Setting a round sapphire for under $800 possible?

[lifeisgood]

Hi all,

This a great forum and I appreciate any responses. Given the current metal prices, is it even possible to find a nice, non-engagement looking WG or palladium setting for a 5mmish sapphire for under $800. I posted previously on finding a sapphire/diamond band, and am exploring doing a ring with a single sapphire instead so I can have more of a say on the quality of the sapphire. Before I go this route, I am concerned that I won''t have any money left to set the stone. Any advice? Thanks.

 

[neatfreak]

Sure it''s possible but it depends on a few things.

1. Is the stone calibrated? If not, it might not fit in a majority of stock settings, which is important because customization will raise the price considerably.

2. Do you want a lot of diamonds or detail? Obviously the more of this you want the more it will cost.

But there are certainly settings out there for less than that. Mine wasn''t that much more than that.

 

[desertgem]

Besides being calibrated ( or very close ), the pavilion cut is also a determining factor. If it is a "diamond" or "American" cut ( as opposed to native or bellied cut for weight, as most standard calibrated settings are designed for the former cuts and the stone may not be able to set in the basket without a lot of "fashioning", either of the setting or stone (recut). If all aspects are optimal, there are many selections available for the person or jeweler to choose from, with and without side stones. Sometimes I have ordered the silver variety to "test" how much variation I can get away with in mounting before I order gold. Several times ( more than I expected ) they asked to keep the silver mount as they had financial insufficiency.

Jim

 

[lifeisgood]

Thanks for your replies. I don''t have the stone yet as I''m going to the shop to see them in person. From a phone conversation, availability in my budget includes a 4.8 mm sapphire, a 5.3mm sapphire, some smaller rounds and a couple of ovals. I want to get the best color/cut stone possible, but don''t want to spend all my $$ so I can''t set the stone for a year. (Although I realize lots of people do this, I''m an instant gratification kind of jewelry buyer.)

Neatfreak, thanks for posting your sapphire setting experience. Your sapphire is divine and must be so fun and distracting to look at. I know diamonds usually add to the cost of mountings, so I am keeping that in mind. Stock settings may be hard to do with some of the non calibrated measurements, but maybe a good jeweler can advise me.

Jim, thanks for your advice about settings and calibration. I really don''t want to set the stone in a temp mounting so I''ll have to do some searching or save up my cash.

I''ll keep you posted. I should be able to see the stones sometime in April. Thanks for all your help.

 

[beaujolais]

James Allen gave me nice price quotes on a pendant mounting. You may want to look into them for your ring.

 

[swimmer]

OK, so I totally know nothing about setting stones...but here is a WG Tacori setting, and there are a few on here, for 800 is that total sacrilege? To take out the cz obviously and replace it with your stone? At least its proof that there are nice $800 settings out there... With the price of metals so high, I bet vintage or closeouts might be a cheap, but difficult to set way...unless your jeweler can set a new head? Mmmm, its just the cold medicine talking. Good luck.