Help with Custom Setting

[creightonk]

Alrighty y'all, thanks to Sledge's recommendations, I made a common sense decision and went with Whiteflash for a 1.41ct ACA. See below. Now I just need to get the setting right.

Diamond | 1.411 ct H SI1 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4109153

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 1.411 carat H color SI1 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4109153

www.whiteflash.com

I am working with a local jeweler on a custom setting and would love some insight/opinions/criticisms from this community. This community has made this process so much easier to navigate and I can finally start to see a finish line. My goal is to have a rotated (compass) set square/cushion halo that still allows for the center diamond to stand-out. I am looking to go with a 14k YG shank with the head/prongs in Platinum. Here are the closest examples I could find of the halo style:


My directions to the jeweler were to keep the halo nice-and-tight and for the stone not to be set too high. I also want a gallery (?) that is simple and allows light to come through. The trickiest part for me is with the shank. My SO wants it to be simple and not flashy. The closest thing I could find that she likes is this:



My concern is if this would even look good with a halo. What recommendations/suggestions do y'all have? My budget is pretty wide-open, I just want to make sure my thought pattern isn't misguided. .

 

[DejaWiz]

What are your thoughts on a hybrid cathedral with side pave flowing into the north kite cushion halo?

Something like this, but (obviously ) without the princess cut solitaire and more of a rounded corner cushion halo:

 

[creightonk]

What are your thoughts on a hybrid cathedral with side pave flowing into the north kite cushion halo?

Something like this, but (obviously ) without the princess cut solitaire and more of a rounded corner cushion halo:

I'm not the biggest fan of pave to be completely honest. If the head/prongs are going to be platinum, and the shank in YG, I would prefer something with less accent stones that can show more of the YG. If that makes sense.

What are your thoughts on a cathedral/no cathedral with a halo? This was an aspect that I couldn't really figure out how to define or which I liked more. I do know I don't want the diamond sitting up too high, but not sure if a cathedral would play a role in that

 

[DejaWiz]

I'm not the biggest fan of pave to be completely honest. If the head/prongs are going to be platinum, and the shank in YG, I would prefer something with less accent stones that can show more of the YG. If that makes sense.

What are your thoughts on a cathedral/no cathedral with a halo? This was an aspect that I couldn't really figure out how to define or which I liked more. I do know I don't want the diamond sitting up too high, but not sure if a cathedral would play a role in that

No worries - my wife wasn't a fan of pave and, after seeing many mock-up settings with and without pave paired with the wrap/enhancer that she wanted, I agree with her that it just became too overbearing and took a lot of focus away from the solitaire.

Her solitaire setting is a WG cathedral set at a medium height in order to make the enhancer look like its peaks are giving the solitaire a floating/lifted look:










...the yellowish color on the top of the solitaire and the shank of the cathedral setting is a reflection of a yellow bag that was on the adjacent counter when I took the picture - sorry for the poor image quality...phone camera used in a room with LED lighting.


To address your question about halos, I think a north kite cushion halo would look great on a low to medium profile cathedral. But, cathedral settings are certainly not for everyone, so it depends on how much height above your finger that you want the overall profile to have.

Here's a north kite cushion halo on a cathedral that I found to give you a better idea (you'll have to mentally erase the side paves).
Is this along the lines of what you were picturing for a haloed cathedral?

 

[creightonk]

Your wife's ring is absolutely stunning! I'm a huge fan of the cathedral setting in the last photo you linked, only significant change I would make is for the cathedral to be tighter, like this:

Do you have any more photos/links of the last ring you posted? The simplicity of the gallery is exactly what I am looking for

 

[Niel]

My apologies if I misunderstood or missed your answer somewhere but why are we doing a halo if she wants simple understated?

 

[FL_runner]

My apologies if I misunderstood or missed your answer somewhere but why are we doing a halo if she wants simple understated?

agree. Maybe consider something more like the three-stone bezel-styles that she liked? I love a good halo, but it's not really understated.

 

[creightonk]

My apologies if I misunderstood or missed your answer somewhere but why are we doing a halo if she wants simple understated?

agree. Maybe consider something more like the three-stone bezel-styles that she liked? I love a good halo, but it's not really understated.

She is set on the rotated halo -- she just wants the shank & gallery to be on the less flashy side. Sorry, the terminology is all new to me so it's an ongoing learning process.

 

[FL_runner]

She is set on the rotated halo -- she just wants the shank & gallery to be on the less flashy side. Sorry, the terminology is all new to me so it's an ongoing learning process.

That makes sense. Just want to make sure we give good advice!

 

[DejaWiz]

Your wife's ring is absolutely stunning! I'm a huge fan of the cathedral setting in the last photo you linked, only significant change I would make is for the cathedral to be tighter, like this:

Do you have any more photos/links of the last ring you posted? The simplicity of the gallery is exactly what I am looking for

I found it on a web search that led to a moissanite company. here is the link so you can check out all the pics and vids to hopefully spark some creative inspiration for your custom design:

Kite Set Halo Cathedral Cushion Moissanite Wedding Set - wed006 - MoissaniteCo.com

 

[distracts]

Have you seen examples of halos or pave that the local jeweler has made? I’d make sure their craftsmanship is in line with your expectations first before anything else. Always see either hi res pics or loupe an example in person.

I like your third example with the plain shank. You could have a cathedral shank and maybe a petal gallery. Then if she wants more diamonds, add a diamond wedding band.

 

[DejaWiz]

Have you seen examples of halos or pave that the local jeweler has made? I’d make sure their craftsmanship is in line with your expectations first before anything else. Always see either hi res pics or loupe an example in person.

I like your third example with the plain shank. You could have a cathedral shank and maybe a petal gallery. Then if she wants more diamonds, add a diamond wedding band.

I agree with you about the third example that creightonk posted - it's very clean and simple yet astoundingly elegant.

 

[Niel]

Have you seen examples of halos or pave that the local jeweler has made? I’d make sure their craftsmanship is in line with your expectations first before anything else. Always see either hi res pics or loupe an example in person.

I like your third example with the plain shank. You could have a cathedral shank and maybe a petal gallery. Then if she wants more diamonds, add a diamond wedding band.

This was my question too can we see examples of their work? Have you seen the specidic halo pave style executed to your liking?

 

[creightonk]

This was my question too can we see examples of their work? Have you seen the specidic halo pave style executed to your liking?

That is my next step! The guy I am working with has a few vendors he works with and is in the process of getting me some examples of previous work product.

 

[Niel]

That is my next step! The guy I am working with has a few vendors he works with and is in the process of getting me some examples of previous work product.

Good.

 

[Niel]

Why did i put a period I meant good! You’re a smart cookie. lol

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You'd be surprised that most jewelers do not do the quality of work we see posted here by outstanding ringmakers. I'd suggest David Klass in LA for this if you can't get multiple close up photos of the work of the benches your jeweler uses. Show us if they send you some.

If you are going with the halo, I would either have the shank plain or just a few diamonds on the shoulders of the shank. I would not try to do that shank you posted at the bottom of your first post.

 

[sledge]

What’s yours driver for using a local jeweler for the setting? Price? Future service and ease of location? Other?

Only asking because WF also has a bench and they are picky (as their customers are too, lol). Plus they have super ideal melee if you end up with that in your final design. Also never a bad thing to do a one stop shop from a trusted vendor.

That said, many know my story. Bought wife’s stone from BGD. Had DK make the setting. Then had them ship to the other side of the country to propose. For routine cleanings and checks I use a local Diamond Directs (DD, lol) that I established a relationship with early on. They have been golden and don’t charge me (have offered each time we visit). They are a GIA only store so they think we are the rarest birds ever with an AGS H&A stone. I think they like looking at the stone as much as we do, and the manager and I always talk shop when he’s there.

We have required repair a couple of times (self induced) and it was as easy as calling DK to explain the situation and they send a prepaid insured label to get it back to them.

I would prefer a local option for it all, but that isn’t a reality. The jewelers here that I’ve found don’t have the same skill level. The reason I bought super ideal is I wanted higher quality than average. I expect the same in the setting and I know the locals can’t scratch that itch. I do value the relationship with DD and if you use DK, WF or others for the setting I would encourage you to find a similar local guy for cleanings, etc and nurture that relationship.

 

[creightonk]

What’s yours driver for using a local jeweler for the setting? Price? Future service and ease of location? Other?

Only asking because WF also has a bench and they are picky (as their customers are too, lol). Plus they have super ideal melee if you end up with that in your final design. Also never a bad thing to do a one stop shop from a trusted vendor.

That said, many know my story. Bought wife’s stone from BGD. Had DK make the setting. Then had them ship to the other side of the country to propose. For routine cleanings and checks I use a local Diamond Directs (DD, lol) that I established a relationship with early on. They have been golden and don’t charge me (have offered each time we visit). They are a GIA only store so they think we are the rarest birds ever with an AGS H&A stone. I think they like looking at the stone as much as we do, and the manager and I always talk shop when he’s there.

We have required repair a couple of times (self induced) and it was as easy as calling DK to explain the situation and they send a prepaid insured label to get it back to them.

I would prefer a local option for it all, but that isn’t a reality. The jewelers here that I’ve found don’t have the same skill level. The reason I bought super ideal is I wanted higher quality than average. I expect the same in the setting and I know the locals can’t scratch that itch. I do value the relationship with DD and if you use DK, WF or others for the setting I would encourage you to find a similar local guy for cleanings, etc and nurture that relationship.

Hey Sledge! I highly value your opinion so I appreciate you chiming in. I want to stay local for two reasons: ease of future service and reputation/trust of the local company. I've made it very clear to the individual I'm working with that it needs to be high quality craftsmanship -- and I'm hoping that the examples he can get for me show that.

I already walked away from him once when trying to buy the center stone, and if the quality isn't there, then I will be running straight into DK's dm's. Thought I should at least give my local jeweler a chance.

I now have a pretty good idea of what I want and have settled on keeping the shank plain with no sidestones/melee. Cathedral with tight shoulders and a medium-low profile. Should be fairly straightforward, just might require some playing around with the halo stone size/spacing/etc. Once I start getting some CAD's, I will drop them in here and would love some more guidance at that point.

 

[sledge]

@creightonk I can respect you giving your local guy a shot. Sounds like you have a relationship already and as long as their work is on par, I don't see an issue. Just make sure you can view the work objectively and walk away if need be.

I assume this jeweler will also be setting the ACA stone? Is he cool with that, and is he willing to take responsibility in case some weird thing happens that the stone is damaged while setting? I understand that is being extra cautionary, but better to ask all this on the FRONT end than on the back end if there was a mishap. It would be wise to have this in writing so no one's memory becomes cloudy either.

Although I get some free coverage with my homeowner's policy for jewelry, guns, etc I have a specific policy with Jewelers Mutual (JM) for my wife's e-ring & wedding ring set.

Unless they have changed it, I believe the rule with JM is they won't insure loose stones but if you submit a preliminary appraisal from your jeweler than they will insure and that does cover stone damage during the setting process. Then afterwards you have to submit the final appraisal.

I mention this because if the jeweler excludes the setting risk, then you need to have something in-place as a fail safe. If you choose to insure with JM, please confirm all this information prior to setting so you are 100% solid. And obviously if you choose a different insurance provider, confirm their rules & details with them so you aren't taking unnecessary risk on yourself.

 

[creightonk]

@creightonk I can respect you giving your local guy a shot. Sounds like you have a relationship already and as long as their work is on par, I don't see an issue. Just make sure you can view the work objectively and walk away if need be.

I assume this jeweler will also be setting the ACA stone? Is he cool with that, and is he willing to take responsibility in case some weird thing happens that the stone is damaged while setting? I understand that is being extra cautionary, but better to ask all this on the FRONT end than on the back end if there was a mishap. It would be wise to have this in writing so no one's memory becomes cloudy either.

Although I get some free coverage with my homeowner's policy for jewelry, guns, etc I have a specific policy with Jewelers Mutual (JM) for my wife's e-ring & wedding ring set.

Unless they have changed it, I believe the rule with JM is they won't insure loose stones but if you submit a preliminary appraisal from your jeweler than they will insure and that does cover stone damage during the setting process. Then afterwards you have to submit the final appraisal.

I mention this because if the jeweler excludes the setting risk, then you need to have something in-place as a fail safe. If you choose to insure with JM, please confirm all this information prior to setting so you are 100% solid. And obviously if you choose a different insurance provider, confirm their rules & details with them so you aren't taking unnecessary risk on yourself.

Correct, the jeweler will be setting the ACA stone. I am currently in the process of obtaining insurance through JM on the loose stone, but didn't even think about a possible preliminary appraisal. One way or another, the ACA stone won't leave my possession without some type of guarantee/insurance.

 

[sledge]

I know you said you were now out on the side stones/melee; however, in another post I stumbled onto this and thought of you. I think this may look very good with the halo and orientation you are going for.

Of course, I also really liked your 2nd pic of the thin melee band. Maybe a bit too thin (structural concern if < 1.8mm). Prefer to keep it at 2mm+. However my wife's own band has some spots that are 1.8 and it's fine.

 

[creightonk]

Welp, I'm back again -- my local jeweler led me on and said that 18K is the only YG they can do. Decided not to question it and reached out to David Klass instead -- sent him an e-mail last week and left a VM. Hoping to hear back from him soon, but in the meantime, are there any other designers/vendors that y'all recommend? I've looked at VC, WF, and Sako, but I'm not the biggest fan of their style. I reached out to WF for a quote, but we'll see.

Aiming to get everything finished by August, so slightly stressed at this point