Halo Help!!

[kels0054]

Hi eveyone!
Charmypoo I have a question for you and anyone else with input who knows halos!
I just got my halo engagement radiant cut diamond ring and I love it! Don't get me wrong!, But there is something about the halo part that is not the same as the Harry Winston halo that I showed the jeweler or any of the pictures that a lot of you guys have all mentioned. All of your photos are about exactly what I wanted the HALO part of mine to look like. But the jeweler kept telling me that the "prong setting" is problematic and subject to loose stones..so we did a micro pave setting and I think mine is considered a u-cut pave.

THE ONLY part of this ring that isn't exactly what I wanted, we custom designed it with our local jeweler, is the halo surrounding the diamond. I feel like I have a U-cut pave, but I think what's missing for me is the v cuts between each diamond melee.. Charmypoo do you think this is what is different? Do you think if he were to add the v cuts between each diamond that it would end up looking like the halo parts of the photos we've posted? Here are some pics of the ring.. don't mind the quality. The diamond in person is breathtaking but I'm terrible at taking pics of it..

Any HELP on what terminology I can tell my jeweler to change for the halo would be greatly appreciated! What are peoples thoughts on fishtail?
I think my best bet is to ask if he can add v cuts between each melee..
Ok I need help adding photos to pricescope..Sorry, I'm new to the site but would love all your help!

 

[Gypsy]

Pics would greatly help and I will try to find Charmy for you.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Would love to help but I need pictures to see what you are talking about

There are halos done on PS with v-cut and others in u-cut.

 

[kels0054]

haha Unfortunately, i cant seem to figure out how to post my pictures on here.. It keeps saying invalid upload? Do I just go down to Upload attachment and upload the file? haha if you could tell me how to do it that would be amazing.. I just started this site today!

 

[kels0054]

Hi Gypsy, thanks so much
I just dont exactly know how to post the pictures- could either of you give me directions on how to do that?
I have about 5 pics on my desktop ready to post for you both : )

 

[slg47]

Hi Gypsy, thanks so much
I just dont exactly know how to post the pictures- could either of you give me directions on how to do that?
I have about 5 pics on my desktop ready to post for you both : )

you need to click on the icon that looks like a diamond under insert (on the top right)
and follow the instructions to upload

if it isn't working you may need to compress the file or give it a unique file name

 

[Gypsy]

Usually it just means your picture is too big. Open Paint, resize the pictures by 50% and save, then try it again.

Unique names are not needed with PS 2.0.

 

[SweetAsscher]

I sometimes just take a screenshot of my pic if it's too big to upload.

 

[kels0054]

Thank you everyone!! I'll try tomorrow for you!

Gypsy- I responded to one of your old posts about your halo, but I LOVE your ring!! Can you give me all your specific technical names of your halo?? We have very similar shapes in diamonds and size:
Mines a 1.1 carat radiant cut with the halo and I think I have 1 pointer melee but not positive.

But I would love to know everything and all the technical lingo of your halo so when I go back into my jeweler I can say exactly what your halo is!

Also- were you warned of losing stones or having to be more careful with your setting? Because my jeweler is more apprehensive because he's nervous about me losing stones.. but hes more conservative so I think he's just being precaucious as he's an amazing jeweler and the halo he did, from when my fiance and I custom designed it, turned out amazing, just something is a little off with the halo and I can't put my hands on it.
I'll upload pics tomorrow, but if you get this before I would love ALL your technical info on your halo setting!!Especially since were a few of the more rare halo'ers on P.S that doesn't have a round diamond halo
Thanks : )

 

[CharmyPoo]

Click My Pages > Image Control Panel from the tabs in the top right.
On the Image Control Panel page, click upload image
Upload your image
Go back to your thread and make a post
Click on the picture diamond icon under insert
Select your image

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you everyone!! I'll try tomorrow for you!

Gypsy- I responded to one of your old posts about your halo, but I LOVE your ring!! Can you give me all your specific technical names of your halo?? We have very similar shapes in diamonds and size:
Mines a 1.1 carat radiant cut with the halo and I think I have 1 pointer melee but not positive.

But I would love to know everything and all the technical lingo of your halo so when I go back into my jeweler I can say exactly what your halo is!

Also- were you warned of losing stones or having to be more careful with your setting? Because my jeweler is more apprehensive because he's nervous about me losing stones.. but hes more conservative so I think he's just being precaucious as he's an amazing jeweler and the halo he did, from when my fiance and I custom designed it, turned out amazing, just something is a little off with the halo and I can't put my hands on it.
I'll upload pics tomorrow, but if you get this before I would love ALL your technical info on your halo setting!!Especially since were a few of the more rare halo'ers on P.S that doesn't have a round diamond halo
Thanks : )

Hi Kels, I'm having a bit of an oh crap moment on what the technicalities are with my halo. With Ocean (who did my original halo) I gave a lot of direction. And not all of it was followed. With Steven I really just said-- here's what my pet peeves are, here's what I don't want to change and here's what I want to change. Make it look good. And he did, cause pave is what he does.

But here's what I told Steven and what I can observe.

1/2 pointers in the halo, full cut. F/G high quality melee.

I specified two melee in each corner to make sure the halo was octagonal. The layout ended up being 4 diamonds on each straight 2 in each corner. See picture below for the halo layout. So 24 total stones for a ctw of .12 in my halo.

The halo is tilted-- probably about 20 degrees out from the stone.

Claw prongs in the corners but ones that aren't too sharp.

The pave style is where the "oh crap" comes in... Here's the a synopsis of the conversation I had with Steven: I love the way bright cut pave REALLY allows you to get precise corners for an octagonal look, but I don't want bright cut. I want V cut, but with corners as distinct and octagonal as possible-- more so than I've seen accomplished with V-cut before. Even if it meant that the corners had a little extra metal showing to achieve the octagonal look, I wanted it done.

And that's what he gave me.

Hope this helps.

 

[Gypsy]

Also- were you warned of losing stones or having to be more careful with your setting? Because my jeweler is more apprehensive because he's nervous about me losing stones.. but hes more conservative so I think he's just being precaucious as he's an amazing jeweler and the halo he did, from when my fiance and I custom designed it, turned out amazing, just something is a little off with the halo and I can't put my hands on it.
I'll upload pics tomorrow, but if you get this before I would love ALL your technical info on your halo setting!!Especially since were a few of the more rare halo'ers on P.S that doesn't have a round diamond halo
Thanks : )

About this. This is the reason I had my halo redone in March of this year. My original halo was by Ocean Pearlman. She is a goldsmith and her work is featured in museums. I had seen multiple pics of her pave work in the exact style I wanted.

The halo was done with one pointers because Ocean did not feel that 1/2 pointers would be safe. She was even apprehensive about 1 pointers being too small.

Three years of wear had me replacing a ridiculous amount of stones. The stones were eight cuts, aka single cuts, and were very hard to match and replace. I spent a fortune of replacement costs of the stones. A close friend who is a very good jeweler told me that if it were him, he would just replace the entire ring as every original stone was a lost stone waiting to happen.

After the first lost stone I stopped wearing the ring, except out of the house. I did not exercise with it, sleep, clean or garden or shower with it. I cleaned it only with a soft toothbrush. And I babied it. But it kept losing stones until the only time I saw it was when I opened up my jewelry box. Because I just left it there, tired of repairs.

I regretted not going to Leon, but also knew I could never have worked or endorsed Leon's personality.

Then Steven was found. And BAM! It took me all of 5 minutes to decide to call him and see if he would consider lasering off my halo from the shank and replacing the halo and the gallery wires with ones done by him.

He agreed. I sent the ring to him. He did exactly that. And I've been wearing it since March (I still only wear it out of the house, it's habit now to take my engagement ring off when I get in the house. I do not clean, sleep, shower, exercise or do anything risky with it). No lost stones at all-- EVEN though the new halo has 1/2 pointers in it.

I have it checked once a month to make sure all the stones are in good shape.

The person doing your pave. Their skill and their confidence matters. MOST jewelers can make pave that looks good to the unaided eye. VERY VERY FEW can do pave that lasts and wears well and isn't a repair heart ache waiting to happen.

Also my wedding band has pave. It is my Scott Kay and has one pointers. I've worn it for 3 years. I DO shower with it, work out with it, sleep with it, you name it. The thing is a tank. I also get it checked out every month. And so far I've sized it up one full size and have had NO issues with stones falling out or even being loose. It's just INCREDIBLY well constructed.

Oh, and my rings are both Platinum. I don't know the alloy of the Scott Kay. I don't know if Steven matched the original alloy I had Ocean use (which was a Platinum 900 recommended by Mark Morrell). But I prefer platinum for my rings. And from what I understand platinum is the best metal for fine pave.

 

[kels0054]

Hi Gypsy!

Thanks soo much for your detailed reply!! I'll try and get my pictures up later, but for now my main concern is with the pave style for the halo.
I'm glad to hear that your new ring has had no trouble with missing stones, because I wear mine all the time (haven't taken it off since I got it) and that's what I've always wanted when getting an engagement ring. My jeweler took this into account when creating mine as with many of our meetings and pictures I would show, he would continue to be veryyy apprehensive and say "I can definitely make this for you, but with the least amount of metal your seeing your bound to end up with missing stones down the road, it's just a matter of time". BUT after a long process of my fiance and I going in there, he showed us a CAD image that we both LOVED! And I must say, everyone around me thinks I'm crazy for considering changing the halo part, as no one else can "see what I can see different" compared to pictures.

The only thing that I see different is how your stones truly appear to look as if individual stones surround your halo. Mine does too in most light, but I think I have more metal between each diamond, because I think I'm missing the "V" cuts between. I have shallow U cuts but I don't have the "V" cuts.

I found it interesting you mention that your halo is tilted 20 degrees. I was unfamiliar of this going into my design process. Does this help in making the stones around the center stone appear to be more individual? or what exactly does having your halo tilted do?

When I went back to my jeweler this past Monday he said that he would take a look at my ring with his goldsmith and that he could probably shave away some of the under basket (I'm not sure basket is the correct term for what I'm thinking, but the metal holding all the small diamonds in) and I wonder if this would be similar to having it be tilted 20 degrees.

When I originally went in their Monday my whole concern was on having his make the U cuts deeper, but I think I've realized that, from the looking at the top of my ring, that won't make the stones appear to be any more individual and I really am thinking that it has something to do with the V cut grooves between each melee..

Let me try to do what all of you have said and upload a few pictures.. My ring is insanely sparkly but the lighting in all of the pictures I take does not capture it as I am terrible at taking pictures of my ring and still maintaining the sparkle..

ANY HELP FROM ANYONE ON TECHNICAL TERMS FOR THE PAVE OR WHAT THEY THINK I COULD TELL HIM TO CUT MORE OUT OF WOULD BE SO HELPFUL!
He's a great jeweler, and is truly concerned with my long term wear, which is soo nice of him as he will be the one to be fixing it throughout the years, but I also think he's one of the jewelers that at times needs a little push (as I was in there about 4 times before we ok'd his cad's)

 

[kels0054]

Ok I was able to upload one from my finaces Iphone, so not the best

I have approx 18 small 1.3 mm diamonds surrounding my 1.1 carat radiant cut diamonds. The band is 1.6 mm, I'm unaware of how wide the halo is, pretty fine though!

The diamonds in the band I believe are `1.6 mm
Let me know if I uploaded this right??

 

[kels0054]

I'll try to post a few more pics closer up of the pave and the sides and such..as this will be a a little hard to tell
Plus in this photo their appears to be more metal showing than when I just look down at my ring, but that's partly taking pics with a flash

 

[kels0054]

Here are a few more pictures
They truly don't do the diamond justice so don't judge that part of it : ) I have people stopping me at the mall and grocery store commenting on the sparkle but I am an awful camera taker so just focus on halo : )

Another thing to keep in mind. I had this ring made so that I can wear a wedding band flush with it- we ordered 2 pave 1.6 mm bands to match, but they are able to sit flush underneath and I also wanted the ring to sit low to my hand.. so those are the main differences between the Kylie and the HW rings, I just showed him those as I wanted my Halo to look similar to them..

As you can see, the metal that does appear in the images seems to be the metal inbetween each diamond, so do you think that would be resolved by cutting "V" slits in between? But also, would that jeopardize any of the rings stability?

Ok the more I look at yours compared to mine, it's definitely the metal in between the melee's!!! Don't you all think!??
In addition to adding V cuts, do you guys think that him shaving the basket underneath a bit more would help or no?

 

[CharmyPoo]

I am just going to be blunt here. The problem is not the pave type but the skill of the bench. Very few platinum and gold smith can create pave that has next to no metal showing. Of all the vendors recommended here, Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch and Victor Canera are tops. Then I think Maytal Hannah comes close. I do not believe your jeweler can fix the problem.

You can read http://artofplatinum.com/vault/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=6 for more information on different pave types. However, u-cut pave by Leon mege will not show metal in between as well.

Here are my two rings for example.

My halo is v-cut and by Maytal Hannah. More metal than the next rings I will show you.



This is from Leon mege in a u-cut (same as your ring). His skill resulted in less metal.






For more detailed views and comparisons, go to [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/comparison-photos-of-my-victor-canera-sk-leon-ring-setting.166496/[/URL]

 

[Gypsy]

Shaving the basket is a bad idea... it will not give you what you want and will make the ring less structurally stable.

CHARMY is right. It is not the style of pave AT ALL it is the execution. Your bench CANNOT GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT. That is the honest truth that you cannot get around. And also... no the tilt has nothing to do with how the the stones are set... it is just an aesthetic detail to make the profile more attractive.

That said you ring is lovely and if you can get to a place where you can accept it as it is... I see no reason why you should change it as getting what you want will cost you about 4k over what has already been spent.

I would leave it alone... and also... since your jeweler thought shaving the basket would fix things.... that makes it even clearer to me that they have no idea what the problem you have is or how to fix it. So subsequent iterations with the same jeweler will NOT fix the issue... and will only result in frustration on both sides.

 

[kels0054]

Hi
Thank you for your responses.
Yes going to Leon or Steven is out of the question and to be honest, I wouldn't want to do that anyway, especially since my setting cost 4200 not including the center stone. When doing a custom ring I wanted it to be my own and not something he produces all the time. The photos I took in were for reference. I also showed him other halo's seen online at other retailers, like jewels by erica grace or diamonds by lauren.

To be blunt as well, I actually don't know if I agree 100% though with you both in regards to the v-cut slits between the melee helping to reduce the metal. I feel that this is where the metal shows and if it were to be cut down, even slightly, that this could soften that metal look, and maybe it's because what you're seeing is from uploaded pictures rather than in person. I don't mind if there is NO METAL showing, I would just like a little bit of the metal to be shaved down. I think I am still going to talk to him and ask him about this issue. I also feel this way because the pave on my band shows extremely minimal metal, so this is why I feel it shouldn't be as big of a issue for the halo's basket.

He didn't say he wanted to shave the basket down to "solve my specific issue" he said he would take a look at it with his goldsmith and that shaving the basket may be something he could do to soften the halo in general, but not to make my specific issues happy. He didn't want to scoop the U cuts any lower as he doesn't want me to have to come in and deal with missing stones over and over again, like you said you had to deal with Gypsy.

 

[kels0054]

I would be happy with the metal to end up looking like this image:


I don't need it exactly like Leon's I just want a little more metal taken off.

 

[mrssalvo]

I think you can certainly ask to have the V's added but please do go with whatever your jeweler and bench feel is best and within their own skills and abilities. I agree that taking away metal/shaving could very well end up affecting the structural integrity of your ring but that's up to the bench, your jeweler and you.

 

[kels0054]

Hi Mrssalvo!
Thanks for your reply anbd suggestions! I definitely think asking him about the V cuts would at least help the case for sure, as I don't need it to look exactly like the HW but I Just would like a little less metal.

And Yes I totally agree with you about the bench. I already told my jeweler that shaving the bed is not what I want to do, nor would it fix the issue that I want changed. The entire time we have been designing this ring he has been about long term wear, and the greatest stability, so I would be EXTREMELY surprised if he wanted to shave more down if he didn't think it would be safe for long term.
I'm sure it would, but I agree with you guys in that shaving the bench would not fix what I want done, so in turn there's no reason to do it.

I just sent him a long email detailing exactly what I want it to look like with photos and links for him to look at so when I go in in January we'll have a lot to talk about, so we'll see what he says!

I really appreciate your response though mrssalvo!

 

[CharmyPoo]

You can ask but I suspect it will be major rework if not remade to have the metal shaved down. Also, please be aware that the metal between the diamonds is what actually holds down the diamond. By thinning it down with a bench that is not familiar with such delicate work, you will run the risk of loosing the melee diamonds. We often hear a loss of melee on pave from benches that aren't used to creating that type of pave. He doesn't want to cut it down because he is not experienced in creating this type of pave without stone loss. Gypsy didn't say it out right but she lost melee because of the bench and their skill ... not because it is pave.

Also, Leon Mege etc do custom work so it is not like buying a stock setting. Each setting is made per your specs. A halo from Maytal is in the mid-3000s from what I hear. Victor according to Frankie's post is low $4000. So really your price is in the range of the benches we are recommending (around $3500 to $5000).

You cannot have no metal showing because your diamonds will just fall out. The metal is there for a reason.

The pics are a bit fuzzy so you are the best judge of the work. I don't notice a difference in the amount of metal between the diamonds in the halo versus band. Since you are taking the ring back, can you check if your halo is even? It looks a bit buldgy in the middle to me but it could just be the picture. I suspect the shape of the halo may be throwing you off too .. it doesn't have the clean straight lines around your stone .. say like Gypsy's ring. For a cushion, you would have the buldge but a straight edge stone should have a straight edge (guess personal preference)?

 

[Gypsy]

Gypsy didn't say it out right but she lost melee because of the bench and their skill ... not because it is pave.

This is why I don't do tact. I suck at it.

The blunt truth is Ocean's pave was not good quality and that's why I lost stones. And the halo I wore for three years (that had issues) was the SECOND halo she made for me. The first was kicked back by my appraiser as being shoddy.

Here's what you are saying. You, whose first ring this is and who have looked at pave from a website and a few in person examples (and none in person by Leon or Steven or Victor), are arguing with a bunch of people that have several rings EACH of pave and have spent the last I don't know how many years getting educated on pave, it's pluses and minuses. You can do what you will, and you will, but the fact is you don't even know the terms for the work being done. You had to ask us. Didn't know what a gallery was. Didn't know about tilting halos or why it is done. But, regardless of that, you are sure you are correct.

You don't HAVE to listen to us. And it doesn't sound like you want to accept what we are saying and, of course, that's your choice to think you know best. But before you spend a ton of time and aggravation with your local jeweler and asking him to do things he's never done and doesn't know will result in a product that will last (and not lose stones every other day) you need to know FOR CERTAIN what the issue is.

What's the solution? INDEPENDENT APPRAISER! I HIGHLY recommend sending your ring to Neil Beaty, who has appraised COUNTLESS examples of pave from Leon, Steven (including mine) BGD (who does very good CAD pave) and ERD (who also does very good CAD pave).

HE CAN TELL YOU what the issue is. And whether-- from the work on your current ring-- the v-cuts or whatever will help the situation.

Here's his contact information. http://www.gemlab.us/


I believe there is another independent appraiser in NY who is very good with pave as well (Charmy, was it you who visited him? I think his name is David?).

 

[kels0054]

Charmypoo-

Yes I DID NOT want straight lines for my halo, I wanted it arched, which is why the corners are more rounded. He showed me straight line halo's and I didn't like them. That is not the issue though, I LOVE the shape of my halo.
And yes the 3,000 to 5,000 range was our price range, but now that the ring is made, I obviously don't have the money to go spend another 4000 just to fix something so small. It doesn't mean THAT much to me, I just wasn't sure if he'd be able to take any more metal away from the melee.

And also, my jeweler doesn't do the exact bench work himself. He has his own goldsmith in store and a manufacturer that made our cad image that his company works with and orders pieces from that create them. He has worked with them for years and they agree on what they think is strategically strong enough to last. He's not the one carving the rings himself or making the bench, so all of his advice is from his expertise as a jeweler and based on his experience with halos. He says he has people come in all the time with halo's they've purchased online that he won't even agree to fix because he knows he'll be married to fixing the piece for life, as stones will continue to fall out. My jeweler is more on the beliefs that halo's, in general, tend to be problematic after years and years of wear if not properly made, which is why he LOVES the one he made me because he says I should have close to no problems losing stones.

Have you Charmypoo, or Gypsy or anyone else ever lost a stone out of your halo yet? But in addition to that, do and of you ever take your rings off? Gypsy I know you said you do.

And wow Gypsy, easy. There's absolutely NO reason to become so upset over an online forum. First of all, I don't WANT to spend another 4,000 dollars to set my, perfectly beautiful halo. I started this forum to ask people a few questions, mainly being if people thought adding V cuts could help achieve a less metal look-- that's ALL. I would come across extremely petty and EXTREMELY ridiculous to pay that much more on top of my already 9200 dollar ring to change something so minor. All of my friends and family already think I'm ridiculous in asking my jeweler about reducing metal. Never did I expect to post a few questions on a site and get such backlash from a few members. Plus you or charmypoo has yet to say if they wear their rings everyday and if you've ever had any problems with the stones.

 

[Gypsy]

Kels, you don't KNOW if your ring will lose stones or not. Your jeweler says you won't. But you've only been wearing your ring for HOW LONG now? And yet here you are challenging us -- saying you can do anything with you rings and we can't- -neiner niener lol. I hope for your sake that's true. But if you keep MESSING WITH IT, it may not be true. Your question has been answered-- NO, IN OUR OPINION, V-cuts will not help because that's not the problem. You just don't LIKE that answer so you are arguing with us.

For the record I never said you should go with Steven or anyone. I SPECIFICALLY said you shouldn't and should just LEAVE YOUR RING ALONE and learn to be happy with it.

And no, I don't wear my ENGAGEMENT ring with my Steven Halo all the time, and never have. I want my ring to last and want to minimize repairs. Plus, I'm not a newly engaged girl. I've had my rings for a while so I don't have that same feeling you do anymore. When I got first got my rings I wanted to wear them all the time, now I know that it looks bigger and shinier to me when I only wear it some of the time. Every time I take it out, I'm surprised at how much I love it.

BUT-- I DO WEAR MY PAVE WEDDING BAND ALL THE TIME. It's by Scott Kay and is built like a tank. I hope for your sake your ring is like my wedding band and that you don't lose stones.

As for getting upset... I'm not. It's just funny when someone comes on here, asks for your SPECIFIC opinion BY NAME, then decides to argue with you about why you are wrong.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I wear my ering every day - the Leon one in the split shank. I have no problems with melee but I believe that Leon is one of the best at pave. I have only worn my halo ring a handful of times - not because I am afraid I will loose stones but simply because I like my Leon ering better. I can't bring myself to wear two diamond rings at a time and when I have to choose .. it is always the Leon. I have many other pave rings and halo rings - I have lost a stone out of a cheap setting I got off ebay. It fell out during setting but my jeweller fixed it.

You will find that your ring is no bulkier than pave by BGD and WF who both use CAD/CAST methods. They are usually less fine than the handmade work. I am honestly just trying to help so please don't take it the wrong way. I am wondering if the rounded halo edge for a straight stone is also causing extra metal. If you think about it - stick a square into a circle .. there is extra space that can't be filled with circles because the spacing is different. I think when they stuck the melee into the halo that doesn't outline the diamond .. you are left with extra metal.

Sometimes jewelers say it is unsafe because they don't know how or haven't done it before. I remember my halo ring - I was told that I can't go that thin because it is unsafe. My ering by Leon is even more delicate but when I hold the two rings in my hands .. my Leon is much sturdier. It is the difference between someone who is used to doing really delicate work versus someone who is not.

Honestly, I have the best intentions here .. I just want to help you / warn you to avoid disappointment later. I am not suggesting that you should remake your ring at all! I think you should talk to your jeweler but just be aware of the potential risks.

 

[kels0054]

Charmypoo
Thanks for that response, I really appreciate it! I actually think you could definitely be correct about the rounded corners for my straight line diamond. Good point! I actually do love the rounded corners look though for my ring, since I wanted it to have a cushion like halo so maybe that's what I get for wanting two different things?? I think your definitely right about BGD halo's looking like mine too! And when I look at my halo it's really just a couple specific spots that are heavier on metal than others, which goes back to the shape of my halo so I think your point is definitely extremely right on for that! : )

Gypsy,
my jeweler says my ring is built extremely strong yes, but of course he said there is ALWAYS a risk of losing stones or having repairs with a halo style ring, especially when worn everyday. He NEVER said I would NEVER lose stones, but when I went in and asked him about taking more metal away he said he would not want to do that because any lower amount of metal means a higher risk of repair and stone loss.

If anything my jeweler is EXTREMELY safety oriented, maybe a bit over the top in his warnings and such.

Have you lost any stones from your current halo setting?? Frankie??

And no, I'm not arguing with you or stating that i know more than you, because I know I don't, but I just think it's a little blunt to say that he cant do any more etching from my current bench, because you've never seen the ring in person, you're going off a few pictures. That said, I personally feel that it doesn't hurt to ask him about v cuts. He may say no way, for the exact reasons you stated, which he definitely could, but I just feel it doesn't hurt to ask you know?

When Frankie had her ring re-done did she ever say how much it cost? I remember her posting saying that she just had to pay for the labor.

I LOVE my engagement ring, which is why I may be coming off a bit defensive, so for that i'm sorry.

 

[Gypsy]

I don't know if Frankie did or not, but in general I think that setting from Leon runs about 5000 give or take a thousand (depending on size of melee, size of center stone, how much pave you want on the shank and in the gallery). I think Victor is around 4,500 (same give or take) someone said. And Steven is right there as well. Charmy's range of 4,000-6,000 is completely accurate.

Kels, it doesn't hurt to ask. Of course not. But that's not the point. The point is-- is it the right change to get the look you want. My point is before you ask for v-cut make sure that it will fix the problem. I think right now you are guessing. That's why I suggested the appraisal route. Having someone with knowledge about pave, who is not your jeweler, who has the ring in hand and is not working off of pictures may help you decide whether or not v-cut is the solution, or if a different halo shape such as one that follows the stone instead of bowing out (which I actually like too) is the solution, or the problem is neither of those and it's just that the work is not consistent in metal width is the problem.

That's why I recommended Neil. Or David. Because I KNOW they know what to look for and may be the best people to help you to communicate your desired changes to your jeweler so you get the result you want.

What I want you to avoid is just asking for v-cut not knowing if that will fix the issue -- and then still not being happy with the result.

And yes, you were coming across as defensive. But I was coming across as irritable. So we'll cancel each other out and not worry about it.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Ask your jeweler what he thinks he can do to help, and do only what he recommends. Do not push him to do anything else, because to do so would be to perhaps push the limits of his bench. Based only on those photos you posted, which show decent detail, it looks like the bench who made your ring is not skilled enough to do the low-metal type settings you prefer, unfortunately. I am sorry they charged so much for your ring, as well, it seems like a lot for a ring of that style to not get exactly what you want. Hopefully they can tweak it to be more to your liking, but I think you will ultimately have to accept the limitations of what you have, rather than try to post-hoc re-do it to look like you want. I suspect to make it like you want would require a wholesale redo of the ring, and since he did not want to do it the way you want in the first place, I doubt he can do it this time.