Halo Help!!

[kels0054]

The 1.1 radiant diamond's cost was included in my quote when I said the ring cost 9200 dollars , but yes the setting was either 3400 or 4200-- I can't exactly remember as we were quoted on two different metals and my fiance kept a lot of the costs to himself as he didn't really want me knowing a lot of it..

 

[luckky]

Hi sorry for thread jack, I was just curious and may I ask Gypsy pls. When you redo you halo with SK the cost will be the same like we do the whole new setting?

 

[Gypsy]

Hi sorry for thread jack, I was just curious and may I ask Gypsy pls. When you redo you halo with SK the cost will be the same like we do the whole new setting?

Well. No, because he didn't do an entirely new setting. So there was less labor and less material. So lower cost. Most of my metal weight is in my shank-- which wasn't replaced. And so I was charged only for the labor and materials he actually used: metal for the halo, prongs and gallery wires, and the new melee for the halo, and the labor for the time that he spent on it.

 

[luckky]

Thank you! so much gypsy for quick reply that really helpful and give me hope. Unfortunately I think I have the same prob with my halo too may be I will find the way to fix it. I will contact SK or VC either one of them. Don't get me wrong I love love everything about my ring the size, the shape but I think some how it kinda have too much metal around the diamond so obvious with yellow gold and little halo diamond around kinda crooked, or just my OCD. And Thank you! Kels 0054 for have this thread really helpful for me too. Your ring is beautiful and sometime I think we have to learn how to love them the way they are (tell myself too).

 

[Laila619]

Gypsy, I almost went with an Ocean halo a few years ago! Glad I didn't now. If she is a master goldsmith, I don't understand why her pave was bad?

 

[Laila619]

kels, I personally think your ring is really pretty! Congratulations!

 

[kels0054]

Thank you Laila and Lucky!

I really appreciate your responses. And yes, I totally agree with you Lucky, I definitely think I'm being way too OCD because, yes when I zoom in my magnified camera you can see metal(its like 20 x zoomed) But in normal wear when you look at it you really can't tell any metal is there. Yes it doesn't look the exact same at all as Charmypoo or Gypsy's style halo's, but It is a very beautful halo and is similar, as Charmypoo said, to BGD halos. Which I mean, when I took my pictures in to have him make a halo I did take some off of websites like BGD and a few pictures from Ring envy, so I kind of got a mash between the look of Charmypoo and a few others.. and I hate that I'm being so nit picky because everyone around me thinks I'm CRAZY! haha so yes, Lucky sometimes we have to just let things go for sure! : )
(But i'll still be asking him if he can make any more metal go away or make more tiny slits or whatever, if him and his goldsmith still feel that it will be as strong and durable)

Good luck to you Lucky!
Thanks everyone!@

 

[kels0054]

And yes Laila!
That's a great question you brought about how, if she's a master goldsmith at ocean how would anyone know that it wouldn't last?? How did you guys know that Leon and SK would last? It's great that they are, I just mean in general, how does one know if they're really getting a ring that wont loose stones-- so scary haha

 

[CharmyPoo]

It may look beautiful in real life not zoomed in ... but just imagine how beautiful these other rings look in real life not zoomed in as well. The difference is outstanding. I didn't know what really good pave looked like until I got my rings from Leon, Steven and Maytal. I have many pave pieces before Leon and I have always been picky about the metal being shown but Leon and Steven's work took it to the next level. I am fairly certain that any important pieces I do .. I would only go to Leon, Steven or Victor .. even if that means I have to go to travel and get it done.

I have never been pleased by the photos of Ocean's work that I have seen but I am uber picky. How do we know if anything will last - you can't go by your jeweller's word because they are just sales people. The truth is .. if your jeweller is so certain - ask him to put a warranty on it and back that ring up for your life time and beyond. If for whatever reason, your melee falls out with Leon or Steven - they will fix it for free. I asked and they told me so.

To the long time members here who have an appreciate for fine pave work, one look at the photos and they know if the ring is well made or not. In Show me the Bling, yes - everyone will say the ring is nice because that is the purpose of that sub-forum. The truth is ... our inside voice is saying something different. Once you see and hold really good work .. you just can't go back.

 

[kels0054]

Charmypoo the funny thing is, no one asked you whether or not you would go to anyone besides Leon, Steven or Maytal-- you just keep hammering at the fact that that's where you go, which is fine but It's completely off of the main question, and you're coming across rude.

WE SIMPLY ASKED: how can one tell when looking at jewelers work if it is built to last? Obviously Gypsy couldn't tell when looking at Ocean's work and tell the pave difference between one that would last and one that wouldn't because she said she had two rings from them and then switched to Leon and Steven, and THAT"s When she said she would never go back to any other pave jeweler besides Steven.

So Leon, Maytal and Steven have guaranteed your rings for life then, I assume? As taken from what you said in your last post?
I know some jewelers will say they'll replace stones for free, but if it's time after time will Steven still replace? And how do you know if a jewelers work is strong enough to not lose stones over and over and over. Just if they say they'll put a lifetime warranty on it? That doesn't necessarily mean that stones wont still fall out time and time again, that jeweler could just be prepared to fix it over and over.

The question WE WERE asking is WHEN LOOKING AT A JEWELERS WORK, HOW CAN ONE TELL THAT THE SETTING WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO ENDURE DAILY WEAR AND NOT LOSE MELEE?

Of course there can be repairs needed at some point in time, that's life, but when looking at companies pave work, HOW DOES ONE KNOW THAT IT WONT HAVE PROBLEMS EVENTUALLY. (Like with Ocean's pieces?)

 

[kels0054]

For example, I find the halo's on Diamonds by Lauren to be extremely beautiful as well. Now, you're saying you could look at their photos and be able to tell if their rings will be strong enough to not have issues??

How can one look at them and tell from photos whether or not it will be built to last, even if it is guaranteed????

 

[mrssalvo]

Thank you Laila and Lucky!

I really appreciate your responses. And yes, I totally agree with you Lucky, I definitely think I'm being way too OCD because, yes when I zoom in my magnified camera you can see metal(its like 20 x zoomed) But in normal wear when you look at it you really can't tell any metal is there. Yes it doesn't look the exact same at all as Charmypoo or Gypsy's style halo's, but It is a very beautful halo and is similar, as Charmypoo said, to BGD halos. Which I mean, when I took my pictures in to have him make a halo I did take some off of websites like BGD and a few pictures from Ring envy, so I kind of got a mash between the look of Charmypoo and a few others.. and I hate that I'm being so nit picky because everyone around me thinks I'm CRAZY! haha so yes, Lucky sometimes we have to just let things go for sure! : )
(But i'll still be asking him if he can make any more metal go away or make more tiny slits or whatever, if him and his goldsmith still feel that it will be as strong and durable)

Good luck to you Lucky!
Thanks everyone!@

You are not being nit picky at all. Most of here are probably even more on the picky scale than you I will tell you before I purchased my rings I educated myself on pave for years on this forum. I visited several jewelers to see the different styles and designers, learned the pros and cons of handmade rings verses cast. I actually spent an afternoon at Pearlmans in MI where I got a first hand education and look at workmanship of a Leon ring that Bill P had on consignment, a Michael b, Michael beaudry, ritani, beverley K and daniel K. Who are considered to be some of the best in the business. So, like charmy said, many of us here can get a pretty good idea from a photo and know what to look for re; metal, symmetry, and fluid curves and lines of a ring. Most designers will warranty the pave so you should ask your jeweler to do the same. It's possible for any pave ring to lose a stone, no matter the maker, but it's far less of an issue in a well crafted piece.

 

[kels0054]

Thanks Mrssalvo! I really appreciate your nice, kind response! : )

 

[Rockdiamond]

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?

HI Kels, I don't have time to read all the responses- but some of what I read was not accurate.
The photos above look like a cast ring. The entire setting method is different- you can't make a cast ring look like a true "cut down" pave by adding "v"s between the stones.
It's true that less benches can do that kind of work- but they do exist.
There are also very nice results possible from a cast ring- yours looks lovely- but it's not going to look like a hand forged piece.

 

[MrsDrP]

Charmypoo, I *ADORE* your Leon Mege ring! It is absolutely stunning, especially the pave work. He is very talented! Are all of his rings hand forged? Does he use molds at all? I am starting to understand what you are talking about when it comes to pave...his is by far some of the best I have ever seen!

kels - I think your engagement ring is very beautiful!!! Had you not said anything, I wouldn't have noticed the extra metal in the halo. Since you did mention it, and after I looked carefully, I see what you mean and I really hope that you can get it fixed to be exactly what you want! But honestly, I think it looks fine! Most "normal" people that you will encounter on a daily basis will not notice something like this. And I say normal in a sense that they aren't as picky as must of us PSers We tend to be very detail oriented.

 

[Laila619]

To the long time members here who have an appreciate for fine pave work, one look at the photos and they know if the ring is well made or not. In Show me the Bling, yes - everyone will say the ring is nice because that is the purpose of that sub-forum. The truth is ... our inside voice is saying something different. Once you see and hold really good work .. you just can't go back.

Well made or not has nothing to do with how much metal is showing though. A pave ring could have almost no metal showing but it could fall apart because it's not structurally sound.

 

[kels0054]

Thank you Mrs. Drp!
I so appreciate your kind remarks, and I do agree with you. Plus the photo's I posted, the ring isn't shining at all and it truly doesn't do it justice in the photos, because I do love love it! I just was curious if it would be easy to remove any more of the metal at all..

But thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate it! : ) And you're absolutely right about "normal people" seeing it. Everyone I've pointed it out too is kind of like uhh what are you talking about, and then when I show a 15 times magnified image of my ring compared to another ring online then their like oh yeah I see it a little bit, but that's not what your ring looks like when its not magnified-- I can barely see any metal with my eye. So I do really appreciate your kind words, especially since the rings made so there's not too much I can do unless he wants to remake the halo part..
Happy Holidays!! : )

 

[kels0054]

And Laila,
Yes I totally agree with you about the halo being structurally sound! : )

 

[Gypsy]

And yes Laila!
That's a great question you brought about how, if she's a master goldsmith at ocean how would anyone know that it wouldn't last?? How did you guys know that Leon and SK would last? It's great that they are, I just mean in general, how does one know if they're really getting a ring that wont loose stones-- so scary haha

Gold smith. Operative word is GOLD. Gold is not diamonds and platinum and pave. It was my mistake in not understanding that. And as for how would I know--- Neil told me, at my appraisal that the pave was not Leon quality and he also told me he was surprised at the quality given her reputation. I just didn't clarify that with him to understand that what that meant for me was-- tons of lose stones. Granted I do wish he had been more blunt and just said... look this pave isn't going to last. But I also should have asked that question if it was important to me.


As for your question: how can you tell. My answer: That's what appraisals are for. YOU probably can't tell. But a good appraiser who evaluates high end stuff CAN tell.

ETA: Kels, I would pay attention to RD's post. I have no idea if he is right. But if I were you I would start a new thread asking for vendors to comment on pave and see if other's agree with RD.

 

[luckky]

Thank you Laila and Lucky!

I really appreciate your responses. And yes, I totally agree with you Lucky, I definitely think I'm being way too OCD because, yes when I zoom in my magnified camera you can see metal(its like 20 x zoomed) But in normal wear when you look at it you really can't tell any metal is there. Yes it doesn't look the exact same at all as Charmypoo or Gypsy's style halo's, but It is a very beautful halo and is similar, as Charmypoo said, to BGD halos. Which I mean, when I took my pictures in to have him make a halo I did take some off of websites like BGD and a few pictures from Ring envy, so I kind of got a mash between the look of Charmypoo and a few others.. and I hate that I'm being so nit picky because everyone around me thinks I'm CRAZY! haha so yes, Lucky sometimes we have to just let things go for sure! : )
(But i'll still be asking him if he can make any more metal go away or make more tiny slits or whatever, if him and his goldsmith still feel that it will be as strong and durable)

Good luck to you Lucky!
Thanks everyone!@

Thank you! Kels and same wish to you I still will contact either SK or VC to check it out that can be fix or not, if not worth is I just going to let it go and learn how to love and live with it.

I hope you don't mind for me to post the picture in you thread since we kinda have the same prob. So...if you zoom in my picture will see a lots of metal around the center stone especially it's yellow gold it shown so obvious. Yes, my ring is cast not hand forging or that would be the issue, If I can go back in time I will do it right but now like you said we are not THAT CRAZY to spent more money on top what we already did.

Best wish for you and thanks everyone for such informative response.

 

[CharmyPoo]

To the long time members here who have an appreciate for fine pave work, one look at the photos and they know if the ring is well made or not. In Show me the Bling, yes - everyone will say the ring is nice because that is the purpose of that sub-forum. The truth is ... our inside voice is saying something different. Once you see and hold really good work .. you just can't go back.

Well made or not has nothing to do with how much metal is showing though. A pave ring could have almost no metal showing but it could fall apart because it's not structurally sound.

Where did I say a well made ring has anything to do with the amount of metal showing? Please illustrate because I never said that. I think BGD and WF has lots more metal showing than I like but I believe they are very well made rings.

A pave ring with minimal metal showing can be structurally more sound than a poorly made ring with lots of metal showing. The same goes for a poorly made ring with minimal metal showing versus a well made ring with lots of metal showing. I speak from experience with pave considering 70% of my jewelry has pave.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Kels - you are missing my point. What I am saying is that we won't know for sure that we will never lose a melee. It is best to go get a jeweler that is willing to back up their work and replace missing melee if loss does occur. We can't know for certain if a ring is built to last a life time and we can't guarantee that pave will never fall out. What we do know is that based on an established jeweler's reputation and plenty of examples on PS that pave coming from certain jewelers are made better than others and have been known to be more sturdy. There are examples when even pave from Leon has fallen out - there is no way of knowing but only a comfort that there is a higher chance that it won't.

I am mentioning vendors I go to because I can speak from first hand experience. I would not mention a vendor that I don't have personal experience with because I can't vouch for their work unless I have seen tons of examples on PS or through my personal friends. Also, I am by no means saying the vendors I used are suitable for others. There are well documented examples of people that cannot work with Leon or have problems with Steven. I have documented my challenges with a ring from Maytal (not the halo). If you indeed paid $4000 plus, I am also pointing out that you could have gotten a handmade piece. You ring appears to be a cad/cast ring similar to the rings by BGD, WF and ERD which is different than rings made by some of the other vendors used here. Vendors like DBL offers both cad/cast and handmade pieces. You will also hear other terminology such as hand forged (Victor Canera) that don't use wax moulds at all. I have invested a lot of time learning about these techniques and was simply trying to help you but obviously education is not what you want - you just want validation of what you think is right even though everyone on this thread has told you that your assumptions is likely not valid.

Yes - Maytal, Steven and Leon will guarantee their rings at least for their life time in the business. I asked and they said so. They will repair and stand behind their work. They will fix it over and over again if stones fall out. Lucky for me .. I didn't have to use this and the intention is not to have to go back over and over again. Gyspy's example is case and point - Ocean's ring lost melee over and over again and she decided to have someone else make it .. she didn't experience this after.

I don't find myself being rude but I do agree that you are being a bit sensitive. Yes, your ring is beautiful in your eyes and that is what is important. But evident through this thread - there is something you don't like about your ring. I (along with others) are simply here to try to figure out what it is and what course of action you can take. If you just wanted validation that your ring is beautiful .. then post in SMTB and not in Rocky Talky. You asked about what type of pave yours is called .. it is u-cut pave but that has nothing to do with the amount of metal showing between the diamonds. I showed you my ring which is also u-cut pave and has minimal metal showing from the top view. My v-cut has more metal between the diamonds because it was made by a different vendor.

 

[NE Jewels]

Casting in and of itself has nothing to do with the quality of pave.

You could have a cast ring that is then set with museum quality pave.

There is pre-cast pave and post-cast pave.

The confusion comes from a piece that is cast with the pave beads and\or holes already on the wax This is the least expensive type of pave and is usually used for mass produced, cheap jewelry found in your local chain jewelry stores at the malls.

A ring can be cast into metal without the pave beads\holes pre made on it. The holes would later be drilled and the beads carved out on the formerly flat surface. If the casting surface is relatively clean and even, the pave's quality will depend on the skill of the setter.

Hand-forging usually refers to the metal work on a piece of jewelry and doesn't refer to the pave.


Cheers

 

[CharmyPoo]

I hope you don't mind for me to post the picture in you thread since we kinda have the same prob. So...if you zoom in my picture will see a lots of metal around the center stone especially it's yellow gold it shown so obvious. Yes, my ring is cast not hand forging or that would be the issue, If I can go back in time I will do it right but now like you said we are not THAT CRAZY to spent more money on top what we already did.

Best wish for you and thanks everyone for such informative response.

luckky - I think your ring looks beautiful and the attention to detail on the shape of the halo makes for a very clean piece. Based on the photo, I honestly do not think your halo has too much metal showing and it has far less metal showing than other examples I have seen. I personally believe it is lovely and I like seeing the YG contrast. I wouldn't think too much into it.

 

[luckky]

Thank you! Charmy for you kind word. Yes, as I said I do love everything about my ring and I am a big fan of YG and with the contrast of the metal and the diamond I really love it, but just something that not go right what I dream of my halo. Guess what I think I knew what my problem is nothing to do with how much metal shown, when I saw Kristi thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-dream-ring.158378/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-dream-ring.158378/[/URL] I realize what wrong with my ring, TOO MUCH GAP between the center stone and the halo!!! I didn't know what is what but just something (after 3 months!!) wow...I don't know should I go back to my jeweler and asking them to fix it or should I go to other place else. I would love my halo came out exactly like Kristi no need to be a master piece like Leon or VC but just something that sing my heart. BTW...I so adore you ring! That one of my all time favorite in PS

Kels, I'm soooooo sorry for such thread jack....

 

[CharmyPoo]

Thank you! Charmy for you kind word. Yes, as I said I do love everything about my ring and I am a big fan of YG and with the contrast of the metal and the diamond I really love it, but just something that not go right what I dream of my halo. Guess what I think I knew what my problem is nothing to do with how much metal shown, when I saw Kristi thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-dream-ring.158378/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-dream-ring.158378/[/URL] I realize what wrong with my ring, TOO MUCH GAP between the center stone and the halo!!! I didn't know what is what but just something (after 3 months!!) wow...I don't know should I go back to my jeweler and asking them to fix it or should I go to other place else. I would love my halo came out exactly like Kristi no need to be a master piece like Leon or VC but just something that sing my heart. BTW...I so adore you ring! That one of my all time favorite in PS

Kels, I'm soooooo sorry for such thread jack....

kels .. promise... last thread jack post. Luckky .. you need to start your own thread to show off your ring!!

Read this thread - it is a Leon ring with too much metal between the center diamond and halo melee. You aren't crazy but some actually like the look of the metal there.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/honest-opinion-needed-too-much-metal.156220/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/honest-opinion-needed-too-much-metal.156220/[/URL]

Then read this thread ..
[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]

At first, I thought I didn't like the metal around the center diamond but I am now undecided.

 

[kels0054]

Hi Rockdiamond,
Thanks so much for your reply!

So do you think if I talked to my jeweler and my bench that there is anyway they can reduce the metal at all between the melee, or to have it look as if the melee look more individual?? If so, what should I say specifically? Since you're a vendor you have a true great sense of what they can, cannot and will not want to do, so with that said if I go into my jeweler, and with you knowing what I would like, to have the melee look more individual and less metal, what do you think they my jeweler can do for me, or what should I specifically ask for?

You're obviously definitely correct that it cannot look like hand forged work, but even if a slight amount of metal was reduced, what should I ask for to be done specifically?

Thank you SO much!!

 

[Rockdiamond]

You're totally welcome kels!!

Let's look at this from a different perspective: Say you were hiring a contractor to build a new room on your house.
Would you tell him how to use the materials- or which materials to use?
Hopefully you'd pick someone that
1) has shown you results of prior work that's consistent with your expectations
2) has the qualifications to know what materials to use, and how to use them.
Basically- my experience is that you can't tell a shop to make a ring differently than they know how, and get the results you expect. Rather, you need to choose a maker that produces the type of ring you want.
As you've seen, people certainly have their favorites here.
Please keep this on mind as there's no "one maker who's head and shoulders above all others- there's a select group of super high line factories being discussed here that are in the same league

I agree that simply because a ring is cast does not necessarily make it "worse" than a hand forged ring- and also that some great pave work can be done on a cast ring.
BUT- the type of style I believe you're looking for is called "cut down"- and this specific type of setting work is done on hand forged extruded wire- and will produce the type or results you're looking for - less metal, the hand carved "v" design on the side, etc.

 

[kels0054]

Thanks for your reply!

So is there any alterations that a jewelers goldsmith can do to a cast setting? I don't need it to look as far cut down as a hand forged piece, but are any alterations able to be made to a cast ring in general?

If so, what could I ask to be done to this cast ring to reduce a bit of metal, in technical terms?

I'm pretty sure in saying that Verragio rings aren't hand forged (I'm definitely not positive on this assumption,) But their halos seem to have large scoops in the halo. Is this something that would make a difference for my cast, or does that majorly jeopardize the stability?

For example this ring at Knox jewelers: http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/products/venita

If I wanted to make my halo look a little more similar to this, what could be done to my cast?? And what would I ask for to be done?

Thanks so much for your reply! I so appreciate it : )

 

[kels0054]

I also tend to think that fishtail pave looks nice, and I think this is done on cast pieces. Could that be added to my already made cast??
Thanks : )