Opinions on ring design?

[KLC]

I'm customizing this ring for a 2.05ct oval royal blue sapphire, and I wanted some opinions on this style. I want to maximize the light entering the stone, but I also want it to be sturdy.
I would want the band to be solid instead of hollow like the one in the photo, 14K white gold, 2mm, and changed to a half eternity band, with the beaded design continued around the stones in the band.
Is this style of gallery going to be sturdy enough for a 7.8×6.5×5 oval sapphire? And do you think this style would maximize the appearance of a precision cut sapphire?

 

[KLC]

Or would it be too prone to bending because there's not much support underneath?

 

[LilAlex]

It's hard to know. Kind of an in-between ring, safety-wise -- not too fragile and not too robust. It depends a lot on how often and how hard it will be worn. This wouldn't be a great one in our household; spouse or a DD would need a more robust shank and a stouter buttress where it meets the head. But a relative of mine could have worn this for decades without a scratch -- I don't know how!

With that almost-pave-sized halo and your targeting a half-eternity, it will be a fairly delicate ring irrespective of the metal thickness, imo.

Most of us might prefer bigger halo stones but that probably is an unhelpful comment.

With a precision-cut stone (and recognizing that that doesn't necessarily mean a stone cut to maximize light return as opposed to still prioritizing carat-weight retention the way a wonkier "native" cut also would), most of the light return should be down through the table and then back out. So I'm not sure how much breathing room you need around the pavilion unless the stone were exceptionally dark. My few are bezel-set, for example, and none are precision-cut -- so I clearly was not worried above ensuring light entry through the pavilion.

With a royal blue sapphire of those dimensions, it will be hard to go wrong with any design. Some vendors seem to equate dark with royal and they are not synonyms. Royal is pretty much the epitome of vividness and you can get away with a little excessively dark tone to achieve that look. But if it is truly so dark that you need some backlighting, then that and not durability will probably need to be the design driver.

 

[KLC]

It's hard to know. Kind of an in-between ring, safety-wise -- not too fragile and not too robust. It depends a lot on how often and how hard it will be worn. This wouldn't be a great one in our household; spouse or a DD would need a more robust shank and a stouter buttress where it meets the head. But a relative of mine could have worn this for decades without a scratch -- I don't know how!

With that almost-pave-sized halo and your targeting a half-eternity, it will be a fairly delicate ring irrespective of the metal thickness, imo.

Most of us might prefer bigger halo stones but that probably is an unhelpful comment.

With a precision-cut stone (and recognizing that that doesn't necessarily mean a stone cut to maximize light return as opposed to still prioritizing carat-weight retention the way a wonkier "native" cut also would), most of the light return should be down through the table and then back out. So I'm not sure how much breathing room you need around the pavilion unless the stone were exceptionally dark. My few are bezel-set, for example, and none are precision-cut -- so I clearly was not worried above ensuring light entry through the pavilion.

With a royal blue sapphire of those dimensions, it will be hard to go wrong with any design. Some vendors seem to equate dark with royal and they are not synonyms. Royal is pretty much the epitome of vividness and you can get away with a little excessively dark tone to achieve that look. But if it is truly so dark that you need some backlighting, then that and not durability will probably need to be the design driver.

Thanks. I'm not hard on jewelry at all. But I do plan to wear it daily. So, I will ask about making the band a bit wider.
The stone is honestly exceptionally cut. I didn't include photos because it's pulled czochralski and I didn't want to violate any rules. But it was cut by Jeff Davies and Son. It sparkles like crazy.
The color with it resting loose on my fingers is nice. Just a TINY bit darker than I would have preferred. My main concern was picking a setting that wouldn't make it noticeably darker.

 

[Bron357]

That style of ring can certainly be made solid. Usually that type of setting is done that way to reduce weight/ cost, less gold equals less cost.
In terms of being sturdy, even the “hollowed” type ring in 14kt isn’t going to “wear out”. Aside from catching the setting in drawers and the like (can attest ouch) the forces required to do major damage to the ring would also damage your finger / hand. The main areas of wear or damage are usually prongs so remember that when choosing prong style and number.

 

[luckygreen317]

I'm customizing this ring for a 2.05ct oval royal blue sapphire, and I wanted some opinions on this style. I want to maximize the light entering the stone, but I also want it to be sturdy.
I would want the band to be solid instead of hollow like the one in the photo, 14K white gold, 2mm, and changed to a half eternity band, with the beaded design continued around the stones in the band.
Is this style of gallery going to be sturdy enough for a 7.8×6.5×5 oval sapphire? And do you think this style would maximize the appearance of a precision cut sapphire?

If you plan to wear this ring often, my only concern is the height of the sapphire in the setting and chipping the girdle of the stone. It seems there is the ability to set the stone a little lower in that design and not affect the light reflection. Are additional prongs a possibility?

 

[LilAlex]

...because it's pulled czochralski and I didn't want to violate any rules...

Got it. Just slow-roasted for hours 'til it's fork-tender and then the czochralski just falls apart -- sounds so good!

 

[KLC]

If you plan to wear this ring often, my only concern is the height of the sapphire in the setting and chipping the girdle of the stone. It seems there is the ability to set the stone a little lower in that design and not affect the light reflection. Are additional prongs a possibility?

More prongs is definitely doable as far as I'm concerned. I'll ask her about it Monday.

That style of ring can certainly be made solid. Usually that type of setting is done that way to reduce weight/ cost, less gold equals less cost.
In terms of being sturdy, even the “hollowed” type ring in 14kt isn’t going to “wear out”. Aside from catching the setting in drawers and the like (can attest ouch) the forces required to do major damage to the ring would also damage your finger / hand. The main areas of wear or damage are usually prongs so remember that when choosing prong style and number.

Thanks!!! That was what I needed to know.

Got it. Just slow-roasted for hours 'til it's fork-tender and then the czochralski just falls apart -- sounds so good!