Requesting your opinion on our custom ring design (CAD Check)

[zwheel94]

Wow that’s quite a difference! Are you happy with it? It looks so much nicer.

I agree that it looks much nicer, and much less bulky! I asked them to send a 3D printed wax of it so we can see it in person too! That probably wont arrive until late next week, but Im looking forward to it!

 

[zwheel94]

We received the new revision with the East West orientation, and we like it much more, here are some pictures of it next to the previous renditions on her finger!

If you could share your opinion, that would be much appreciated! Any suggestions would also be welcome!

 

[zwheel94]

Heres a version with our gem photoshopped in, as well!

 

[autumngems]

I like the smaller adaptation

 

[Mreader]

I just want to make sure that you make the right decision and that you don’t give the go ahead because you like it “more” than the first. Be sure that you like it as an independent ring, and try to separate your thoughts from the very first one. In other words, don’t look at the new iteration for comparison sake.

It still looks like it’s going to be a very big ring and if that’s what you want to go for it! But I just can’t tell if that’s what you were wanting in the first place.

@Rfisher where are you?

Tagging @Niel and @yssie who are also good CAD readers (I am not).

 

[Rfisher]

I just want to make sure that you make the right decision and that you don’t give the go ahead because you like it “more” than the first. Be sure that you like it as an independent ring, and try to separate your thoughts from the very first one. In other words, don’t look at the new iteration for comparison sake.

I agree

It still looks like it’s going to be a very big ring and if that’s what you want to go for it! But I just can’t tell if that’s what you were wanting in the first place.

I agree.

@Rfisher where are you?

I’m here.
I think the jeweler has done an absolute wonderful job of making a design based on the drawings they were given.

Without seeing any other inspiration rings - I feel it’s hard to know what to advise to what might help/make OP and fiancé more thrilled with their wax, if anything is even lacking.

Anything else at this point I might contribute will be advice based on my tastes - and that doesn’t serve OP at all. I don’t want to impose or assume.

 

[zwheel94]

Here are some inspiration rings she shared with me!

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

I can’t read cads so useless there. However, I do think the wax models are a much larger scale than the inspiration pictures. They look very delicate, lots of negative space, filigree and the like.

 

[Rfisher]

Here are some inspiration rings she shared with me!

Just for a ballpark visual comparison with one of your inspos
I tried to have the center stone sized the same on both pictures for scale.

 

[Gem Queen]

Hi there! My partner asked me to upload these pictures here and to ask for a CAD check to see if anything seems off about the design, and also to get your opinions on the current design (and if it looks big and bulky in your opinion). Could we trouble you for your opinions?

The wax/3D printed ring that has the blue sapphire in it is the old draft, whereas the ring that has a “gem” printed in with the rest of the ring is the current draft. I’ve also uploaded the sketches that my partner drew at the beginning of this process, as well as the rendered images for the current CAD draft of the ring. When my partner drafted the original drawings for the ring design, she understood that her draft may not be appropriate proportions after its translated into 3D, so she was expecting some sort of change, but the ring still just feels really big to us.

We feel as though the old draft is too big and bulky, and due to the size of the main gem, we’re not really able to make the ring much smaller, but we wanted to get another opinion as well. Our jeweler said that there must be at least 1.0 mm between the bottom of the main gem and the finger, which makes sense to me (to avoid poking or possibly unseating the gem with force from underneath), but if that’s unusual, if you could let me know, that would be appreciated!

The ring will be:
Unplated white gold
It has a total of 9 gems:
The main blue lab sapphire (3.64 carat, 8.8 mm Long, 7.1 mm Wide, 5.8 mm Deep)
(2) 1.3 mm Yogo Sapphires (reference photo for color attached)
(6) 1.0 mm Yogo Sapphires

We were told that the half wheat on the lower band of the ring will need to be hand engraved, which is why it’s not shown on the CAD or printed versions.

As for the setting of the main gem, it’s currently in a “cage” type design, as my partner really doesn’t like prongs, but we had a previous draft that had that oval set in a hex bezel, and I believe we moved away from that in an attempt to have the gem be more secure. I posted a CAD image of the hex bezel, does it seem realistic that the gem could be secure in a hex bezel like that, or would the bezel need to be more substantial and cover more of the gem to keep it in place? I’m pretty sure the thickness of the bezel in the image is what she would want to go with.

Additionally, my jeweler isn’t familiar with the old practice of putting foil behind gems to affect the light that shows through it, and that’s something my partner specifically requested. Is there some specific verbiage that may be used nowadays to describe that foiling, or is it a really unusual request?

Our jeweler also charges a setting fee of $350 per carat, and since the main stone is 3.64 carats, the price to set the stone is more than double the price that the stone is worth (since it’s a lab sapphire). I haven’t brought up the gem’s value in an attempt to get that setting fee lowered to something more reasonable quite yet (I understand for natural stones, when it makes sense when the setting fee is a sort of insurance for them in case anything goes wrong and they need to pay you back for damages), but we’d love your opinion on how to handle the situation. We’ve been considering just having the jeweler make the ring without the gems, and then bring it to another jeweler that has lower prices, but since all the gems are bezel set and it’s my understanding that those can be more difficult to do, and if something goes wrong in that process of working with another jeweler, I believe that makes it so the original jeweler is no longer obligated to fix the ring’s issue for free (like they would be if we just went through it with them), so it’s leading to a lot of anxiety on my part, and I really just want the ring to be perfect, but without getting charged way too much (in my opinion) for setting the stones. I’m of the mindset that it would be reasonable for me to bring up the value of the stone, and even settle for paying up to the entire value of the stone just for them to set it, what are your thoughts?

Also, we're located in the Seattle area, and since the original gem that we were going to use for this ring was lost while it was shipped (and I made the terrible mistake of not insuring the package), we don't want to have any part of the ring shipped to another jeweler for setting the stones or anything, so if you think I should work with someone else for setting the stones, if you have any recommendations for the Seattle area, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much for reading through this, and if you have any thoughts to share, or questions that I can help clarify, please let me know!

It would be worth it to fly to Downtown LA to have it set. It would be way less money

 

[chrono]

The inspiration rings are far more delicate in flow than the updated CAD version.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Now that I've seen the inspo pictures- what you're building, while lovely, is not the same kind of ring.
This jeweler is also based out of LA and specializes in good reproductions- it might be worth reaching out to see if they can source you a mounting very close to what she's looking for.

MasterPieceJewelers - Etsy

Shop Master Piece Collection by MasterPieceJewelers located in LA, California.

www.etsy.com

 

[Mreader]

It would be worth it to fly to Downtown LA to have it set. It would be way less money

God I just re-read that the fee is PER CARAT. That cost seems crazy to me.

 

[zwheel94]

Thank you all for your input, its very much appreciated! We just reached out to the jeweler with revision requests to make the ring have more of that elegant flow like the inspiration pictures, Ill post them after the revisions are done!

 

[Cerulean]

Thank you all for your input, its very much appreciated! We just reached out to the jeweler with revision requests to make the ring have more of that elegant flow like the inspiration pictures, Ill post them after the revisions are done!

To be honest if he can’t make tweaks on this yet again, I would move on from this jeweler and find someone else. There are simply times the jeweler cannot execute what you’re looking for, regardless of how well meaning they are. The new revision is still very bulky and I’d be concerned with him at this point - it looks like a class ring, sorry to say. The details are very pretty and can absolutely be achieved in a far more delicate ring

You’ve included images from Green Lake jewelry - have you reached out to them as folks mentioned?

 

[Mreader]

To be honest if he can’t make tweaks on this yet again, I would move on from this jeweler and find someone else. There are simply times the jeweler cannot execute what you’re looking for, regardless of how well meaning they are. The new revision is still very bulky and I’d be concerned with him at this point - it looks like a class ring, sorry to say. The details are very pretty and can absolutely be achieved in a far more delicate ring

You’ve included images from Green Lake jewelry - have you reached out to them as folks mentioned?

I feel the same way. I would be tempted to pay the jeweler for their time, and move on.

ETA - the setting fee alone is almost the cost of what a setting would be.

 

[Garnetgirl]

Most custom jewellers have a certain “look” or style. When going custom, I believe that one should seek out a jeweller whose style closely resembles what one wants in a finished product. If the jeweller‘s work differs greatly from the desired design, then the final outcome will most likely be unsatisfactory.

Have you seen examples of your jeweller’s previous creations?

To me, it seems that your inspiration photos and your second CAD are still very far apart.

 

[zwheel94]

Thank you all for your input, it's very much appreciated!

We got the CAD revisions back today, and while it is closer to the size of the inspiration rings, it still seems like it will be a big ring (or at least a tall ring) and the jeweler has been pretty clear that after this revision, the only way we could make the design any smaller is to start from scratch, but with the size of the gem (and us wanting a bezel set and not liking prong settings), I don't know how much smaller it would realistically get. The updated responses about the pricing per carat have been very helpful too, it does seem really expensive to me.

Any input you have would be greatly appreciated! I'm waiting for my partner to take a look and share her thoughts on it too, but I find that I've been looking at this ring design and its iterations so much that I can't really give an unbiased opinion on it. I'm very happy with how much we've been able to slim it down, but as mentioned above, I shouldn't like it only by comparing it to what it was, and I can't really separate that feeling from looking at the design as a whole.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I know little about jewelry, but putting an oval stone in a hex opening, would make me think "a square pet in a round hole" every time I looked at it, and drive me more crazy than I already am.

 

[Mreader]

As others have advised, I really think you should just cut your losses, pay the Jeweler for their time and find somebody else. And maybe take a breather and then come back to it in a little while.

 

[Cerulean]

As others have advised, I really think you should just cut your losses, pay the Jeweler for their time and find somebody else. And maybe take a breather and then come back to it in a little while.

Agreed. That’s all there is to it.

 

[LD]

I’m very late to this thread but there are two things screaming out at me.

1. The sides are causing the bulk. The leaves need to be more delicate with spaces between them.

2. I would also curve the sides inwards not outwards as they are at the moment.

Both of this changes will give the appearance of a much more delicate, less bulky ring.

 

[zwheel94]

Hi there! Terribly sorry for just going missing on this thread, we were really really happy with the next revision after this, so we gave approval on the design and just got the ring the other day! I havent proposed to my partner yet, so these pictures are on my pinky (which is pretty much the same size as her ring finger)!

 

[Inbloom]

Hi there! Terribly sorry for just going missing on this thread, we were really really happy with the next revision after this, so we gave approval on the design and just got the ring the other day! I havent proposed to my partner yet, so these pictures are on my pinky (which is pretty much the same size as her ring finger)!

Wow it turned out great! Is the sapphire opalescent? I love how it looks in the low light

 

[Niel]

Beautiful and very unique

 

[newtojewels]

Hi there! Terribly sorry for just going missing on this thread, we were really really happy with the next revision after this, so we gave approval on the design and just got the ring the other day! I havent proposed to my partner yet, so these pictures are on my pinky (which is pretty much the same size as her ring finger)!

Lovely! Please show us photos after you've proposed!

 

[zwheel94]

Its a lab sapphire (paraiba) from Finewater Gems, and while it isn't actually an opalescent stone, it really looks like it!

Lab Created

Fine and unique gemstones personally sourced from around the world

www.finewatergems.com

We'll absolutely post pictures after the proposal, thank you!