Sapphire e-ring - advice needed

[JustinNelligan]

Hi guys, glad I found this forum, finding the ideal ring on my own was way too hard, but I got some good hints from various threads around here already

I found the exact setting I want, but it seems it's only sold by Brilliant Earth. I get the vibe that they overprice their rings / stones based on the 'ethical' banner, which is as I understand it the case for any reputed jeweler nowadays anyway. Anyone have positive / negative experience with them? They already sent me many pictures of the ring from many angles, but I can't justify the total price with a 1ct heated sapphire from what I've seen around.

The setting is there: http://www.brilliantearth.com/Sapphire-Cressida-Diamond-Ring-White-Gold-BE1U168-SB6RD/

I would like to know if it would be possible for some jeweler to reproduce the exact same setting so I can use a custom stone bought from a reputed gem cutter (I've been hearing many good things about Jeff White).

The Natural Sapphire company said they could reproduce the setting for about 1200$ in 18k gold. From reading around I know many people around here don't like them, but mainly for issues I don't really care about (duplicated photos of gem pairs). I however really like the fact that I can see the stones on their site with videos and 3D scans. Are they a good / fairly priced source of unheated sapphires? I don't really insist on unheated, as long as it looks gorgeous I'm looking for something similar to athenaworth's stone ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/so-glad-i-kept-the-jeff-white-sapphire-its-insanely-gorg.162093/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/so-glad-i-kept-the-jeff-white-sapphire-its-insanely-gorg.162093/[/URL]).

Budget is around 3k total, timeframe around 3 months max. Currently living in Switzerland.

 

[cookies]

WildFishGems will be an awesome place to look at for unheated & untreated natural sapphires. They have some precision cut ones too. I believe they could do custom too.
http://www.wildfishgems.com/gemstones

If you want your sapphire precision/custom cut in US, Jeff White will be a very good choice.

There are also other talented cutters in US. Gene at PrecisionGem.com cuts very beautiful stones. His "Jua round" design is amazing, and here is the link to a montana sapphire he cut in this design for a PSer:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/periwinkle-blue-montana-sapphire-engagement-ring.170046/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/periwinkle-blue-montana-sapphire-engagement-ring.170046/[/URL]

Barry at ACStones.com also cuts amazing gems. I love his "Supernoa oval" and "Paradise round" stones. If you do a quick search on PS for his name, you will see a lot of PSers bought his pretties. Here is the link to his custom gem page:
http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=139

As for doing an exact copy of the setting you like -- I am sure some jewelers will do it, some might refuse, and others might want to tweak it a bit due to either ethical reason or esthetic reason or both -- I think the setting you found is beautiful, but it's possible that some jewelers might disagree with me..

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I bought my sapphire from Richard Homer who is an award-winning gem cutter, and I think his would be really beautiful in the style setting you want. I think we can find that setting elsewhere, but it might take some looking. (My sapphire is in my avatar picture.) Since sapphires need more weight to equal the size of a diamond, I would recommend trying to look for a 6.5mm sapphire if you want the look of a one carat diamond. That means you'll be looking at greater than 1 carat sapphires (1.25-1.5 carats approximately). The sapphire in my picture is 6.6mm, and I wouldn't want smaller than that for an e-ring.

http://www.concavegems.com/query3.cfm?yVarieties=Sapphire&ySpecies=Corundum

Here are a few pages of that general style e-ring:

http://www.gabrielny.com/engaged/styles/engaged/1?style=Bypass

 

[movie zombie]

Cookie gave great advice.
congrats on knowing what you want!

 

[aviastar]

Just a thought about that mounting- it will need a contoured wedding band if she wants to a) wear a band and b) wants it to sit flush. Might be nice to start with a custom setter who can do both for you so they will fit together well.

The sticky thread of vendors at the top of the forum has a whole list of custom setters people here have used- a good place to start!

It's a really pretty shape and I love sapphires for e-rings; congrats!

 

[JustinNelligan]

Thanks for all the advice - I've been looking at many other similar settings (some from links contributed in this thread) but they are not exactly what I'm looking for. In particular, those from GabrielNY are too complicated, with another bypass underneath the diamond pave.

The idea is that my girlfriend was raised in a house by the sea, and she really misses it. The ring is meant to evoke the idea of the sea, with waves coming out of it. The design from BrilliantEarth really flows and fits this idea perfectly - however, they insist on using stones from their shop.

You guys have any ideas on what to search for on Google for that kind of design? 'Bypass' seems to be one related to it, but not exactly.

 

[FrekeChild]

The Natural Sapphire company said they could reproduce the setting for about 1200$ in 18k gold. From reading around I know many people around here don't like them, but mainly for issues I don't really care about (duplicated photos of gem pairs). I however really like the fact that I can see the stones on their site with videos and 3D scans. Are they a good / fairly priced source of unheated sapphires? I don't really insist on unheated, as long as it looks gorgeous I'm looking for something similar to athenaworth's stone ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/so-glad-i-kept-the-jeff-white-sapphire-its-insanely-gorg.162093/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/so-glad-i-kept-the-jeff-white-sapphire-its-insanely-gorg.162093/[/URL]).

Budget is around 3k total, timeframe around 3 months max. Currently living in Switzerland.

You can get a nicer stone than what Brilliant Earth has in that setting.

As for Natural Sapphire Company, I think their company sucks (not just duplicated photos of gem pairs) and their stock is over priced. Their stones are windowed (see right through, NO sparkle), as well as many other cut flaws, they are less than the best you can get. I think you can get

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...-Bypass-Pave-Set-Diamond-Engagement-Ring.html

Different, but similar wave-influenced designs:
http://www.krikawa.com/jewelry/body-of-work/details.aspx?style=164

http://www.krikawa.com/jewelry/body-of-work/details.aspx?style=3

http://www.krikawa.com/jewelry/body-of-work/details.aspx?style=173

I've seen that design somewhere, but I can't remember where right now. I'll think on it.

 

[JustinNelligan]

Thanks FrekeChild, those are close but I found something even closer:

http://www.gemvara.com/Round-Diamond-Sterling-Silver-Ring-by-Gemvara-Essentials/jewelry/v/2235359/?utm_source=become&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=feed&gm_sc=RXDVNB

Sadly, they do not sell the setting only Is it some general trend in the industry?

 

[JustinNelligan]

Victory Zoara has the exact same design and sells the setting only if need be

http://www.zoara.com/engagement/rings/p_pave_swirl_diamond_side_stone_ring#similar-products

My eyes are bleeding from looking at literally 10000 designs across many websites - finally, a search for 'diamond pave swirl ring' on thefind.com did it!

Now, 14k gold, 18k gold or platinum? I would tend to go for platinum as it should be more resistant to damage?

 

[chrono]

Have you already found the stone? If not, you better start now because finding the right stone is 99999999999999% more difficult than finding the right setting.

Metal decision
Pros and cons of platinum versus white gold, including picture comparison
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/engagement-rings/platinum-vs-white-gold
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-vs-white-gold.147732/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-vs-white-gold.147732/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-palladium-or-palladium-wg.146304/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-palladium-or-palladium-wg.146304/[/URL]