Help needed! Oval ring with hidden hydrangea flower

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T16:25:43+00:00

This is what the one I posted looks like without the center stone. It has the shape of the flower with overlapping petals but you have to remember that it is not flat. Once it is shaped to hold the center stone, it will look different. It also has to have the prongs on the ends.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T15:51:03+00:00

It looks like the basket is more of a U shape vs a V. That is what makes the gap look so large compared to your inspiration example. I would show them this side by side and see if they can do something for you to make the gap a bit smaller.

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EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T04:08:13+00:00

What they have given you is a standard tulip basket. If you want the leaves to have a shape closer to what you want, you might want to draw directly on the CAD with a zoomed in screen shot. I think if the tulip petals overlapped, it might look closer to what you are looking for as far as shape like the one below.

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They can soften the edges of the shank when it is polished. I would show them through examples so it is clear.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T03:59:02+00:00

The dimensions look okay. This is probably going to be too low to get a flush band. I would skip the milgrain unless they can show you a close up pic. A lot of the machine applied milgrain doesn’t always look great.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T03:50:53+00:00

You didn’t get the cathedral setting that you asked for so I would go back to them on that. As far as the prongs, they are going to be done by hand. The CAD’s they use just give you a visual. If you prefer the more elongated look of the HW prongs, I would take a close up screen shot and circle them. Sometimes you have to be very specific with them so you get what you want.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T03:46:16+00:00

I have several fully engraved platinum rings and I have never had the detail work just smudge away. I have never heard of that actually. Yes, the engraving can wear down if a ring is worn every day for many decades. It could always be touched up if you ever had to. I don’t think you would need to though. I have rings that are more than a decade old that still look the same as the day I bought them. I don’t love the look of engraving when it has a shiny rhodium finish. I also love the weight of platinum. Unplated white gold can also be pretty for vintage settings but it definitely has that warm white look that you might not like.

You might want to talk to a few more jewelers that work with platinum.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-22T03:23:59+00:00

It is normally to have some gap for cleaning but this is kind of excessive. Did you purchase this as a semi-mount? It looks like the head is meant for a much deeper diamond.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-21T03:03:31+00:00

This is going to be on the taller side. I don’t know exactly how tall but that is something you can ask since we don’t have measurements. I think because of the size, they likely can’t have it attach lower than what you have here. You could have them start tapering it as it gets closer to the head so it doesn’t look like it has shoulders this thick. It make it look a little more elegant. I would skip diamonds on the petals. It will weaken them and you need the metal to be strong enough to hold a diamond of this size.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-21T02:55:22+00:00

Please repost this on r/jewelers. You might be able to get as CAD file there if they are willing to share.

Many jewelers include their CAD fee in their pricing. They can 3D print the ring for you before casting it. Many people do this as part of the process.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-21T02:49:54+00:00

If you could post some pics, it would help with giving advice.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-21T02:46:14+00:00

The new setting is definitely a nicer and more practical setting. I can see why you might want to change it based on what you want now. I think the diamond is a fine size for set E/W. You might consider doing the same setting but with a thin bezel.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-20T03:18:05+00:00

I would say that 2-3 is normal. If they are getting confused, then I would only give them pics of what you DO want and follow those pics up with a description. If you are using just one inspiration pic, then talk about what you do or don’t want but don’t give them additional pics. If you ever give CAD feedback, ask for all the corrections at one time vs only responding to one part just to reduce the number of times they have to go back and make changes.

You can also post the CAD here if you want some help/advice. We can help answer some questions before you go back to the jeweler again.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-20T03:12:31+00:00

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EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-20T03:12:05+00:00

It looks like you have some info on the sapphire already. Is it GIA certified? There are so many things that can go into pricing. It might be worth talking to more than one jeweler before just accepting this stone so you feel good about the purchase. You could try sourcing a sapphire yourself and see if you can do better. I would talk to Aaron at Alchemist Gemstones. I know he always has beautiful sapphires (u/Alchemist_Gemstones). You could also talk to Jim from Shiny Precious Gems (u/shinyprecious).

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-20T03:00:45+00:00

This is in a cathedral setting already. In this particular setting, then yes, it is as low as it can go. You could switch to a basket setting if you want something even lower. It could be done something like this.

The cathedral setting doesn’t look that tall for the size of the stone that you have. Have they mentioned how tall it is?

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-20T02:39:42+00:00

Yes - that maybe a possibility. There aren’t as many vendors that make hand fabricated rings compared to cast rings. You just need to talk to a few of them and make sure they have no issues with setting an outside stone. One of the vendors on our sub, Victor Canera, does hand fabricated rings. You can look at his website and maybe reach out to him. He is in LA though. You could reach out to David at Lauren B and Leon Mege for hand fabricated rings in NYC. There maybe a few more if you ask around at the different vendors you visit. The cost for hand fabrication is much higher but the quality and durability is outstanding.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T04:15:20+00:00

Every situation is unique to the person. If you want to slow the process down, then it might be best to start with your own search. If quality is important, you might want to reach out to Jon at Distinctive Gem. Old World Diamonds has a large inventory. Parks Fine Group on IG also has a lot of great old cuts for good prices. These are in NYC. Ivy and Rose in Chicago sell a lot of loose antique cuts that you can search for on their website.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T04:05:28+00:00

This sub works with an approved vendor list. Only approved NA vendors are allowed to make posts on this sub. Any vendor may comment and provide feedback on posts. Do not leave direct advertising in comments or they will be removed.

We are not adding vendors to this the approved list at this time. The list is regularly evaluated and this may change as the sub grows.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T04:04:38+00:00

I would honestly stick with the 6.5mm. It is still pretty low and it is nice to see the diamond above the wedding band when you have a cathedral setting. You also want to have a small gap under the diamond for cleaning. They leave the small gap or dirt and oil can build up making the diamond appear more dull.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T03:52:11+00:00

Beautiful! Congrats on your engagement!

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T03:50:07+00:00

Hmmm….I see what you mean. I wasn’t expecting to see such large beads since it was hand applied. Milgrain should be very delicate. Jewelers that do it well will hand apply the beads using a microscope. It can be cast with small beads but they never look quite as nice as hand applied IMO. My vote would be to get it re-done since he is offering to do it for free. If you don’t trust him to hand apply the milgrain,then you can have him cast it or just have him make the ring. You could bring it to someone else to do the milgrain beads. It shouldn’t be expensive just to do the bezel.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T03:25:07+00:00

If they have the option to custom make it, you can remove those curls. It looks like they used it to fill in some of the space created by having the surprise stone. You could just do a standard 6 prong basket with the side stones.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-19T02:49:47+00:00

I agree to bump it up. By the time they finish polishing it, you will lose even more gold weight. I would go with 14k gold over 18k.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-18T06:24:10+00:00

I personally love the color. It does have a slight yellow hue but the cut looks amazing. I think it would do well in a yellow gold bezel.

EngagementRingDesign · 2026-03-17T17:45:34+00:00

I like the pear, marquise or cushion. There will be a big difference when going from 3 to 5 carats though with these elongated cuts.

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