4.16ct O/P VS1 antique cushion "bee" ring from David Klass

[oldcutclubmember]

What a special piece with such thoughtful details. The unplated WG looks great!

Congrats on 10 years!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

OMG that ring is TDF!!!!

Bees and insects are very special to me too, so I totally get how magical of a setting this is! I also love the facet pattern on the diamond, its mesmerizing watching it in your video.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

 

[evergreen]

@RunningwithScissors yay, thank you! I feel like honeybees get lumped in with -especially- wasps and it's just not fair to these poor hardworking ladies. Plenty of other underappreciated insects out there, too!

@oldcutclubmember thank you! Mixing metals turned out more subtle than I expected, and I think I'm pleased about that.

@Eli22 thank you and thank you!!

@LLJsmom thanks! Warm O/P fuzzies, indeed!

@Kim N thank you, I feel so lucky to have jumped on this stone (after much agonizing) because it turns out the facets are absolutely dazzling now that I get to enjoy it outside a gem box!

 

[GeorgieQ]

Ummmm......WOW! WOW! WOW!! Everything about this ring is insanely beautiful!!!
First of all I love, love, love bees so all the little nods to the bee kingdom is just gorgeous!
Secondly, that stone is *sigh* stunning, the colour, the warmth is just so lovely!
Thirdly, rose gold is my absolute favourite and I think your stone looks amazing with the rg.
Finally, I think the size is perfect for you. I'm not normally into larger stones but yours looks perfectly proportioned for your hand.
Enjoy wearing that gorgeous ring!

 

[evergreen]

@GeorgieQ aww thank you so much!!! I've fallen hard for RG but it's not always friendly with pure yellow tint late-alphabet stones. I'm still not completely sure the RG is technically the must flattering choice for her, but it's working out because of how it works for ME, ha. (I own nothing in yellow gold, on purpose!)

I am TOTALLY digging the proportions. My ring size is a 6.5+, and I'm 5'10", so apparently 4cts checks the "right size" box. Add that to the list of things that's a bummer about being tall!

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Love the facet pattern of your cushion!! The wg bezel sets it off nicely!! Very elegant!! Congratulations on your anniversary too!!!

 

[evergreen]

Thanks, @ZestfullyBling ! The faceting is very like an AVC though I assume wouldn't meet standards of cut - I do notice it's a little over-obstructed under the table, but a tiny bit of tilt and everything lights up, so even though strictly face-on glamour shots don't turn out as flattering, IRL it's still a great performer for a fancy shape.

 

[Bijouteried]

2022 is my Jewelry Wardrobe Overhaul year, and also my 10-year anniversary! I'd wanted a large diamond for a while, we saved (and I decided I'd rather have a big diamond than spending that money on a newer car when my little 70-mile-range EV works just fine for my commute, thankyouverymuch!), and although this pushed the budget a leeeeeeettle bit, I am over-the-moon happy. Introducing... Honey! (Has there been a Honey ring?)



Bees were part of our wedding theme, and have a special place in my heart, growing up with an avid gardener (mom) and dad's beehives in the back yard. I learned early to distinguish between honey bees (helpful, gentle) and wasps (a$$holes); even my young kids know the difference now. We support pollinators by planting natives, mowing the lawn we inherited when we bought the house no more than 4 times a year (this is part laziness), and allowing plants like clover, dandelions, and oxalis free rein until we get a chance to more deliberately groundcover with natives. Please never use glyphosphate herbicides; we need bees so badly. (Stepping down from soapbox!)

Oh, you're here for the JEWELRY? Ahem.

The diamond is a 4.16 O/P VS1 with faint fluorescence from Jewels by Whitney on Instagram (she was fab, so patient with me!). The girdle is faceted, so it may be an antique stone which got rehabbed, or a modern-cut in an antique style. It's 9.94x9.29x6.31mm, 67.8% depth and 51% table, with faint fluorescence. When I opened the box I was at work and definitely said something NSFW because this is a BOULDER. (Luckily, I have an office with a door.). The body tint is mostly yellow but with a little brown and a hint of green, so there was much contemplating about whether the color would be OK or not. (I took 156 pictures; I just counted.) I had a really specific plan for the setting, with no flexibility in metals etc, but also a really specific request for diamond specs (as big as possible, within budget, O/P at most, with good symmetry, and nonzero fluorescence). I'm SO glad I took the chance and moved forward!

Showing body tint in the car:


Faint fluorescence (super-powerful UV flashlight, I can't see the fluor in regular sunlight, unlike with the VSBF lady at the bottom)


She is bezeled in unplated 14k white gold (I went with David's opinion about which metal would work best, given her body tint, as the inner bezel), with the rest of the ring made in 18k rose gold. The little gallery bees are also 14k white. I'm smitten.





The ring itself? Is. Very. Comfortable. Like, "oh, sure, this 4ct thing fits perfectly into my lifestyle of wiping 3-year-olds' bottoms and occasional professional tasks that ALSO involve undesirable secretions". I have to go in for a shift at work at 3pm this afternoon and I'm debating wearing this ring... I am confident it will fit under rubber gloves just fine, but it is a little flashy (i have two flashy jewelry friends at work, though, and one of them is working tonight too... we shall see ). Sometimes I look at it and think it's a bit too big, and yet, if it doesn't actually impede my activities-of-daily-living, I am sure I will get used to it very quickly indeed. I've only ever worn shallow(~55% depth) transitional rounds, so the 6+mm depth of this one made me nervous, but it turns out just about anything feels fine in a cathedral bezel!



Gratitude to all the PSers who helped with the design on my RT thread for ring design and the thread for diamond advice -- especially @Mjay 's idea for the secret shank bee and @emmy12 for a hidden PowerPoint feature I didn't know about (I do all my jewelry design in ppt... ) and side-bee shape. David Klass is an absolute master of his craft, and I am so lucky his head didn't explode when in, like, November, I introduced the idea of 5 custom rings I simultaneously needed his help with. That he's so comfortable translating detailed inspiration images (yes, and PowerPoint slides) into actual jewelry, and so patient with the iterations it takes to have things turn out perfect, makes him a huge asset to the jewelry world. There's not one thing about this ring I would change.

Your ring is stunning, and gives me oodles of confidence in one day wearing a single large stone...it looks elegant and classy on your hand with the perfect amount of sparkle!

Many congratulations to you and belated happy anniversary!

 

[DorotheaBrooke]

2022 is my Jewelry Wardrobe Overhaul year, and also my 10-year anniversary! I'd wanted a large diamond for a while, we saved (and I decided I'd rather have a big diamond than spending that money on a newer car when my little 70-mile-range EV works just fine for my commute, thankyouverymuch!), and although this pushed the budget a leeeeeeettle bit, I am over-the-moon happy. Introducing... Honey! (Has there been a Honey ring?)



Bees were part of our wedding theme, and have a special place in my heart, growing up with an avid gardener (mom) and dad's beehives in the back yard. I learned early to distinguish between honey bees (helpful, gentle) and wasps (a$$holes); even my young kids know the difference now. We support pollinators by planting natives, mowing the lawn we inherited when we bought the house no more than 4 times a year (this is part laziness), and allowing plants like clover, dandelions, and oxalis free rein until we get a chance to more deliberately groundcover with natives. Please never use glyphosphate herbicides; we need bees so badly. (Stepping down from soapbox!)

Oh, you're here for the JEWELRY? Ahem.

The diamond is a 4.16 O/P VS1 with faint fluorescence from Jewels by Whitney on Instagram (she was fab, so patient with me!). The girdle is faceted, so it may be an antique stone which got rehabbed, or a modern-cut in an antique style. It's 9.94x9.29x6.31mm, 67.8% depth and 51% table, with faint fluorescence. When I opened the box I was at work and definitely said something NSFW because this is a BOULDER. (Luckily, I have an office with a door.). The body tint is mostly yellow but with a little brown and a hint of green, so there was much contemplating about whether the color would be OK or not. (I took 156 pictures; I just counted.) I had a really specific plan for the setting, with no flexibility in metals etc, but also a really specific request for diamond specs (as big as possible, within budget, O/P at most, with good symmetry, and nonzero fluorescence). I'm SO glad I took the chance and moved forward!

Showing body tint in the car:


Faint fluorescence (super-powerful UV flashlight, I can't see the fluor in regular sunlight, unlike with the VSBF lady at the bottom)


She is bezeled in unplated 14k white gold (I went with David's opinion about which metal would work best, given her body tint, as the inner bezel), with the rest of the ring made in 18k rose gold. The little gallery bees are also 14k white. I'm smitten.





The ring itself? Is. Very. Comfortable. Like, "oh, sure, this 4ct thing fits perfectly into my lifestyle of wiping 3-year-olds' bottoms and occasional professional tasks that ALSO involve undesirable secretions". I have to go in for a shift at work at 3pm this afternoon and I'm debating wearing this ring... I am confident it will fit under rubber gloves just fine, but it is a little flashy (i have two flashy jewelry friends at work, though, and one of them is working tonight too... we shall see ). Sometimes I look at it and think it's a bit too big, and yet, if it doesn't actually impede my activities-of-daily-living, I am sure I will get used to it very quickly indeed. I've only ever worn shallow(~55% depth) transitional rounds, so the 6+mm depth of this one made me nervous, but it turns out just about anything feels fine in a cathedral bezel!



Gratitude to all the PSers who helped with the design on my RT thread for ring design and the thread for diamond advice -- especially @Mjay 's idea for the secret shank bee and @emmy12 for a hidden PowerPoint feature I didn't know about (I do all my jewelry design in ppt... ) and side-bee shape. David Klass is an absolute master of his craft, and I am so lucky his head didn't explode when in, like, November, I introduced the idea of 5 custom rings I simultaneously needed his help with. That he's so comfortable translating detailed inspiration images (yes, and PowerPoint slides) into actual jewelry, and so patient with the iterations it takes to have things turn out perfect, makes him a huge asset to the jewelry world. There's not one thing about this ring I would change.

Oh, wow, I love this so much! Everything about it! I'm also a natural gardener and very fond of bees (and I also drive a short range EV, ha). I love how you have it incorporated into the ring design. And that warm antique cushion - swoon. Just gorgeous.

Happy 10th anniversary!

 

[Leigh10]

Thanks, @ZestfullyBling ! The faceting is very like an AVC though I assume wouldn't meet standards of cut - I do notice it's a little over-obstructed under the table, but a tiny bit of tilt and everything lights up, so even though strictly face-on glamour shots don't turn out as flattering, IRL it's still a great performer for a fancy shape.

A fascinating and beautiful stone in an elegant bespoke setting... Well done you! Enjoy every moment with her!

 

[cushioncutnut]

Oh gosh I love those chunky facets with the carnival of colors that I see in the video! What a lovely and special touch with the addition of the bees! Just Gorgeous!

 

[evergreen]

@Bijouteried I would've thought it would feel very extravagant, and yet in this setting and on my hand it just feels right! I think I should probably limit myself to not buying stones under 9mm -- I can pull off big jewelry and, indeed, perhaps should! Thank you!

@DorotheaBrooke Aww, thank you so much, great to know there's another EV-and-gardening-and-bee person out there!

@Leigh10 Thanks so much, I think she feels just right in this setting -- a unique setting for a unique stone!

@cushioncutnut she is SO CHUNKY. and, yes, in classic warm old-cut fashion has a ton of different personalities and colors and... well, my first cushion, and I can see why you're nuts about them

 

[lovedogs]

Thought of you when I saw this on IG!

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

I'm late to the reveal but chiming in to say what a beautiful stone! And I love the bees! ( We are gardeners here and do all we can to have a bee friendly yard- they help pollunate our fruit trees!)
Jewels by Whitney temps me daily. She has beautiful stones! Glad you found yours with her. DK dressed it to perfection

 

[evergreen]

Just a girl drawin' up some propofol at 10pm and appreciating the sparkle to help me feel better about my other life choices. Long night not ACTUALLY on call...

 

[evergreen]

I'm late to the reveal but chiming in to say what a beautiful stone! And I love the bees! ( We are gardeners here and do all we can to have a bee friendly yard- they help pollunate our fruit trees!)
Jewels by Whitney temps me daily. She has beautiful stones! Glad you found yours with her. DK dressed it to perfection

Thanks, @CHRISTY-DANIELLE ! It's my second diamond from Whitney; phew, I don't know how she finds such good ones! And yay for making a happy home for bees in your yard. It's wonderful that having a variety of beautiful plants brings joy for us and for them.

 

[Mooshi]

Oooof. I'd be embarrased to say how many times I've come back to watch your video. That video is what sparked my new, I must own an antique cushion obsession. So.. thank you for that lol. And the 4ct size sure is tempting as well!

 

[evergreen]

Oooof. I'd be embarrased to say how many times I've come back to watch your video. That video is what sparked my new, I must own an antique cushion obsession. So.. thank you for that lol. And the 4ct size sure is tempting as well!

Awww, thank you so much! Ha, I love the under-the-tree videos - a true glamour shot. And truly, 4cts in a platform bezel feels surprisingly wearable... highly recommend. It's really interesting, though, how BIG the virtual facets are in an antique cushion at 4ct size. It's a veeeeeeery different flavor of sparkle than my other rings. I have this 0.86ct K-color antique cushion "twin" of Honey which, initially, I thought I'd sell, i.e., "I'll never set baby cushion once i have this big mama on my hand" and yet sometimes i also think it would be nice to have a smaller version of her, probably as a 3-stone, because of how different the performance will be.

I am in serious danger of having more rings than time/fingers to appreciate them. Not my goal! I'm reminded, though, of a tweet or something I recently saw along the lines of "We need an ADHD obsession exchange program, so that when I fall deep into the rabbit hole of crocheting or rock-climbing, and then subsequently move on to a new obsession, I don't have to buy everything new and can mail my old obsession to someone else". I kinda feel that way about jewelry. I run hot and cold on individual pieces at different times, and may "move on" from certain pieces, but they are still so much harder to sell than to buy () that the jewelry box gradually fills up with "it's gorgeous, there's nothing wrong with it, I just don't wear it." Not sure how to combat that problem except to leave PS (...sorry but y'all are DEFINITELY the source of the problem ) and I can't do that!

 

[Mooshi]

Awww, thank you so much! Ha, I love the under-the-tree videos - a true glamour shot. And truly, 4cts in a platform bezel feels surprisingly wearable... highly recommend. It's really interesting, though, how BIG the virtual facets are in an antique cushion at 4ct size. It's a veeeeeeery different flavor of sparkle than my other rings. I have this 0.86ct K-color antique cushion "twin" of Honey which, initially, I thought I'd sell, i.e., "I'll never set baby cushion once i have this big mama on my hand" and yet sometimes i also think it would be nice to have a smaller version of her, probably as a 3-stone, because of how different the performance will be.

I am in serious danger of having more rings than time/fingers to appreciate them. Not my goal! I'm reminded, though, of a tweet or something I recently saw along the lines of "We need an ADHD obsession exchange program, so that when I fall deep into the rabbit hole of crocheting or rock-climbing, and then subsequently move on to a new obsession, I don't have to buy everything new and can mail my old obsession to someone else". I kinda feel that way about jewelry. I run hot and cold on individual pieces at different times, and may "move on" from certain pieces, but they are still so much harder to sell than to buy () that the jewelry box gradually fills up with "it's gorgeous, there's nothing wrong with it, I just don't wear it." Not sure how to combat that problem except to leave PS (...sorry but y'all are DEFINITELY the source of the problem ) and I can't do that!

I know that feeling. I comfort myself by reminding myself they're just tiny treasures, taking up no space really.. other collections or hobbies take up way more space!
That's nice to know about the different facet flavor, I'm hoping that flavor is giant rainbows that are bigger than any other diamond cut!

 

[e2the3rd]

I’m late to this party but WOW - what a gorgeous big ol honkin stone and incredible ring!! Simultaneously stunning and comfy, what a win! Thank you for the fantastic video too, I can’t wait to go back and watch again. My husband’s and my initials combine to spell BEE, we both love bees, bee- themed things, and we’ve become addicted to adding plants in our yard to do our small part for the pollinators.. So I certainly appreciate your love for bees and how you included them in the design : )

 

[Ceilimom]

2022 is my Jewelry Wardrobe Overhaul year, and also my 10-year anniversary! I'd wanted a large diamond for a while, we saved (and I decided I'd rather have a big diamond than spending that money on a newer car when my little 70-mile-range EV works just fine for my commute, thankyouverymuch!), and although this pushed the budget a leeeeeeettle bit, I am over-the-moon happy. Introducing... Honey! (Has there been a Honey ring?)



Bees were part of our wedding theme, and have a special place in my heart, growing up with an avid gardener (mom) and dad's beehives in the back yard. I learned early to distinguish between honey bees (helpful, gentle) and wasps (a$$holes); even my young kids know the difference now. We support pollinators by planting natives, mowing the lawn we inherited when we bought the house no more than 4 times a year (this is part laziness), and allowing plants like clover, dandelions, and oxalis free rein until we get a chance to more deliberately groundcover with natives. Please never use glyphosphate herbicides; we need bees so badly. (Stepping down from soapbox!)

Oh, you're here for the JEWELRY? Ahem.

The diamond is a 4.16 O/P VS1 with faint fluorescence from Jewels by Whitney on Instagram (she was fab, so patient with me!). The girdle is faceted, so it may be an antique stone which got rehabbed, or a modern-cut in an antique style. It's 9.94x9.29x6.31mm, 67.8% depth and 51% table, with faint fluorescence. When I opened the box I was at work and definitely said something NSFW because this is a BOULDER. (Luckily, I have an office with a door.). The body tint is mostly yellow but with a little brown and a hint of green, so there was much contemplating about whether the color would be OK or not. (I took 156 pictures; I just counted.) I had a really specific plan for the setting, with no flexibility in metals etc, but also a really specific request for diamond specs (as big as possible, within budget, O/P at most, with good symmetry, and nonzero fluorescence). I'm SO glad I took the chance and moved forward!

Showing body tint in the car:


Faint fluorescence (super-powerful UV flashlight, I can't see the fluor in regular sunlight, unlike with the VSBF lady at the bottom)


She is bezeled in unplated 14k white gold (I went with David's opinion about which metal would work best, given her body tint, as the inner bezel), with the rest of the ring made in 18k rose gold. The little gallery bees are also 14k white. I'm smitten.





The ring itself? Is. Very. Comfortable. Like, "oh, sure, this 4ct thing fits perfectly into my lifestyle of wiping 3-year-olds' bottoms and occasional professional tasks that ALSO involve undesirable secretions". I have to go in for a shift at work at 3pm this afternoon and I'm debating wearing this ring... I am confident it will fit under rubber gloves just fine, but it is a little flashy (i have two flashy jewelry friends at work, though, and one of them is working tonight too... we shall see ). Sometimes I look at it and think it's a bit too big, and yet, if it doesn't actually impede my activities-of-daily-living, I am sure I will get used to it very quickly indeed. I've only ever worn shallow(~55% depth) transitional rounds, so the 6+mm depth of this one made me nervous, but it turns out just about anything feels fine in a cathedral bezel!



Gratitude to all the PSers who helped with the design on my RT thread for ring design and the thread for diamond advice -- especially @Mjay 's idea for the secret shank bee and @emmy12 for a hidden PowerPoint feature I didn't know about (I do all my jewelry design in ppt... ) and side-bee shape. David Klass is an absolute master of his craft, and I am so lucky his head didn't explode when in, like, November, I introduced the idea of 5 custom rings I simultaneously needed his help with. That he's so comfortable translating detailed inspiration images (yes, and PowerPoint slides) into actual jewelry, and so patient with the iterations it takes to have things turn out perfect, makes him a huge asset to the jewelry world. There's not one thing about this ring I would change.

Utterly lovely

 

[evergreen]

@e2the3rd yay, I am so happy to see all the bee lovers come out! comfy indeed, this stone feels like just the right size, tbh - any bigger and it would be awkward at work (it's a little large for gloves,I sometimes have to adjust it, but not SO often that it annoys me!). But it's, like, undeniably BIG, and there's nothing like a well-done bezel to make your stone feel invincible!

@Ceilimom thank you!!