Padparadscha, Paraiba and Black Diamond

[andrewcarter173]

So... I posted about getting a Tiffany emerald ring for my new wife, and it came and it was not good at all. There was a small chip to the emerald, and it was windowed and was just very meh in person.

I secured this wonderful Pad from Inken (https://www.enhoerning-jewelry.com/loosegemstones/144-ct-ceylon-padparadscha ) and am looking at how to put this into a ring for her. Except, I can't just do something normal.

I've found some 1.3mm melee Paraiba, which I think is a perfect contrast to the pad. But then, to add to that, I think some black diamonds (around 1.7mm) would make an even stronger contrast to bring out the colors even more...

I would set this in platinum.

Thoughts appreciated!

 

[Rfisher]

Hyperventilating.
Seriously.
The stone.
Your plans.
Hubba hubba.
Are you getting the Pad in hand to see and hold its preciousness and take pictures and show it off here so we can revel in its gorgeousness....
Or is it going directly to get set?

 

[elle_71125]

I think that’s a gorgeous color combo!

 

[LilAlex]

Maybe without that outer ring? "Black diamonds" are not in the same league as the other treasures. Maybe regular white diamonds...?

But the folks above probably would not agree...

 

[finerthings]

Nice stones and I agree with @LilAlex about the white diamonds instead of black on that outer circle of diamonds. It will be a beautiful ring!

 

[Acinom]

Great project! To my eye the contrast between the black diamonds and the soft pastels of the Pad and Paraibas is too harsh. I would also opt for white diamonds

 

[Rfisher]

Maybe without that outer ring? "Black diamonds" are not in the same league as the other treasures. Maybe regular white diamonds...?

But the folks above probably would not agree...

Personal tastes aside -
- I think a lot will rest on the design and execution as a whole.
One could describe a ring vaguely, and the subject be from Kay’s/Macy’s circa 2000, or it could be from Ivy New York.

 

[MrsBlue]

Maybe alternate smaller black diamonds with the paraibas? Still a bold and unusual halo but a little more cohesive. Or maybe a teeny black halo between the main stone and paraibas.

I agree that execution will be key. The bit of black can either be sophisticated or overpowering.

 

[peppermintpatty]

As it is right now, for me personally my eye goes to the black diamonds. I would want my eye to go to the Pad. Perhaps if the black diamonds were smaller. Idk they just seem too harsh. I like the black diamonds with the Paraiba’s but not the Pad. I would lean towards a lighter grey spinel halo or diamonds. As always, what you love is really all that matters

 

[andrewcarter173]

Hyperventilating.
Seriously.
The stone.
Your plans.
Hubba hubba.
Are you getting the Pad in hand to see and hold its preciousness and take pictures and show it off here so we can revel in its gorgeousness....
Or is it going directly to get set?

Well I am still thinking through all the feedback here. I kinda love how polarizing this one is... Some love, some shock at the black diamond.

I’ll be quite honest and say I pretty much loathe white diamonds. For me they add nothing. So I won’t be doing that. But considering smaller on the black diamond.

I’m working with Inken at Enhoerning on a handmade platinum setting.

In the mean time, here’s the gem in hand. I realized part way through that wearing a blaze orange hunting hat is not a good way to view a pad with the reflections hahahah...

I don’t think the video does it full justice. The colors are so much more vivid to my eyes.

 

[Rfisher]

Ooh thank you for the video

Has your wife seen the stone or will it be a surprise? (Lucky woman!)

I can only imagine when you say it looks more vivid in person :swoon:

Your stone is The Pad that my pseudo-pad-peach sapphire really wishes it was! Ha!
So I’ll be eagerly awaiting to see what you and Inken come up with. I’m positive it will be stunning!

 

[Begonia]

No for me to the black diamonds. Another row of darker paraiba is my vote.

 

[andrewcarter173]

Ooh thank you for the video

Has your wife seen the stone or will it be a surprise? (Lucky woman!)

I can only imagine when you say it looks more vivid in person :swoon:

Your stone is The Pad that my pseudo-pad-peach sapphire really wishes it was! Ha!
So I’ll be eagerly awaiting to see what you and Inken come up with. I’m positive it will be stunning!

It's weird hearing her be called my wife, as we only got married on Saturday. We will do something bigger next year, but it was a COVID Zoom wedding to get the tax savings before year end...

I showed her the stone this morning, and she loved it. I've also shown her my plans for the ring too (which for something THIS bold is definitely important)...

Yeah I am very impressed with it in person. It's very changeable. I've looked at it so many times today and am like "it's orange, no it's pink, no it's orange, no it's pink". It's not color changing at all - it's just confusing to the eye, which I guess is a quality of pads.

 

[Ionysis]

Have to say I’m also not loving the black diamonds - the balance just seems off as the other hues are delicate and colourful. Nice pad though.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

It's weird hearing her be called my wife, as we only got married on Saturday. We will do something bigger next year, but it was a COVID Zoom wedding to get the tax savings before year end...

I showed her the stone this morning, and she loved it. I've also shown her my plans for the ring too (which for something THIS bold is definitely important)...

Yeah I am very impressed with it in person. It's very changeable. I've looked at it so many times today and am like "it's orange, no it's pink, no it's orange, no it's pink". It's not color changing at all - it's just confusing to the eye, which I guess is a quality of pads.

Congradulations on becoming Mr &Mrs
your ring is a beautiful concept
i really love the black diamond idea but like the idea of smaller black diamonds

 

[andrewcarter173]

As it is right now, for me personally my eye goes to the black diamonds. I would want my eye to go to the Pad. Perhaps if the black diamonds were smaller. Idk they just seem too harsh. I like the black diamonds with the Paraiba’s but not the Pad. I would lean towards a lighter grey spinel halo or diamonds. As always, what you love is really all that matters

Well here's a rough mock up of the smaller black diamonds...

 

[minousbijoux]

Well here's a rough mock up of the smaller black diamonds...

Still too big and overpowers the more delicate and subdued pad and bluish green. It depends on where you want the beholder's eyes to go. IMO, the large black throws the ring off balance and draws your eye away from the star. Even if you use tiny black melee (like 1/3 - 1/2 the diameter of the paraiba), you'll still get the framing effect, but it won't overpower...

 

[Polyhex]

It's a beautiful design!

Some suggestions -- if you love the contrast of the black diamonds, I like the original proportions more. It's great to get input from a lot of people, but people have diverse tastes in jewelry and some of the input you get may come from people who really don't like the contrast, and that's OK!

You could have them tilt downwards to create a convex dome shape, and then they emphasize the shadows of the ring and distract less from the pad and paraiba. I use dome shapes for a lot of my designs, just an idea:

 

[Rfisher]

To add to what Polyhex said above-
Also due dillegence in looking around to see picture examples of other oval double halo rings (maybe even clusters? And ignoring all the white diamonds -lol) to see the proportions, profiles, tilts, airlines, different type of pave setting styles to see what you like the look of and what you /your wife might not like. All those things really do change the whole ‘look’ and knowing all those options will help communications in design, and helps your final project to look what you really want it to be.
Even maybe the outline shape not being actually oval -

This type of look is immediately what I thought after your first post.

 

[peppermintpatty]

I might like a bright pink, sapphire or spinel halo and then the paraibas.
I wonder what a light to medium brown diamond with pink undertones would look like next to the pad. Paraibas for the outer halo. I think I might like that a lot! It would still be unique and look good with the pad and the paraibas. I wonder if Alex could source those?
The black still is too harsh for me, even with smaller stones. This is all about you and your wife. These are only opinions!

 

[peppermintpatty]

To add to what Polyhex said above-
Also due dillegence in looking around to see picture examples of other oval double halo rings (maybe even clusters? And ignoring all the white diamonds -lol) to see the proportions, profiles, tilts, airlines, different type of pave setting styles to see what you like the look of and what you /your wife might not like. All those things really do change the whole ‘look’ and knowing all those options will help communications in design, and helps your final project to look what you really want it to be.
Even maybe the outline shape not being actually oval -

This type of look is immediately what I thought after your first post.

That is stunning! What works for me is that the colors flow.

 

[HGar]

Rather then black diamonds, what about black enamel? Another forum member has a halo with enamel and I find it much more gentle to the eye then the stones which are a tad jarring.

 

[Cerulean]

Well, I might be alone here, but I love the black. However, I'd reverse the order - Pad, black, then paraiba.

And I would do teeny tiny black melee. Smaller than pictured - more like the first design - but inverse the black / Paraiba.

Struggling to find images....but....I am not suggesting these for designs really, just to visualize the order of color.



I also found rando pics of soft pink stones next to black diamonds online, and I think it looks toooootally cool.





...But, I do worry that if the black stays on the exterior, it will swallow it a bit....e.g.

 

[Polyhex]

To add to what Polyhex said above-
Also due dillegence in looking around to see picture examples of other oval double halo rings (maybe even clusters? And ignoring all the white diamonds -lol) to see the proportions, profiles, tilts, airlines, different type of pave setting styles to see what you like the look of and what you /your wife might not like. All those things really do change the whole ‘look’ and knowing all those options will help communications in design, and helps your final project to look what you really want it to be.
Even maybe the outline shape not being actually oval -

This type of look is immediately what I thought after your first post.

Gorgeous example, agree with all your points about thinking through the halo and pave design. I really love a lot of the Ivy and Rose Yavorskyy settings and I am using them as an inspiration for a layered halo ring right now. The black on the setting is usually achieved with black rhodium plating and that is another interesting option for @andrewcarter173 to think about.

This is an example of one of their settings from the side, apologies for crappy quality but it's a screenshot from a video.

 

[2Neesers]

Beautiful stone! I was nervous it might roll out of the gem case and on to the floor when I was watching your video! How do you feel about yellow diamonds for the outer halo? It would be more of a soft and soothing combination of colors.

eta: I do like the black outer halo, but thought this combo could be pretty as well

 

[derbygal]

Congrats on the wedding. Love the pad. Your wife is a lucky lady!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Loving some of these examples !
I think i like the black melee ideas the best

 

[prs]

The Paraiba isn't doing much for me. Not sure that color complements the Pad at all.

 

[GoldfishPie]

I personally love the black but I have a flair for the dramatic. I agree with a previous poster that maybe black enamel might look great. Emily Gill is a jewelry designer that works with a lot of enamel and black/paraiba color. Check her out!

 

[Acinom]

Beautiful pad video! With black rhodium you could add some drama. For me the black is still too harsh. Even with the smaller melee. I second the idee of Pad with 2 Paraiba halo’s if you wish to avoid white diamonds