David Klass' new Uber-bench meets my new 3.12ctw Cluster Earrings

[tuffyluvr]

Amazing!!! Love them! The metalwork is gorgeous! I just sent my oval rose cuts to David Klass to be set and this gets me even more excited!

 

[bright ice]

Those are beautiful and have a bling presence on your lobes. Love the group photo

 

[mrs-b]

Sagefemme - awwww - thank you for being so nice about my gigantic ear lobes! And I'd LOVE to help you on any future projects! Future projects = all good things in the world!

Tuffyluvr - oval rose cuts?? Hello - YUM! What's your project? Very exciting! And thank you for your kind comments.

bright ice - 'bling presence' - awesome.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Diamondseeker - thank you! You know I love every jewelry project you do and never - EVER - thought I'd want to own a VCA piece...until I saw your bracelet! Holy WOW! Are you going to JCK this year? I'm thinking about it....

I am right there with you on "classic" and wanting pieces that will LAST!!!

Thank you, I love your jewelry, too! I do love my VCA bracelet. It was a luxury, but it is one I really wear often because it can be worn casually or dressy.

PS is not having a Vegas get together this year because JCK is on weekdays and not on a weekend. Only vendors can get into the show, so I wouldn't go if there wasn't a PS party. Andrey said they might have some regional get togethers, though!

 

[Lightbulb]

Woweeee!

 

[BlingDreams]

And here's my completed cluster set.

What a truly beautiful collection!!

 

[CRYSTAL24K]

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!
DK did an amazing job! Your flower cluster earrings are stunning and they look fabulous on you! I love your cluster collection!
I will definitely consider using DK next year when I get my earring jackets.

Love the pear pendant also.

 

[iwantsparkle]

So pretty! Especially love the earrings! Gorgeous!

 

[mrs-b]

Thanks Lightbulb! Woweee indeed!

iwantsparkle - so glad you like them. The collection altogether has a big bling factor!

Awww - thank you, ILikeShiny! I blushed!
Crystal24K - hallo bling sister! I'm so glad you like them - I always appreciate your taste and your comments. How are you enjoying your new studs?

Thanks to everyone for their very kind comments - I am most chuffed!

 

[Akalahab]

Wow- those pieces are beautiful!! Very well done!

 

[poshmommy]

Stunning earrings!!! Congrats!

 

[RosieR]

Oh my the arrows, THE ARROWS!!! and that new benchman isn't messing when it comes to dainty metal work
Enjoy

 

[LLJsmom]

How did I miss these? These are gorgeous!! So so pretty. I understand the obsession with cluster rings and earrings. And that bench did a fabulous job. Those settings look clean and modern. Enjoy!

 

[mrs-b]

Ooooh - @LLJsmom ! "Clean and modern" - that's EXACTLY what I was looking for! I dislike faddish things, but I'm also not an antique kind of girl either. I like clean and classic; I find the less detail you add, the better off things stand the changes of fashion.

Hi @RosieR Yes, their new bench is the real deal. Thank you for noticing my arrows!

@Akalahab - I'm glad you found your way here. Hopefully this will give you some options when you do your re-sets. Let me just say, tho, I like your rings as they are - very much. For me, it would all come down to the quality of the melee; if it's good, I'd leave it as is. If not - I'd be switching it up. Also - are you planning to do your wedding ring as well? You'll get a noticeable disparity of quality if you don't, which might bother you. Looking forward to following your project!

Thanks, @poshmommy They continue to put a smile on my face, which tells me they were the right idea for me.

 

[James L Hinnant]

I love the earrings and pendant. I also love and would love to have earrings simular to the pear and emerald cut drops. did you have them done locally? i have the pears and emerald cut to make a pair. I just wouldn"t want to copy yours.

 

[mrs-b]

Hi @James L Hinnant - am I right in thinking that you work for Corpus Christi Jewelers in Texas? I designed those earrings - to the mm - so I'm not keen on seeing them reproduced for sale. Thanks for asking tho.

 

[luv2sparkle]

mrs-b, I was so glad to see your thread again. You pieces are so beautiful. I love, no I adore your cluster pieces. I love your pear pendant too. They must make you so happy to wear them. Such lovely pieces. You are so right, they are classic with just the right amount of adornment. Not overly busy. Just lovely.

 

[mrs-b]

mrs-b, I was so glad to see your thread again. You pieces are so beautiful. I love, no I adore your cluster pieces. I love your pear pendant too. They must make you so happy to wear them. Such lovely pieces. You are so right, they are classic with just the right amount of adornment. Not overly busy. Just lovely.

Thank you, @luv2sparkle

The flower pendant has since been dismantled and is being remade with much better stones, in the same style as the other pieces (ie no bezel around the center stone). Then that set is DONE. I'm currently working on a few projects with DKJ - the diamond pendant, a different pendant, and ANOTHER reset of my 7 stone ring. When these are done, I'll move onto a different ring. I'm trying to get all of this done by the end of the year so I can do 2 big rings next year, and call it a day.

 

[windblownhair]

And here's my completed cluster set.

Gorgeous! Love the family portrait.

 

[elliefire99]

Everything is impeccable and classic as always mrs-b!

And sorry to revive an old thread with a noob question. But what is an uber bench? And how does it differ from a regular bench? Just a question that has been tickling me for awhile in all my forum browsing...

 

[mrs-b]

Hi @elliefire99

It just means the same as the way people use uber in common vernacular - awesome, super, extra. An uber bench is a term people use here from time to time, and it means an extra good bench, capable of extra fine work. IDJ has one, DKJ has one, Diamonds By Lauren used to have one, and I saw recently that someone else has one also, but I can't remember who it was. If you call a jeweler, just ask them if they have a bench who is extra qualified, of a higher quality, or who specializes in the sort of piece and finish you want. Or you can just ask on these boards and we'll help you find what you want.

And just to add - the earrings in this thread no longer exist. I pulled them apart and they were remade larger - roughly 4.5 ctw - in platinum. They're a substantial piece of jewelry at this point!

 

[elliefire99]

Hi @elliefire99

It just means the same as the way people use uber in common vernacular - awesome, super, extra. An uber bench is a term people use here from time to time, and it means an extra good bench, capable of extra fine work. IDJ has one, DKJ has one, Diamonds By Lauren used to have one, and I saw recently that someone else has one also, but I can't remember who it was. If you call a jeweler, just ask them if they have a bench who is extra qualified, of a higher quality, or who specializes in the sort of piece and finish you want. Or you can just ask on these boards and we'll help you find what you want.

And just to add - the earrings in this thread no longer exist. I pulled them apart and they were remade larger - roughly 4.5 ctw - in platinum. They're a substantial piece of jewelry at this point!

Thanks for the clarification @mrs-b! I figured that that was what is was more or less, but was a bit confused about how you ask/find out about these things. ("Hey, can you make sure this goes to your BEST person?" *wink wink*) But it's great to see what kind of results you can get when you know your jewelers well

And it seems that even the uber craftsmanship wasn't quite enough to save them from bigger and better projects! C'est la vie...

 

[mrs-b]

Well interestingly enough....

Having just bought a pair of new diamond studs, roughly the same size as the ones in these earrings, I've decided to remake these earrings in the same exact size - including using the exact same sides as were in these, which I still have, and which have been sitting around doing nothing for some time now.

Altho I dismantled these and remade them with larger centers + one extra side stone in the cluster, they ended up being a tad too heavy, and I was saving them for 'best' - which was never my intent, originally. So these will be remade, because they really were perfect for me and I was just too slow to see it!

So what goes around really *does* come around!

 

[James L Hinnant]

Hi @James L Hinnant - am I right in thinking that you work for Corpus Christi Jewelers in Texas? I designed those earrings - to the mm - so I'm not keen on seeing them reproduced for sale. Thanks for asking tho.

Ok I completely understand. I have no idea why it took so long to get this message. I've decided against copying yours and will use the loose diamonds on another project. Yours are truly amazing..

 

[mrs-b]

Ok I completely understand. I have no idea why it took so long to get this message. I've decided against copying yours and will use the loose diamonds on another project. Yours are truly amazing..

Thanks James.

 

[James L Hinnant]

Thanks James.

I dont work for a jewelry company. I'm a jewelry collector.

 

[iwantadiamond]

And here's my completed cluster set.

Could you please give me stats on the necklace? Did David Klass make this? Where did you get the diamonds ?

 

[Phoenix]

GORGEOUS, @mrs-b .

I'd love to see profile pics of the earrings.

 

[mrs-b]

GORGEOUS, @mrs-b .

I'd love to see profile pics of the earrings.

Sorry @Phoenix - These were from years ago and were taken apart. I now have a gorgeous 5.1ctw pair with all super-ideal, colorless diamonds, and they're perfect. They match my cluster ring and make a beautiful set together.

 

[mrs-b]

Could you please give me stats on the necklace? Did David Klass make this? Where did you get the diamonds ?

Hi @iwantadiamond -

This pendant is years old and the center stone, for example, was from 1940. Its since been taken apart and most of the side diamonds I just got rid of, as the quality was so poor. (They came out of various random pieces and projects over time.)

The more recent pendant you were looking at was made with all different, new, diamonds - all super ideals. The center stone, tho, was an I SI2 from Good Old Gold, and was their Ascendancy cut. But my (new) earrings and (also new) ring were all colorless (almost), so the disparity of quality annoyed me, so I took it apart. At some point I'll do a matching pendant perhaps, but it's a fair way down the list.

These are my current earrings and ring and they are a sparkle bomb!

Earrings - 5.1ctw colorless, super ideal stones, set in platinum by DKJ
Ring - 1.51 G SI1 center stone (but, honestly, the whitest G stone I've ever seen), sides all individually bought and certed, E VS/VVS. Set in platinum by DKJ - 3.63ctw.