Help Me Design Custom Stud Settings Please!

[MissGotRocks]

Hello everyone in this forum. I know this thread is quite old but I am hoping to get some advice from all of you who gave great advice to RunningwithScissors. RWS, I hope your earrings turned out beautiful! Post a picture if you can to see how they turned out. I was just in Vienna on vacation, where my husband bought me a pair of beautiful old earrings. The main stones are European cut diamonds roughly 1 carat each. This was a spontaneous purchase from whom we think is a reputable estate jewelry dealer in Vienna. At least the store seemed legit and she has been in business for 40+ years. I am now in the flight back to the US and I’m using the 10 hr flight to do some research and found your wonderful and knowledgeable community. I wish I would have found you long ago and would have done my homework before buying these earrings on a whim. We did research pricing before buying and I thought we got a pretty good price - about 40% less than the appraisal value on the certificate of authenticity they provided. I now realize that this really doesn’t mean a great deal because it is not a GIA certificate. I am planning on resetting the large diamonds as solitaires and so it’s been helpful looking at this thread with all the suggestions for settings. The main question I have is how do I get the diamonds GIA certified in the US? Is that even necessary? Or just taking them to a jewelry store to check that they are real is enough? I would appreciate any advice. I’m a little scared that maybe were a bit naive purchasing these earrings without really taking our time to research this properly.

You would honestly be better off starting a new thread on Rocky Talk regarding your new earrings. You will get much better response in a new thread instead of tagging into an old thread.

 

[TKettle]

You would honestly be better off starting a new thread on Rocky Talk regarding your new earrings. You will get much better response in a new thread instead of tagging into an old thread.

Thank you! That’s a good point. I will do so.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thank you! That’s a good point. I will do so.

You will get lots of response by doing that. Good luck - see you in Rocky Talk!

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Hi @TKettle!
What a fabulous souvenir of your trip. When you wear them you will always think of your vacation with a smile.
I honestly wouldn't change them.. they are beautiful and charming just as is.
I know that isn't too helpful but they are so unique.

 

[fonsecat]

What gorgeous stones and fabulous size!!! I wish I could have been as smart as you rather than upgrading little bits at a time! But because I have had several pairs of studs, I know a lot about settings!

I am very much in favor of low profile settings with a flat base. I adore the classic Tiffany style 4 prong basket, and my last pair had custom crown settings made by Whiteflash. I'd say these are my two favorite choices for 4 or 6 prongs.

First, here are the 4 prong options that can be ordered, but not necessary to have custom made.

These are by Sasha Primak (special order from Whiteflash), and I've had a couple of pairs of these in platinum. I love them and may get them again.




Then Stuller has a 4 prong lower profile setting than the standard one shown on the WF site. Here's the version with the Protektor post. It comes in 8mm which is likely what you'd need. I am asking WF if they can get these and if so, the price. These will be less than Sasha Primak.

Platinum 8 mm Round 4-Prong Lightweight Earring Mounting

24348 / Platinum / Unset / Round / Each / 8mm :: 2 CT / Safety / Safety Back Sold Separately / 4-prong / Semi-Polished / 4-Prong Light Wire Basket Earring

www.stuller.com

Next are the Whiteflash 6 prong custom crown settings (most expensive of the types). I am posting mine and @donnabrsd 's. Her stones were a little larger than mine, so you can get an idea how they look with stones in between the size of mine and yours. Hers had more straight prongs and mine were slightly curved.





Obviously there are many other options, but I just wanted to show you my favorite classic designs that you could access easily! I think I am going back to 4 prong baskets this time. I can't wait to see what you choose!

Thanks for sharing these. Appreciate these level of detail. I’m considering the 6-prong crown settings. What size are yours and the other pair you shared? Can you request whether the prongs are straight or curved as you have shown here? Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thanks for sharing these. Appreciate these level of detail. I’m considering the 6-prong crown settings. What size are yours and the other pair you shared? Can you request whether the prongs are straight or curved as you have shown here? Thanks!

Sorry, just now seeing your question! My crown settings had 1.28 ct stones (7mm) in them. I later upgraded and went with Sasha Primak 4 prong settings on those. I like donnabsrd's crown settings more. I think my prongs were curved due to my asking for the stones to be set as low as possible. I always recommend showing the vendor a picture of exactly what you want.