Do basket settings block light from coming into the stone / make your jewelry look less sparkly? I've developed a serious crush on the Asha Iva setting. http://www.ashadiamonds.com/index.php?main_page=product_ring_info&products_id=1129 But I definitely don't want to lose any sparkle.

short answer? nope.


for Ashas, and well-cut diamonds, light enters the stone from the top, not the sides at all.

poorly cut diamonds can sometimes benefit from light being able to enter from the sides, but a well cut stone? can be completely closed in, and still sparkle like the dickens.

for coloured stones, it's a little different and sometimes you need more light to help keep the stone from going too dark.

Dana, is this true for Moissanite, since it doesn't follow the usual standards for well cut diamonds?

Lots of people have bezel'd their moissy and they are still super sparkly. The pear may be an exception.

Hadley - i *think* it still holds true for Moissanite. because, while it does have a funky cut... it is a funky cut that is at least somewhat optimized for the material, if that makes sense?

so, really, i think it's just poorly cut stones that might benefit from getting as much light in as possible.

i like warmer coloured diamonds, and don't mind visible inclusions, so i don't mean this as an insult to those kinds of diamonds :P

but for warm, poorly cut, included diamonds? setting them in closed in settings will make it obvious how badly cut they are. so that's why - i think - so many maul jewelers will say things like 'see how open the setting is, to let in so much light so your stone will sparkle!'
... because those kinds of stones need all the help they can get, to look whiter.
and you might see twinkly reflections from light hitting the outside portions of your stone sometimes, too, in reflections.

an Amora enhanced Moissanite set in BTD's Helen of Troy (HoT!) ring :



so, as far as i know from pictures, at least round Moissanites do well in bezels.