I have (at least for now) settled on sapphire engagement ring because (1) I am anti-diamond in part for political reasons, but mainly it irks me that the price is artificially high due to manipulation of supply; (2) I want a hard stone that''ll last, and sapphires the next best to diamond; and (3) I like the variety of colors sapphire offers. Not having found what I want on the internet (after many hours of searching), I am considering designing my own. What I have pictured in my mind may just suck as an engagement ring idea, so I''d like feedback, good or bad.
My idea is a light yellow (champagne) colored sapphire center stone, around 1 carat. The ones I''ve seen look like they''d make a very elegant alternative to diamond. Something like that:
http://awesomegems.com/gems3/gs3148.jpg
I''m thinking around a carat, or even less, because my lady is petite and has small hands and does not wear much jewelry, so I want something not too big.
On either side, I''m thinking of having a different colored gemstone, channel or trillion. I''m thinking also sapphire for hardness, but maybe that''s less important for the side stones. The colors would be light teal on one side and light purple / lavender on the other.
The light teal (icy blue green) I have in mind is like so:
http://www.geocities.com/nitestones/Store/ds07917.JPG
and light lavender is like so:
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/images/Unique/U2565_1.jpg
I''d want these to be running toward the lighter shades so they do not appear too heavy compared to the main stone. Also, I think it is important they are each as close to each other in darkness as possible (despite the fact they are different colors) to help with balance. The reason for the colores sidestones is that we have 2 children, a boy and girl, and the colors I''ve selected seem a bit more interesting than, say, blue and pink (we have a teal and lavender tapestry that we love). Also, my lady is kind of a hippy / free spirit who likes color.
My concern is still that two different colors on either side of the main stone may be too unbalanced, no matter how I try to coordinate the shades. I thought a channel setting would be a way to de-emphasize the colors as opposed to sidestones. The bottom line is, I''d like it to look something like an engagement ring, not costume jewelry, and I wonder if the hard truth is doing three different colors on one ring will always look more like the latter than the former.
Assuming I get over that issue, I am not firmly decided on the setting. First, I''m on the fence on metal. I had been gung-ho originally about platinum, but I''ve been seeing some yellow gold tones that seemed very warm and I''m worried platinum may be too cold. I guess I''d ideally like a jeweler who could do some kind of mock up in each metal shade so I could get an idea what I like best.
Finally, we come to setting style, which is maybe the toughest choice of all. She''s a classic / antique / vintage type girl. Nothing too big or flashy, but simple -- a liittle filigree or other subtle detail might be nice (though I think less is probably more if I''m having 2 different colored sidestones). She also works with her hands. For her to really want to wear the ring a lot, I think the stones should not catch easily or scratch things. So I''m thinking the stones should be set close to the ring, not jutting up, even possibly some kind of setting into the frame of the ring. Is "bezel" the term for that? I''ll assume it is. If there were a bezel set main stone of about a carat and either bezel set sidestones of about half that on either side, or channels on either side, I think that might work. The trick would be for the setting to not be too thick. I''ve seen a few bezel''s that appears very feminine, I think, but others look like men''s rings.
I also wonder -- does the bezel setting block too much light, so the stone looks less appealing? If so, maybe a partial bezel (?) would be better, where the stone sits up just a bit, but not enough to catch on stuff.
Anyway, as you can see, I''m not completely settled. However, I think I do need advice. Can this sort of project be done for under $2,000? If not, what''s the minimum I''d be spending to get something like this? Would it help to use cheaper side gemstones and cheaper ring metal (i.e., 14k gold rather than platinum) or does this kind of personalized design always cost more than that no matter what materials are used? Do I have a clear enough vision to take to a jeweler? Do people have recommendations on reasonably priced, but talented, jewelers who could take an idea like this and run with it? Do people have recommendations on the type of metal or whether other gemstones besides sapphire might make more sense?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks for reading,
Frinj
My idea is a light yellow (champagne) colored sapphire center stone, around 1 carat. The ones I''ve seen look like they''d make a very elegant alternative to diamond. Something like that:
http://awesomegems.com/gems3/gs3148.jpg
I''m thinking around a carat, or even less, because my lady is petite and has small hands and does not wear much jewelry, so I want something not too big.
On either side, I''m thinking of having a different colored gemstone, channel or trillion. I''m thinking also sapphire for hardness, but maybe that''s less important for the side stones. The colors would be light teal on one side and light purple / lavender on the other.
The light teal (icy blue green) I have in mind is like so:
http://www.geocities.com/nitestones/Store/ds07917.JPG
and light lavender is like so:
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/images/Unique/U2565_1.jpg
I''d want these to be running toward the lighter shades so they do not appear too heavy compared to the main stone. Also, I think it is important they are each as close to each other in darkness as possible (despite the fact they are different colors) to help with balance. The reason for the colores sidestones is that we have 2 children, a boy and girl, and the colors I''ve selected seem a bit more interesting than, say, blue and pink (we have a teal and lavender tapestry that we love). Also, my lady is kind of a hippy / free spirit who likes color.
My concern is still that two different colors on either side of the main stone may be too unbalanced, no matter how I try to coordinate the shades. I thought a channel setting would be a way to de-emphasize the colors as opposed to sidestones. The bottom line is, I''d like it to look something like an engagement ring, not costume jewelry, and I wonder if the hard truth is doing three different colors on one ring will always look more like the latter than the former.
Assuming I get over that issue, I am not firmly decided on the setting. First, I''m on the fence on metal. I had been gung-ho originally about platinum, but I''ve been seeing some yellow gold tones that seemed very warm and I''m worried platinum may be too cold. I guess I''d ideally like a jeweler who could do some kind of mock up in each metal shade so I could get an idea what I like best.
Finally, we come to setting style, which is maybe the toughest choice of all. She''s a classic / antique / vintage type girl. Nothing too big or flashy, but simple -- a liittle filigree or other subtle detail might be nice (though I think less is probably more if I''m having 2 different colored sidestones). She also works with her hands. For her to really want to wear the ring a lot, I think the stones should not catch easily or scratch things. So I''m thinking the stones should be set close to the ring, not jutting up, even possibly some kind of setting into the frame of the ring. Is "bezel" the term for that? I''ll assume it is. If there were a bezel set main stone of about a carat and either bezel set sidestones of about half that on either side, or channels on either side, I think that might work. The trick would be for the setting to not be too thick. I''ve seen a few bezel''s that appears very feminine, I think, but others look like men''s rings.
I also wonder -- does the bezel setting block too much light, so the stone looks less appealing? If so, maybe a partial bezel (?) would be better, where the stone sits up just a bit, but not enough to catch on stuff.
Anyway, as you can see, I''m not completely settled. However, I think I do need advice. Can this sort of project be done for under $2,000? If not, what''s the minimum I''d be spending to get something like this? Would it help to use cheaper side gemstones and cheaper ring metal (i.e., 14k gold rather than platinum) or does this kind of personalized design always cost more than that no matter what materials are used? Do I have a clear enough vision to take to a jeweler? Do people have recommendations on reasonably priced, but talented, jewelers who could take an idea like this and run with it? Do people have recommendations on the type of metal or whether other gemstones besides sapphire might make more sense?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks for reading,
Frinj
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