How much larger will an Illusion Mounting make a 1.30 diamond appear ?????

[jewelgal]

Since I was that D color, i might have to settle on the size 1.30 - 1.40
vs a 1.5

I was thinking about getting an illusion/miracle mounting to make it appear
larger, but how much larger will it look??

Will it look like a 2 carat? bigger?

 

[WinkHPD]

DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When it is brand new it will look a little larger but soon the shine of the metal will fade and it will look HORRID in its ugliness.

Wink

(Just my opinion of course, but illusion heads are normally used with small cheap stones that usually do not sparkle as much as the metal, so I have really come to hate the whole idea. Just owning up to my bias, I have never seen a nice stone actually set into an illusion head.)

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Here Here!

Illusions work on tiny diamonds.
they make larger stones look stupid.

 

[valeria101]

Yeah... definitely true. I love those butter cup settings, but only tiny ones. Get away from those 3-4mm and the sheer bulk of metal will drown the poor stone instead of making it look impressive.

Some types of bezel settings might work - if you like them, but "some type" is key word unless you are a true bezel addict (like me) or like those rings really big (again, like this girl here). I would think about those suspended girdle settings like Ritani's or the Lucida bezel for a large stone like that.

Then.. there is yet another breed of settings that place a row of small diamonds or colored stones around the center. Not sure how fashionable are those outside the UK, but you may try to take a look. There would be no room on my finger for a 1.3 center with a substantial "frame" like that, but it may look great on you (below will come some examples).

Are you sure E would not do? If you can tell it from D in a ring, you got me. I never could

Even in a 8 carat piece, forget about 2 carats

 

[valeria101]

Here they are... There are other options, of course includiong more unusual profiles and calibre cut "frames" or what not. Starting with a large center, the frame will likely need to contain smal stones.

For what that matters, the ring from Adin is among my favorites, but keeping the proportions for a 1.3 carat center would result in a pin or pendant sized jewel more than a casual ring!

All the carat weights for the center stones in the pictures should be taken with a grain of salt - these are old cuts, so I would assume they are a tad smaller than RBCs of the same weight. The ring with an onix circle contains a 1.75 cts center stone and the diameter of the ring is about 14mm - quite a big larger than your target 2cts size.

Hope this helps. I surely like to unlead that HD of jewelry pics after a night of stats

 

[reena]

jewelgirl, i posted some bezel settings on my other thread (battle of the bezels), those tend to make a ring look larger on your finger i suppose. BUT, a 1.3 or 1.4 carat stone is a good size! if you want larger, though, im with val--go down from the D.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 8/23/2004 9:03:34 PM jewelgal wrote:



Will it look like a 2 carat? bigger?

----------------

To answer your Q directly... it is a bit harder. Whatever setting should make a 1.2 cts round look more liek 2 carats should actually add no more than 1.5mm to the diameter of the center stone (from 7mm to about 8.2mm by the book). So the "frame" itself should be darn small - less thann 1mm. That is little even for a simple bezel! I suppose a very dainty row of super small diamonds would be under 2mm in all, but then Garry's advice comes into play - there will be quite a bit of metal showing ready to be tarnished. Go with larger accent diamonds and you will end up with quite a large ring if you so wish.

To be correct, none of the settings in the pics above is an "illusion setting" proper. I think these (butter cup setting a paved buttercup) is more like it. But again, to these models involving lots of metal and a few small stones the technical detraction mentioned by Garry and Oldminer applies. Unless you like the look of old platinum patina I would not try

It just so happens that fay Cullen has most of the types I had in mind listed. There should be variations out there of all of these. About 5-6 models of "framed" rings are listed by Icestore (but with no measuremets or hand pics) and a few at Nice Ice and many trendy designer lines

 

[jewelgal]

Thanks for such informative responses!!!!
I Love Faycullen.com - one wedding set specifically
w/ illusion setting - #105M3D - in ring mountings section

What do you all think of this one??

I love the photos - great examples! and the stuff from faycullen.com is pretty, but not the way i mean--- i mean more like the
105M3D

ring settings, go to page 4, 2nd one up From The BOTtom

That mounting Can Only Hold A 1.33 / or 7.2 MM stone -
how would that size look in this???

Thanks again!

 

[fire&ice]

My OEC family ring is set in an illusion setting. According to Dave's charts, it's a finely cut stone for it's time. It's a G color & a completely clean SI1. I think the setting is quite substantial and lovely. It definetly makes the diamond look much large than it's 1.25c. When my jeweler measured the stone, he said the mm were closer to 1.75c.

That said, my illusion setting is very simple. I will try to dig up a pic as the ring is in the safety deposit box.

 

[jewelgal]

I just posted a picture of my current Illusion Setting.
Can't wait to upgrade!! oh boy!
I wonder if I should get a temporary setting from
foreverjewelers.com and then get the 2k one next year....
what do you think?

that way i can spend $8k totally just for the diamond.
(pushing my budget to the max by the way!)

 

[jewelgal]

this is my current illusion setting. i loved it for years, but have gotten bored of it... i like a shape around the stone in bead set rounds (on a layer below the mounting)... maybe i could get 4 prongs?? any pics ?

 

[jewelgal]

this photo didn't print too clear.

Do you think a 1.33 diamond would look good or bad
in an illusion setting??
thanks! appreciate it!