First CS and Need Setting Advice...PLEASE!

[MrsM]

Hello! I am the lucky owner of MB's platinum blue color changing spinel. This is my first loose colored stone and I am feeling a little lost as to where to look and what to consider when picking a setting for this guy. Just to share my thoughts at the moment, you can see that the stone has strong saturation so I definitely want to allow as much light from the gallery as possible. The first photo shows it indoors under normal lighting. The second photos shows its wonderful dispersion by a window.

I am thinking of doing a diamond halo in white gold to contrast with the dark color of the stone. Maybe a split shank with pave or maybe just a plain single shank? I don't want to spend too much on this setting, so pre-loved or something from Lord of the Gems would be best? This will be RHR BTW.

Would love to hear opinions from those who done this many times as taking into account the color of the stone and its properties is new to me. Thanks for your help!!

 

[chrono]

Congrats on your new acquisition! Unfortunately, I think you are confused about the definition of saturation - I would not consider the spinel to be strongly saturated but a bit dark in tone (colour closes up indoors), which is why you need a setting that is as open as possible to allow a lot of light play. A halo setting is going to be on the enclosed side unless the stone sits up a bit high. Too much contrast will also accentuate the darkness.

I like the idea of a split shank with pave or a plain shingle shank. From what I hear, LOGR's melee quality has gone down the tubes and many prefer Lanbo.

What would you describe the colour of the spinel as indoors and outdoors?

 

[minousbijoux]

Hi Mrs. M, I'm so glad to see you over here!

Two questions for you:

When it is inside and it exhibits that deep platinum blue color, what sparks or flashes of color does it give off when light hits it?

Same question for when outside or daylight hits it and the body color is that teal blue color - what color are the flashes or sparks of color?

I don't want to say what I remember in case your experience is different. But I thought the experts should know the color sparks or flashes the stone gives off when thinking about metal color.

I admittedly am not an expert on setting stones and knowing what colors go together, but I think I would set it in yellow gold because even if its two main colors are cold colors (platinum blue or grey blue and teal), the warm gold color will accentuate the dispersion and make the stone seem richer if that makes sense. I also agree with Chrono that a split shank halo would be very pretty. Perhaps you could say a little more about what styles you like to give people a jumping off point?

 

[MrsM]

Read up on tone vs saturation, so I am all straightened out on that now Thanks for the correction, Chrono.

With my inexperienced eye and lack of descriptive language, I see the stone as a slate blue indoors with flashes of shades of blue and sometimes purple. Outdoors, the stone has wonderful sparks of teal and aqua. Overall though, the tone IS dark so interesting point that a diamond halo may just highlight this. Definitely want to give the stone as much light as possible so liking the split shank idea more and more. I have not yet tried on any split shank rings, so don't know if they look good on me, but I have seen some possible split shank mountings on ebay:

Twist style:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Split-Shank-Diamond-Semi-Mount-Engagement-Ring-Setting-0-97-Carats-14K-/350550134652?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e6a8f7c

Here is another possible option:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/14K-White-Gold-Split-Shank-Diamond-Semi-Mount-Ring-0-36-/390326983205?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae14d1a25

This one is more vintage-y which I am not sure how it would look with the stone:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Split-Shank-Diamond-Semi-Mount-Engagement-Ring-Setting-0-70-Ctw-14k-/350550771077?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e744585

A Cartier-inspired one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solid-14k-Split-Shank-Diamond-Semi-Mount-Engagement-Ring-Setting-0-60-Carats-/350556547335?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519ecc6907

And just for kicks, a halo one with a pretty open gallery:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/14k-Semi-Mount-Split-Shank-Round-Halo-Diamond-Engagement-Ring-Setting-0-81-Cts-/350555206442?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519eb7f32a

Other ideas much welcomed! I am not rushing into this, and want to explore lots of options in order to best show off the stone. So please be honest...

 

[chrono]

MrsM,
I wish I could help you but unfortunately, I'm really not familiar with those vendors, therefore am uncomfortable discussing the quality (workmanship and diamond quality).

 

[MrsM]

Just received my ring from Daniel M and wanted to share what I ended up with. He was wonderful to work with and very responsive. Ring is argentium silver and the baguettes are CZ for cost reasons. I am pretty pleased with the way it came out overall.

 

[chrono]

Well done; a very classy and timeless design.

 

[JewelFreak]

Very pretty! Lets the stone show well!

 

[minousbijoux]

Wow, its lovely. Its simple yet elegant. Is that the first time you worked with Daniel M?

 

[txgreeneyes]

Beautiful! Love the stone and the setting..

 

[jstarfireb]

The ring looks lovely! Great choice to go with Daniel M. They do nice work at good prices.

 

[MrsM]

Thanks for the compliments. Yes this is my time working with Daniel M. Communication is great and the time from approving the CAD to having the ring in hand is super quick! Being reasonably priced helps a lot too! Will definitely use him again for future fun colored stone jewelry!