Help me find a setting for this Chrysoprase cab!!!!!

[qubitasaurus]

China has a really big spectrum of products. I lived on and off in Beijing for several years and some of my nicest possessions come from there (they were not cheap though). Also my favourite hotels and resteraunts are in china (and Thailand). Ofcourse I have also seen some of the worst made stuff ever. Price tends to be a big indicator, but it is not 100% definitive. Typically if it is cheap though, then in China you really do get what you paid for.

I think eBay vendors sometimes remove their inventories if they are going to be unresponsive for a couple of weeks/days. I seem to remember Jeff Davies eBay site having no inventory over Christmas (I could be mistaken). Ofcourse I have no idea if this is what is happening in this specific instance. I would be wary of Chinese New year too -- it is coming up and typically this will cut contact and supply lines for arround 2 weeks.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Thanks for your insights @qubitasaurus! Now they are back again after being down for a few hours! It is most baffling!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Me again! Up at this hour trying to work out my setting woes.

Communication has been good online with the ebay vendors I'm looking at but I am wondering if I should hit a B&M and see what's on offer. The more I look at the pics the more I worry the setting will look a bit cheap in some way.

Plus I pulled up some dead old reviews from Pricescope and there was something about jewe2004 using mossanites instead of diamonds!

Aiiii what to do!

That chrysoprase is an inexpensive stone but I love it and want a lovely setting for it, not something sketchy looking which I worry about with the ebay stuff.

 

[Cockatiel]

How about mydiamondzone on ebay. I bought a setting from them which I haven't recieved yet. To me their settings look much better than jewe2004's or the rest of chinese ebay setting vendors. I see much more metal and the melee at least don't look like frozen spit. I am waiting on my setting to arrive so I can't give a strong recommendation for them, and am expecting it to be flimsy in comparison to my other rings, but at least you know what you are getting with them. With jewe2004 and the like, I am not even sure if the melee are graded appropriately, etc.

 

[Stone Hunter]

NICE stone, congrats! No opinion on the setting since I am not a halo girl.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

How about mydiamondzone on ebay. I bought a setting from them which I haven't recieved yet. To me their settings look much better than jewe2004's or the rest of chinese ebay setting vendors. I see much more metal and the melee at least don't look like frozen spit. I am waiting on my setting to arrive so I can't give a strong recommendation for them, and am expecting it to be flimsy in comparison to my other rings, but at least you know what you are getting with them. With jewe2004 and the like, I am not even sure if the melee are graded appropriately, etc.

Bahahahhaha! I really liked the fancy halo I posted until I looked at the diamonds again and they look kinda odd in the pictures! Mind you pictures can look odd though!

I have calmed down since yesterday! I will take a break for a few weeks, save up some money, walk down to all the B&Ms and see what is there and then take it from there. The thing I liked about the B&Ms near me is I can see the melee and it looks really nice. Lovely and sparkly and doesn't have that "thin" look.

 

[Michael_E]

I'm curious. Do the jewellers use jewellery glue for stones? I don't see any glue stains but just wondering. Maybe someone can chip in on this.

Since I didn't see an answer to this I thought that I'd chime in on it. No, glue is NEVER used anywhere near a well set gem. If you see glue, you've got a problem.
As for setting cabs, they can be held in by prongs or bezels, but the base must always be sitting on some sort of base, since they really don't lend themselves to being held in place with a seat cut into a prong. Generally you can set a cab into a prong type setting which is designed for a faceted stone by simply adding an additional rail in the inside of the prongs for the cab to sit on. Getting the height right can be a challenge, but one can always remove the existing upper rail in a basket style setting and replace it with that inner rail/seat at a more appropriate height. Always ask your bench before buying a setting though, since some pieces may be more problematic to work around or may have obvious quality issues that aren't apparent to someone not experienced in how bench work is done.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@Michael_E Thank you so much for the information you have provided! My biggest concern was rocking up with a setting and the stone and having my bench tell me "We can't make this work!" and then be left with a useless large setting that isn't going to fit anything else!

Ahh this cab will be the death of me even if I adore the colour!

 

[Bron357]

I’ve bought a ring setting off these guys on eBay for a Moissanite I had. They have 1900 odd feedback and 99% feedback. I was happy with the quality and workmanship. Here’s a pic of one of their listings for a 9 x 11 stone. And one of the setting I bought from them (14kt rose gold). I wondered if with wear those little melee might fall out but no, holding up perfectly.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Thanks @Bron357

A few questions!

Are the melee sparkly in real life?

I like this setting:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fine-Cl...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

It also comes in 10K gold. Do you think the price difference is reasonable? I ask because I am worried these places just list random things and you won't know what gold you're getting! They offer the same setting with the same pics in all kinds of gold!

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fine-Cl...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

***
Can someone tell me if that oval rim beneath the prongs qualifies as a "basket"?

 

[Bron357]

Hi again, your eBay links aren’t showing the item. Put up the eBay item number.
Personally I would get 14kt gold. 10kt gold is harder (less gold content) and more difficult to work with. It can be brittle if the casting wasn’t done correctly and the jeweler won’t know that until a prong snaps off while being worked.
As for the diamonds in my ring, they are minuscule -1 point each, so sparkle is limited by size. One important thing the majority of Chinese sellers and their rings is that the diamonds they use are definitely lower quality - white but included with clouds. This isn’t an issue with small diamonds like in my ring. With them you need to ask via message “do I get the ring in the eBay photo?”. Sometimes they use a “stock photo” so you actual ring might not be the one in the photo. You want the one in the photo!
And my experience with jewelers when you aren’t using “their” ring setting and/ or stones is usually awkward. They tend to disparage the quality of the ring mount and even the stone. I just smile and ignore them, in Sydney I had to pay $200 just for putting the Moissanite in the setting!. Though I did laugh to myself when he said “you do know your diamond is very yellow” - dork. As if I’d be giving a kiosk jeweller a 5 carat “diamond” to set in a Chinese made ring mount! Though maybe that’s why he charged me $200!

 

[Cockatiel]

And my experience with jewelers when you aren’t using “their” ring setting and/ or stones is usually awkward. They tend to disparage the quality of the ring mount and even the stone. I just smile and ignore them, in Sydney I had to pay $200 just for putting the Moissanite in the setting!. Though I did laugh to myself when he said “you do know your diamond is very yellow” - dork. As if I’d be giving a kiosk jeweller a 5 carat “diamond” to set in a Chinese made ring mount! Though maybe that’s why he charged me $200!

I don't know why some jewelers are like that. Like you gave him probably the easiest $200 job for a jeweler, no? I wonder what he would have said if you insisted your diamond was graded fancy light yellow.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Hi Bron!

hehe took me ages but worked out the item No.

18K version:
263286209000

10K version:
253329568145

I can't see a basket which makes me wonder where the stone will sit!

 

[Burmesedaze]

Hi again, your eBay links aren’t showing the item. Put up the eBay item number.
Personally I would get 14kt gold. 10kt gold is harder (less gold content) and more difficult to work with. It can be brittle if the casting wasn’t done correctly and the jeweler won’t know that until a prong snaps off while being worked.
As for the diamonds in my ring, they are minuscule -1 point each, so sparkle is limited by size. One important thing the majority of Chinese sellers and their rings is that the diamonds they use are definitely lower quality - white but included with clouds. This isn’t an issue with small diamonds like in my ring. With them you need to ask via message “do I get the ring in the eBay photo?”. Sometimes they use a “stock photo” so you actual ring might not be the one in the photo. You want the one in the photo!
And my experience with jewelers when you aren’t using “their” ring setting and/ or stones is usually awkward. They tend to disparage the quality of the ring mount and even the stone. I just smile and ignore them, in Sydney I had to pay $200 just for putting the Moissanite in the setting!. Though I did laugh to myself when he said “you do know your diamond is very yellow” - dork. As if I’d be giving a kiosk jeweller a 5 carat “diamond” to set in a Chinese made ring mount! Though maybe that’s why he charged me $200!

One of my contacts brought his pal to Yangon who bought 2 small pigeon blood rubies. He brought them to an upmarket mall back home to a b&m retailer. The b&m retailer totally dissed the rubies that cost a good few thousand dollars and drew on the invoice "dotted chips" on the front and back of the stones to show that they were "damaged" already prior to setting. The retailer also claimed that he overpaid for this quality of rubies.