Diamond Pendant/Necklace, fixed setting VS bail setting?

[orbitallee]

Hello! Decided to exchange my 0.36 carat diamond pendant for a 0.56 carat one. At this carat weight, I’m not sure if I should keep the bail setting or have it fixed stationary on the chain itself. I’ve attached a photo of what I mean. Apparently the change of setting is free of charge upon purchase, but I will not be able to exchange/return the pendant. Please share your experiences with a pendant bail/fixed setting! Thank you

 

[lill_canele]

Personally for a pendant-type of necklace, I prefer a fixed stone. It tends to move around less.

I have a Tiffany DBTY 0.28c, and it's fixed and stays in place all day.

I have heard that the larger the carat size, the easier for the diamond to center on its own due to the weight, but I don't know how big or heavy that diamond needs to be in order to keep itself centered.

 

[RJY]

I have a .85c pendant that was in a fixed (18 inch long chain) setting. It didn't stay centered so I had it switched to bail and I found it works better for me.

 

[CoastalCouture]

I have both a fixed and a bail diamond pendant. I prefer the bail for staying centered. My fixed diamond is about 0.8 ct and is a C de Cartier, so has a little substance, still not enough weight to stay centered.

I also have a couple of diamond by the yard solitaire pendants and they move around a lot too.

 

[orbitallee]

Personally for a pendant-type of necklace, I prefer a fixed stone. It tends to move around less.

I have a Tiffany DBTY 0.28c, and it's fixed and stays in place all day.

I have heard that the larger the carat size, the easier for the diamond to center on its own due to the weight, but I don't know how big or heavy that diamond needs to be in order to keep itself centered.

Thank you for sharing! That’s what a Tiffany SA also told me, that a fixed setting will be more stable than a bail setting. With a fixed setting, do you find the diamond ever flipping? Thanks

 

[orbitallee]

I have a .85c pendant that was in a fixed (18 inch long chain) setting. It didn't stay centered so I had it switched to bail and I found it works better for me.

Thank you for sharing A 0.85 is significantly larger than a 0.56 so now I’m considering sticking with the bail. I’m just worried about the diamond “sliding” around during work in a healthcare field.

 

[orbitallee]

I have both a fixed and a bail diamond pendant. I prefer the bail for staying centered. My fixed diamond is about 0.8 ct and is a C de Cartier, so has a little substance, still not enough weight to stay centered.

I also have a couple of diamond by the yard solitaire pendants and they move around a lot too.

Thank you for sharing Seems like for larger carat weights, a bail is preferred. I’m conflicted now haha since the Tiffany SA told me that fixed won’t move as much.

 

[sosauce]

From what I’ve heard, I actually have reached the opposite conclusion about preferences for floating or fixed pendants.

If the pendant is heavy, then a fixed setting works well, because the pendant will center itself naturally. The friction of the chain against your skin is counteracted by the weight of the pendant wanting to move towards the nadir. And you have the benefit that the clasp won’t move to the front.

If the pendant is light, then a floating setting works well, because the pendant will be able to center itself when it’s knocked to the side. I’ve seen it when the pendant kind of ends up on the side of the neck asymmetrically, either intentionally or unintentionally. This risk of displacement is lower when the pendant has a bale instead of being soldered to the chain, because the pendant doesn’t have to move the entire chain with it in order to fall to the center. The downfall is that the clasp shifts.

I have a pretty large emerald cut pendant (>3 ct) that is east-west oriented. I had the pendant soldered to the chain, and I notice that the piece doesn’t move to the side very often. But when I was creating the piece with my jeweler, my jeweler said that some people prefer the bale, because then they don’t have to worry about the diamond ending off on the side. I mean, sometimes, I notice that my pendant is to the side, but I can also feel when that happens, so it’s a quick fix.

I suppose you can think of a bale functioning like a medallion, which means it’s naturally going to fall to the center. I mean, I’ve never seen it where a medallion is hanging off someone’s neck to the side. It’s just not, I guess, physically likely to happen.

For me, the clasp being in the front would annoy me more than the diamond being at the side, which is why I chose the soldered option. But honestly, there are slight pros and cons to both.

There’s also the issue of aesthetics. When my jeweler explained how he could add a bale to the east-west orientation pendant, I didn’t like what he was describing. Either the chain goes through one bale through the middle, or the chain feeds through two bales in the back. Neither of those sounded attractive to me. I felt like the soldered option would appear much more seamless.

Since your pendant is round, I think the issue of aesthetics has a lower priority. I think it looks good either way. But balancing whether you want the pendant to be more likely to be centered on its own, or the clasp to be less likely to move to the front is probably the bigger deciding factor.

 

[orbitallee]

From what I’ve heard, I actually have reached the opposite conclusion about preferences for floating or fixed pendants.

If the pendant is heavy, then a fixed setting works well, because the pendant will center itself naturally. The friction of the chain against your skin is counteracted by the weight of the pendant wanting to move towards the nadir. And you have the benefit that the clasp won’t move to the front.

If the pendant is light, then a floating setting works well, because the pendant will be able to center itself when it’s knocked to the side. I’ve seen it when the pendant kind of ends up on the side of the neck asymmetrically, either intentionally or unintentionally. This risk of displacement is lower when the pendant has a bale instead of being soldered to the chain, because the pendant doesn’t have to move the entire chain with it in order to fall to the center. The downfall is that the clasp shifts.

I have a pretty large emerald cut pendant (>3 ct) that is east-west oriented. I had the pendant soldered to the chain, and I notice that the piece doesn’t move to the side very often. But when I was creating the piece with my jeweler, my jeweler said that some people prefer the bale, because then they don’t have to worry about the diamond ending off on the side. I mean, sometimes, I notice that my pendant is to the side, but I can also feel when that happens, so it’s a quick fix.

I suppose you can think of a bale functioning like a medallion, which means it’s naturally going to fall to the center. I mean, I’ve never seen it where a medallion is hanging off someone’s neck to the side. It’s just not, I guess, physically likely to happen.

For me, the clasp being in the front would annoy me more than the diamond being at the side, which is why I chose the soldered option. But honestly, there are slight pros and cons to both.

There’s also the issue of aesthetics. When my jeweler explained how he could add a bale to the east-west orientation pendant, I didn’t like what he was describing. Either the chain goes through one bale through the middle, or the chain feeds through two bales in the back. Neither of those sounded attractive to me. I felt like the soldered option would appear much more seamless.

Since your pendant is round, I think the issue of aesthetics has a lower priority. I think it looks good either way. But balancing whether you want the pendant to be more likely to be centered on its own, or the clasp to be less likely to move to the front is probably the bigger deciding factor.

Wow, thank you for your detailed response Appreciate you sharing your insight about this. I noticed with the 0.36 bail setting, it was flipping to the sides (not the back) quite a bit. Perhaps because it was on the smaller side. 0.56 is not much bigger, but I’m wondering if the bail will do the same. That’s why I was leaning towards fixed. I imagine if the chain with the fixed diamond shifts off-center, it’s not hard to fix it. Edit: I think the clasp moving to the front would annoy me more than the diamond being at the side! Perhaps fixed is the way to go :O

 

[lill_canele]

Thank you for sharing! That’s what a Tiffany SA also told me, that a fixed setting will be more stable than a bail setting. With a fixed setting, do you find the diamond ever flipping? Thanks

Nope, a fixed setting has never flipped on me!

Personally I’ve always had issues with bail setting for stones or pendants unless they were decently heavy. They always moved around a lot (and I don’t really wear long chains) and I don’t know why lol.

 

[orbitallee]

Nope, a fixed setting has never flipped on me!

Personally I’ve always had issues with bail setting for stones or pendants unless they were decently heavy. They always moved around a lot (and I don’t really wear long chains) and I don’t know why lol.

Thank you so much for your time/reply! It helps to get another opinion This diamond pendant/necklace is meant for my mom. She has a gold cross (that’s relatively heavy), and it’s on a bail setting. Somehow it slides/flips a lot (according to her) during work. We’re trying to figure out if we need to make the change to fixed LOL. Thanks again!!

 

[orbitallee]

Decided on changing it to the fixed setting! Had them lengthen the platinum chain from 16 to 17 (1 inch), and it cost $135 more I think it cost more because it’s a fixed setting? Either way, thanks for the help!

 

[lill_canele]

Decided on changing it to the fixed setting! Had them lengthen the platinum chain from 16 to 17 (1 inch), and it cost $135 more I think it cost more because it’s a fixed setting? Either way, thanks for the help!

I think it may be lengthening the chain that was the extra cost. I vaguely recall that when I asked about lengthening the chain of my necklace that my SA said there would be an extra fee.

 

[orbitallee]

I think it may be lengthening the chain that was the extra cost. I vaguely recall that when I asked about lengthening the chain of my necklace that my SA said there would be an extra fee.

Omg you’re totally right! Yes it’s the 1 inch extension that’s costing the fee. The alteration to a fixed setting is free! I just didn’t expect 1 inch to cost so much LOL

 

[skyqueen]

Decided on changing it to the fixed setting! Had them lengthen the platinum chain from 16 to 17 (1 inch), and it cost $135 more I think it cost more because it’s a fixed setting? Either way, thanks for the help!

I’m glad! The fixed setting is how Tiffany describes it…Tiffany “floating” diamond necklace. Truly classic ❤️