Colour combo for my chrysoberyl

[Kim Bruun]

Some of you may remember that I bought a concave chrysoberyl from Richard Homer a few months back. It has these concave curves designed for side stones, and I've been toying with the idea of having a coloured stone combination. But what colour? And pendant or ring?

First things first - I'm a dude, can I even have side stones? I've always felt that if you're playing with colour as a guy, you need to balance it out in terms of shape - too much gender bending in both colour and shape, and it will look like your mom's jewelry. But I love coloured stones, and I want to wear them!

Anyway, I was thinking a pair of round tsavorites. I snapped a couple of quick photos this morning with my oval tsavorite, which is slightly overcoloured and larger than the side stones I am considering, so you guys need to imagine a slightly lighter green:



Could this work? Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[FrekeChild]

Sure! I think it could work. And who cares if you're a guy, guys can have sidestones too. I like the green of the tsav with it. For some reason the combo is bringing to mind a jungle image....

 

[jbkhere]

I love the color combo (and green is a tough one for me!) And I'm with Freke - who cares if you're a guy - wear what you love!

 

[pinkjewel]

Love the color combo- and I'm with the others- you should wear what you want!

 

[chrono]

Yes, I can see two small round tsavorites set as sidestones but very small in relation to the chrysoberyl, smaller than the roundish curve on the main stone. With that colour, you can go with complementary or opposing colours since the saturation is good, either cool shades of blue or green, or warm shades like purple and dark pink.

 

[erinl]

I think the design of the setting makes all the difference in whether it is masculine enough. And I like the color combo of the chrysoberyl and the tsavorite!

 

[innerkitten]

Yes green would work. But I think you could also go with orange or blue too. I think it's okay for a guy to wear sides tones. I'm not sure what your leaning towards but a chunky ring would be nice.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Nicely saturated tsavs or chrome tourmalines would look great.

You can really play off the curves of the chryso with metal. Bulk (in a good way) reads masculine to lots of people.

 

[GregS]

As a man myself, I'd suggest diamonds, you can't go wrong. Two Aquamarines would look right at home. But Aqua's may be a bit effeminate.

 

[FrekeChild]

I think I'd stick with tsavs or diamonds. I think you should stick to the yellow/lime/green side of the colorwheel. In green gold!

 

[JewelFreak]

too much gender bending in both colour and shape, and it will look like your mom's jewelry.

I'd go for it with smaller sidestones -- I like the color combination. Agree that the design of the setting makes it a guy ring. Imagining those colors on somebody's hand, I wouldn't be able to stop staring, could embarrass myself on a bus or plane! If you love colored stones, wear 'em, by all means.

--- Laurie

 

[LD]

Does it have to be a pendant or ring? How about a bracelet - maybe using a black metal or something chunky that takes away the feminimity? If it's manly enough (if you know what I mean) then you could add quite a bit of colour and it wouldn't turn into Mum's jewellery. To avoid the stones losing colour (if set in black for example), you could set them using rose gold/white gold/yellow gold - whichever works. A couple of suggestions for a bracelet (or even a ring) would be to have an open middle and set a gem into the end at either side. Or, if you go for a larger piece you could sink the stones into the metal in a contasting metal cup.

 

[Kim Bruun]

Thank you or all your feedback - you guys are great!

@ LD: The bracelet idea is very interesting, but will of course take a lot more gold , and hence, be more expensive - putting it even further into the future. Another concern would be if such a large piece of jewelry would overpower the just shy of 2 carats chrysoberyl and its sidestones? But for another project, I love the idea of a coloured stone bracelet!

@ Frekechild & GregS: I would like to incorporate diamonds, but not as sidestones - I've actually been thing something along the lines of baguettes. I've always loved those diamond baguette halos, and was thinking something along the lines of a semi-halo, perhaps in a straight line to avoid going too curvy and feminine.

@ davi_el_mejor: Yes, bulk can be masculine, unless the ring totally overpowers the hand - and I have somewhat dainty hands, lol! So, it's a balancing act.

@ Jewelfreak: That's alright - you can stare! I like the ideas of those two bold colours together, and I wouldn't put them on to blend in.

@ Chrono: The size of the concave curve determines the size of the side stones, i.e. 4 millimeters, which is roughly half the diameter of the chrysoberyl. Your other colour suggestions are good - I actually put the chrysoberyl together with a Burmese red spinel, and I was surprised how much I liked the two colours together. But I just love the fresh, almost acidic quality of the neone chartreuse and brilliant green. And I'm normally a purplish blue (and also kinda pink) sorta guy.

@ erinl: I agree, a lot hinges on the design!

@ innerkitten, pinkjewel, & jbkhere: Thank you for your words of encouragement! I was actually thinking that spessartite could work as well, but I prefer green to orange.

Of course, this is way into the future, but I might be able to snag up a pair of tsavs of the perfect size and quality. But, apart from that, I have a more easily realised project that comes first.

 

[LD]

Kim - I was thinking titanium, resin or rigid rubber not gold. I would only use the gold to hold the gems into the host material. So, for example, if you use a black resin, you sink a setting into it (in gold but it would only be a basket so not costly) then drop the gem in. A 2ct chryso will pack a punch and against black I think would be a fantastic contrast. I don't seem to be doing a good job of explaining myself tonight!

If it's something that appeals to you I bet you could find an Etsy artisan to create something.

 

[Kim Bruun]

I can imagine that would be striking, LD, but I prefer the glamour (and longevity) of gold - though there would definitely be a dramatic contrast between the black resin and the neony stone!

I may be oldfashioned in that regard, and maybe even snobbish: I wouldn't want a layman to assume that my gem was just a flashy piece of glass in a hip setting.

 

[Kim Bruun]

Just it make it clear: While I was mortified (lol! Of course I wasn't) at your suggestion to place my precious stone in a less than precious setting, I am very grateful for you input, LD. It's definitely an angle I hadn't considered. And it would probably reflect me as a person quite well: Half princess, and half down-to-earth guy who loves to play soccer with the kids at work and watch a cheesy scary movie when he gets home.

 

[LD]

LOL - who can argue with half princess half down to earth guy!

You go for what you want!!!

 

[Kim Bruun]

LOL - who can argue with half princess half down to earth guy!

Well, let me put it this way: I somehow doubt that my love of sparkly things springs from my masculine side!

But it's always healthy to present one's ideas to other eyes and minds. You might well be presented with solutions you hadn't considered. Some might work for you, some might not. If nothing else, I'm glad that there wasn't a general "yikes, those colours together hurt the eyes!" reaction. I'm looking for something bright and bold, but not an unflattering clash of colour.

My mom was never fond of combining coloured stones - 'funfair' she calls it, and she has a particular distaste for the sapphire/ruby/emerald combo. But granted, that CAN be pretty dire: http://shop.veloxjewellery.co.uk/ek...-gold-ottoman-harem-ring-ryz-052k-10895-p.jpg

 

[LD]

Oh dear - I'm with your Mum on this one! That's a bit too funfair for me!

My preference (and I know that others will disagree) is that a stunning stone doesn't need bit part actors supporting it. So I'm all in favour of not throwing different colours together. There are always exceptions!

 

[Kim Bruun]

I agree, the example above IS hideous, but... I like the idea of using many different colours in one piece of jewelry. Victoire de Castellane's Dear Dior collection is absolutely wonderful, I think: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mab0onBGZO1qinp4fo1_500.jpg

I love how she replicates the colours of the opal with various precious gems in the lower left example, for instance, and the quality of the materials as well as the handywork makes it difficult to dismiss these as "funfair" - instead, they are wildly elaborate pieces of pyrotechnical virtuosity! But when would it ever be appropriate to wear something like that?!

 

[minousbijoux]

My preference (and I know that others will disagree) is that a stunning stone doesn't need bit part actors supporting it. So I'm all in favour of not throwing different colours together. There are always exceptions!

Okay, I have to say that this is totally personal preference but I agree with the quote wholeheartedly. For some reason, when I see various colored stones together, it cheapens it for me and makes me wonder if it isn't costume jewelry, like all those Christmas tree pins of green, white and red stones I used to see as a kid To this day, I can (sadly) go into a place like Gumps which caters to mid to high end jewelry, see multi-stone pieces and immediately think "costume jewelry." Oh, the scars, the scars!

 

[chrono]

LD,
I love your idea. It is budget friendly yet the combination is outstanding.

Kim,
I'm not a fan of the funfair look either. It looks very cheapish but some high end store designs are able to pull it off quite well without that cheapo factor. Still not my cup of tea but it is less painful on the eyes.

 

[Kim Bruun]

Chrono - would my colour combination be okay, or would it fall strictly within the funfair category? My reasoning was that the brilliant green (slighter lighter than the pictured tsavorite) and the vivid greenish yellow were close enough to not clash but distinct enough to keep things exciting. I like the idea of placing two or more colours together - and I think Victoire de Castelanne is mostly very successful with it - but if my juxtaposition doesn't work, I won't be buying those two round tsavorites.

I am also thinking that this stone was made for sidestones, and for me, colorless diamonds would make for a too cold looking piece of jewelry, if that makes sense.

 

[ChrisA222]

I like the green with the Chrysoberyl,too. My only comment is to not limit the stones to tsavorites...there are some killer Chrome Tourmalines out there right now...not just the darker ones that come into mind when you think of Chrome Tourmaline.

These are a few examples of different shades of Chrome T. One is from Gene and the other two from Roger Dery.

 

[Kim Bruun]

I am not limiting myself to tsavorites, but the tsavorites are available now. If tone is the same, would there be any reason to choose the chrome tourmalines over the tsavorites, or vice versa? One consideration would that side stones can't close up too much in the evening. The chrysoberyl seems to grab whatever light there is to produce that yellow colour, and I'd hate for the side stones to go black alongside it. I love the colour of the two Dery stones by the way - and all three are beautifully cut, of course!

 

[minousbijoux]

One of the things that I learned a while ago from one of our stellar posters (TL) is that if you are going to use two colors, try and match them for saturation level. It is jarring to look at a ring that has a light and medium saturated stone with sidestone that are deeper in tone and saturation. If you do a search for some of TL's rings, you'll see a number of two color combos, but she was always really careful to match them as I just discussed. There is one in particular that I just love - I believe its a chrysoberyl and blue spinel combo.

 

[chrono]

With the right design, right size and colour combo, it is not going to look funfair but expensive and elegant. Whatever you pick, the side stones have to be able to stand up next to the bright chrysoberyl.

 

[minousbijoux]

...and vice versa, don't you think?

 

[GregS]

If you're going to go green then I'd like to suggest Demantoids. I know of a nice pair of decent colored rounds in the 4mm range for less than $100.

 

[Kim Bruun]

Thanks, Gregs - I think I am looking at that particular pair right now. The tone is just right, and I like the thought throwing in that kind of dispersion, but my two concerns are durability and saturation - demantoid is a soft stone, which is worth considering if I choose to go with the ring, and would the apple green of these particular stones I am looking at drown next to chrysoberyl?

I definitely agree with you guys about tone - the tsav I posted is too dark for the chrysoberyl, and I am hoping the 4 mm rounds will be significantly lighter in tone, but still saturate.