Which Metal for Mahenge Setting?

[tara3056]

I bought a Mahenge spinel a few months ago - in the picture, it is the center round one. It measures 5.75mm, so it's smaller than I'd ideally prefer, but since it is "old" material (from the original find) with more intense, saturated color, one can't be too picky.


SO, to bulk it up a little, I'm planning on setting it in a ring with a scalloped halo reminiscent of the IDJ jackets. Here's a not-so-great rendering of the ring:


And here's a look at my "halo family" to give you and idea of how it will face up. It will have the same size and number of melee as my pendant (10 x 0.05pt); the only difference is the Mahenge won't be bezeled.


Almost all of my jewelry - scratch that - yes, ALL of my "good" jewelry, is in platinum. I've long preferred it to yellow gold, and I'm not a fan of white gold. If I'm going for a white metal, I want plat. That said, I've been playing with the idea of branching out into yellow gold, and if I go for gold, I want it to be the most buttery yet still durable I can get, so 18k. I'm super-torn on whether to get this ring done in Plat b/c it would match everything else, and it's what I know, and requires little upkeep OR go for a two-tone look with 18k yellow gold for the shank and center prongs that hold the spinel, then 18k white gold for the prongs that hold the halo stones (I prefer white gold here so the diamonds look more invisibly set - with yellow, I think you'd notice the tiny shared prongs between each stone and that might detract from the scalloped look somewhat.) I'm working with a custom jeweler who can cast each element separately so I know that doing the two-tone this way is an option.

So, please vote! I worry about not liking the yellow, but does this stone seem to "ask" for it, or do you think I should stick with Plat?

 

[athenaworth]

I'm a self professed lover of yellow gold but I have to say, my mahenge just looks absolutely perfect in white gold (even though I know you were asking about platinum). The striking difference in color is really what I love, so I vote platinum. In the end I think you'd wear it more too since all of your other pieces are platinum.

 

[pregcurious]

Your spinel is saturated enough that it will still look great in platinum.

I am a platinum/WG person also. I once set something in YG, and regretted it (the YG and the fact that the design got botched). The 2nd time, I went "safe" with platinum with a 18K YG accent (I was matching with another YG item so I had to keep some YG). I am so happy with the result.

 

[T L]

If your spinel goes more orange in artificial light, then I would do high karat yellow gold. If it retains its color more, and the color in the photo is accurate, then white metal would look good.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Almost all of my jewelry - scratch that - yes, ALL of my "good" jewelry, is in platinum. I've long preferred it to yellow gold, and I'm not a fan of white gold. If I'm going for a white metal, I want plat. That said, I've been playing with the idea of branching out into yellow gold, and if I go for gold, I want it to be the most buttery yet still durable I can get, so 18k. I'm super-torn on whether to get this ring done in Plat b/c it would match everything else, and it's what I know, and requires little upkeep OR go for a two-tone look with 18k yellow gold for the shank and center prongs that hold the spinel, then 18k white gold for the prongs that hold the halo stones (I prefer white gold here so the diamonds look more invisibly set - with yellow, I think you'd notice the tiny shared prongs between each stone and that might detract from the scalloped look somewhat.) I'm working with a custom jeweler who can cast each element separately so I know that doing the two-tone this way is an option.

So, please vote! I worry about not liking the yellow, but does this stone seem to "ask" for it, or do you think I should stick with Plat?

You seem to have a strong preference for platinum. What's wrong with it matching everything else? Worse comes to worse, use 18k YG for the prongs and use plat for the shank.

 

[minousbijoux]

Honestly, if it holds its color, you can't go wrong. It looks like a brown paper bag stone, if you know what I mean.

 

[chrono]

If the colour looks as good as in the picture (with minimal shift), it'll look great in just about any metal colour, so pick which one you like best, which in this case sounds like platinum.

 

[dk168]

I am a white metal person myself too, and believe the stone would look lovely in white metal.

Would love to have the square stone in the pic, and have it tension-set in cobalt chrome by Boone.

DK

 

[Niel]

I voted yellow gold shank with the plat head. I imagine it could look like a classic antique cluster ring. And I always love the gold tone on those.

 

[pregcurious]

I thought more about this. You have a very nice, hot pink spinel. I truly think it would look good in either metal because it is a vivid stone. Pick whichever metal you like better, and will help you wear the stone frequently.

 

[koolchicken]

I voted for platinum as well. I think it will look super crisp and modern, I love that look.

 

[Laila619]

Sounds like you're a platinum girl through and through, so I would stick with that.

 

[tara3056]

Thank you all for the replies and opinions! Sounds like the general opinion is swaying towards platinum, and I think I will use it after all. It's not that much more money, and it's the metal I really like. It does hold its color very well and does not go orangey, so I think those of you who said it will look just fine in white metal are likely right

Will keep the forum posted on its progress - thanks again!

 

[FrekeChild]

Platinum! I"m glad you decided to go for it. I plan to set my hot pinks in white metal too.

 

[minousbijoux]

Thank you all for the replies and opinions! Sounds like the general opinion is swaying towards platinum, and I think I will use it after all. It's not that much more money, and it's the metal I really like. It does hold its color very well and does not go orangey, so I think those of you who said it will look just fine in white metal are likely right

Will keep the forum posted on its progress - thanks again!

Tara: will you indulge a threadjack for a moment so that I can get your thoughts? Since you a platinum lover and knowledgeable about it, what is your experience with its wear? Do you have to get it - I don't know, redipped or something to keep its shine? How does that work and from your experience, how often is it necessary? Also, does anybody do this, or do I need to be careful in finding someone? TIA.

And yay for platinum. I love really saturated red/pinks in yellow gold, but that one will look awesome in platinum with some sparkly diamonds.

 

[ilovegemstones]

This is exciting! I am setting my new Mahenge in platinum and diamonds too and am wondering how people find it too compared to 18k or higher gold.

 

[tara3056]

Minou: Well, I think everyone will tell you that platinum develops a "patina" over time, which really just means that it gets lots of tiny little surface scratches that somewhat dull the surface. It doesn't stay as shiny for as long as white gold would. It's generally never plated. For me personally (and I mean no offense here to white gold lovers), I just dislike white gold because I feel like it's an impostor. 14k is only 58% gold, and then it has to be alloyed with white metals to achieve a creamy color, then rhodium-plated to make it the white everyone thinks of when they visualize white gold. I'd rather have a purer metal that needs no replating. As for upkeep, though, if you want it to stay really shiny, you would need to get it buffed by a jeweler every so often to remove the patina. The good news is that, when platinum scratches, the metal just shifts around and isn't actually 'lost' like it can be with gold, so buffing it to remove the scratches doesn't cause you to lose precious material.

All of that said, if you use a design that has lots of melee / micropave, you will probably never notice any patina developing because there isn't a big stretch of plain metal in those kinds of designs. For example, I have a Ritani Endless Love engagement ring. It's been on my hand for 14 years now and has never needed a thing done to it. Something like my halo set pictured earlier in the thread will also likely never need anything done to it. My original wedding band, however, which was 2.5mm thick plain platinum, DID show the patina quite well.

Finally, I just like the weight of platinum. It feels luxurious to me somehow. And since I am a BIG fan of Edwardian and Art Deco jewelry, plat kind of harkens back to that era.

Sorry for overly long reply! I've always been a "why use 100 words when 1000 is so much better" kind of girl

 

[FrekeChild]

I love the weight and heft of platinum too...

 

[T L]

Minou: Well, I think everyone will tell you that platinum develops a "patina" over time, which really just means that it gets lots of tiny little surface scratches that somewhat dull the surface. It doesn't stay as shiny for as long as white gold would. It's generally never plated. For me personally (and I mean no offense here to white gold lovers), I just dislike white gold because I feel like it's an impostor. 14k is only 58% gold, and then it has to be alloyed with white metals to achieve a creamy color, then rhodium-plated to make it the white everyone thinks of when they visualize white gold. I'd rather have a purer metal that needs no replating. As for upkeep, though, if you want it to stay really shiny, you would need to get it buffed by a jeweler every so often to remove the patina. The good news is that, when platinum scratches, the metal just shifts around and isn't actually 'lost' like it can be with gold, so buffing it to remove the scratches doesn't cause you to lose precious material.

All of that said, if you use a design that has lots of melee / micropave, you will probably never notice any patina developing because there isn't a big stretch of plain metal in those kinds of designs. For example, I have a Ritani Endless Love engagement ring. It's been on my hand for 14 years now and has never needed a thing done to it. Something like my halo set pictured earlier in the thread will also likely never need anything done to it. My original wedding band, however, which was 2.5mm thick plain platinum, DID show the patina quite well.

Finally, I just like the weight of platinum. It feels luxurious to me somehow. And since I am a BIG fan of Edwardian and Art Deco jewelry, plat kind of harkens back to that era.

Sorry for overly long reply! I've always been a "why use 100 words when 1000 is so much better" kind of girl

One final thought on platinum. I would avoid a cobalt alloy. In most cases, it costs the same as platinum alloyed with other platinum family metals, like iridium, and ruthenium. I prefer Platinum/Iridium since it is a very durable alloy. Just be careful who sets it as it is more difficult to work with than gold.

I have a brushed finish platinum band with gypsy set diamonds (think Tiffany etoile), and it looks very grey. I've had it for ten years, and it's a very hefty and fun to wear piece.

 

[chrono]

My preference is also a PT/IR alloy since it is strong and seems to stay "white" longer. I also love the heft of platinum and high karat yellow gold.