nUz#822099885_AiLM5

I know they've modified the design to use only 6 prongs, and I think 4 would work too (my personal choice).

Yeah, the circle of diamonds underneath the sapphire, out of sight when looking from the top down, is interesting but I'm not sure it's my style. I think what I'm drawn to most about including diamonds in the setting is how the sapphire plays off the diamonds when you're looking at it. So I think I've figured out a 3 stone setting is the way to go for me, and I like pear side stones better than rounds. I'd also be open to some other shape of side stone that has rounded corners, but I'm not sure what else there is. Heart-shaped?

So then, the question is: who do I go with?

Both Leon Mege and Brian Gavin have designs that I like, and I can't really see much difference between them. (Maybe you guys could point out any differences you see?) I took a look at the Bijoux Extraordinaire settings, but none really caught my eye. JBEG only has the 3 stone setting with round side stones.

So here are the ones I like best so far:

Leon Mege
http://www.artofplatinum.com/portfolio/details.php?image_id=299
http://www.artofplatinum.com/portfolio/details.php?image_id=312

BGD
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5362

Ponyo's
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/shout-out-to-bgd-3-stone-love.146448/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/shout-out-to-bgd-3-stone-love.146448/[/URL]

mol42's
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-call-leon-mege-my.140948/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-call-leon-mege-my.140948/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-decide-on-a-wb.146819/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-decide-on-a-wb.146819/[/URL]

McTeigue & McClelland
http://www.mc2jewels.com/email.php?item=1_102_first.jpg

EDIT: Forgot Whiteflash!

Here's one that's a little more unique, but in the style I'm looking for; what do you think about the shape of the side stones?
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/three-stone/butterflies-3-stone-engagement-ring-230.htm


Thoughts?

 

[VapidLapid]

Re: Got a great JW sapphire, let's find the perfect setting!

I really like the second art of platinum one