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

[zwheel94]

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!

 

[zwheel94]

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!

I needed to post the yogo reference photo separately as I hit the 15 attachment limit, here it is!

 

[Rfisher]

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?

I think the renderings and plastic models look pretty close to some of your partners drawings (which look to me like a larger dome/bombe shape ring ) with the exception of the one drawn viewpoint from the top, that looks much slimmer than all the other of their drawings.
The drawings show various scale of leaves vs scroll, and it looks like they picked one and went with it.

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.

it does look like a big bold ring. that in itself isn’t bad - but if it’s not what you want……

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.

I think it definately could be made smaller - but I do see why the jeweler has designed what they have, by looking at your sketches and with out knowing any communications.

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

with the total depth of the center stone being 5.8mm deep, and with the one cad showing 8mm off the top of the finger as the height, it’d be a valid thought there is room to lower it. Narrow the shoulders as in the one drawing you’ve provided depicts, possibly as well.
you’ll want to ask how many cad revisions are included in your quote, and what may be changed as extras.

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.

the “cage” concept is nothing I have any experience with nor have ever seen, so cannot comment. Looks like a debris trap, imo. Is the cage concept as what they show what your partner intended to convey? I can’t tell by the drawing. if I saw the drawing only, I would assume it was a faux bezel/cup with bead prongs set down in the cup..fwiw.
A bezel should be secure. And the one rendering looks like maybe it’s intended to be a partial bezel which still should be secure, by any jeweler who is experienced setting a stone in a bezel.
it may be that the cad/rendering doesn’t depict the actual finished bezel placement, and if the printed plastic model you can put your stone into - it definitely isn’t correctly representing the finished position of the worked bezel. i don’t think it was meant to. You wouldn’t be able to set your stone in, if it were.

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?

foiling like Georgian rings? They cannot get wet. you really cannot clean them. I wouldn’t suggest it for any daily wear ring.
if you mean like a enclosed back (metal cup or the like), if its not watertight - same thing. Water will get trapped and it won’t look that nice. Will be hard if not impossible to clean.
semi - enclosed cup/gallery will be much easier to maintain the more it’s open. Usually used to “close“ a windowed gem.

please elaborate on what affecting of the light from the center stone you both are wishing to obtain, as stated?

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?

typically yes, I wouldn’t aim to take a ring from one jeweler to another to set unless for much different reasons. Something happens and no one wants to be responsible to cover the loss. I have done this once and probably wouldn’t do it again - only for the reason of sending my center stone to the country the jeweler was in - was a complicated and seemingly sketchy carrier route. very much wrap it in an old rag with a trinket and cross fingers it makes it to where it needs to go.
im not aware (which means zip) if any jeweler would lower their set labor prices based on the status of it being a lab stone/more economical stone than thinking it’s based off a natural sapphires value. idk?

re: thinking your jewelers rate per bezel &per carat is way too much - I also cannot comment on. Have you seen their finished work in person? Some really really talented benches do deserve to charge higher, what their time and labor is worth to them. If the finished work doesn’t look super refined - well that’s a different story.
There’s jewelers out there who just plain can’t give you a scheduled rate chart per bezel & per carat. It takes as long as it takes, the jeweler has only a vague idea of how long it will take, and how much they will charge for labor, until it’s completely done.

if the final invoice cost is getting above what you are comfortable with (far enough above initial $$ estimate agreed upon before job was started) - have a discussion with the jeweler to find out alternatives before they commit more time and labor to this project.

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!

I’m sorry your original stone was lost in transit. That does suck.
i am also not aware of a Seattle based jeweler to recommend that might fit your needs better.
best wishes.

 

[zwheel94]

I think the renderings and plastic models look pretty close to some of your partners drawings (which look to me like a larger dome/bombe shape ring ) with the exception of the one drawn viewpoint from the top, that looks much slimmer than all the other of their drawings.
The drawings show various scale of leaves vs scroll, and it looks like they picked one and went with it.


it does look like a big bold ring. that in itself isn’t bad - but if it’s not what you want……

I think it definately could be made smaller - but I do see why the jeweler has designed what they have, by looking at your sketches and with out knowing any communications.

with the total depth of the center stone being 5.8mm deep, and with the one cad showing 8mm off the top of the finger as the height, it’d be a valid thought there is room to lower it. Narrow the shoulders as in the one drawing you’ve provided depicts, possibly as well.
you’ll want to ask how many cad revisions are included in your quote, and what may be changed as extras.


the “cage” concept is nothing I have any experience with nor have ever seen, so cannot comment. Looks like a debris trap, imo. Is the cage concept as what they show what your partner intended to convey? I can’t tell by the drawing. if I saw the drawing only, I would assume it was a faux bezel/cup with bead prongs set down in the cup..fwiw.
A bezel should be secure. And this looks like maybe it’s intended to be a partial bezel which still should be secure, by any jeweler who is experienced setting a stone in a bezel.
it may be that the cad doesn’t depict the actual finished bezel placement, and if the printed plastic model you can put your stone into - it definitely isn’t correctly representing the finished position of the worked bezel. i don’t think it was meant to. You wouldn’t be able to set your stone in, if it were.


foiling like Georgian rings? They cannot get wet. you really cannot clean them. I wouldn’t suggest it for any daily wear ring.
if you mean like a enclosed back (metal cup or the like), if its not watertight - same thing. Water will get trapped and it won’t look that nice. Will be hard if not impossible to clean.
semi - enclosed cup/gallery will be much easier to maintain the more it’s open. Usually used to “close“ a windowed gem.

please elaborate on what affecting of the light from the center stone you both are wishing to obtain, as stated?



typically yes, I wouldn’t aim to take a ring from one jeweler to another to set unless for much different reasons. Something happens and no one wants to be responsible to cover the loss. I have done this once and probably wouldn’t do it again - only for the reason of sending my center stone to the country the jeweler was in - was a complicated and seemingly sketchy carrier route. very much wrap it in an old rag with a trinket and cross fingers it makes it to where it needs to go.
im not aware (which means zip) if any jeweler would lower their set labor prices based on the status of it being a lab stone/more economical stone than thinking it’s based off a natural sapphires value. idk?

re: thinking your jewelers rate per bezel &per carat is way too much - I also cannot comment on. Have you seen their finished work in person? Some really really talented benches do deserve to charge higher, what their time and labor is worth to them. If the finished work doesn’t look super refined - well that’s a different story.
There’s jewelers out there who just plain can’t give you a scheduled rate chart per bezel & per carat. It takes as long as it takes, the jeweler has only a vague idea of how long it will take, and how much they will charge for labor, until it’s completely done.

if the final invoice cost is getting above what you are comfortable with (far enough above initial $$ estimate agreed upon before job was started) - have a discussion with the jeweler to find out alternatives before they commit more time and labor to this project.




I’m sorry your original stone was lost in transit. That does suck.
i am also not aware of a Seattle based jeweler to recommend that might fit your needs better.
best wishes.

Thank you so much for all of your input, its greatly appreciated!

Yeah, for the design being shrunk down, there was one point when we had it at 6.8 mm height total, but we only had the gem lowered as the jeweler said if we tried to shrink the details of the setting to match, it would look funny, so we went back to the 8.0 mm height simce it resembled the original design the most. We also asked them to pinch in the shoulders as much as they could while not removing any aspects of the original design, and the current draft was as narrow as they could make the shoulders without it looking weird.

For the foiling, she liked how the foil can reflect light that reaches the back of the gem basically to make it more pretty, but I shared what you said about the difficulty/impossibility to clean, so now we understand that and it doesnt seem like thatll be of interest anymore, as it is intended to be a daily wear ring.We're most likely going to do away with the "cage" and go with that bezel (which was intentionally omitted from that 3D print that we set our gem in)

Sticking with the one jeweler for setting the gem makes sense, and while I havent seen their work in person yet, their policy on reworking rings that dont turn out as expected seems pretty gracious, and theyve got hundreds of 5 star reviews and very few poor/average reviews, so its very possible their bench is really just that good and should earn that setting fee, but Ill at least ask about the lab gem value when I talk with them next!

 

[Soseattle]

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!

I am in the Seattle area also. Over the last year I have done a couple projects with Green Lake Jewelry Works and have been pleased with their design assistance and workmanship. I went to the Northgate store and they also have a store in Bellevue. https://www.greenlakejewelry.com/locations.aspx

 

[zwheel94]

I am in the Seattle area also. Over the last year I have done a couple projects with Green Lake Jewelry Works and have been pleased with their design assistance and workmanship. I went to the Northgate store and they also have a store in Bellevue. https://www.greenlakejewelry.com/locations.aspx

Thank you for the recommendation, Ill make sure to take a look at them!

 

[chrono]

they also have a store in Bellevue

I had a custom ring designed and made at the Greenlake Bellevue location.

 

[Cerulean]

Sholdt is also in Seattle!

Simply put, yes the ring looks quite bulky. I wouldn’t proceed if you’re unhappy with it.

Ditto the other comments - just do a classic bezel setting. Don’t foil the back, that will be impossible to maintain.

Sholdt:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

You can get an amazing amount of detail into a ring without it being bulky!

Look up Edwardian filigree rings or van craeynest - her design reminds me of them

 

[LilAlex]

Sparing no one's feelings, yes, it looks too bulky.

The problem I see is that the sketch of the head face-on (far right, in green in your image that I "stole" below) shows nice narrow shoulders that are only about the width of one "side" of the hexagon bezel, whereas the side views that show the actual shoulders (lower left sketch) depict it much wider than the entire stone. With that objective, and with the shoulders sloping straight down to the shank, it ends up with a massive look.

I think it has a Goth look and not a delicate one.

I would design the silhouette first and then work in the specific motifs; I think you have done the reverse.

 

[Rfisher]

Thank you so much for all of your input, its greatly appreciated!

Are you open to some cut/paste doodle ideas on your plastic model images? Throwing out ideas on how to keep your design but slim the body shape down a bit?

 

[Bianca201]

Jumping in on the Seattle piece - we have had great service at Lake Street Diamond Company in Kirkland. We had an engagement ring custom made there, and were super super high maintenance about the diamond, and the design. Ultimately they went to Pricescope to look at the HCA tool that I kept referencing, just so they could explain things to me as it related to that.

Home - Lake Street Diamond Company

Each piece of jewelry comes with a story. We take the time to listen. Your jewelry is a highly personal expression of your sense of style. Careful conversations with your jeweler are a must to ensure the style, stones, and design fit you and your lifestyle. Lake Street Diamond Company, located...

lakestreetdiamond.com

When you go in, if its for design related things - ask for Sam. We kind of consider him an artist.

We were just in there the other day talking about the design for my wedding band to go with my engagement ring. I showed him my idea for a wedding band, and he spent probably fifteen minutes talking through the design.... they could create the design, not a problem, but would it give the look and feel I actually want (he didn't think so), and we talked through various other options until we found a design that really did feel right. We are going in this week to look at the wax model just to be sure we are on the right track.

 

[LilAlex]

Jumping in on the Seattle piece

Missed that part. Turgeon-Raine is amazing. I have seen a bunch of their custom-made stuff. I think they sell some "lines" but their house-made stuff is lovely.

 

[zwheel94]

Are you open to some cut/paste doodle ideas on your plastic model images? Throwing out ideas on how to keep your design but slim the body shape down a bit?

Absolutely! Thank you so much, that would be super appreciated!

 

[zwheel94]

Sparing no one's feelings, yes, it looks too bulky.

The problem I see is that the sketch of the head face-on (far right, in green in your image that I "stole" below) shows nice narrow shoulders that are only about the width of one "side" of the hexagon bezel, whereas the side views that show the actual shoulders (lower left sketch) depict it much wider than the entire stone. With that objective, and with the shoulders sloping straight down to the shank, it ends up with a massive look.

I think it has a Goth look and not a delicate one.

I would design the silhouette first and then work in the specific motifs; I think you have done the reverse.

That makes a ton of sense, thank you so much! Ill talk with my partner about the "silhouette first" approach and get her thoughts on it!

 

[zwheel94]

Thank

Jumping in on the Seattle piece - we have had great service at Lake Street Diamond Company in Kirkland. We had an engagement ring custom made there, and were super super high maintenance about the diamond, and the design. Ultimately they went to Pricescope to look at the HCA tool that I kept referencing, just so they could explain things to me as it related to that.

Home - Lake Street Diamond Company

Each piece of jewelry comes with a story. We take the time to listen. Your jewelry is a highly personal expression of your sense of style. Careful conversations with your jeweler are a must to ensure the style, stones, and design fit you and your lifestyle. Lake Street Diamond Company, located...

lakestreetdiamond.com

When you go in, if its for design related things - ask for Sam. We kind of consider him an artist.

We were just in there the other day talking about the design for my wedding band to go with my engagement ring. I showed him my idea for a wedding band, and he spent probably fifteen minutes talking through the design.... they could create the design, not a problem, but would it give the look and feel I actually want (he didn't think so), and we talked through various other options until we found a design that really did feel right. We are going in this week to look at the wax model just to be sure we are on the right track.

Thank you so much for the recommendation, thats really helpful! If we get in touch with them, we'll definitely ask for Sam!

 

[zwheel94]

Sholdt is also in Seattle!

Simply put, yes the ring looks quite bulky. I wouldn’t proceed if you’re unhappy with it.

Ditto the other comments - just do a classic bezel setting. Don’t foil the back, that will be impossible to maintain.

Sholdt:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

You can get an amazing amount of detail into a ring without it being bulky!

Look up Edwardian filigree rings or van craeynest - her design reminds me of them

Thank you so much for those recommendations on the ring examples and about Sholdt, its very much appreciated!

 

[zwheel94]

Missed that part. Turgeon-Raine is amazing. I have seen a bunch of their custom-made stuff. I think they sell some "lines" but their house-made stuff is lovely.

Ill take a look to find some examples of their work, thank you so much!

 

[zwheel94]

I had a custom ring designed and made at the Greenlake Bellevue location.

Were you happy with the quality of their work and how it was working with them?

 

[zwheel94]

Also, my partner suggested that I mention that when we asked the jeweler what we could do to reduce the overall bulkiness, and if we could just make some things smaller, they said they wouldnt really be able to make the ring smaller without either removing elements, or without it looking weird and stretched (like if you dragged a photo horizontally). Does it look like the design could realistically be made smaller without removing designs or it looking weird, or what are your thoughts?

 

[chrono]

Greenlake has an amazing showroom where you can see their custom work to decide whether their esthetics fall in line with yours. I always look at actual work done by the bench before deciding whether to go custom with the shop to see the detail, fluidity, style, etc meshes with mine.

They are attentive to detail and I am pleased with the end result. They are pricier than other shops I've work with though.

As for your design, I agree with @LilAlex to start the design from the ground up again. This time, start with the silhouette you want (slim and tapered towards the stone), then build in the elements (leaf, etc) you want. This will allow keep the ring reasonable in size, have some (probably not all) the wanted elements, and not have it out of proportion.

 

[zwheel94]

Greenlake has an amazing showroom where you can see their custom work to decide whether their esthetics fall in line with yours. I always look at actual work done by the bench before deciding whether to go custom with the shop to see the detail, fluidity, style, etc meshes with mine.

They are attentive to detail and I am pleased with the end result. They are pricier than other shops I've work with though.

As for your design, I agree with @LilAlex to start the design from the ground up again. This time, start with the silhouette you want (slim and tapered towards the stone), then build in the elements (leaf, etc) you want. This will allow keep the ring reasonable in size, have some (probably not all) the wanted elements, and not have it out of proportion.

Thats fantastic to hear about their showroom, and I totally agree that its best practice to look at the work before committing to a jeweler, and I wish I had asked for help on finding a jeweler before starting this process, but itll work out, and Id much rather have the design process take a while rather than pick out a ring myself that she wouldnt like!

Also, I just talked with my partner about the silhouette vs details topic, and she said that what she'd want is for the spirit of her design to be in the final ring. She also reiterated that she doesnt have any experience with designing a 3D object like this, so when she drew her design, her intent was to have the jeweler see what she wanted, but keep it slim and not look like a Superbowl ring. She did also just mention that if one or two elements have to be cut out, its okay as long as the spirit of the ring remains, but with our current jeweler, its been a frustrating process because it doesnt feel like the person we're working with is able to capture the spirit at all

 

[Cerulean]

Thats fantastic to hear about their showroom, and I totally agree that its best practice to look at the work before committing to a jeweler, and I wish I had asked for help on finding a jeweler before starting this process, but itll work out, and Id much rather have the design process take a while rather than pick out a ring myself that she wouldnt like!

Also, I just talked with my partner about the silhouette vs details topic, and she said that what she'd want is for the spirit of her design to be in the final ring. She also reiterated that she doesnt have any experience with designing a 3D object like this, so when she drew her design, her intent was to have the jeweler see what she wanted, but keep it slim and not look like a Superbowl ring. She did also just mention that if one or two elements have to be cut out, its okay as long as the spirit of the ring remains, but with our current jeweler, its been a frustrating process because it doesnt feel like the person we're working with is able to capture the spirit at all

This is where hiring a good designer is essential, especially for a unique design. I think green lake seems like a great fit honestly

 

[Rfisher]

Also, my partner suggested that I mention that when we asked the jeweler what we could do to reduce the overall bulkiness, and if we could just make some things smaller, they said they wouldnt really be able to make the ring smaller without either removing elements, or without it looking weird and stretched (like if you dragged a photo horizontally). Does it look like the design could realistically be made smaller without removing designs or it looking weird, or what are your thoughts?

I do agree with Chrono and LilAlex that it’s probably for the better to start from scratch on a new cad. Whether the same jeweler or a different one.
GreenLake has a few in their custom gallery images on their website that I think has the same shape and level of detail you are wanting - it’s a great opportunity that you are located near them to go visit to see what’s available what you can see in person.

that being said - what I’ve done here isn’t an ‘exact‘ example to produce off of, as there are major liberties taken and won’t work irl ‘as is’ - but gives the idea of what can (or could) be done with the existing cad. the same concept shown in a couple different ways:







warping is an ‘easy’ fix in the design program to make changes, but you might lose detail as they mentioned or have things look smooshed or stretched. I think they’ll have to start over in their program to prevent that.
that is if your current vendor wants to. They may have very solid ideas on what proportions their projects needs to be. ive seen Instagram accounts of jewelers that every single ring they do is the size of the ring you have shown. It’s their thing to do so and I wouldnt push that type of vendor to deviate. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t want to, because they followed your sketches pretty darn well. Hopefully they are open to moving forward with you to the end result you and your partner really do envision and will be thrilled with, in the end. If not - know when to cut ties and hopefully amicably.

Don’t feel pressured to take a Super Bowl ring if that’s not what you want.

 

[zwheel94]

This is where hiring a good designer is essential, especially for a unique design. I think green lake seems like a great fit honestly

Green Lake really does seem like a great fit, and one of tbeor designers Rebecca P was actually the designer who created a ring that our design used for inspiration!

 

[zwheel94]

I do agree with Chrono and LilAlex that it’s probably for the better to start from scratch on a new cad. Whether the same jeweler or a different one.
GreenLake has a few in their custom gallery images on their website that I think has the same shape and level of detail you are wanting - it’s a great opportunity that you are located near them to go visit to see what’s available what you can see in person.

that being said - what I’ve done here isn’t an ‘exact‘ example to produce off of, as there are major liberties taken and won’t work irl ‘as is’ - but gives the idea of what can (or could) be done with the existing cad. the same concept shown in a couple different ways:







warping is an ‘easy’ fix in the design program to make changes, but you might lose detail as they mentioned or have things look smooshed or stretched. I think they’ll have to start over in their program to prevent that.
that is if your current vendor wants to. They may have very solid ideas on what proportions their projects needs to be. ive seen Instagram accounts of jewelers that every single ring they do is the size of the ring you have shown. It’s their thing to do so and I wouldnt push that type of vendor to deviate. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t want to, because they followed your sketches pretty darn well. Hopefully they are open to moving forward with you to the end result you and your partner really do envision and will be thrilled with, in the end. If not - know when to cut ties and hopefully amicably.

Don’t feel pressured to take a Super Bowl ring if that’s not what you want.

Thank you so much for sharing those edits, Ill share them with my partner and get her thoughts, vut I feel like shell like that direction you took it in! I really really appreciate you taking the time to do that!

 

[Soseattle]

Green Lake really does seem like a great fit, and one of tbeor designers Rebecca P was actually the designer who created a ring that our design used for inspiration!

Rebecca was the designer I worked with. I enjoyed working with her and appreciated her input while coming up with designs.

 

[zwheel94]

Rebecca was the designer I worked with. I enjoyed working with her and appreciated her input while coming up with designs.

That's fantastic to hear, thank you so much for the recommendation!

 

[zwheel94]

Just to update here, I met with my current designer, and I think the fact that we only communicated via their website and never met face to face before this was really hindering the process, as we were able to make a ton of progress and slim down the ring quite a bit (we changed the gem to be "East West" instead, and even with the rough draft he put together in 5 minutes, it looks much better and much less like a Superbowl ring. He said he should have a prettier CAD draft ready by the end of the week, so once thats available, Ill post it here! Again, thank you all so much for your help, its been so hugely appreciated!

 

[zwheel94]

Just to update here, I met with my current designer, and I think the fact that we only communicated via their website and never met face to face before this was really hindering the process, as we were able to make a ton of progress and slim down the ring quite a bit (we changed the gem to be "East West" instead, and even with the rough draft he put together in 5 minutes, it looks much better and much less like a Superbowl ring. He said he should have a prettier CAD draft ready by the end of the week, so once thats available, Ill post it here! Again, thank you all so much for your help, its been so hugely appreciated!

Here are the revisions, including some side by side with the old design for reference! If you have thoughts to share, Id love to hear!

 

[Mreader]

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