3.3ct Burmese grey spinel

[ShinyPink]

I'll have to wait a while, as the diamonds will cost me $6k minimum.

Say what? I'm confused why diamond melee would be $6K. Also, if you want hot pink, look at sapphires, as there's a fine line between those two hot pink stones. Shoot, you could do sapphires instead of diamonds, too. Decisions, decisions...

 

[mrs-b]

Say what? I'm confused why diamond melee would be $6K. Also, if you want hot pink, look at sapphires, as there's a fine line between those two hot pink stones. Shoot, you could do sapphires instead of diamonds, too. Decisions, decisions...

No - it won't be diamond melee. Certainly, if I do the amethysts, I will have a fine diamond melee halo surrounded by 3mm amethysts - BUT....

If I do the ruby halo - which is what I suspect I'll do - the rubies will be small melee stones for the inner halo, but the diamonds, for the outer halo, will be roughly .25ct each, ergo not melee - and I'll need about 12 of them. I'd only use very clean, very white H&A stones for this, and they're over $500 each - so - over 6k.

I've already bought the ruby melee and the 3mm amethysts. I'll decide which one to use when they arrive.

 

[missy]

So lovely. I can see what you love about it. Romantic and soft and subtle.

 

[mrs-b]

Thanks @missy!

 

[TheElms]

I’m still looking for melee for my grey ascher spinel below. I’m intrigued by your rose de France amethyst melee. Do you have a good source you would be willing to share? Have you used it before? If so, how durable is it as melee? I’m a tad clumsy so, I’ve been looking for violet spinel melee but haven’t found anything I liked.

 

[mrs-b]

Hi @TheElms -

No, I've never used this dealer before, and I've never used amethysts before either. They're 3mm stones, so borderline for the melee designation.

The supplier is:

finecolorgemstones.com

- and the color is gorgeous and they sparkle beautifully. In fact, I was very surprised by the quality and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Hope this helps!

 

[TheElms]

Hi @TheElms -

No, I've never used this dealer before, and I've never used amethysts before either. They're 3mm stones, so borderline for the melee designation.

The supplier is:

finecolorgemstones.com

- and the color is gorgeous and they sparkle beautifully. In fact, I was very surprised by the quality and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Hope this helps!

Awesome great to know that they are so lovely. I’ll have to reengage my brain to try and set this stone. I thought I had a design but I find myself vacillating. It’s so hard!

 

[leslie1956]

I love both of these grey spinels, @mrs-b and @TheElms!

Another melee option for grey stones might be red or neon pink spinel. My avatar opal has a lot of grey in the body, so we used red spinel melee for my opal ring. Yvonne Raley also has an excellent assortment of top quality melee, for future reference

 

[mrs-b]

So I received the ruby melee from Yvonne - and it's gorgeous! So, unsurprisingly, I've decided to do a ruby inner halo, then an outer halo with larger diamonds, all set in platinum. This will be a BIG ring - probably around 17mm x 16mm.

My opal and my yellow Jeff White sapphire are both with DKJ at the moment, being set. So this one will be later this year.

 

[Acinom]

Owww! Pics of the ruby melee please!
Looking forward to see your spinel set with your ruby melee

 

[TheElms]

Owww! Pics of the ruby melee please!
Looking forward to see your spinel set with your ruby melee

. Yes pics please!

Sadly Yvonne doesn’t have what I need but perhaps later this year she said.

 

[Stone Hunter]

NICE looking cut on that spinel! Congrats on finding it.

 

[apacherose]

You have no idea how excited I am about this project!

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I love the personality of your stone! Such interesting options for setting too. Enjoy!

 

[Burmesedaze]

What an exciting project and colour combination. Can't wait to see the end result!

 

[mrs-b]

Owww! Pics of the ruby melee please!
Looking forward to see your spinel set with your ruby melee

@Acinom - I tried - but they're just too tiny and came out looking like nothing. I'll take photos when it's done and get DKJ to do some macros. Sorry!

Thank you, @Stone Hunter! It's exactly the cut I was after, so I'm very pleased.

@apacherose - I'm pretty stoked about your new ring! Congratulations on a fab new acquisition!

Thanks, @MissyBeaucoup - I hope it's interesting...and beautiful!

@Burmesedaze - I am *particularly* looking for a good color combo. I've not seen this before - tho I'm sure it's out there somewhere. I love color, and if I could go back in time, I'd have a ruby engagement ring - not a diamond. You live and learn, I suppose.

 

[Dandi]

It's gorgeous @mrs-b ! Such a beautiful cut and the colours it throws off are wonderful. With your impeccable taste at work, I can't wait to see how you set it! I'm eyeing off a pair of grey spinels for earrings, I'm a bit unsure about grey stones, but after seeing yours my mind may have swayed a wee bit!

 

[Arkteia]

Thank you for your kind comments @Marsha Ayers @Acinom @Catmom @Rfisher @alene @MrsKMB @leslie1956 and @LisaRN! Your love of colored stones is both inspiring and reassuring.

I absolutely love this stone. I'm not sure which way I'll go with the 2nd halo, but I've ordered both melee, so we'll see. If I do the ruby halo, it will be a delicate inner halo and the surrounding diamonds will be much more substantial. If I do the amethysts, the inner circle will be be a delicate diamond halo and the amethysts will be larger. So on that basis, the amethyst option would be far cheaper, but the ruby option would be super lush. I'll have a play with it when the melee gets here; if I do the amethysts, I can go ahead with it right away. But if I do the rubies, I'll have to wait a while, as the diamonds will cost me $6k minimum.

Which means I'll probably fall in love with the ruby option. :roll

Congratulations, what a beauty! I can see the point about diamonds. I love pale pink diamonds, but see the point about the cost...what about a halo of pale pink spinels?