How Big is too Big and How Small is too Small: Studs

[missydebby]

Get your minds out of the gutter. Kenny, I'm looking at you here....

Now onto studs:

1. Have you ever had a pair, and if so, was what the size of your first?

2. What size is your dream pair?

3. What size do you consider too small, and not even worth it... or no size too small?

4. Do you prefer dangling, martini, 4 prong, or with some sort of pave?

5. If someone were handing out free matching (oh let's say 2 cttw, G, VS2) stones and you could have your choice (only 1) would it be:
a. August Vintage Cushions
b. August Vintage Rounds
c. Perfect cut H&A Rounds
d. Octavia Asschers
e. Royal Asschers
f. Antique Old Mine Cut
g. Antique Old European Cut
h. Antique Cushions
i. Other shape not listed

 

[luv2sparkle]

Octavia Asschers! No doubt, hands down. Do you know someone who is giving out freebies?

 

[cemrn]

I think it would be fun to get something a bit different like the octavia or avc. However I plan to start small and upgrade later. It seems they don''t have anything smaller than like .9 ct at least at GOG. I''d like start at .8cttw and I THINK (but haven''t tried on this size) my ideal would be 1.5 cttw.

 

[Black Jade]

Date: 5/15/2010 6:40:26 AM
Author:missydebby
Get your minds out of the gutter. Kenny, I''m looking at you here....

Now onto studs:


1. Have you ever had a pair, and if so, was what the size of your first?


2. What size is your dream pair?


3. What size do you consider too small, and not even worth it... or no size too small?


4. Do you prefer dangling, martini, 4 prong, or with some sort of pave?


5. If someone were handing out free matching (oh let''s say 2 cttw, G, VS2) stones and you could have your choice (only 1) would it be:

a. August Vintage Cushions

b. August Vintage Rounds

c. Perfect cut H&A Rounds

d. Octavia Asschers

e. Royal Asschers

f. Antique Old Mine Cut

g. Antique Old European Cut

h. Antique Cushions

i. Other shape not listed

1) first pair I ever had is .10 ctw. each is .05. I they are very sentimental to me.
I currently have 1.81 which looks like 2 carats, ACAs from Whiteflash, H VS2


2)2 carats. 1.81 looks like 2 carats-- one is .90 and one .91

3) .10 ctw is a little small, though mine are in a butterfly setting which helps. I wear them as a second pair (when I wear other earrings than my 1.81s.) As a 2nd pair, I would wear .10''s, especially if they had a lot of sparkle, even if they weren''t sentimental (as my first ones are)

I would not wear .05 ctw--I think that is too small. I tried on that size once and it was so small that the diamond seemed as if it was in danger of slipping back into my earhole, seriously. My son also tried it (I bought it for him) and didn''t like it. He''s currently wearing one earring, part of a size .25 pair and says that is a good size.

I have big hair and a wide face, for me personally a larger pair is better. As a pair to wear alone, the smallest I would probably like for everyday wear would be .25ctw. When I used to buy CZs I would buy that size, because CZs look more realistic in the smaller sizes. If my husband had not gifted me with this dream pair, the size I was hoping to work up to was 1 carat total weight, with jackets for special occasions.

My mother has 1.30 ctw and they don''t look all that much smaller than my 1.80''s. Right next to each other, yes, but not when they are in our ears.

4) I like 4 prong basket. I need them to come a little up off my ear. I tried martinis and they just sank in (I have a sort of depression in my ear, I can''t explain it) and you couldn''t really see the earrings--not even though it was a more than 2 carat pair that I was trying on!

I might like dangling, some sort of chandelier earrings as a pair for special occasions only, but not for every day, but really this is not a priority at all--with the large pair I have I feel ready for anything, either dress down or dress up. I really think they are ideal!

5)I would take choice c, that is what I have and I think they are perfect. Whiteflash ACAs sparkle in all kinds of lighting and even in not much light at all and look beautiful, not like CZs at all.

I don''t know what the other choices look like in person, though. Maybe they are also nice. I am doubtful about the asschers--I have heard they don''t have so much sparkle, or a different kind of sparkle? I''d have to see them on someone''s ears. I''ve only seen an asscher once in a jewelry store, and although I liked the idea of how they sound, in person I didn''t care for it all that much. Maybe it wasn''t well-cut though.

I did have a pair of marquise CZ studs once that were about 1.5 ctw and they looked really nice on me--if it had not been more trouble to source pretty marquises, I would have considered a marquise pair, which would have been both sparkly and a little different. But I don''t know if they would look good on everybody. I have this wide face, a lot of hair (that really half covers up any studs) and also my ear is oddly made--it does kind of cup at the earlobe, not so that it looks strange or anything but so that some earrings can disappear visually in there. I have never seen anybody else with this kind of ears.

 

[Black Jade]

Wanted to add, I wouldn''t venture to say when earrings are too big, but I personally wouldn''t wear them if they were so heavy they pulled my earlobes down, even for special occasions. I could have bought 2.50 ctw with my budget that I had, had I gone with color and clarity, but while the 2.50 looked nice, it didn''t look that much bigger than what I had that I wanted to go to J I1 to get them. Not that it''s wrong to have have J color of I1 (I tried on a pair and you couldn''t see low color or inclusions) but with the kind of money I was spending, I wanted to get two diamonds that were of great quality, in my mind.
I was able to get exactly what I wanted, with the budget I had, so I thought a lot about what I DID want.

I knew I would never upgrade, so I wanted to be completely satisfied, and I have to say that I am--these are perfect for me, I am always admiring how nice they are and NEVER want to change them or do anything different. But that is not to say that something else might not be better for someone else, and if you want to ''rock'' bigger ones, or like a different quality, that is fine.

 

[motownmama]

I''ve had 3 sizes: .5 ctw, .75 ctw & 1.2 ctw - personally I wouldn''t go any bigger for me. Also, if they are well cut and sparkly I don''t think ANY size is too small - I actually think small studs looks very elegant.

 

[missydebby]

Date: 5/15/2010 9:57:40 AM
Author: cemrn
I think it would be fun to get something a bit different like the octavia or avc. However I plan to start small and upgrade later. It seems they don''t have anything smaller than like .9 ct at least at GOG. I''d like start at .8cttw and I THINK (but haven''t tried on this size) my ideal would be 1.5 cttw.

Just wanted tot tell you Christie that for my 1st studs (atually I''m getting little danglers) I just purchased GOG AVC''s J .41 and .42. When I saw AVC''s at this size I jumped on them. They said they just came in. Maybe they will have more in the future.

 

[wintotty]

My 1st pair was 0.75ctw from Mall jeweler, that was a long time ago well before finding out about Pricescope.
I''m sure they are not good cuts, didn''t really care for them.....prob because they didn''t sparkle.
I recently bought ACA studs, 2ctw I Sl1.... at first I was a little uneasy about I color, but boy they face up SO WHITE!
They sparkle so much, it''s just amazing. I always heard so many great things about ACA and now I know why!
I like the size, I was initially going for 1.5ctw, which I think is a great every day size...but I ended up with a little bigger pair, so I don''t have to deal with diamond shrinkage too soon and work on upgrading

 

[luv2sparkle]

wintotty, I can''t find your photos. Can you post a link, or re-post the pics. I love ''I'' colored stones. I think they are the perfect balance for me. White, yet with a little depth and prices just right. I would
love to see yours.

 

[wintotty]

luv,

It is so strange, I had my thread up, bunch of people responded and this morning it''s gone! Did mod delete my thread for some reason???
I''m trying to re-post, and can''t do it either (same photos I had up yesterday, now I can''t load them up), I have to go to a Birthday party now but I''ll try again later.

 

[Hest88]

1. Have you ever had a pair, and if so, was what the size of your first?

My first and only pair are .75 princesses

2. What size is your dream pair?

I'm actually in the middle of getting them. I have small, attached earlobes, so huge ones wouldn't work for my ears. As a result, I asked Wink for ones under 1ctw. I'm ending up with .9 ones.

3. What size do you consider too small, and not even worth it... or no size too small?

Anything under .5 ctw

4. Do you prefer dangling, martini, 4 prong, or with some sort of pave?

I love the look of dangling ones, but, unfortunately, I've found that my face shape only works with studs or ones that dangle just off the ear. Boo.

5. If someone were handing out free matching (oh let's say 2 cttw, G, VS2) stones and you could have your choice (only 1) would it be:

Easy to answer because I just had to make this decision. My dream diamond right now is a larger OMC than I have (like, 2 carats). However, my delight with fancy shapes comes with being able to stare at them and admire the faceting and light play. With earrings, I decided that, since I couldn't really admire them closely while wearing them, I just wanted them as sparkly as possible. So...I went with RBs.

 

[marcy]

Date: 5/15/2010 6:40:26 AM
Author:missydebby
Get your minds out of the gutter. Kenny, I''m looking at you here....

Whahahahaha!

Now onto studs:

1. Have you ever had a pair, and if so, was what the size of your first? .40 ctw (they are now side stones on a pink sapphire RHR)

2. What size is your dream pair? 1 ctw (I have .50 ctw PC in WG from WF and a .72 ctw RB in YG)

3. What size do you consider too small, and not even worth it... or no size too small? .25 ctw

4. Do you prefer dangling, martini, 4 prong, or with some sort of pave? 4 prong

5. If someone were handing out free matching (oh let''s say 2 cttw, G, VS2) stones and you could have your choice (only 1) would it be:
a. August Vintage Cushions
b. August Vintage Rounds
c. Perfect cut H&A Rounds This would be my pick
d. Octavia Asschers
e. Royal Asschers
f. Antique Old Mine Cut
g. Antique Old European Cut
h. Antique Cushions
i. Other shape not listed

 

[missydebby]

OK, to answer my own poll...

1. I'm getting my 1st ever pair now. Little danglers, AVC's, J.41 VS2 & J.42 VS1

2. I think a dream pair carat size would be 1.5 carats each (3ctw)

3. For me, too small is under .30

4. I prefer dangling because stud backs hurt the side of my head, and I want the stones to have some freedom to move around and catch the light. My dream setting is this Leon Mege.

5. Considering that the freebies would be in addition to my new AVCs, I think if I could get free 1 carat beauties of any cut I'd get the Octavia Asschers.

 

[wishingstar]

My first and only pair is similar size to your new babies MissD, .40 + .42 ct RB F VS1

... not sure on cut, back then didnt know about pricescope, sparkly. My eye is on upgrading to 2.5ctw using one stone I already have

.

I had the studs set in 4prong, then one day I saw a friend with Tiffany Elsa Peretti bezel set, i fell in love! they were flush to the ear and it looked as if there was a diamond floating on her earlobe, plus it would make them look bigger with the bezel. I asked my jeweller to replicate, but he didnt understand what I described so it is now in a regular bezel sticking out of my ear,

and blocking a lot of the sparkle. Now on pricescope, I saw the setting on BGD!!! But, unfortunately, I''ve moved on and will be choosing 3prong martini, i just want to see sparkle and no metal!

I have very long, full volume hair, and usually wear it down, so I figure, unless they are larger, you may not see them...

I think every size has it''s beauty. who''s that PSer that has those huge 4ctw beauties, Patty

...she has a pic of it with a dangling huge pearl too? WOW... no size is too big

Since pricescope, I''m really falling for those AVC, you are one lucky girl, but I want a nice classic H&A base set first and then, if budget ever were to come around...add fancy shapes to my collection.

 

[luv2sparkle]

wishingstar-that is about the size I am looking at and the setting. Can I see ear shots? P_L_E_A_S_E_! I liked some .37''s but maybe they will be too small.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I think the big huge beauties belong to Phoenix! They are stunning. Hmm... so you felt the bezel blocked the sparkle? I don''t have big gorgeous hair like you, mine is shoulder length and pretty fine
although I think I have enough of it. hmm. I am reconsidering.......I guess I will wait and try the fake ones I have coming first. They are half carat each. They just don''t look real to me so it is a bit
harder to judge.

I like the tiffany ones too. The look is very clean to me. People have mentioned martini''s can make your hole larger. There is not any part of me I want to be larger at this point.

 

[kenny]

Date: 5/15/2010 6:40:26 AM
Author:missydebby
Get your minds out of the gutter. Kenny, I'm looking at you here....

Innocent little ole moi?
Shirley, you jest!

I'll take the Octavias, oh and make them 2 ct each, GIA Natural Fancy Vivid Green or Blue, actually make that pure Red, and Flawless.
Thank you.

 

[yssie]

1. Have you ever had a pair, and if so, was what the size of your first?
First pair was 0.86ctw rbs, in 3-prong martini screwbacks. I hated the settings and the diamonds are going into my ring. Second pair (gift from FILs) is a 0.1ctw pair of Tiffs baby bezels, they''re my absolute favourite studs and my go-to pair for everything! I''m having a pair of OECs (1ctw) made into 8-prong martinis now, I can''t wait to see them

2. What size is your dream pair?
6mm each RBs, with 9x7mm pear danglies

3. What size do you consider too small, and not even worth it... or no size too small?
...my 0.05s each are perfect, I love them! Though they''re bezeled so they look a bit bigger from afar.

4. Do you prefer dangling, martini, 4 prong, or with some sort of pave?
No pave. Martinis with however many prongs over baskets, but they must have a flat part where head meets post - my old martinis were pointed and the ends dug into my ear holes, just one of many reasons I disliked them.

5. If someone were handing out free matching (oh let''s say 2 cttw, G, VS2) stones and you could have your choice (only 1) would it be:
a. August Vintage Cushions
b. August Vintage Rounds
c. Perfect cut H&A Rounds
d. Octavia Asschers
e. Royal Asschers
f. Antique Old Mine Cut
g. Antique Old European Cut
h. Antique Cushions
i. Other shape not listed

I wouldn''t actually want G - I''d take I/J/K/Ls though. I have this hangup about wearing diamonds that are visibly higher-colour than those in my Ering. Either OECs/round OMCs or RBs

 

[Cehrabehra]

each of my ears hosts 1/4 carat and I am happy with them. My husband first got me 1/4ctw studs and an invitation to upgrade them sometime the next year. Well I went in and upgraded them right away. I tried on a few and thought that for my earlobe this was the perfect size. This was before the honken lobe stretchers became a fad. I have no desire to upgrade to those. If I were to change anything it would be the quality of the cut. I still think the size is perfect. I wear them 24/7 and have for 10 years.

 

[Cehrabehra]

for earrings I would do the ideal rounds. Ears don''t face the same scrutiny that rings or even pendants do. If you wear your hair down at all they will be mostly or partially obscured most of the time. From a distance of more than a couple feet it can be difficult to even tell if they are round or square. I wouldn''t bother with any of the fancy cuts - I would just go for the most sparkle.

 

[Cehrabehra]

re the hurting the side of the head thing - I think that''s one of the benefits of having little cheapy studs lol The posts are thinner, shorter, and don''t have screws! I sleep in them no problem, but I have tried on the "higher quality" stud posts that are longer and I don''t like them at all.

 

[Lynn B]

I had the T&Co baby bezel studs (.10 ctw) and they were DARLING! Simply darling. Looked like a perfect, sparkly, tiny drop of water on the ear. (I say "HAD" because I lost them on a cruise!

)

I replaced them a few months later with BGD bezels, .24 ctw; a little bigger, but still pretty tiny, even bezeled. Again, adorable. I love them and wear them often.

I also had a pair of martini-set studs, approx. 1.0 ctw H&A ideal cut RBs, and I wore them happily for a couple of years. (I say "HAD" because I upgraded them a couple of years ago to my current studs: again martini set, approx. 1.50 ctw.) The size difference per stud was pretty noticeable and I ADORE them! They just miiiiight be my forever studs, although I would LOVE to get over 2.0 ctw soooooooooooooome day. But the price jump at that level (from .75 to a bit over 1.0 per diamond) just kinda makes me cringe!

Anyway, moral of this story is that for me, there is beauty in ALL stud sizes... from tiny little baby melee-size diamonds to big ol' honkin' headlights. IMHO, there's absolutely nothing that's "too small"(or TOO big!)

 

[cutes814]

1. Have you ever had a pair, and if so, was what the size of your first?
they were 0.33cttw set in platinum 3 prong martini, now i wear a pair of 1cttw in 18k wg set in JA''s 6 prong scalloped basket setting. i find it very comfortable for everyday and every night wear. my previous 3 prong martinis were smaller but not as comfy


2. What size is your dream pair?
3cttw, set in this 6 prong scalloped basket setting.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond-studs/earring/item_423-2317.asp


3. What size do you consider too small, and not even worth it... or no size too small?
i don''t think no sizes are too small. except maybe one that look smaller than the hole in your ear.


4. Do you prefer dangling, martini, 4 prong, or with some sort of pave?
for every day wear, i love the feel and look of the JA 6 prong scalloped basket. for dressed up earrings, the Leon setting like this one.
http://www.artofplatinum.com/4images/details.php?image_id=578


5. If someone were handing out free matching (oh let''s say 2 cttw, G, VS2) stones and you could have your choice (only 1) would it be:

a. August Vintage Cushions

b. August Vintage Rounds

c. Perfect cut H&A Rounds

d. Octavia Asschers i want these! just cuz they are amazing and so unique!!

e. Royal Asschers

f. Antique Old Mine Cut

g. Antique Old European Cut

h. Antique Cushions

i. Other shape not listed

 

[Phoenix]

He he, the poster with 4.649ctw earrings (with the dangly SS pearls) is me, he he!!

To answer yr Q's:

1. My first diamond studs were DH's wedding present to me and I still have them, albeit set in my 3-stone ring. They are approx 0.65ct each (approx 1.3ctw).

2. Dream pair would be over 6ctw (I have HUGE earlobes), H or I colour, VS clarity, ideal cut of course!

3. I also have giant earlobes, and have long hair which I wear down most of the time. So smaller studs (I'd say anything under 0.20ct each) would just get lost on me, but I do like the idea of smaller pave'ed studs.

4. I prefer 3-prong martini's the most (hence my LM), but have been dreaming about resetting my old wedding present pair into pave'ed studs - a la Manhattan Lawyer, meaning very thin and delicate pave on smaller studs. I'd love to own a dangly pair that'd be comfortable on me some day (I had/ have a pair but they're anything but comfy).
5. Free earrings? HUGE honkers, BGD studs or Octavia's. If we're *really* dreaming, then yeah, a pair of 2ct each in fancy pink or red, he he!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I have .25 bezel leverbacks on jumprings so they dangle (.5 tcw) from whiteflash. I LOVE them and wear them pretty much 24/7

my dream pair would probably be 1.5-2 ctw set in leverbacks either like mine, or like this: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/home/ring-details/?product_id=5373

i love the baby bezels too..

for sure bezel leverbacks that dangle (though 8 prong martini and WF w-prong are also gorgeous!!)

AVC or Octavia-I''d need to just close my eyes and point to pick which one

 

[Hest88]

Semi off-topic. I was at a meeting once with a woman who had 4 carats *each* in her ears. She was a CIO so could well afford them, but they definitely has an attractive droop. I''m sure I''m the only one who noticed the droop, though!

 

[slg47]

Date: 5/16/2010 11:31:34 AM
Author: Hest88
Semi off-topic. I was at a meeting once with a woman who had 4 carats *each* in her ears. She was a CIO so could well afford them, but they definitely has an attractive droop. I''m sure I''m the only one who noticed the droop, though!

4 carats each???? in earrings???

did she have a 12 carat ring?

 

[LamborghiniGirl]

Congratulations on your search for a wonderful pair of earrings! I only wear studs, never dangle earrings, and actually wear my current pair 90% of the time (except for the shower).

1. My first pair were .20 each. I have been upgrading them ever since. Tiny, but dainty and I loved them nevertheless.

2. My dream size is what I have now-- 3.5ccw per stud. 4 just looked a little too big on me and did droop down. While some may think 7tcw is gaudy, no one ever even comments on them other then to say they suit my ears nicely.

3. No size is too small! Sometimes it is nice to wear just a tiny sparkle in your ears, especially if you want the focus on a statement necklace.

4. Since I wear them every day, I prefer a classic, timeless 4-prong that doesn''t sit too far from the ear. When the prongs are too long even smaller sized studs look weird.

5. It depends what you would love to see on your ears! And if these studs will be worn daily or for more special occasions. For me, every day, I wouldn''t wear anything but c) Perfect cut H&A Rounds.

 

[wishingstar]

Date: 5/15/2010 1:35:37 PM
Author: luv2sparkle
wishingstar-that is about the size I am looking at and the setting. Can I see ear shots? P_L_E_A_S_E_! I liked some .37''s but maybe they will be too small.

LUV2... I would love to post pics for you, but I cant seem to get the shot into focus. I dont know how all you PSers take such beauty shots, for the life of me, I dont know how to even find a ''macro'' setting on my point/shoot, I''ve seen threads about it, but reading fun threads is already consuming my time

I also have an Nikon SLR, but still havent read the manual on that either!

Just to confirm, my studs are in a normal bezel setting, NOT BGD pic that I posted above. If you are still interested, I will try really hard and get DH to help me take some shots. Also, not that the bezel takes away the sparkle so much, more that it''s very hard to clean anything that gets up inside the setting, so dirt=less sparkle

I find that ~80ctw is a good everyday pair. And if you find a BGD, ACA .37... you''d be quite happy

 

[wishingstar]

Date: 5/16/2010 12:17:43 AM
Author: Phoenix
He he, the poster with 4.649ctw earrings (with the dangly SS pearls) is me, he he!!

To answer yr Q''s:

1. My first diamond studs were DH''s wedding present to me and I still have them, albeit set in my 3-stone ring. They are approx 0.65ct each (approx 1.3ctw).

2. Dream pair would be over 6ctw (I have HUGE earlobes), H or I colour, VS clarity, ideal cut of course!

3. I also have giant earlobes, and have long hair which I wear down most of the time. So smaller studs (I''d say anything under 0.20ct each) would just get lost on me, but I do like the idea of smaller pave''ed studs.

4. I prefer 3-prong martini''s the most (hence my LM), but have been dreaming about resetting my old wedding present pair into pave''ed studs - a la Manhattan Lawyer, meaning very thin and delicate pave on smaller studs. I''d love to own a dangly pair that''d be comfortable on me some day (I had/ have a pair but they''re anything but comfy).
5. Free earrings? HUGE honkers, BGD studs or Octavia''s. If we''re *really* dreaming, then yeah, a pair of 2ct each in fancy pink or red, he he!

Pheonix! I can simply look in your lockbox and find my ''dream'' collection!
RE: 3prong martini setting, do you find they are not comfy as YSSIE and MILLY posted and dig into your ear? What post/backing did you go with? And why Leon as opposed to BGD, when there is no pave or special detailing etc, I noticed your ear on Brian''s blogsite... and was just curious? Plat or 18k?

Thanks, just planning my future upgrade.