CaseyLouLou’s gemstone adventures

[CaseyLouLou]

 

[CaseyLouLou]

This is the antique setting with OEC’s that just arrived today. And my mock up.

 

[Rfisher]

Back to the new 1.8ct, I happened to find an antique setting on Etsy that I think will fit perfectly. It has a square replacement garnet in it but it’s not a perfectly square setting and the garnet is slightly too small. My new stone is almost round at 7x7.8mm. I did a mock up and the ring looks better with the roval in my opinion.

Photos coming soon.

It wouldn’t be a setting from Mackley, would it?

 

[CaseyLouLou]

It wouldn’t be a setting from Mackley, would it?

It is! I hope I didn’t steal it from you. It seemed like a decent price. What do you think?

 

[Rfisher]

It is! I hope I didn’t steal it from you. It seemed like a decent price. What do you think?

No, you didn’t steal it from me -ha!
I do remember looking at it and thinking the princess cut garnet was a odd choice on the vendors part for a replacement.
I can’t remember the price - so cannot comment on that.
(Mackley is where I got the OEC for my blue sapphire ring)
I think if your sapphire’s belly isn’t an issue (I don’t know if yours has one to be concerned about) and if it doesn’t need to be set up super high to work - I think it’s a contender for a nice swap. I can’t tell if it would scream round peg in square hole or not? It doesn’t look that way from what I see in your pics, IMO

What do you think of the diamonds in person?
If you like it and the switch can be done easily and nicely - it’s a score in my book!

 

[CaseyLouLou]

No, you didn’t steal it from me -ha!
I do remember looking at it and thinking the princess cut garnet was a odd choice on the vendors part for a replacement.
I can’t remember the price - so cannot comment on that.
(Mackley is where I got the OEC for my blue sapphire ring)
I think if your sapphire’s belly isn’t an issue (I don’t know if yours has one to be concerned about) and if it doesn’t need to be set up super high to work - I think it’s a contender for a nice swap. I can’t tell if it would scream round peg in square hole or not? It doesn’t look that way from what I see in your pics, IMO

What do you think of the diamonds in person?
If you like it and the switch can be done easily and nicely - it’s a score in my book!

Glad you weren’t eying it! I agree the garnet was a terrible choice. The diamonds aren’t bad but not spectacular either. I think they are SI and warm colored. Compared to the ones in the eBay ring they are a bit less bright and sparkly but definitely not dull. I paid $1200 and I feel like buying that carat weight of OECs or modern brilliants and having a setting made would cost more than that so it’s probably worth it.

The sapphire isn’t too deep and doesn’t have a big belly so I think it will work. My mock-up with the roval actually makes the ring look a lot better than it does now, shape wise because the setting is ever so slightly taller than it is wide, just like the roval.

My only hesitation is that I’m not really a huge fan of square settings on my hand. It’s hard to find settings that fit my stones though so I hate to pass it up.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

No, you didn’t steal it from me -ha!
I do remember looking at it and thinking the princess cut garnet was a odd choice on the vendors part for a replacement.
I can’t remember the price - so cannot comment on that.
(Mackley is where I got the OEC for my blue sapphire ring)
I think if your sapphire’s belly isn’t an issue (I don’t know if yours has one to be concerned about) and if it doesn’t need to be set up super high to work - I think it’s a contender for a nice swap. I can’t tell if it would scream round peg in square hole or not? It doesn’t look that way from what I see in your pics, IMO

What do you think of the diamonds in person?
If you like it and the switch can be done easily and nicely - it’s a score in my book!

Here’s another mock-up.

 

[Acinom]

Both sapphires are stunning and I love that OEC diamond setting
Love the cleanness of you eBay stone and the soft silky glow of your new sapphire.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Both sapphires are stunning and I love that OEC diamond setting
Love the cleanness of you eBay stone and the soft silky glow of your new sapphire.

Thanks Acinom! Yours is the holy grail for everyone here. I think yours might be a bit more sparkly than this one but I think the color is close so overall I’m happy with the intense blue glow and I wouldn’t even have known what to look for if it wasn’t for yours and other PS examples.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

No, you didn’t steal it from me -ha!
I do remember looking at it and thinking the princess cut garnet was a odd choice on the vendors part for a replacement.
I can’t remember the price - so cannot comment on that.
(Mackley is where I got the OEC for my blue sapphire ring)
I think if your sapphire’s belly isn’t an issue (I don’t know if yours has one to be concerned about) and if it doesn’t need to be set up super high to work - I think it’s a contender for a nice swap. I can’t tell if it would scream round peg in square hole or not? It doesn’t look that way from what I see in your pics, IMO

What do you think of the diamonds in person?
If you like it and the switch can be done easily and nicely - it’s a score in my book!

I took a photo of the underside of the ring and it looks to me as if it’s not square which is consistent with my measurements being slightly larger in one direction from the top. There seems to be more space above and below the garnet compared to on the sides. I’m hoping it will work for my roval. Luckily it’s not a bulky stone.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I just posted this in show me the bling because I thought it deserved its own thread. Here’s a few photos for the record here though! I’m so happy with how it turned out. DK did the stone swap. The ring is vintage with mine cut diamonds.






And the before with a perfectly nice emerald that didn’t really fit the setting imo.

 

[Autumn in New England]

The spinel looks like it was meant to be in that mounting! And it looks very lavender here, which I love. Congrats!!

 

[CaseyLouLou]

The spinel looks like it was meant to be in that mounting! And it looks very lavender here, which I love. Congrats!!

Thanks! It’s definitely lavender and not pink which is nice for a change. This one is actually a sapphire instead of a spinel but I think I mentioned my pink spinels because I have so many of them!

 

[Kalynna]

Wow, all of your funds are amazing, and that spinel ring is divine! I can't wait to see the new sapphire ring once it's set!

I'm also on a setting hunt that has somehow turned into a sapphire hunt, sigh. Do you have any eBay vendors that you've really liked? It's hard to tell who's legitimate and who's not when seemingly everyone has 99-100% positive feedback.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Wow, all of your funds are amazing, and that spinel ring is divine! I can't wait to see the new sapphire ring once it's set!

I'm also on a setting hunt that has somehow turned into a sapphire hunt, sigh. Do you have any eBay vendors that you've really liked? It's hard to tell who's legitimate and who's not when seemingly everyone has 99-100% positive feedback.

I haven’t purchased from any eBay vendors more than once thus far because it’s so random what they have at any given time. I try to only buy items that can be returned in case I don’t like them. The cost of shipping is sometimes free but if not then I just consider it part of my online shopping cost. I have returned several items but many have worked out.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I have a new preowned setting with a very interesting soft, baby blue sapphire in it. I plan to replace it with a lavender-pink spinel that has been begging for a setting and I don’t need another sapphire ring.

My spinel is my most sparkly and fiery one and it’s such a fun color. It’s not quite as lavender-purple as my sapphire but it’s definitely lavender and leans pink depending on the lighting.

Here are some photos of the new ring and the spinel. I will post the finished ring when it is ready.

The sapphire is gorgeous but I have a ring with a similar colored sapphire already and it’s been really hard to find used settings with round stones for some reason.



Lavender spinel 6.1mm

 

[CaseyLouLou]

It wouldn’t be a setting from Mackley, would it?

No, you didn’t steal it from me -ha!
I do remember looking at it and thinking the princess cut garnet was a odd choice on the vendors part for a replacement.
I can’t remember the price - so cannot comment on that.
(Mackley is where I got the OEC for my blue sapphire ring)
I think if your sapphire’s belly isn’t an issue (I don’t know if yours has one to be concerned about) and if it doesn’t need to be set up super high to work - I think it’s a contender for a nice swap. I can’t tell if it would scream round peg in square hole or not? It doesn’t look that way from what I see in your pics, IMO

What do you think of the diamonds in person?
If you like it and the switch can be done easily and nicely - it’s a score in my book!

So I ended up returning this OEC halo setting. It’s really nice but I decided that I still don’t like square settings on my hand. It might have looked better with the oval sapphire in it but I wasn’t sure. Also the top is white gold and I prefer yellow gold. The diamonds were super sparkly so it was a hard decision but I can use the funds for something else.

 

[Autumn in New England]

So I ended up returning this OEC halo setting. It’s really nice but I decided that I still don’t like square settings on my hand. It might have looked better with the oval sapphire in it but I wasn’t sure. Also the top is white gold and I prefer yellow gold. The diamonds were super sparkly so it was a hard decision but I can use the funds for something else.

When in doubt, it's best to keep looking! Interested to see how you end up setting the sapphire.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I have a new preowned setting with a very interesting soft, baby blue sapphire in it. I plan to replace it with a lavender-pink spinel that has been begging for a setting and I don’t need another sapphire ring.

My spinel is my most sparkly and fiery one and it’s such a fun color. It’s not quite as lavender-purple as my sapphire but it’s definitely lavender and leans pink depending on the lighting.

Here are some photos of the new ring and the spinel. I will post the finished ring when it is ready.

The sapphire is gorgeous but I have a ring with a similar colored sapphire already and it’s been really hard to find used settings with round stones for some reason.



Lavender spinel 6.1mm

It’s finally here! I’m amazed at both the diamond melee and the spinel which are incredibly fiery. This 1.12ct lavender spinel and the 0.9ct lavender sapphire I just had set (see above) are very similar in color but luckily the rings fit different fingers so I could wear them together if I were so inclined. The spinel flashes so many colors just like the sapphire but it might be just a tad more fiery. I think this is my most sparkly gemstone thus far.

I will take more photos later but here are a few for now.

Edit: they are definitely not the same color! I will post photos of both together in the next post.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

This is really interesting. I’m terrible with understanding color. You can see how similar they look here. I would have thought they were the same color but when they were in gem boxes I knew they were slightly different.

Here’s a photo where they look very similar.




And here are some where they shift. The spinel looks a bit more reddish-purple and the sapphire is more bluish-purple.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Sisters, but not twins! Each is beautimous in her own right. Congrats on the new addition, and enjoy!!

 

[Kalynna]

Those are so fabulous! You seem to have great luck picking pre loved settings with amazing diamond accents. I'm always afraid the accent stones on eBay/vintage rings will look terrible in person, but this is giving me hope!

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Those are so fabulous! You seem to have great luck picking pre loved settings with amazing diamond accents. I'm always afraid the accent stones on eBay/vintage rings will look terrible in person, but this is giving me hope!

Thank you! Sometimes the melee does look terrible. I have returned a few and sometimes I feel like I should have known from the photos but purchased anyway hoping it would be better in person. I’m getting better at interpreting photos but it’s definitely not an exact science.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

A while back I purchased a light pink spinel with the intention of having it recut into an old European and it’s finally done. I don’t have it in hand yet but here are some snapshots from a video showing it’s incredible fire. This is the second one I have done this with and both turned out amazingly well but the first one was a darker stone so it got a bit too dark after the recut.

For this one I lost half the weight from 1.6ct to 0.84ct because it was so bottom heavy and had a window. It’s now 6mm but I’m happy with that. The color doesn’t show well in the bright light video. I will definitely post more in natural light when I receive it. I can’t wait!

Before



After

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I purchased a vintage setting a few months ago because it was identical to one that I had always liked at the jewelry store I worked for in the 80’s. The shape is flattering and the diamonds are very sparkly.

The sapphire is nice but a bit darker than I like so I finally found a stone that fits. It’s a 1.1ct padparadscha colored peachy-pink Tanzanian step-cut spinel and it’s gorgeous and super sparkly like a pink diamond. The ring will need to be sized up quite a bit because it’s tiny but hopefully that won’t be a problem.

 

[Autumn in New England]

I purchased a vintage setting a few months ago because it was identical to one that I had always liked at the jewelry store I worked for in the 80’s. The shape is flattering and the diamonds are very sparkly.

The sapphire is nice but a bit darker than I like so I finally found a stone that fits. It’s a 1.1ct padparadscha colored peachy-pink Tanzanian step-cut spinel and it’s gorgeous and super sparkly like a pink diamond. The ring will need to be sized up quite a bit because it’s tiny but hopefully that won’t be a problem.

That's a really beautiful spinel, my friend! Not sure if you saw my recent thread about my "coral" spinel, but this was actually the color I had been going for!!

 

[CaseyLouLou]

That's a really beautiful spinel, my friend! Not sure if you saw my recent thread about my "coral" spinel, but this was actually the color I had been going for!!

Thank you - I did see your thread and I thought of you when this arrived. You probably want a bigger one but the seller does have a twin of mine still available if you are interested. It’s a very pale peachy pink but not so pale that it’s washed out.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

A while back I purchased a light pink spinel with the intention of having it recut into an old European and it’s finally done. I don’t have it in hand yet but here are some snapshots from a video showing it’s incredible fire. This is the second one I have done this with and both turned out amazingly well but the first one was a darker stone so it got a bit too dark after the recut.

For this one I lost half the weight from 1.6ct to 0.84ct because it was so bottom heavy and had a window. It’s now 6mm but I’m happy with that. The color doesn’t show well in the bright light video. I will definitely post more in natural light when I receive it. I can’t wait!

Before



After

This newly cut stone arrived today - yet another sparkly pink spinel. It’s a lilac pink and a bit lighter than the one I recently had set into the recycled halo. The Euro cut on this one gives it a lot of fire and flashy sparkle. It looks (again) like a pink diamond. I’m clearly addicted to spinels but I reckon I have enough now (we’ll see….). I’m just happy they are so affordable. If only setting them was as affordable.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Thank you - I did see your thread and I thought of you when this arrived. You probably want a bigger one but the seller does have a twin of mine still available if you are interested. It’s a very pale peachy pink but not so pale that it’s washed out.

Thank you for the suggestion!

This newly cut stone arrived today - yet another sparkly pink spinel. It’s a lilac pink and a bit lighter than the one I recently had set into the recycled halo. The Euro cut on this one gives it a lot of fire and flashy sparkle. It looks (again) like a pink diamond. I’m clearly addicted to spinels but I reckon I have enough now (we’ll see….). I’m just happy they are so affordable. If only setting them was as affordable.

This guy really does look like a pink diamond!!

 

[CaseyLouLou]

This newly cut stone arrived today - yet another sparkly pink spinel. It’s a lilac pink and a bit lighter than the one I recently had set into the recycled halo. The Euro cut on this one gives it a lot of fire and flashy sparkle. It looks (again) like a pink diamond. I’m clearly addicted to spinels but I reckon I have enough now (we’ll see….). I’m just happy they are so affordable. If only setting them was as affordable.

I did a photo shoot of this newly cut spinel with two other ones and now realize it is very shifty! It was peachy pink this morning and then this afternoon it showed it’s lilac-lavender side. The other two spinels didn’t really change. Very cool.

Morning indirect light



Afternoon