Amethysts

[indigoblue]

A while back I mentioned that I wanted two amethysts for my daughters whose birthday is in February (Leap Year Day). Back in September I contacted Gary Braun at Finewater Gems, and he agreed to cut them for me. He said he had some medium purple Kenyan and some darker purple Namibian rough, so I asked for one of each and let him select the cuts that would complement the stones best.

He was busy, and I was in no hurry, so it took a while for him to finish the project. Never fear! It was worth the wait.

I think I want to have them made into pendants and am open to any and all suggestions. My daughters both specified white gold settings. Is that a no-no with purple stones? I am trying out a local artisan to see what he suggests. I'd like to avoid having to mail them all over the place. It starts getting expensive. I will meet with him next week.

Here are the pictures. None of them really captures the true colors. They just will not cooperate. They black out in direct sun.

Throw in some red, and you'll be closer to the real colors.


This was taken with a camera and is probably closer to the real colors.


This was taken with my phone. The lighter stone is way too turquoise, and so is my sapphire. As a reference the sapphire is more of a navy blue.

 

[JewelFreak]

Nice red flashes & they are a great size for pendants. There is no no-no for any metal with any stone -- it's all up to the wearer & if wg makes yours happy, that's the thing!

A couple of questions: what styles do they like? More ornate and vintage-y, simple, modern? What is your budget range? Sounds like a really fun project.

--- Laurie

 

[indigoblue]

One daughter who has seen the stones said she wanted a simple white gold setting. I'm thinking of a pronged setting with maybe some fancy stuff on the basket.

 

[JewelFreak]

For contemporary styling, maybe something from our own Lady D: http://www.beatrizfortes.com/catalog/silver-0. I'm sure she could design what you're thinking of.

Or maybe Sally of Heart of Water for a different style:

 

[dk168]

I personally believe white gold would be better suited to these two stones than yellow gold myself.

Lovely stones, and thanks for sharing.

I was born in February too, and have a small collection of amethyst jewellery.

Check out the galleries of Julia Kay Taylor for inspiration, as I think some of her CS creations are fabulous:

http://www.juliakaytaylor.com/galleryhome.html

DK

 

[endless_summer]

I love, love, love the lighter purple stone - but, both are really very beautiful - execellent and fun project indeed!

 

[chrono]

I am partial to amethyst in yellow or rose gold.