Upgrade diamond size and reusing setting?

[Rfisher]

Garry brought up in another thread that a ‘too large’ ring head would be a perk to those who were looking to upgrade the diamond size in the future. Hundreds of dollars would be saved by reusing that setting.

Do you value the possibility of saving those dollars if you upgrade and use the same mounting?
Or do you value more the current setting looking like it’s correct fit to the current size diamond you have now, and cannot reuse it?
Or only consider it if you get to make the choice knowingly beforehand?

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I think it depends. Assuming there’s 100% chance of upgrade, the only way I could see myself wanting a setting “too big” is if it does not damage or risk the stone in any way, and if the setting itself is wildly expensive. In India, where I get all my jewelry, a basic handforged 18kt solitaire setting will be a couple hundred dollars inclusive of the cost of gold, so I would want my setting made specifically for the stone. If I spent several thousand dollars on a ring from a US designer I might be more tempted to get one too big.

 

[ecf8503]

If I knew that I would be upgrading in size, and didn't care as much about the setting, I'd choose a band with a peg head that could be removed easily and replaced. But if the RING (setting and stone together) were a work of art (think VC, CvB, LM, etc) then I would plan accordingly - not buy that art until I was happy with the final stone size. And if I do upgrade and the setting isn't reusable I'd consider selling it or placing a colored stone in it.

 

[elle_chris]

No.
The only way I'd find that acceptable is if I purchased the setting prior to my stone and the jeweler had to adjust the head to make it fit.

 

[Gone_]

I think there are a lot of people with jewelry OCD here
So even if we rationalize getting a larger than needed setting we will never be able to live with it and that will either speed up that upgrade or another reset which will produce more guilt from spending extra money

 

[Diamond_Enthusiast]

No, however the concept sounds good to be able to reuse the same setting. In reality I think it will make me enjoy the ring less during the time I'm wearing it (pre-upgrade) because it doesn't look as aesthetically pleasing. Not to mention being paranoid that my stone is less secure (even if it is fine).

If I did want to reuse the setting, I would try to find out if there is a setting that I like with a head that is easy/less costly to replace. Otherwise, I would just factor the cost of new setting into the upgrade budget and wear it or choose a plain and inexpensive setting that can be replaced without costing too much.

 

[daisygrl]

No. If I am planning on upgrading soon, I would find either pre-owned setting that would serve as a temporary one or a cheap new one. I would not, however, purposely buy a bigger setting in case my stone will grow (aka will be upgraded). It reminds me of children's clothes - buying a size bigger as they grow fast.

 

[Bonfire]

A just in case (you upgrade) strategy does not excuse a basket that does not fit the stone properly, nope.

 

[MissGotRocks]

No I would not consider that at all. The setting needs to fit the diamond. Later upgrades - if significant in size - would require either a new head or new setting.

 

[petrock<3]

No, I would much rather use inexpensive simple settings that fit until the final size is achieved (although I think we know around here is it ever haha)

 

[yssie]

No.

1. The ring will look lopsided, with head visibly oversized for the stone. I would be wholly unable to enjoy such a ring, wholly defeating the purpose of owning it.

2. This idea only works if the upgraded stone is still within whatever margins the head permits. That’s a very limiting requirement to saddle yourself with.

I would much rather do as others have suggested and use a properly-fitted low-cost temporary presentation mount.

 

[misscamels]

I asked Caysie about something similar- the stone I have is half a carat smaller than I wanted. I wanted to know if there was something we could do to allow for an upgrade later if I couldn’t get over the mental size difference.
She told me we could do a larger one- .2mm max- and that would give me some wiggle room. If I shot for best case, my 8.5 would be set in an 8.7 and could potentially allow for an 8.9.
I decided the extra material now wasn’t worth a potential .4 (and still too small!) upgrade.

Stuller tolerances for reference - hope this helps!