Pave Diamond Ring Settings
From LoveToKnow EngagementRings
LoveToKnow Engagement Rings is privileged to have spoken with Darrell Ross, president and CEO of Ross-Simons, the nation’s leading retailer of fine jewelry, giftware, and other items, about the unique elegance of pave diamond ring settings and how best to care for them.
About Ross-Simons
From its founding more than 50 years ago in Providence, Rhode Island, Ross-Simons has grown to be a prominent jeweler with retail and outlet locations located eight states that provide fine jewelry, giftware, home furnishings, and other luxury items to thousands of individuals interested in only the finest pieces. Furthermore, the company distributes more than 50 million international catalogs annually, spreading its elegance and fine tastes throughout the world.
Darrell Ross, son of the company’s founder, Sidney Ross, first pioneered that catalog direct mail venture, and in 1996, he followed it with the company’s highly successful website, allowing interested couples and individuals to peruse the fine Ross-Simons collection with ease and convenience. The company’s distinguished reputation for quality has also led it to be the only jewelry retailer affiliated with QVC, offering its fine jewelry through yet another popular outlet.
Just as Ross-Simons has become increasingly popular, so have pave diamond ring settings become highly sought after engagement ring designs, and LoveToKnow Engagement Rings was privileged to speak with Darrell Ross about these exquisite styles.
The Interview
How is a pave setting different than a channel or invisible setting?
The definition of Pave is setting stones as close together as possible, so as to show the least amount of metal as possible. A channel setting will show a space between stones if rounds are used. An invisible setting is for square or rectangular stones such as radiant, princess and emerald cuts. Pave is always round stones using smaller diamonds.
What are the most popular styles for pave setting engagement rings?
Rounds, radiants, princess, cushion and emerald cuts. Fancy color diamonds and important colored stones are commonly mounted in pave settings.
How does the cost of a pave setting compare to the price of other multi-stone designs?
Pave settings consist of small round diamonds. Therefore, the pave mountings on average are an excellent value. When using fancy shape larger diamonds they are more expensive. Of course, color, clarity and cut of the diamonds along with the metal used always determine the price of any mounting.
What can couples do to trim costs to fit in tighter budgets?
Couples should always keep in mind the center stone should be the highlight of the ring. Too many or too large side stones can be a distraction from the center stone and will increase the cost of the mounting. Couples also should be sure the diamonds used to accent the center stone are a reasonable match for color and clarity. Colorless diamonds should never be used as side stones for a near colorless center stone. Example: If you were to set a 1.00 ct Radiant H - SI1 center diamond with side stones having an E color, VS2 clarity, you would be paying for a higher color and clarity than you need and it would detract from the center stone.
Other than diamonds, what gemstones are popular in pave settings?
Fancy colored diamonds, such as black or yellow. The whole rainbow of sapphire is used, however, traditionally not on engagement rings - more for fashion jewelry.
How easily do diamonds fall out of pave settings?
A pave setting is very safe and secure. There is no need to worry about their security.
What steps are necessary to properly care for a pave setting?
The same as any other jewelry. Rings, especially, should be inspected and cleaned by a professional jeweler at least once every three months. Most diamonds are lost when they are hit against a surface, snag on a fabric, or when the metal prongs simply wear down and are not inspected. Loss can be prevented by a simple inspection and minor repair.
What metals are best to secure pave diamond ring settings?
Platinum is the strongest, however, white gold is the most common and less expensive.
Thank You, Darrell Ross!
LoveToKnow Engagement Rings would like to thank Darrell Ross for sharing his insight into the popular styles of pave setting engagement rings as well as how to care for them and keep them as brilliant as the day the ring is first slipped onto the bride-to-be’s finger. For more information about Ross-Simons jewelry, visit www.ross-simons.com.
Comments
Thank you very much for sharing, Diana, your experiences certainly offer great advice to other owners of Pave Setting Engagement Rings!
-- Contributed by: MayntzQuestion: How easily do diamonds fall out of pave settings?
Answer: A pave setting is very safe and secure. There is no need to worry about their security.
My experience:
My experience with a pave engagement ring is far different than mentioned by Mr. Ross, who obviously markets these wildly popular settings and does not wish to lose customers (sales) to the concern that diamonds are not entirely practical for everyday wear due to the likelihood that one or more will eventually fall out.
My VS quality, near-colorless pave diamond ring contains 30 stones, and three different stones fell out within the first month of ownership (one of the stones fell out the day after having it pressure cleaned). When I told the jeweler that a stone had fallen out after the pressure cleaning, he said that pave settings are sometimes prone to that problem when pressure cleaned, but that normally if it is going to happen it will happen while the dirt is actively being dislodged, and not a day or so later. Pressure cleaning, and resizing for any reason, as I learned firsthand, are two considerations that Mr. Ross simply glosses over by stating that there is "no need to worry".
Because of my experience, I consulted three different jewelers in all, and all agreed that the prongs holding the tiny pave diamonds in place are among the most delicate used in jewelry, and therefore can loosen more easily during the course normal wear. The exceptionally small size of the prongs also makes it less likely that the wearer will notice that a stone is becoming loose. The jewelers I spoke to were not CEOs of mass-market products, but designers/fabricators who own their own shops, and have a combined experience of roughly 100+ years in the trade (one from childhood during which time he apprenticed under his father). Each told me that pave settings need to be checked every three months, ideally, and every six months at the longest interval (the latter figure applies to pave diamond rings that are used intermittently for fashion wear). So when I hear someone say that a pave setting is secure and there is no need to worry, it simply defies my experience, the advice I have received from independent sources, and even common sense.
To fairly educate your readers, it should be noted that the most secure setting is the bezel setting, and the least secure setting is pave. Period. I learned the hard way and had to change my engagement setting, and I now reserve my pave ring only for occasional fashion use.
-- Contributed by: DianaThis page has been accessed 13,471 times. This page was last modified 04:17, 8 August 2007.
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