How do I estimate the diameter of a diamond ring halo?
“My soon-to-be-fiance and I are considering this custom halo setting by Brian Gavin, but are wondering how to estimate the diameter of the diamond ring halo if it set with something in the range of 1.30 carats. Both of us have pretty sharp eyes and would like the center stone to be eye clean. We’re also wondering what the reference to “Brian Gavin Signature melee” means in the ring description. Could you elaborate on that? Thank you.”
Selecting a diamond for a halo setting:
I th
ink that this 1.298 carat, I-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond would be perfect for you! The GIA would round the carat weight of this diamond off to 1.30 carats. The VS-2 clarity ensures that the diamond is going to be eye clean from a top down vantage point, as it will be set in the ring. And the I-color is going to look fantastic set in 18k white gold, in fact it is likely to face-up a little whiter as the white gold is picked up and reflects throughout the body of the diamond. The hearts pattern exhibited by this diamond is proof of the exceptional cut quality.
It’s going to sparkle like crazy! You can expect it to exhibit the highest volume of light return and a virtual balance of brilliance and dispersion. This is true of all Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds, each one is designed to deliver maximum visual performance!
Estimating the diameter of a halo setting:
According to the Diamond Quality Document (DQD) issued by the American Gem Society Laboratory (AGSL) for this diamond, it measures 6.97 X 6.99 X 4.31 millimeters. The first two measurements represent the outside diameter of the diamond and the last measurement is the depth. If we add 6.97 + 6.99 together and divide that sum by two, we get an average outside diameter of 6.98 millimeters.
Now you’d have no way of knowing this, but the diameter of the accent diamonds contained in the ring are about 1.5 millimeters. We generally use a lip of about 1 mm wide for the bezel that holds the diamonds in place, so there’s going to be a 1 mm outer lip +1.5 mm accent diamonds +6.98 mm center stone +1 mm inner = a total diameter of about 10.48 millimeters, but remember that you have to count the diameter of the accent diamonds twice because we’re measuring across the ring from one side to the other, so +1.5 = a surface area of 11.98 mm for the ring.
That’s going to be a whole lot of sparkle on her finger! Consider that the average outside diameter of this 3.845 carat, I-color, VS-2 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature round diamond is 10.09 millimeters. That diamond is a whopping sixty grand by the way… And this is one of the things I love about halo settings, they add extra sparkle around the perimeter of the diamond, which serves to make the surface area of the sparkle even bigger!
Brian Gavin Signature melee:
The term “melee” pronounced “mell-eee” is used to describe round cut diamonds that weigh less than 0.20 carats or one fifth of a carat. As with larger round brilliant cut diamonds, melee is cut within a broad range of cut quality. Some of it isn’t even fully faceted, which is why we’re using the term round cut diamonds, instead of round brilliant cut. Some melee cut diamonds are eight cut or eight faceted rounds.
Brian Gavin Signature melee is cut to the same exacting standards as larger Brian Gavin Signature round diamonds. It is fully faceted and offers the same light performance as larger diamonds in our inventory. This ensures that the accent diamonds set in the ring will provide the same light performance as the larger center stone.
