Reposting: What setting for a rough diamond?

[less_confused]

I''m re-posting so that I can include pictures.

To celebrate a forthcoming birth, I want a ring made using a natural rough diamond. The diamond symbolizes the raw beauty of my child, waiting for parental love to polish the lil'' dude. The gold for the setting is from jewelry handed down by the grandmothers, symbolizing the maternal love that will forever embrace and support the newborn.

Well, I bought the stone. The photo does it no justice, so here''s some more:
Size: 2+ct (my 2nd child, so.....). It''s 6.25x6.25x6.25mm (a quarter inch per side).
Shape: almost a perfect cube. One corner is chipped off.
Color: White, perhaps a J/K color (I''m no expert tho''). Shiny and translucent but also opaque. Light passes through it and makes it glow.

What kind of mounting and setting would you use? How best to accentuate a stone that is not attractive by itself? This is not a shiny sparkly gem that would pull stares from across the room. It''s different. And it''s not a dark color that contrasts nicely with bright diamond accent sparklers. No orange, yellow, brown or black.

In the post below, I''ll add a picture of a micro pave setting that looks nice. I like how the pave halo runs along one half of the stone and prongs support the other half.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.luxist.com/media/2009/02/picturrde-1.png

Metal: I''m thinking yellow gold to contrast the whiteness of the stone. On the other hand, I am concerned that it may accentuate the dullness as well.

Mounting: I don''t want to hide it in a bezel. Partly because it will enjoy light and partly because it needs to be seen - this is no cabochon.
Another issue is the corner that is chipped off. It''s unsightly and would face down. I don''t think that''s much of an issue, although some standard settings show off the bottom a lot, and I want to avoid that.

Accentuating: I''ve thought about using other diamonds as accents, like pave or princess/brilliant cut gems on each side. Something sparkly. I will go to a jeweler to see how this looks, but I am concerned that the contrast won''t be positive - again, it may highlight the dullness. I also thought about two darker stones (like rose cut rubies or something). Perhaps the half halo of the pave would work - accent without drowning the stone.

For inspiration, I''ve looked at Ruff&Cut, ToddReed, & DiamondRough. And I''ve spent long hours just surfing modern jewelers and traditional jewelers. That helped me to frame the questions.

This is fun and I am really looking forward to folks'' creative ideas. Not to mention the amazing experiences of those who have tried to match setting to stone.

 

[less_confused]

Another shot of the rough diamond

 

[less_confused]

Here''s a picture of a rough diamond set in a micro pave setting.
I especially like the partial halo.

This stone is glassier and yellower than mine - I''m not sure if that makes the contrast with the polished gems better.....

 

[Lula]

I think it would be great to put it in a setting with a vintage look to it. I like this one because the setting is simple, elegant, and bold -- your stone seems to cry out for a setting that''s more bold than delicate, IMHO!

 

[oldminer]

You have a great set of sentiments expressed in why you want to use an uncut diamond. It is a lot easier to polish a diamond properly than to put a proper finish on a growing child. Best of luck with this long term project. I''d like someone to set a cubic crystal like yours in a tension mounting with the opposite pointed ends holding the stone. Maybe incoroporate the old gold into some deisgn elements or for the pads holding the diamonds. If the gold was used as padding between the diamond''s points and the metal of the mounting, I imagine a jeweler could make the diamond able to spin in the mounting so one could view all the sides.

 

[onvacation]

What are the parent''s birthstones? I would imagine a Tiffany ribbon ring with the child''s birthstone pave for the ribbons, then the parent''s birthstones along the shank on either side, would be a meaningful setting that adds to your original sentiment. (If you''re a stickler for symmetry, maybe a double shank might work better..) You could position the center stone diagonally (like a diamond shape from the top) so that the chipped corner faces down. A light hole at the bottom will let you peek in and see the flaw if you want to later in life (which I promise you will!

) We all have our flaws, but I believe most parents want to showcase the best characteristics of their children to the world while they deal with the messy reality underneath.

Oldminer''s spinner idea sounds really cool, too!

 

[onvacation]

Oops, forgot the picture..

 

[Circe]

What a great sentiment behind your new project!

I have three rough diamond rings: two pearl diamonds, one triangle. The "pearls" are set in semi-bezels that look almost faux tension-set (we actually tried to do this with a similar ring for my mom, and ended up having to put a bridge in - if you do go tension, make sure you find a jeweler who''s had a lot of experience with these! ''cause hers popped out in a ladies room, and it''s only thanks to a kind lady with sharp eyes that she got it back), and the triangle is set in a full bezel on a broad, flat band. All three are set in platinum, which works pretty well with the respective tonalities of green-grey, silver-white and clear pale yellow.

Judging from the pics, your stone is a pearly white with maybe a tinge of creaminess to it? Well, how about maybe a matte rose gold to set it off? And a thickish curved band with broad claw prongs to hold it in place? From what you''re describing, I get the feeling you want to set it with a point up, right? Very Elizabethan - they loved their rough and just-polished diamond rings. If you Google, you may be able to find a picture of the diamond ring that Elizabeth I used to inscribe reassuring mottos on glass for herself during her imprisonment under the reign of her sister, Mary. I''d scan and post a pic, but I''m mid-move and all of my books are in storage ....

 

[less_confused]

Thanks for the sage advice.

Easier to polish a diamond than a child? Yikes.

Interesting thought about skinny vs thick shank.

 

[yssie]

What a beautiful and memorable way to celebrate your child!

I have nothing useful to contribute in the way of design suggestions, but I must say I''m looking forward to seeing this truly one of a kind project evolve

 

[Fly Girl]

Here are my husband''s rings on my hand. The one of interest here is to the right. A 2 ct octahedral brown diamond tension set in Damascus steel and palladium.

His diamond looks amazing, and so will yours.