sunkissedx3
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2013
- Messages
- 51
So, first of all, I am SO SO HAPPY to be engaged to the man of my dreams =D He proposed in Florence, Italy, on the Ponte Vecchio bridge where he vowed to cross every bridge in life with me. <3
My ring is a gorgeous 1.8 cushion halo made by Victor Canera. The shank, donut, and struts are absolutely perfect but I'm concerned about the way the stones are set in the halo and the gaps between the stones. I want this to be my forever ring so it's important that it's as close to perfect as can be.
I was involved in picking the diamond and the type of setting because I'm very particular and meticulous. We didn't decide on a specific vendor together, but I did ask him to consider Victor Canera, Steven Kirsch, Leon Mege, Hannah Maytal, and also ERD. He knew I really liked the hand forged settings but I said I would also be happy with a CAD from ERD. After doing some research of his own on here, he decided to go with VC since he is so highly recommended by PSers, especially for the Emilya halo. I didn't know where my ring was being made, but I did have a list of specifications, most of which I copied from Frankiextah for her VC halo ring. Some of of the things I asked for were for diamond melee size on halo to be uniform in size, set closely together as possible with no gaps, halo melees around 1.3-1.5mm, minimal metal at lip of halo, shank 1.9-2.1mm, small donut and very curved struts. I later found out from my fiance that VC said he couldn't accept specifications or any alterations to the Emilya because he was extremely busy and would not take the job otherwise. He said not to worry it'll turn out great because he's made it hundreds of times. I thought that VC would be more accommodating from what everyone else had said about him on the forum, many saying they exchanged dozens of emails before beginning the process. This made me nervous, but I trusted VC would make me the perfect ring, after seeing so many amazing ones posted on here.
Victor did make the donut and struts as specified, shank is 1.8mm, halo melees are a bit too small, in size and compared to the width of the overall halo. When looking at the ring from above, the melees look smaller than the width of the halo upon close inspection. I measured the halo melees with a small optical ruler and they are only about 1.0mm. What I love about VC's halos is that the melees on the halo tilt perfectly into the "shallow U" prongs, and the width of the melee is almost as wide as the halo width, thereby minimizing metal seen from the top. In my ring, the melees don't extend to the edge of the halo.
Here's some photos of my ring compared to his other work:
my ring:
See top and side of halo, melee doesn't extend to edge, can see the little "U" scoops and metal instead of the melee sitting right inside the scoop as seen in his other work (see this in a lot of CAD halos). Also note gaps in stones, when looking from top can see a line between each stone instead of a continuous row like on the shank
love the donut and struts
excess metal on halo that melees don't cover
see bottom edge and can be seen a bit on side of halo, excess metal "rim"
Hard to show in photos but with flash you can see the metal more, and in person I can see it
lip slightly thicker than I would have wanted but not a big issue
stones don't match up on both sides, I'm not too concerned about it but I did notice it
others made by VC:
Frankie's ring
Susimee's ring
Here's a CAD halo ring made by ERD showing less metal with melees set closer:
Does anybody else agree with me that my halo is a bit flawed?? In the other rings shown, the melees are set right into the shallow "u crescent" and only the tiny prongs show, not the metal between the prongs. Also, the melees are very small, and 5 rather than 6 across each side would have looked better in my opinion, seeing as a lot of the cushion halos VC did around the same size had fewer and slightly larger stones around the halo. The melees are too spaced as well showing a line between them.
I feel bad because my fiance did everything right, he went to VC so he wouldn't have to worry about how the ring would turn out, he wanted it to be perfect for me, and I am grateful for that and for my ring. I am not trying to find something wrong, but I can clearly see the difference in the photos, and feel like he could have gotten a CAD setting from ERD for half the cost that looks the same or better. The ring really does look BEAUTIFUL, but looking very CLOSELY it bothers me because I've seen better work by VC. I don't want to upgrade my ring in five, ten, or twenty years from now, so I don't want this to be the reason for why I would want to later on.
I haven't mentioned anything to my fiance because I don't want to upset him, and I haven't contacted VC either. I know many PSers are very particular about their ring as well, so I hope somebody understands me, and I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thanks all
My ring is a gorgeous 1.8 cushion halo made by Victor Canera. The shank, donut, and struts are absolutely perfect but I'm concerned about the way the stones are set in the halo and the gaps between the stones. I want this to be my forever ring so it's important that it's as close to perfect as can be.
I was involved in picking the diamond and the type of setting because I'm very particular and meticulous. We didn't decide on a specific vendor together, but I did ask him to consider Victor Canera, Steven Kirsch, Leon Mege, Hannah Maytal, and also ERD. He knew I really liked the hand forged settings but I said I would also be happy with a CAD from ERD. After doing some research of his own on here, he decided to go with VC since he is so highly recommended by PSers, especially for the Emilya halo. I didn't know where my ring was being made, but I did have a list of specifications, most of which I copied from Frankiextah for her VC halo ring. Some of of the things I asked for were for diamond melee size on halo to be uniform in size, set closely together as possible with no gaps, halo melees around 1.3-1.5mm, minimal metal at lip of halo, shank 1.9-2.1mm, small donut and very curved struts. I later found out from my fiance that VC said he couldn't accept specifications or any alterations to the Emilya because he was extremely busy and would not take the job otherwise. He said not to worry it'll turn out great because he's made it hundreds of times. I thought that VC would be more accommodating from what everyone else had said about him on the forum, many saying they exchanged dozens of emails before beginning the process. This made me nervous, but I trusted VC would make me the perfect ring, after seeing so many amazing ones posted on here.
Victor did make the donut and struts as specified, shank is 1.8mm, halo melees are a bit too small, in size and compared to the width of the overall halo. When looking at the ring from above, the melees look smaller than the width of the halo upon close inspection. I measured the halo melees with a small optical ruler and they are only about 1.0mm. What I love about VC's halos is that the melees on the halo tilt perfectly into the "shallow U" prongs, and the width of the melee is almost as wide as the halo width, thereby minimizing metal seen from the top. In my ring, the melees don't extend to the edge of the halo.
Here's some photos of my ring compared to his other work:
my ring:
See top and side of halo, melee doesn't extend to edge, can see the little "U" scoops and metal instead of the melee sitting right inside the scoop as seen in his other work (see this in a lot of CAD halos). Also note gaps in stones, when looking from top can see a line between each stone instead of a continuous row like on the shank
love the donut and struts
excess metal on halo that melees don't cover
see bottom edge and can be seen a bit on side of halo, excess metal "rim"
Hard to show in photos but with flash you can see the metal more, and in person I can see it
lip slightly thicker than I would have wanted but not a big issue
stones don't match up on both sides, I'm not too concerned about it but I did notice it
others made by VC:
Frankie's ring
Susimee's ring
Here's a CAD halo ring made by ERD showing less metal with melees set closer:
Does anybody else agree with me that my halo is a bit flawed?? In the other rings shown, the melees are set right into the shallow "u crescent" and only the tiny prongs show, not the metal between the prongs. Also, the melees are very small, and 5 rather than 6 across each side would have looked better in my opinion, seeing as a lot of the cushion halos VC did around the same size had fewer and slightly larger stones around the halo. The melees are too spaced as well showing a line between them.
I feel bad because my fiance did everything right, he went to VC so he wouldn't have to worry about how the ring would turn out, he wanted it to be perfect for me, and I am grateful for that and for my ring. I am not trying to find something wrong, but I can clearly see the difference in the photos, and feel like he could have gotten a CAD setting from ERD for half the cost that looks the same or better. The ring really does look BEAUTIFUL, but looking very CLOSELY it bothers me because I've seen better work by VC. I don't want to upgrade my ring in five, ten, or twenty years from now, so I don't want this to be the reason for why I would want to later on.
I haven't mentioned anything to my fiance because I don't want to upset him, and I haven't contacted VC either. I know many PSers are very particular about their ring as well, so I hope somebody understands me, and I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thanks all
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