Stone dilemma

[snowc]

I have a stone in a ring I want to replace. It is an 8mm aqua and it has a large window. I am thinking of replacing it with a 7.2mm aqua. that doesn''t have a window. Is the difference going to be huge between the two sizes? I love the largeness of the stone but I hate the window. Should I keep it or replace it with the smaller stone? The reason I can''t get an 8mm stone is because if it is cut without a window, it is too deep to fit in my prongs.

 

[Liane]

8mm to 7mm is a noticeable difference. I suspect it might be easier to fit a smaller stone into a setting made for a bigger one than vice versa, but that''s just a random guess; I really don''t know the answer.

Can you post a picture of the setting? That might help some of the jewelers here give you a more informed opinion.

 

[snowc]

It is actually on my ering. it is not a huge gaping window, but one none the less... First gemstone purchased didn''t even know what a window was at the time. I guess my real issue is if it will look a lot smaller and if anyone has any examples of those sizes. I wear a size 8 btw

 

[Kismet]

I can''t really tell from the picture but it looks like a standard 4 prong head? If so, I''m guessing your jeweler could replace the head to fit a deeper stone so you could get a big stone and no window. Win win!

 

[snowc]

It is a 4 prong head. Do you know off hand how much a new head would be? I have a tiffany head replica in the ring now. I can''t remember how much the man charged me for it. I know he did a great job on building the ring and he charges low prices for labor.

 

[Kismet]

I just had this done but I don''t recall exactly what he charged me. I think it was in the $100-$150 range to replace the head (14k yellow gold) and set the stone.

 

[snowc]

I heard that you can raise the setting if its too low... is this a myth? I just need it raised .5mm.. its a 4.5 right now

 

[snowc]

Also I was curious to know, what shape stones can a 4 prong head fit? I currently have a round in there now. I am curious to know if I can broaden my search to different shapes.

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 6/2/2010 11:36:20 AM
Author: snowc
I heard that you can raise the setting if its too low... is this a myth? I just need it raised .5mm.. its a 4.5 right now

You can''t raise the setting, but you can remove some material from under the stone using a round burr. Since the stone is pointed all you need is a small dimple under it to keep the culet from hitting the metal of the setting.

Also I was curious to know, what shape stones can a 4 prong head fit? I currently have a round in there now. I am curious to know if I can broaden my search to different shapes.

You can fit any shape other than round which has four flat spots at it''s corners. Cushions or squares that have small flats at the corners will fit just fine as long as the distance from corner to corner is the same as the size of the round stone presently in there. Unfortunately squarish stones with flat corners are kind of hard to find and you''d either need to have this shape cut as a custom stone or have a commercially cut stone modified to have flat corners. Why flat corners ? Because without them there is nothing to keep the stone from rotating in the setting. Since all of the distances across the stone are narrower than at the corners, the stone will fall out if it rotates.

 

[snowc]

So, I could fit an assher cut or radiant cut too? I just want to make sure.

 

[Michael_E]

You could, but I would certainly check the depth on any Asscher to make sure it will fit. They are typically deeper than a round of the same size and so may be too deep to fit in your existing setting.

 

[snowc]

Alright. I will probably have to stick to a round stone. The stone I''m looking at is a 7.2mm and I have an 8mm in the ring now... Is it going to look drastically different? I did some photoshop work of the sizes and it looks like the 8mm one is only slightly bigger than a 7.2 mm stone.