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Setting heights?

ErinnM34

ErinnM34

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
58
I've seen many mentions of having a diamond "set as low as possible" or "high" settings, but I'm wondering if those terms translate into general mm? I'm trying to decide how high I want my diamond set, and currently the CAD shows 7 mm- would this be considered low, average, or high? FWIW, I prefer a higher setting, and it's a cathedral.
 
depends - what is the depth of the stone, and what shape is it?
 
you're definitely gonna get your wish for a high setting, the culet 3mm off the finger will be significant!
 
Thank you for your help! The CAD's don't make it look all that high-do you think it's too much?
 
Mine is 7mm. It's a bit up there. The cathedral helps it not get in the way though. 3mm off the finger is super high, IMO -- I'd shoot for 1mm space between the top of the band bridge (the part of the band between the cathedral airlines) and the diamond. So 6mm in your case. Assuming 1mm band height in that section, 2mm of air space is a lot! I'd go for no higher off the band than the band is thick -- visually.

I have a friend who has a 1.1cm high setting (but it's a 2ct diamond). Now that thing, it can take your eye out for sure.
 
Here is the CAD- for some reason, I don't see the culet shown, maybe that's normal in a CAD??? I don't think there is actually 3 mm of empty space between where the culet would be, but now I've looked at this thing so hard my eyes are almost crossed. I think when I counted the first time, I was including the band height and maybe I shouldn't be? If anyone has any thought, let me know- and THANK YOU for all the help so far :)
 

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I think it looks nice :) there certainly looks to be a good amount of 'space' below the diamond.
 
The culet is underneath the basket. They may have put it there intentionally to "protect" the culet. If you want it set lower, you'll have to tell them to lower the basket too.

Right now, the CAD makes it look like the diamond is sitting in a basket in prongs that extend way beyond the cathedral shank. FWIW, if the basket joins with the cathedral shank at the top of the basket bar (right now, it is joined at the bottom of the basket bar), I think that will get you a visually appealing height. What's the point in a cathedral (I ask you) if the prongs stick above the cathedral shank by that much?
 
With the stone being 4 mm deep, per the scale on their CAD, I'd think the tip would be showing underneath the basket bar. I see your point about the cathedral shoulders, I'm going to go pull out my inspiration pics and see how they were done!
 
Looking at the profile shots a wedding ring will not sit flush to the E ring because of the basket prongs anyways. Height will mearly be a look thing since its not actually providing clearance. I agree with antelope that you will likely get a more flowing aesthetic by lowering the basket to align the top of the basket with the top of the cathedral. If you want it to stay high you may want to raise the cathedral portion.

The girdle and crown of the stone sits higher than the basket itself so there is a good chance you may not see the culet in its current form. Im pretty sure that the CAD designer had an oppertunity to enter the stone height when making this drawing so its probley fairly accurate to what you will see. If seeing the culet is important to you then you should discuss this with BGD and ensure you will be able to.
 
Here is the inspiration pic-except my shank has pave. I think I prefer the pave cathedral shoulders to stop below the bar- that way, the pave isn't right next to my center stone, but now I am googling every cathedral I can find to get more ideas :) Thanks for the opinions & feedback!

file.jpg
 
Remember that they design CADs with a little extra metal - everywhere, not just in the prongs like it says in the email ::)


So if you asked for the stone table to sit 7mm above the finger, what you see in the CAD is a conservative rendering of how much space you will see between the doughnut and the bottom of the culet: once they file that metal down and polish it rounded there will appear to be even more space.


I'm definitely not in the how-low-can-you-go camp, but it's a bit too high for me, given the size of the stone. I personally find making a square of the centerstone & head to be most appealing - so if a stone is 6mm in diametre as seen in the 'side view' or 'through the finger', I like it set so that the table is 6mm off the finger. Some deeper shapes - cushions, asschers, inherently require this 'squaring' of setting..
 
I consider 5mm to be low...almost like an antique 1920's-40's ring...you know how the settings/ illusion settings were lower back then?

I don't like anything below 7 or 8. I think 8mm is my maximum, higher than that can be pretty/ showy/ wow looking, but tends to snag on sweaters and stuff imho.

MyDiamondSparkles
 
Thanks everyone! It has certainly given me more things to think about & new ways to looks at this. This is our first design,so it's been nerve-wracking ;)
 
ErinnM34|1292687579|2800335 said:
Thanks everyone! It has certainly given me more things to think about & new ways to looks at this. This is our first design,so it's been nerve-wracking ;)
Click to expand...

Your ideas thus far sound great. I'm really looking forward to seeing your finished product.

God luck with the rest of the project. I'm certain you'll enjoy every step of it. I enjoyed it when I did my design.
 
Thanks IceExplorer! I'm looking forward to seeing it, too :naughty:
 
One thing to keep in mind too, is that the cathedral shoulders give the illusion of the diamond being set a little bit lower. Picture the head without the shoulders and it stands out much more. It's still set pretty high but I think it's just the illusion of the setting style that gives you the impression that it's not set high enough.
 
Great point! I pulled out my ruler & spent some time this weekend trying on some fashion rings I have, one of which is cathedral and is set at 7 mm, and I really like the height!
 
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