When setting a diamond, gaps or no gaps? Any pros/cons?

[earthlinkjo]

This is a gorgeous ring! you said it was lab grown? How was your experience buying lab?

Hi Godrick.

About as easy as trying to settle on the certification, stats and in-person visual inspection of an earth minded one . But, significantly easier on the pocketbook…. And it seems like the prices of labs have even continued to come down, and some even predict they will continue to come down further.

As for sourcing, I had to send one back before getting one I was happier with. The easy part is that they are very accessible, so many websites and even mom and pop brick and mortar jewelers sell them now. If you go over to the Lab Grown Diamond forum here on Price Scope there are some excellent regular contributors there that are really helpful in steering people to well cut stones with good performance. They can also help you avoid things that are unique to labs such as “blue nuance”… again, you can learn about it all over there. If you simply make a post about what you are looking for, you will receive lots of help. DejaWiz and Kim N. most notably.

The only other thing I can say is that there is a range of options with the labs (CVD vs HPHT, and all different kinds of certifications). For me, I wanted a triple X GIA certified stone (old school here, coming from experience with only earth mined diamonds), within all the suggested Price Scope parameters for ideal, a good HCA score, the highest StoneAlgo.com score I could get, and I wanted a HPHT created stone (which is the growing process that takes more time and is a more expensive process, which reflects in the price). I also got help from DejaWiz and Kim N. who looked at online videos and pics of my stone to confirm it didn’t have any blue nuance.

BUT!… I have seen people within that forum purchase CVD stones with perfect ideal hearts and arrows cuts that they paid half of what I did, especially if you don’t require GIA, then the price goes way down. A lot of people are buying off sites such as Ritani (I didn’t, a local jeweler sourced mine after I did my research on here and gave her the GIA report number for the exact stone I wanted)… but, Ritani allows returns, so some people bring in a couple of stones and then decide in person which one they prefer and return the ones they don’t. White Flash is also now offering true hearts and arrows ideal cut labs (which of course I assume are perfect) and I don’t know a lot about it, but I am also now seeing the promotion of something called a GCAL-8 certification for lab stones, in which they do all the imaging so that you can also get/ensure a very ideal cut, hearts and arrows, and no light leakage, etc.

But, as I said above, I have seen some really nice photos and videos of stones (and set rings) that people just did their research on here, got the help of the people in the Lab Grown forum, were okay with CVD grown IGI certified stones, rolled the dice with Ritani (or other vendors) and ended up with just jaw dropping gorgeous, ideal cut and performing stones for about $1,000 a carat. Which is sort of just amazing! Some of them appear to look just as good as those selling for $3-5k per carat.

Hope something in here answered your question

 

[Sparkledrops]

I feel your pain! I was just recently going to see about having my diamond lowered which put me into complete agony I ultimately decided to leave it (other factors to consider related to the mounting items) and had made peace with it and was starting to like the fact it sat higher… it was more “regal”. I accepted that the two rings have different diamonds of different sizes and proportions and I should just enjoy both even though same exact mounting and both rounds. But now after reading all this I’m back to the questioning!!!!!! Ugh!

I've never even thought about the gap/no gap. I had to grab the loupe. Mine is a no gap. The worst part of loving jewelry for me is the questioning and indecisiveness! I'm forever questioning everything. I admire those who are totally satisfied.

 

[Sparkledrops]

Hi Godrick.

About as easy as trying to settle on the certification, stats and in-person visual inspection of an earth minded one . But, significantly easier on the pocketbook…. And it seems like the prices of labs have even continued to come down, and some even predict they will continue to come down further.

As for sourcing, I had to send one back before getting one I was happier with. The easy part is that they are very accessible, so many websites and even mom and pop brick and mortar jewelers sell them now. If you go over to the Lab Grown Diamond forum here on Price Scope there are some excellent regular contributors there that are really helpful in steering people to well cut stones with good performance. They can also help you avoid things that are unique to labs such as “blue nuance”… again, you can learn about it all over there. If you simply make a post about what you are looking for, you will receive lots of help. DejaWiz and Kim N. most notably.

The only other thing I can say is that there is a range of options with the labs (CVD vs HPHT, and all different kinds of certifications). For me, I wanted a triple X GIA certified stone (old school here, coming from experience with only earth mined diamonds), within all the suggested Price Scope parameters for ideal, a good HCA score, the highest StoneAlgo.com score I could get, and I wanted a HPHT created stone (which is the growing process that takes more time and is a more expensive process, which reflects in the price). I also got help from DejaWiz and Kim N. who looked at online videos and pics of my stone to confirm it didn’t have any blue nuance.

BUT!… I have seen people within that forum purchase CVD stones with perfect ideal hearts and arrows cuts that they paid half of what I did, especially if you don’t require GIA, then the price goes way down. A lot of people are buying off sites such as Ritani (I didn’t, a local jeweler sourced mine after I did my research on here and gave her the GIA report number for the exact stone I wanted)… but, Ritani allows returns, so some people bring in a couple of stones and then decide in person which one they prefer and return the ones they don’t. White Flash is also now offering true hearts and arrows ideal cut labs (which of course I assume are perfect) and I don’t know a lot about it, but I am also now seeing the promotion of something called a GCAL-8 certification for lab stones, in which they do all the imaging so that you can also get/ensure a very ideal cut, hearts and arrows, and no light leakage, etc.

But, as I said above, I have seen some really nice photos and videos of stones (and set rings) that people just did their research on here, got the help of the people in the Lab Grown forum, were okay with CVD grown IGI certified stones, rolled the dice with Ritani (or other vendors) and ended up with just jaw dropping gorgeous, ideal cut and performing stones for about $1,000 a carat. Which is sort of just amazing! Some of them appear to look just as good as those selling for $3-5k per carat.

Hope something in here answered your question

I second DejaWiz and Kim N! Sooo helpful and knowledgeable!

 

[earthlinkjo]

I've never even thought about the gap/no gap. I had to grab the loupe. Mine is a no gap. The worst part of loving jewelry for me is the questioning and indecisiveness! I'm forever questioning everything. I admire those who are totally satisfied.

Actual email I sent to my husband and told to the jeweler to help them to “maybe” just understand a tiny bit more what all my nitpicking requests and what seemed like splitting hairs to them actually meant to me and made me “feel” (not even kidding).

“Subject: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Obsessions often have themes to them, such as:

• Needing things orderly and symmetrical

Examples of obsession signs and symptoms include:

• Intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way”

My husband and I chatted about what the therapies are? 1) Avoidance. Don’t even get into the situations. Don’t look, don’t engage. 2). Acceptance therapy (learn to get comfortable with the discomfort and accept the perceived imperfections)

I choose acceptance therapy… accept that this is the way I am

Now with my ring reset (this was the 5th attempt at getting it right for “me” and my brain) I am finally perfectly at peace with it and at total ease... after months of not feeling right with the results we were getting from previous setting issues.

It’s just a total mind/brain/preference thing.

I can, and often do, just let stuff go. My whole life isn’t lined up, polished, pressed or perfect…. not by a long shot. But, when it comes to my one special diamond/wedding ring, yeah, I do want it to be my version of perfect. I think that’s okay.

 

[Tonks]

Are there any pros/cons to setting a diamond and leaving space/gaps between the prongs and bottom of the head verses setting the stone completely in the head with no space/gaps?

This was actually one of the things I specifically addressed with WF when they were setting my stone. I have seen settings where the prongs have a huge gap on the sides between setting and stone, and I prefer it to look as if the prongs are hugging the diamond. Regarding height, I wanted as low as we could go and still clean it easily (I think this was translated as medium-low). They nailed my requests and I really love my setting.

Full disclosure: I’m one of those who cleans my ring daily. But it has not been difficult to clean at all.

 

[headlight]

This was actually one of the things I specifically addressed with WF when they were setting my stone. I have seen settings where the prongs have a huge gap on the sides between setting and stone, and I prefer it to look as if the prongs are hugging the diamond. Regarding height, I wanted as low as we could go and still clean it easily (I think this was translated as medium-low). They nailed my requests and I really love my setting.

Full disclosure: I’m one of those who cleans my ring daily. But it has not been difficult to clean at all.

Would you mind posting a photo of the front side view - thank you. Your rings are gorgeous.

 

[Tonks]

Would you mind posting a photo of the front side view - thank you. Your rings are gorgeous.

This is the best up close view I have. Does this work? I was trying to show you you can see the culet just a tiny bit from the side.

Also, thank you for the kind words!

 

[headlight]

This is the best up close view I have. Does this work? I was trying to show you you can see the culet just a tiny bit from the side.

Also, thank you for the kind words!

Thank you so much. Perfection!!!

 

[earthlinkjo]

This is the best up close view I have. Does this work? I was trying to show you you can see the culet just a tiny bit from the side.

Also, thank you for the kind words!

Oh Tonks! Yes, yes and YES! Well said about the hugging and yes I can see your cutlet, perfect, just beautiful! I also love your Vatche setting, so Tiffany indeed! I might be dating myself a little, but all my diamond dreams growing up centered around the Tiffany solitaire. Do you remember, or does anyone on here remember when Charlotte in the SATC TV series got engaged with the Tiffany solitaire ring… I was done. That was my mark. Between that and seeing Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s for the first time in my early 20’s… it was all Tiffany dreaming for me.

Here is a fun story… a very fun, spontaneous, unplanned event… after less than four week of dating, while on a weekend away, my now husband and I ventured into a Tiffany store… I was embarrassed and said no at first, but he still urged we go in and look around “Just for fun” and we came out engaged!… completely spontaneous and still happily married 12 years later. So, my first engagement ring was indeed a Tiffany solitaire, and my wedding band and diamond wedding bracelet still are. I just love those moments and memories! My Tiffany solitaire was sold years ago when I came across Price Scope (that turned me on my head!) and learned a thing or two… or ten million… about diamonds . So, the Tiffany was sold and with the proceeds I bought a much larger and better cut diamond, as we tend to do around here on PS… ha.

But, even when upgrading from that stone this past year, we upgraded my band also… but in our original fashion… which was out shopping one day this past Spring and we just happened to pass a Tiffany store downtown and my husband gave me a sweet glance and asked if I wanted to go in and take a look around? Much like the very first time, a little embarrassed, I said no. This time I also added, “why? I don’t need anything, there’s nothing in there for me, I already have everything I need”. He urged me to go in anyway, “for fun”… and he asked to see rings… and, to my shock and surprise (again!) he picked out an upgraded version of my previous Tiffany wedding band, just a little bigger this time. Still surprising me and making memories! Tiffany is such a special part of our love story, and any reference or nod to it will always make my heart go pitter patter.

YOUR ring is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing it!

 

[headlight]

Oh Tonks! Yes, yes and YES! Well said about the hugging and yes I can see your cutlet, perfect, just beautiful! I also love your Vatche setting, so Tiffany indeed! I might be dating myself a little, but all my diamond dreams growing up centered around the Tiffany solitaire. Do you remember, or does anyone on here remember when Charlotte in the SATC TV series got engaged with the Tiffany solitaire ring… I was done. That was my mark. Between that and seeing Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s for the first time in my early 20’s… it was all Tiffany dreaming for me.

Here is a fun story… a very fun, spontaneous, unplanned event… after less than four week of dating, while on a weekend away, my now husband and I ventured into a Tiffany store… I was embarrassed and said no at first, but he still urged we go in and look around “Just for fun” and we came out engaged!… completely spontaneous and still happily married 12 years later. So, my first engagement ring was indeed a Tiffany solitaire, and my wedding band and diamond wedding bracelet still are. I just love those moments and memories! My Tiffany solitaire was sold years ago when I came across Price Scope (that turned me on my head!) and learned a thing or two… or ten million… about diamonds . So, the Tiffany was sold and with the proceeds I bought a much larger and better cut diamond, as we tend to do around here on PS… ha.

But, even when upgrading from that stone this past year, we upgraded my band also… but in our original fashion… which was out shopping one day this past Spring and we just happened to pass a Tiffany store downtown and my husband gave me a sweet glance and asked if I wanted to go in and take a look around? Much like the very first time, a little embarrassed, I said no. This time I also added, “why? I don’t need anything, there’s nothing in there for me, I already have everything I need”. He urged me to go in anyway, “for fun”… and he asked to see rings… and, to my shock and surprise (again!) he picked out an upgraded version of my previous Tiffany wedding band, just a little bigger this time. Still surprising me and making memories! Tiffany is such a special part of our love story, and any reference or nod to it will always make my heart go pitter patter.

YOUR ring is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing it!

LOVE THIS STORY!!! Yes, I remember the Sex and the City episode!

 

[Tonks]

Oh Tonks! Yes, yes and YES! Well said about the hugging and yes I can see your cutlet, perfect, just beautiful! I also love your Vatche setting, so Tiffany indeed! I might be dating myself a little, but all my diamond dreams growing up centered around the Tiffany solitaire. Do you remember, or does anyone on here remember when Charlotte in the SATC TV series got engaged with the Tiffany solitaire ring… I was done. That was my mark. Between that and seeing Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s for the first time in my early 20’s… it was all Tiffany dreaming for me.

Here is a fun story… a very fun, spontaneous, unplanned event… after less than four week of dating, while on a weekend away, my now husband and I ventured into a Tiffany store… I was embarrassed and said no at first, but he still urged we go in and look around “Just for fun” and we came out engaged!… completely spontaneous and still happily married 12 years later. So, my first engagement ring was indeed a Tiffany solitaire, and my wedding band and diamond wedding bracelet still are. I just love those moments and memories! My Tiffany solitaire was sold years ago when I came across Price Scope (that turned me on my head!) and learned a thing or two… or ten million… about diamonds . So, the Tiffany was sold and with the proceeds I bought a much larger and better cut diamond, as we tend to do around here on PS… ha.

But, even when upgrading from that stone this past year, we upgraded my band also… but in our original fashion… which was out shopping one day this past Spring and we just happened to pass a Tiffany store downtown and my husband gave me a sweet glance and asked if I wanted to go in and take a look around? Much like the very first time, a little embarrassed, I said no. This time I also added, “why? I don’t need anything, there’s nothing in there for me, I already have everything I need”. He urged me to go in anyway, “for fun”… and he asked to see rings… and, to my shock and surprise (again!) he picked out an upgraded version of my previous Tiffany wedding band, just a little bigger this time. Still surprising me and making memories! Tiffany is such a special part of our love story, and any reference or nod to it will always make my heart go pitter patter.

YOUR ring is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing it!

Omg what a great story!!!!

I also remember Charlotte’s ring from SATC! You got me thinking about it and I cannot remember—wasn’t she married before Harry? I’m thinking maybe I remember a giant emerald cut in there somewhere as well.

 

[earthlinkjo]

Omg what a great story!!!!

I also remember Charlotte’s ring from SATC! You got me thinking about it and I cannot remember—wasn’t she married before Harry? I’m thinking maybe I remember a giant emerald cut in there somewhere as well.

Awe, thanks!

Yes, it was her first marriage to Trey. Oh gosh, remember his mother Bunny. . Anyway, I digress… Trey with the Tiffany ring.

 

[Godrick]

Hi Godrick.

About as easy as trying to settle on the certification, stats and in-person visual inspection of an earth minded one . But, significantly easier on the pocketbook…. And it seems like the prices of labs have even continued to come down, and some even predict they will continue to come down further.

As for sourcing, I had to send one back before getting one I was happier with. The easy part is that they are very accessible, so many websites and even mom and pop brick and mortar jewelers sell them now. If you go over to the Lab Grown Diamond forum here on Price Scope there are some excellent regular contributors there that are really helpful in steering people to well cut stones with good performance. They can also help you avoid things that are unique to labs such as “blue nuance”… again, you can learn about it all over there. If you simply make a post about what you are looking for, you will receive lots of help. DejaWiz and Kim N. most notably.

The only other thing I can say is that there is a range of options with the labs (CVD vs HPHT, and all different kinds of certifications). For me, I wanted a triple X GIA certified stone (old school here, coming from experience with only earth mined diamonds), within all the suggested Price Scope parameters for ideal, a good HCA score, the highest StoneAlgo.com score I could get, and I wanted a HPHT created stone (which is the growing process that takes more time and is a more expensive process, which reflects in the price). I also got help from DejaWiz and Kim N. who looked at online videos and pics of my stone to confirm it didn’t have any blue nuance.

BUT!… I have seen people within that forum purchase CVD stones with perfect ideal hearts and arrows cuts that they paid half of what I did, especially if you don’t require GIA, then the price goes way down. A lot of people are buying off sites such as Ritani (I didn’t, a local jeweler sourced mine after I did my research on here and gave her the GIA report number for the exact stone I wanted)… but, Ritani allows returns, so some people bring in a couple of stones and then decide in person which one they prefer and return the ones they don’t. White Flash is also now offering true hearts and arrows ideal cut labs (which of course I assume are perfect) and I don’t know a lot about it, but I am also now seeing the promotion of something called a GCAL-8 certification for lab stones, in which they do all the imaging so that you can also get/ensure a very ideal cut, hearts and arrows, and no light leakage, etc.

But, as I said above, I have seen some really nice photos and videos of stones (and set rings) that people just did their research on here, got the help of the people in the Lab Grown forum, were okay with CVD grown IGI certified stones, rolled the dice with Ritani (or other vendors) and ended up with just jaw dropping gorgeous, ideal cut and performing stones for about $1,000 a carat. Which is sort of just amazing! Some of them appear to look just as good as those selling for $3-5k per carat.

Hope something in here answered your question

THANK YOU for this incredibly thoughtful reply!! I will be flagging it for future use - my husband and I just upgraded my ring with a natural diamond but I am always looking for the future!! ha! I will be referencing this for sure, maybe when I purchase some earrings

 

[Godrick]

I've never even thought about the gap/no gap. I had to grab the loupe. Mine is a no gap. The worst part of loving jewelry for me is the questioning and indecisiveness! I'm forever questioning everything. I admire those who are totally satisfied.

Me too!! I feel like I always have ring envy/buyers remorse no matter what....there is just too much beauty out there! I sometimes consider becoming a jeweler so I can have my pick

 

[Godrick]

Actual email I sent to my husband and told to the jeweler to help them to “maybe” just understand a tiny bit more what all my nitpicking requests and what seemed like splitting hairs to them actually meant to me and made me “feel” (not even kidding).

“Subject: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Obsessions often have themes to them, such as:

• Needing things orderly and symmetrical

Examples of obsession signs and symptoms include:

• Intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way”

My husband and I chatted about what the therapies are? 1) Avoidance. Don’t even get into the situations. Don’t look, don’t engage. 2). Acceptance therapy (learn to get comfortable with the discomfort and accept the perceived imperfections)

I choose acceptance therapy… accept that this is the way I am

Now with my ring reset (this was the 5th attempt at getting it right for “me” and my brain) I am finally perfectly at peace with it and at total ease... after months of not feeling right with the results we were getting from previous setting issues.

It’s just a total mind/brain/preference thing.

I can, and often do, just let stuff go. My whole life isn’t lined up, polished, pressed or perfect…. not by a long shot. But, when it comes to my one special diamond/wedding ring, yeah, I do want it to be my version of perfect. I think that’s okay.

Well said and I feel less alone - this whole thread has been very affirming!!

 

[Godrick]

I just had my diamond set (and re-set) into a 4 prong setting with no gap and I absolutely love it. (see photos attached)

I'll also say I have found a lot of comfort in this thread, being a totally OCD driven person myself. I luckily found a jeweler who worked SO well with me and really made me feel at ease, even asking for tweaks and clarifying questions over and over again. I still am always second guessing everything (did I get the right size/shape/cut??) and comparing to others (is that one more sparkly than mine??) which I have to stop doing! I have such a beautiful ring and need to relish in that, always knowing that we can modify and upgrade as time goes on if we so choose.

Everyone's rings here are gorgeous, and its nice to have so much knowledge and encouragement during this process when you need it!!

 

[Sparkledrops]

Me too!! I feel like I always have ring envy/buyers remorse no matter what....there is just too much beauty out there! I sometimes consider becoming a jeweler so I can have my pick

It's a love/hate relationship almost. One minute I'm crazy in love, next minute, I'm like what.have.i.done! I'd love to work in a jewelry store too!

 

[Sparkledrops]

Actual email I sent to my husband and told to the jeweler to help them to “maybe” just understand a tiny bit more what all my nitpicking requests and what seemed like splitting hairs to them actually meant to me and made me “feel” (not even kidding).

“Subject: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Obsessions often have themes to them, such as:

• Needing things orderly and symmetrical

Examples of obsession signs and symptoms include:

• Intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way”

My husband and I chatted about what the therapies are? 1) Avoidance. Don’t even get into the situations. Don’t look, don’t engage. 2). Acceptance therapy (learn to get comfortable with the discomfort and accept the perceived imperfections)

I choose acceptance therapy… accept that this is the way I am

Now with my ring reset (this was the 5th attempt at getting it right for “me” and my brain) I am finally perfectly at peace with it and at total ease... after months of not feeling right with the results we were getting from previous setting issues.

It’s just a total mind/brain/preference thing.

I can, and often do, just let stuff go. My whole life isn’t lined up, polished, pressed or perfect…. not by a long shot. But, when it comes to my one special diamond/wedding ring, yeah, I do want it to be my version of perfect. I think that’s okay.

Yes! It is an OCD thing with me! It's not that I have/want the best or biggest diamond. I question myself all the time. Is this too big? Is this too small? Does this look fake? What if this is too showy? Goodness! Why can't I just wear it?