Originally Posted by Michael_E

Yes, buying a shank and them making a custom head for your stone is a very good way to go. There are a large number of bare shanks available and even these can be modified to change them into something more appealing. One thing to keep in mind is that a large stone requires a better, stronger connection to the underlying shank. The shank that you've shown has a locating hole that is used to center a head with a matching locating post. I would cut that entire section out of the shank and fit whatever head was made for your stone directly to the shank in four places, making it much more durable. Do you have a picture or dimensions for your stone ? What type of gem is it ?

Originally Posted by capstone

I like the idea of having some rose gold in the ring - I like this setting. Would the light pink color of these stones look OK with rose gold or should I go with the more salmon color if I want to have the rose gold? I believe I will go with 14K white gold either way, whether w/rose gold or not.

Originally Posted by Michael_E

They are probably not as deep in color as shown at that price. I imagine that the pictures have had some Photoshopping done to them to increase their contrast and depth of color....In any case I would recommend getting the stone first and making sure that the color is suitable and then get a setting to fit it.

Originally Posted by capstone

So I got some prices for a few of the Stuller settings I liked, and I was surprised the prices were as high as they were. Are their prices standard?

Originally Posted by Michael_E

Prices for settings from any of the manufacturers, including Stuller, are based on the weight of the piece and then each reseller adds their own markup to cover the cost of finishing the piece, setting any stones and to give them a profit which will cover their costs of overhead, salaries, etc. In addition that this you have the cost of buying and setting the small diamonds which you've shown. These very in price depending on their size and quality. If you'd like a competitive quote I'd be happy to provide one, but quotes are tied to the cost of gold and can change fairly rapidly. This means that when you get ready to do the setting the price may be different than it would be this week.

Originally Posted by capstone

Would these accommodate/complement a stone of this size? Would they look too much like an engagement ring? Could the stone be made to sit more down into the band to reduce the look of an ER?

Originally Posted by Michael_E

Yes, they could be made to fit a stone of that size...with some modifications. No, a stone that size in a pale pink would not look much like an engagement ring.
No, a 10mm stone can not sit lower since it has significant depth, (if you make it lower it will poke the wearer in the finger). Since this stone is probably between 6mm and 7mm deep and there has to be some material under it, it will stick up fairly high...probably around 9mm above the finger.