Bluegemz’s Gem and Jewelry Musings.

[AV_]

I imagine that the cloudy, unfaceted ones have a wonderful ‘glow’ to them!

It is to Paraiba what coral is to turquoise...

 

[Bluegemz]

So here is where I am at with the DK cads for the starruby....all stones will be rose cuts but not pictured in the CAD. The second image is the most recent. I have asked that the diamond in the marquis Ys are a bit smaller to bring the V of the marquis Ys closer together, and small prongs with the bezel. since I’m not used to analyzing CADS, ( my jeweler retired and she hand drew pieces, so this is new to me!) I’ll start a thread after these adjustments for opinions. But, pls feel free to comment. I’m sure there are things that I’m not thinking about.

 

[Bluegemz]

I’m thinking of little prongs like this....( but neater work)...the ring so far has a bezel in place in order to hide a side abrasion at the base. But maybe these would make it too busy. I am concerned that maybe the stone is not large enough (at around 5 carats, cabs don’t tend to look as large as faceted stones ) to visually handle major prongage lol!

 

[Bluegemz]

On the other side, these are not large stones, and many small prongs don’t seem to overwhelm...any opinions?

 

[Bluegemz]

And just for fun, I love this little star ruby ring with such a gemmy Star ruby! different style completely, but so pretty! That color...

 

[2Neesers]

I’m not a cad expert, but the cads for your star ruby look fantastic to me! I love the look of lots of tiny wire prongs as long as they are kept very thin or pointed like in the photo of the blue sapphire. It’s going to be a beautiful piece!

 

[prs]

So here is where I am at with the DK cads for the starruby....all stones will be rose cuts but not pictured in the CAD. The second image is the most recent. I have asked that the diamond in the marquis Ys are a bit smaller to bring the V of the marquis Ys closer together, and small prongs with the bezel. since I’m not used to analyzing CADS, ( my jeweler retired and she hand drew pieces, so this is new to me!) I’ll start a thread after these adjustments for opinions. But, pls feel free to comment. I’m sure there are things that I’m not thinking about.

Bluegemz, are the four medium blue stones your marquis Ys? Are these four stones diamonds or another species of gemstone?

FYI, when looking at DKJ CADs I find it best to first look at the 3D model at top right, then look at the plan and elevation views.

 

[Seaglow]

Clean star rubies with high transparency are truly gorgeous and very rare.

 

[Bluegemz]

I’m not a cad expert, but the cads for your star ruby look fantastic to me! I love the look of lots of tiny wire prongs as long as they are kept very thin or pointed like in the photo of the blue sapphire. It’s going to be a beautiful piece!

Thank you for the feedback! I agree, they need to be small.

 

[Bluegemz]

Bluegemz, are the four medium blue stones your marquis Ys? Are these four stones diamonds or another species of gemstone?

FYI, when looking at DKJ CADs I find it best to first look at the 3D model at top right, then look at the plan and elevation views.

The medium blue stones are the marquis rose cut diamonds. No other stones.

 

[Bluegemz]

Clean star rubies with high transparency are truly gorgeous and very rare.

That’s really true...it’s been very hard to even find nice picture examples of color and translucence all in one star ruby. When combined with those qualities, they are truly very rare indeed.

My star ruby is not as transparent as the little star ruby ring which I posted, but I’m grateful to have found it because of some translucence and the color which seems clean enough that it stays in the red color spectrum. ( though I truly have love for all star colors)

That little star ruby ring is so beautiful! I just love it and how it was made into a petite but formidable ring, especially for the size. I believe it’s around 1.6 carats , if I’m remembering correctly.

 

[strawrose]

Other star sapphires which I have collected... the first picture is of a lot of tiny ones.. the 2 larger ones in that picture are not mine.

The larger lavender star was a gift for my oldest girl. I really should take a better picture of it, because it has a full, strong, 6 legged star, though it doesn’t fully show in the picture. And, the cluster is an adaptation of a design that my youngest made, and the yellow star was an extremely kind gift to make her design wish come true! She chose the others and organized them in this way.

This is quite a collection!

 

[Bluegemz]

This is quite a collection!

Thank you! Can you tell that I love stars of all kinds and qualities lol? ( and phenomenal gems too, but don’t have any others besides moonstones, a few opals and a star rose quartz. Would love to collect more types someday.) I still have not gotten around to setting the tiny ones but hopefully as earrings eventually. Of my collection, those destined as ring stones are my favorites because one can see how they constantly change with lighting.

 

[strawrose]

Thank you! Can you tell that I love stars of all kinds and qualities lol? ( and phenomenal gems too, but don’t have any others besides moonstones, a few opals and a star rose quartz. Would love to collect more types someday.) I still have not gotten around to setting the tiny ones but hopefully as earrings eventually. Of my collection, those destined as ring stones are my favorites because one can see how they constantly change with lighting.

If I ever buy a star sapphire, I know who to ask for advice.

 

[elliefire99]

Speaking of star sapphire advice.... @Bluegemz, where are the best places to find good star sapphires in your experience? I have been low-key browsing (this is not a need-right-now kind of thing by any means) for a high-quality but small stone (like 6ish mm?). I have been disappointed everywhere I look. They are either very opaque/low quality (not that they are not also beautiful! But if I want just one, I want it to be a good one) or high quality, but in the 6+ carat range and waaaaaay beyond my budget. Any tips?

Merci!

 

[Bluegemz]

Speaking of star sapphire advice.... @Bluegemz, where are the best places to find good star sapphires in your experience? I have been low-key browsing (this is not a need-right-now kind of thing by any means) for a high-quality but small stone (like 6ish mm?). I have been disappointed everywhere I look. They are either very opaque/low quality (not that they are not also beautiful! But if I want just one, I want it to be a good one) or high quality, but in the 6+ carat range and waaaaaay beyond my budget. Any tips?

Merci!

Here is where i wish I could be more helpful. Seems that stars can be hard to find in good quality above s few carats. It may take some patient internet wandering and inquiring, but if one is in no rush, then it can be fun. A couple of routes to take ; ask sellers on the list to source the stone, eBay and Etsy, and antique star ring searches, such as firstdibs. They were popular in the mid century so sometimes there are really nice ones, though already set. I have purchased the small ones through a few ebay Etsy vendors. The ruby I got on loupe troop and the 2 larger rings from jewelry shops. I will put together a list of ones who I have purchased from online and some who I haven’t, but maybe are promising.

I know that Yvonne Raley can source stars, and sometimes The Gem Trader has had them. Also Sally from Heart of Water does stars. Starruby may be worth checking too.

Also, this seller has 2 stars already set and very lovely.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/CDGEMSTONE

I bought the parcel of small stars from this seller. Inventory is at times hit or miss.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/UNTREATED-...763389?hash=item1a264d81bd:g:pgYAAOSwwkRb~16k

Here is a seller which seems to have lovely pieces, but no personal experience with them. Have always wanted to though based on pictures
https://www.permatastar.com/product-category/sapphire-star/

There are more sellers which I’ll have to find/remember but will add them in.

 

[AV_]

@elliefire99 TheGemTrader gets a few perfect stars a year in any color but classic Red & Blue. Starruby lists many of every quality up to impossibly perfect; there are related YouTube & Instagram accounts under the names of 'Zaveri' (two brothers).

Instagram is overwhelming & I am not even trying...