Hi everyone,
thanks for the help so far with the spinel setting project. I have it down to 3 settings--2 at a B&M and one Heart of Water.
I have a question about setting materials. my stone needs a white metal to look it's best--too much YG brought out the yellow/orange modifiers in the spinel, whereas the white metals/and or/sidestones make it pop. This has been the general opinion from everyone I have talked to at B&Ms when we have tried settings (and I've been to about four of them this week).
I own almost no white gold--I don't generally care for it because of the replating that always needs done. To me, if I'm spending that much, it shouldn't need so much maintenance. IN fact, I only have two white gold pieces--one was given to me. My other pieces are silver if they are white. I love YG for it's warmth and low maintenance, most of my stuff is that, but this stone really needs a white setting. Platinum I actually love, but that is way too expensive right now. I have read on here about palladium but never seen or used it before.
I wouldn't mind the 14K WG if we were going to be staying in the area--the jeweler told me the price included all maintenance including dipping and sizing without purchasing an additional warranty or anything like that (it was not a "maul" jeweler btw). But we are moving overseas in five months and so I'd have to pay for the dipping each time, which I really don't want to do. I don't know how fast my skin would take it off because I only have two pieces so far--one was poor quality to begin with, and the other is a pearl so I only wear it for a few hours at a time.
What are the pros and cons between palladium, silver, and WG? If I were to just let the rhodium wear off, would it look too yellow? I'm especially interested in palladium.
Questions:
1. Can anyone post pics of it?
2. *BIG ONE* CAN it be resized? Is it brittle?
3. Why don't many manufacturers make things in silver? Will it not hold the jewelry as well? I have a beautiful piece in silver I had made last year and it's still a bright white, with little maintenance outside of my polishing cloth. Why is it "looked down" upon in the jewelry world--is it really "inferior" for holding stones, etc or is it just because it's not as expensive and people think it's "cheap?"
4. Would you recommend palladium if you were moving overseas vs. white gold? Forgive my ignorance--but is it well known outside the USA? Can jewelers work with it? We have some great local jewelers here, but I don't know what we'll find outside of that, or how much more it might cost to have it plated every time in a different country (Germany) where cost of living is significantly higher than it is here.
5. Or, would you save up for platinum? I could get a plain Tiffany style solitaire for about $600 from Blue Nile or find a used setting on Ebay perhaps. I'm considering this route. I'm planning on a plain solitaire probably, but I would prefer to keep prices around $450 or less. The two quotes I had for WG setting were around this price at my B&M, because they are having a sale.
thanks for the help so far with the spinel setting project. I have it down to 3 settings--2 at a B&M and one Heart of Water.
I have a question about setting materials. my stone needs a white metal to look it's best--too much YG brought out the yellow/orange modifiers in the spinel, whereas the white metals/and or/sidestones make it pop. This has been the general opinion from everyone I have talked to at B&Ms when we have tried settings (and I've been to about four of them this week).
I own almost no white gold--I don't generally care for it because of the replating that always needs done. To me, if I'm spending that much, it shouldn't need so much maintenance. IN fact, I only have two white gold pieces--one was given to me. My other pieces are silver if they are white. I love YG for it's warmth and low maintenance, most of my stuff is that, but this stone really needs a white setting. Platinum I actually love, but that is way too expensive right now. I have read on here about palladium but never seen or used it before.
I wouldn't mind the 14K WG if we were going to be staying in the area--the jeweler told me the price included all maintenance including dipping and sizing without purchasing an additional warranty or anything like that (it was not a "maul" jeweler btw). But we are moving overseas in five months and so I'd have to pay for the dipping each time, which I really don't want to do. I don't know how fast my skin would take it off because I only have two pieces so far--one was poor quality to begin with, and the other is a pearl so I only wear it for a few hours at a time.
What are the pros and cons between palladium, silver, and WG? If I were to just let the rhodium wear off, would it look too yellow? I'm especially interested in palladium.
Questions:
1. Can anyone post pics of it?
2. *BIG ONE* CAN it be resized? Is it brittle?
3. Why don't many manufacturers make things in silver? Will it not hold the jewelry as well? I have a beautiful piece in silver I had made last year and it's still a bright white, with little maintenance outside of my polishing cloth. Why is it "looked down" upon in the jewelry world--is it really "inferior" for holding stones, etc or is it just because it's not as expensive and people think it's "cheap?"
4. Would you recommend palladium if you were moving overseas vs. white gold? Forgive my ignorance--but is it well known outside the USA? Can jewelers work with it? We have some great local jewelers here, but I don't know what we'll find outside of that, or how much more it might cost to have it plated every time in a different country (Germany) where cost of living is significantly higher than it is here.
5. Or, would you save up for platinum? I could get a plain Tiffany style solitaire for about $600 from Blue Nile or find a used setting on Ebay perhaps. I'm considering this route. I'm planning on a plain solitaire probably, but I would prefer to keep prices around $450 or less. The two quotes I had for WG setting were around this price at my B&M, because they are having a sale.
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