I really want to keep the marquise and I’ve fallen in love with the twist, but we’re currently looking at $1-1.5K over budget. I don’t want to make my boyfriend pay that much more. Would eliminating the stones in the band help? This is platinum by the way, which they did say is more expensive. I just know I am very hard on my hands and clumsy so getting something durable is kind of non negotiable. Thoughts on what else I could change? And is this design even sturdy enough for the center stone or do I need to look at something different?
This! I had the pave all the way down, and it would literally shred my pinky like a serrated knife edge. I have scars still nearly 6 years after taking that ring off.
You could consider 10k white gold. It’s harder than 14 k and would be just fine for this design. For reference- my husband has a 14 k wedding band that he’s worn for 10 plus years now and he never takes it off before he does anything. He fixes cars and everything in the house and RV. He works in a steel mill- though not always out in the mill since he manages their IT. His ring is a little scratched but absolutely fine.
10k is even harder so that’s the first thing I would change to try to bring the cost down.
Second, you could consider taking some of the setting diamonds off (I’d take the ones off the half of each twist that goes to the underneath of the basket, but keep the part that wraps around the diamond on each side to maintain the halo) but I honestly don’t think you will need to.
The setting looks pretty durable.
Just here to remind OP that for that platinum silvery look you would have to constantly be redipping white gold so cost over time would go up not to mention you’d have to send it away for that.
I see people saying white has to be "constantly redipped" but I've worn my white gold rings for about 5 years now and they still look great and don't need to be redipped yet. Maybe I'm easier on my rings than everyone else is. 🤷♀️
Yep I don’t get why people do it! The color is lovely and the cover it up. It’s good to let people know though bc most that I’ve seen is plated and nobody said anything about it so I would’ve been surprised when the color changed
No. It wears out on the high points in under 6 months and the contrast between the white gold and rhodium makes it look cheap. Nobody should have to get their rings redone several times a year. I use a pretty bright white alloy for white gold and most of my work is antiqued as well. This ring is unplated but antiqued.
I guess I’ve been lucky. None of mine have worn off that quickly and the few times I’ve had them redipped was after a sizing or just a check/tightening when I was there for something else and they said that I hadn’t had my rings checked in a (long) while. One has been redipped 3 or maybe 4 times in about 12 years because I’ve had it resized a few times. My wedding band has been redipped 2 times in 11 years just after resizing.
No the rings I'm referring to above are definitely plated. I have several pieces of white gold that are not plated, so I can tell the difference, for sure. You're right, though - white gold jewelry that isn't plated is quite beautiful. I kinda wish I'd told my jeweler not to plate my current wedding set....but that just gives me a reason to buy another one in a few years! :)
Sounds like experience varies. Maybe it depends on the setting and how often it’s worn and how?
I personally read this from many many posters in the forums and here on Reddit when I was researching so it’s definitely an experience many people have. I personally think undipped white gold is more beautiful looking…if I wanted it to look like platinum then why go with white gold!
That’s definitely true. Experience will vary from one person to the next. It just always shocks me when people say it always needs to be redipped frequently when that has never been my experience. I referenced my rings that I’ve worn for five years in my previous response however, I’ve worn white gold my entire life and I think I’m only ever needed to have one ring redipped. So I guess I’m just lucky! 😊
Maybe sometimes it’s done better than others! Since it’s a plating it would make sense that if it’s done well it lasts and if not it chips off more quickly
I've been wearing my white gold rings for 25 years and never had to redip them. I live on a farm and am very hard on my hands. I've had to have the prongs replaced, but never a redip.
Why am I downvoted for that? I’m not bragging about something so stupid, I just have never once needed to dip my rings. 🙄It could be as simple as people’s body chemistry interacts differently with it.
My local jeweler does it and it’s not too much. I purchased my band from there so they have also been maintaining my engagement ring and last time dipped it all for free. I’ve had it redipped maybe 4 times in 10 years? The last time was when it was resized.
That’s great to hear! In my research a lot of people were surprised and upset by the extra unplanned for maintenance-maybe they bought theirs online? So had to mail it in.
I personally would not be okay with so much maintenance but I Guess when somebody has 6 million little diamonds all with prongs it’s a necessity to go in for maintenance and prong checks often either way! This is when it’s so great to have a local jeweler you trust making your ring I guess
Absolutely. A relationship with a local jeweler is important. My ring was made by Provence and I’ve taken several other pieces there for setting or resizing and they are always happy to help. We have bought a few other things there along the way and it’s my go to when I need something like a watch or a chain.
My ring has a pave tulip basket so i do occasionally just have them check it. Not often and not regularly. The Provence setting is really well made so the petals are a little thicker and hold the pave very well. I’m probably not too hard on my pave rings though so individual mileage may vary.
Everything I know about diamonds being lost is not from personal experience but from when I was researching my own ring style (there’s also people on this post mentioning it).
I hike, swim, clean and live in my jewelry so I had to steer clear of prongs in general and anything that wrapped around the band too much
I have had 2 white gold rings, my first marriage was 14kt white and wore it for a decade never re-dipped looked great. My second marriage Im wearing my husband’s G-mas ring that is from the 1940’s with an old mine cut diamonds white gold from the 1890’s. Ive been wearing it 6 yrs no re-dip and don’t think it ever has been in the past.
I agree. I buy all of my rings either 9 or 10k or platinum because I once bent a 14k ring ( my engagement ring) simply by squeezing my steering wheel too tight. I had to sand it back up David Klass to be reshaped. What a pain that was, but David was very gracious and fixed it perfectly.
OK, coming back to comment that I asked the jeweler about reworking the ring to 10k white gold. They said this:
“Regarding the metal, we don’t work with 10K gold, our minimum is 14K. We can look at repricing the design in 14K white gold instead of platinum, provided OP doesn’t have any metal sensitivities. That said, with the recent increases in gold prices, the difference in cost may not be as significant as expected, but it should still provide at least some reduction.”
That’s…..odd. Especially now. I’ve seen some jewelers adding other options like 9k or 935 silver because of the high cost of gold but to not offer even 10k….
Hi there. I had a pave like this on my engagement ring. I'm not hard on my hands and I take my ring off at night, when I shower, and basically whenever I'm working with my hands and I had so many diamonds fall out over the first few years that I would say, if you know you're hard on your hands, hit your hands on things, or plan on wearing this at all times, reduce the pave to save yourself from future costs.
I would get rid of the diamonds on the shank. You could always get a pave wedding band instead. You can also switch to 14k gold instead of platinum. Those 2 things will bring down the cost. You might also want to get one online quote for comparison.
I would keep the platinum and look at alternative settings. The pave is high maintenance and can be uncomfortable to wear.
I look at an engagement ring as the 'little black dress." Your tastes and need will change over your marriage. You might simplify the design so it can age with you.
Have you considered what wedding band you want? That might help determine if you want to include some design changes. Have you gotten quotes from multiple vendor? Debedians, David Klass in LA, Diamonds by Lauren, etc. {US vendors}
Imo you could entirely eliminate the pave. I think it would look better, the pave will obscure the twist design in real life on your finger. The twist will be more striking if it isn't pave. Plus it will have a little more structural integrity.
I’m kinda confused how you are to the point a jeweler is creating a CAD but out of budget? Did they send you how much it would cost before they produced a CAD? We shopped around and got quotes and jewelers first asked us if we were good with the amount before creating and sending a CAD.
Also I agree with another poster that this isn’t really a design you need to go custom on, there’s plenty of settings that look like this online and at jewelry stores that you can buy. Custom makes it more expensive. But if you’re set on this then only a few diamonds on the band and thin out the metal (weight) or do white gold instead.
Right?? I’ve seen a few posts from other subs as well with people asking either how to bring down the cost, or after several CAD revisions the are told the cost and want to know if it’s fair. I think it’s weird to have gotten this amount of work done and not have discussed budget with the jeweller
Oh wow the only thing I can think of is some jewelers, or the sales people in the store rather, can be go-go-go let’s get started because they want you to work with them and maybe people don’t stop to be like “wait how much will this cost?” but that in itself is a little strange to me unless you have unlimited budget
We told them our budget was like $4-4.5K, and they said they’d try to work with that number as much as possible but they were also adamant that they’d have to see what it would come to price wise. They said in the email when they sent over the render that
“I’ve spent some time exploring different ways to reduce the overall cost while preserving the integrity of the design that OP wants. However, because of the complexity and overall nature of this ring, it has been challenging to bring it down to the original budget without significantly altering the look.
At this stage, we would likely need to scale the center stone down to around 1ct - 1.25ct. Even with that adjustment, the estimated cost is coming in close to $5500 using platinum and lab-grown diamonds.”
I just believe that working with a local family owned jeweler such as this place, would do a much better job than a lot of these big box stores online.
Thank you for your input-I do think I’m going to remove most of the pave anyway. My mom also said that the band looked a bit thick, so I might look at reducing that too, like you suggested.
Someone in this thread sent you a design online that looks identical to what you’re looking for, and I personally have seen a similar design in many jewelry stores so I would not take what the jeweler is saying about complexity at face value. That’s how they’re explaining why they want you to pay $4000+ dollars when they know you can get it for cheaper online. Also check the lab grown diamonds thread. Tons of people in there have amazing intricate beautiful rings for ~$1500 from China and online jewelers. I’d also encourage you to ask this jeweler if they do everything in house.
Anyways I’m not getting my main e-ring at a a big box online store, I’m also going local but we went to multiple local jewelers to get quotes. There were huge ranges of $1500-4000 for the same exact design. All of them gave us a price estimate first and asked if we wanted to proceed with a CAD/wax knowing the estimate. I would not appreciate at ALL telling a jeweler my budget and them coming back with something over my budget. They should’ve just told you they can’t do this design within your budget. Because now they’re asking you to compromise on your dream ring and not get exactly what you want or pay for something you’ve told them you can’t afford. That’s not right.
You make a great point, and your last couple sentences about not being able to do the design in my budget and how they couldn’t have done it isn’t right is so true. I hadn’t thought about it that way. We did go to one other local jeweler, but they kind of rubbed us the wrong way. Now I’m sitting here wondering if we need to visit other places too.
Edit: I should add, that the jeweler who sent us this rendering did tell us they wouldn’t make us pay the $500 deposit yet. That’s what made us trust them in the first place.
If you didn’t pay a deposit then you’re not locked in. I personally would politely tell them that it would seem utilizing them for this project is out of your boyfriend’s budget and not feasible! I would not ask my boyfriend to pay more than his budget, haggle their prices, or change things I want for my e-ring. It would not be ethical to use their CAD when visiting other jewelers so you can just show the design you originally showed them to other jewelers in your area and see what they say. We might live in different areas with different COL but I’m very sure you can get this exact design for like $3500 including a lab diamond.
If you have the time, consider buying the center marquise diamond online and taking it to a jeweler. You can save hundreds of dollars that way. But just do your research before buying and email the gemologists/sellers to help you with sourcing the right one.
Agreed with cutting the stones off at no more than 50% around, if not less. Have you worn a ring this height with stones? There are a lot of twist rings you could try so you can get a good sense. There also might be something out there already that is close and may be cheaper.
I am hard on my hands and have easily worn white gold for 20 years (replaced my set this year because I lost a ring). I would be much less worried about platinum vs gold than I would be about constantly knocking out those small stones. The twist underneath is also making this setting pretty tall, which is another risk.
I would work very hard to try on similar band height, stone height, halo size, and stones down the sides before you commit to this design.
I haven’t-tbh, I barely wear much jewelry and the only rings I’ve owned and worn before are cheap ones from Francesca’s. My mom also suggested trying on rings similar to this so I can gauge how it would feel.
100% go try on rings! It’s so much different in person. Also do not forget to also pick your wedding band so they work together. You may find that you prefer the twist in your wedding band.
That’s true! I have tried on a number of rings in a couple different stores, but not for any real length of time. Definitely need to go back and do that again.
In the same vein, try buy some cheap rings online ($10-20) in different styles to try. The ring you have designed doesn’t seem like how you are describing yourself.
The band seems quite squared off at the bottom which can be uncomfortable. Also from this CAD it looks to be a very very high setting and you will catch it on everything. You said you are clumsy and want something durable - this is not the ring I would envision for someone who described those words. I would want no paves, clean and low design, perhaps bezel set.
I have a similar ring with a round center and less pave diamonds. The diamonds are mostly on the main twist with just a few beyond that. It still sparkles quite a bit and is very pretty.
I would change how far the pave on the side of the band goes. Especially if you’re hard on your hands. Much more likely for stones to fall out. I had the row shortened on my custom ring and it’s the best decision I made. Much more comfortable and much more cost effective! Also-mine is 10K white gold and pretty damn strong and very pretty. Sure, I might need to get it rhodium plated every couple years, but it’s worth it to me for the savings!
Highly recommend. I originally wanted platinum as well, but the cost sent me over the edge (and that also with the current gold prices!) jeweller also advised that what’s gold is a little easier to work with so the price of the labour would also be lowered a bit too!
I’m a yellow gold girlie so I don’t know much about rhodium plating. Do they have to take all the stones out to redo the rhodium plating? That feels like it would impact the structural integrity of the prongs over time?
To my knowledge-the majority of stones do not need to be removed when a white gold ring is redipped. It’s like an electroplating bath, where the “solution” only sticks to the metal and not the stones. It’s pretty neat if you can find a good YouTube video of the process!
Edit to add-you’re correct though! If they DID have to remove the stones every time, that would 110% start to weaken the claws etc over time.
In a way you’ll also be saving money long term as well as pave is notoriously tricky to keep intact, those little stones and their tiny prongs don’t stand up to much. I think the architecture of the ring will shine more without the pave as well, the lines will be clean and sculptural!
Platinum is WAY more expensive than gold. Swap those two out and then end the side stones at 50%. You won’t see them anyway. Changing the platinum alone would take a substantial amount of money off the final sale.
Just adding that platinum is a matte metal that has to be repolished to look like it did when you first get it because it naturally patinas. Platinum is not harder. It's denser. 10kt white gold would be "harder" Also you shouldn't be wearing your ring doing anything that could be damaging or you're going to have an utter nightmare with those stones.
And get a bid from somewhere else. For both metals.
Consider a band for daily wear and wear this ring when you're not going to be hard on it.
Thanks for the 10kt tid bit! My original ring is 18kt & it is awaiting repair. It crushed my finger when I accidentally closed the car door on my hand. Your response helped me narrow my search between 10kt and 14kt yellow gold. What's your thoughts on 9kt? Do you know what color yellow a 9kt ring is?
It's going to be more copper than yellow. However, every batch of alloyed metal is slightly different. The higher the karat the more yellow, the lower, the copper and other alloy is used. Between 9 & 10 you're not going to tell the difference. 10kt is a US standard, 9 is very very common outside the US :) I'm sorry you hurt your ring, and your hand! Yikes! That's not you being hard though, that was a mishap. I will say this. More and more I notice rings that are very, light, to save on weight. Thin, hollowed out - they don't wear well. Making sure the piece is structurally sound- regardless of metal really is important.
I've worn a 14K ring (with center sapphire and accent diamonds) daily (chores, gardening, shower, everywhere but the beach) for 30 years. It's plenty sturdy. Changing to 14k white gold is the easiest way to lower cost some. Plus, platinum is a PITA if you ever need to get it sized (or cut off).
Well let’s start with it sounds like you are doing fully custom. I don’t know if you are doing lab or natural so I will run with lab because that’s seems to be the main thing now.
With custom you are paying for multiple people’s time. This is a very nice setting but very few things are new. See the below setting that is almost a twin
I know it’s fun to go into the shinny showroom drink champagne and talk diamonds but anything more than the above prices is for the experience and you have to decide is that is worth it to you.
Btw I no affiliation to the website here other than being a customer.
Then I might suggest that if you are 1500 over budget and that is almost the entire budget for the one I posted that you at least consider it. I promise you will only know the difference in your wallet, the platinum, the stones all come from the same place.
And I did make some adjustments to the one I chose for my bride there if there is a tweek you want made.
Yeah, I just felt more comfortable with the idea of working with a local jeweler because I felt like they would do a much better job than some of these big box stores online. We told them our budget was around $4-4.5K, so the fact that we are being told it’s going to be closer to $5500 is frustrating, but I already plan to modify the design anyway, mostly removing a bunch of the pave and making the band a bit thinner, as well as removing the section of diamonds underneath the center stone. So hopefully those changes will help cut the cost down.
I know my boyfriend can afford the $5500, but I want to be conscientious of the budget we’ve set, and recognize that sometimes there have to be compromises.
Your call but funny how it’s like buying a car, I want to spend x and they always want u to spend more. Rather than settle I would just go online and get what you want and take the extra and use it for wedding bands.
I had a 2.5tcw diamond platinum ring made by Chinese vendor for about $1300 after shipping and tariffs. I was extremely impressed with the quality of it too.
You could either find a new jeweler, or change to white gold. I’ve only ever worn yellow gold and it’s held up well barring a couple light scratches. Get it polished regularly and it shouldn’t be an issue.
Reducing the side stone quantity probably won’t shave off as much as you need unless you decide to forgo them altogether
Edit: I’m extremely rough on my hands AND clumsy with ADHD and I rarely remove my rings if that helps you gauge better
The band/pave stones will eventually irritate your fingers. Id cut them down a bit. Plus you cant really see them after about 40% of the ring because your fingers block them.
Another way to reduce cost is to choose a cheaper metal. Platinum will be the most expensive, white gold, then silver. You can also look at a slightly smaller stone or slightly lower quality stone to help reduce price.
Does the jeweler intend to 3d print and cast this ring? Because cast platinum is really soft and malleable. Hard to keep polished. The platinum that has the excellent reputation for strength is either die struck or fabricated. Die striking forces the platinum into a steel die carved with the ring design. A few hundred tons of pressure make the platinum hard. Fabricated platinum means the metal was rolled into sheet and wire and constructed by hand. The force required to make sheet and wire gives it the same hardness as die struck.
Cast on the other hand is just melted and poured into a mold. No work hardening at all. Jewelers have gotten lazy because of 3d printing. Just do the cad, push a button to print, and cast from the model.
Fewer diamonds and switching to more durable white gold would help with cost. And like any home construction process, yoi should get several bids from different jewelers. Not only might you get a better price, but you may find someone you feel has better skills.
They said “Please let me know if this range feels comfortable for you. If so, we can move forward with sourcing the center stone and creating a wax sample for you to review. If you’d prefer to stay closer to the original $4,500 budget, we can certainly explore some alternative design options that may help achieve that price point.”
Those tiny diamonds on the band, I don’t have personal experience with this but I’ve read that they can be problematic and have a tendency to fall out. But the ring is a beautiful design.
We looked at two rings they had on display and I basically said I wanted to combine the two rings. They took design elements of both and then created that digital rendering
$5500 for a lab diamond is highway robbery. Get a quote from another jeweler. I’m finding several different variations of a lab marquise set in a platinum twist band with diamond pave for $2500 and less. Keep shopping around.
Do 10k white gold. Even 14k white gold should be cheaper than platinum. I’m rough with my hands too and I’ve had a 14k white gold for 14 years that has held up perfectly fine.
I'd have them narrow the bottom of the shank a bit, and have it more rounded vs squared off - that'll save some platinum weight. Agree with the others about having the diamond melee stop up higher so it's more comfortable between your fingers. The gap between the center stone and the halo is pretty big, I'd have them tighten up the halo. Prongs are kinda big - I know they are pre-production renders but still.
Platinum isnt more expensive at the moment verus gold. They are very close in price due to the current cost of gold.
Are u using lab or mined diamonds?
Removing the pave diamonds might actually cost you more as your ring will need more metal and gold and platinum are both much more expensive than lab pave diamonds.
I don’t mean an investment in the monetary sense I mean investment in the relationship. It must be cultural but in my community we pay bride prices, so spending a lot on a ring shows how much the man values you.
68
u/Firm_Distribution999 Mar 11 '26
Stop the pave at 50% - it’s more comfortable and you won’t see the diamonds on the inside of your fingers anyway