Our customers had just purchased a beautiful and brilliant 1 ct Princess Cut diamond. The Diamond Photoscope images showed very little light loss, very good brilliance, even distribution of dispersion and with a very good optical symmetry the diamond exhibited eye catching scintillation. They found a gorgeous stone and now the focus was on finding the perfect mounting.
Choosing a mounting is sometimes a very difficult process. There are so many designs to choose from. There are simple settings, classic settings, channel set mountings, retro and vintage styles, modern architectural motifs. On top of that we all have a different sense of what designs appeal to us.
THE REQUEST
We were provided with pictures of the setting that they desired. The picture was of a vintage style halo setting using the micro pave setting technique. It is a setting that has a row of diamonds like a halo surrounding the center stone set with beads or what looks like tiny prongs. The bead setting gives it a delicate old fashioned look. The picture showed a cushion cut diamond in the center. They wanted to substitute their princess cut diamond. The original design also had diamonds positioned underneath the head and our customers chose a simpler look by not including these stones. Halo settings as a whole have to be made specifically to the exact size of the center diamond. The setting height requirements of the center stone also needed to be address. Custom manufacturing can adjust to any personal preference. The pictures were just a starting point in the process. Adjusting to these changes was not a difficult task.
COMPUTER IMAGE
Computer Renderings
Using a computer CAD-CAM program a computer rendering of their design was created. After reviewing the design they decided that slightly larger diamonds around the center stone would look better. We mad a second rendering and with this change and the new design was approved.
WAX MODEL
Wax model images
We then produced a wax model with the exact size and dimensions that the ring will be. The 3 dimensional wax model is the bridge between the concept and the finished piece. Small changes could still be made at this stage. After being approved the wax model is was used for the casting process. The ring could have been cast in any metal --- platinum, white or yellow gold, sliver, or palladium. Palladium was chosen because it looks whiter than white gold and cost less than platinum. After casting the piece in palladium setting the diamonds and polishing the mounting were the only things left to do.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT!
Finished product
The ring is done and it is stunning in a subtle but “blingy” way. In finishing process the customers decided to leave out the milgrain (the small little bumps) surrounding the center diamond to better define and enhance the center Princess Cut diamond.
It is still a fun and amazing process to all of us to work with customers on project like this from start to finish. The best thing is helping people get exactly what they want with all the options for deigns, materials and price. The finished ring is still more impressive than it would have seemed in the wax stage and the typical response is that it looked better than they would have imagined.
Well, one more down, and another satisfied couple.
P.S.
A matching diamond wedding band has since been added to the engagement ring.
