Black Friday Sales!

[LilAlex]

I just don't know how this "make a bid" thing works and am shy to go through that process.

I did toss my hat in the ring. Percentage-wise, I went with something along the lines of the better sales that others were offering this time of year. I did not interpret it as an invitation to crazy-lowball but I inferred they are talking about a non-trivial discount.

 

[maru8888777]

Sorry for going off topic, but I just returned from an aurora trip to Alaska! Yes the solar activity is strong this year (and even stronger next year) so I booked the trip on a whim. Sure enough, we had kp > 4 and a clear sky for two nights in a row. The second night we happened to be stationed right underneath the aurora corona, where it exploded and covered the entire sky in an instant. We were staring right into the eye of a geomagnetic storm...

I take photos for fun too on outdoor trips but my tiny Sony cyber-shot isn't suited for this task with 0 low-light capability. But to my surprise my basic iphone14 can do it at least to some extent. I took some videos too, not great ones but enough to cherish the moment.
Photos I took with my phone:


Photo our guide took with a proper camera:

The activity was so strong the preset didnt work and overexposed - they had to reduce the exposure time to a fraction of a second to capture this moment when it was morphing so fast.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. True to the PS spirit, I now want some aurora-themed CS to commemorate it. So far I've found some black opals and the 5ct vivid green diamond named Aurora, next Black Friday, maybe?

Incredible photo!

I did toss my hat in the ring. Percentage-wise, I went with something along the lines of the better sales that others were offering this time of year. I did not interpret it as an invitation to crazy-lowball but I inferred they are talking about a non-trivial discount.

I was tempted by some of the lower priced items.... I love the diamond studs, for instance, and am surprised they are still there. I made a different jewelry related purchase elsewhere, though, so this won't be my year... I hope you get what you are looking for!

 

[Rfisher]

I did toss my hat in the ring.

I think I see ‘something’ that was available yesterday now marked as sold. Excited to hear what it is you might have bought.
I admire she’s still offering her return program, with the make an offer sale.

 

[LilAlex]

I think I see ‘something’ that was available yesterday now marked as sold. Excited to hear what it is you might have bought.

Oh I see what you mean -- the big padparadscha in rose gold. If only that had been me! Hopefully someone will post here about it. My main interest was a more accessible estate thing. I'm so coy.

 

[elle_71125]

Thank you @LilAlex for restarting the Black Friday thread. We all love a sale, right?! I'll add a couple more.

Jewels by Grace has a sale running.
https://www.jewelsbygrace.com/collections/sale

Jack Weir & Sons has a site wide 18% off sale
https://jackweirandsons.com/

Africa Gems is having a 25% off sale.
https://www.africagems.com/

James Allen has a 50% off sale on settings. Might be a good time to check them out for those unset beauties sitting in your gem box.
https://www.jamesallen.com/

Julia B Jewelry has a sale
https://www.etsy.com/shop/JuliaBJewelry?ref=notif_nfyfs&order=date_desc&section_id=1

Cecile Raley Designs has a 20% discount (already posted but I'm sharing a link).
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CecileRal..._id=1184404515&from_page=listing&section_id=1

Ferkos Fine Jewelry
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FerkosFineJewelry?ref=usf_2020&section_id=1

Gran Gem on etsy has a 10% discount
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GranGem?r..._id=1269796859&from_page=listing&section_id=1

Precisiongem has a sale running, though most of it has already sold.
https://www.precisiongem.com/gemstorenew/gemstore.html

 

[elle_71125]

This girl can only dream of dropping big money right now, but if I could...it would be this beauty from JBG.
*Insert dreamy sigh here*

 

[PrecisionGem]

For the body I settled on Sony Zv-e10 (stupidest name in history, it’s one of the budget options in the alpha series that sports a trusted sensor), but for the lens I splurged on tamron 17-70mm f2.8. The aperture is consistent throughout all focal lengths and it has OIS which was another expensive but worthwhile feature.

Here are a couple of photos:





The camera is probably capable of much better but I wasn’t experienced enough plus I haven’t really put these through any meaningful post processing.

For the record, if you’d like to see the aurora, now is the time - this and the following year. We’re currently experiencing quite a spectacular solar maximum. Just a couple of weeks ago there was a magnetic storm so strong, the aurora was seen as south as Turkey!

Nice shots. Even the stars came out well. So these aren't from your Sweden trip right? Are these shot from Turkey?

 

[PrecisionGem]

Sorry for going off topic, but I just returned from an aurora trip to Alaska! Yes the solar activity is strong this year (and even stronger next year) so I booked the trip on a whim. Sure enough, we had kp > 4 and a clear sky for two nights in a row. The second night we happened to be stationed right underneath the aurora corona, where it exploded and covered the entire sky in an instant. We were staring right into the eye of a geomagnetic storm...

I take photos for fun too on outdoor trips but my tiny Sony cyber-shot isn't suited for this task with 0 low-light capability. But to my surprise my basic iphone14 can do it at least to some extent. I took some videos too, not great ones but enough to cherish the moment.
Photos I took with my phone:


Photo our guide took with a proper camera:

The activity was so strong the preset didnt work and overexposed - they had to reduce the exposure time to a fraction of a second to capture this moment when it was morphing so fast.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. True to the PS spirit, I now want some aurora-themed CS to commemorate it. So far I've found some black opals and the 5ct vivid green diamond named Aurora, next Black Friday, maybe?

That looks unreal! Must be a bit spooky to be standing right there. I wonder if being so close it has any effect on the body.

 

[Avondale]

Precisiongem has a sale running, though most of it has already sold.

I believe you mean to say all but one...

Nice shots. Even the stars came out well. So these aren't from your Sweden trip right? Are these shot from Turkey?

No, that's precisely from Sweden, from two different nights. I've never been to Turkey, plus all images I saw from the southern parts of Europe were crimson red, none of the greens, pinks and purples.

I'll go hide somewhere now or else the mods might boot the whole aurora discussion into a separate thread. Plus, I'm on ban island for this year as well due to a major non-bling related purchase. Gotta be responsible... invest in one's future... blah-blah.

 

[Rfisher]

Oh I see what you mean -- the big padparadscha in rose gold. If only that had been me! Hopefully someone will post here about it. My main interest was a more accessible estate thing. I'm so coy.

Nope. Not the pad. Hopefully you get what you bid on, and get to show it off here.