Five Lavender Spinels...Which one would you set? Inspirations?

[voce]

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All of these spinels were sold to me as lavenderl spinel. (I was obsessed last year.) A is a 1.01 ct square cushion from Vietnam. B is a .96 ct emerald cut from Vietnam, more on the blue instead of pink side. C (2.55 ct) and D (2.14 ct, cut deeper, with bigger tilt window) are Burmese. E is Tanzanian and a precision recut (1.49 ct).

I think I have to have some sort of halo or bezel around the stone because my skin makes lavender look pink, which I definitely don't like. Do you have settings to recommend for these gems? If I set more than one, I would want each lavender spinel I set to have a different style.

 

[T L]

E is the one that stands out to me in color. It’s cutting is decent as well, although it would be nice to see a face on shot to ascertain if there’s a window.

 

[voce]

E is the one that stands out to me in color. It’s cutting is decent as well, although it would be nice to see a face on shot to ascertain if there’s a window.

E is definitely most saturated, though the one that looks best to me in a gem box is D. Both definitely have tilt windows, but no window head-on.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

Just came to admire the lovely lavender/purple/violet shades; how beautiful!

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I think they are all beautiful. Even though E has IMHO the best color, I would set C first due to the size and pleasing shape. Here is an inspiration photo.

 

[dk168]

I voted for E too as it looks bright and sparkly.

DK

 

[qubitasaurus]

I'd put them next to your existing rings, see which one appeals and complements what you've already got.

 

[dk168]

I would probably diamond air gap halo E (Victor C has a gorgeous version) or a 3-stone with pears or round OECs.

For D, 3-stone with pears or diamond halo.

Personal preference and all that.

DK

 

[voce]

I would probably diamond air gap halo E (Victor C has a gorgeous version) or a 3-stone with pears or round OECs.

For D, 3-stone with pears or diamond halo.

Personal preference and all that.

DK

No air gap halos for me because I don't want to have the spinel next to my skin (see the original post). I also have a personal preference for using pears with round centers, and angular cuts such as kite and Cadillac cuts for a rectangular or cushion center.

I respect your personal preference, but I must put mine first. Thanks for the suggestion of doing an OEC 3 stone, I might do that if I get to halo all three stones.

 

[2Neesers]

They are all so pretty - I love lavender spinels! I would set D or E first, with D being my top pick and I would put it in a scalloped diamond halo in rose gold.

 

[missy]

Love the E color the best but I am window adverse so probably (unless it could close fully in the setting you choose) would choose D if that window fully closes in the setting. Just read what you wrote and if they both have no window in the setting my first choice would be E for color. And it would look amazing in a halo.

 

[arkieb1]

I like E the best out of the above photos too but if you like D as well that is your answer, you are the person that will be wearing it!!!

 

[ChaiK]

Oh, @voce. I have a novice question. These lavender spinels, are they very very sparkly? You know how tourmalines can die in certain light. These spinels, how would you describe their lustre? I only have red or pink spinels. Do the lavender ones hold their colour nicely? I do love this colour. Very zen and calming. Thank you for your thoughts and advice. You're the Colour Queen!

I like D best. Even if I love saturated stones. For this particular lot, I like D best.

 

[voce]

Oh, @voce. I have a novice question. These lavender spinels, are they very very sparkly? You know how tourmalines can die in certain light. These spinels, how would you describe their lustre? I only have red or pink spinels. Do the lavender ones hold their colour nicely? I do love this colour. Very zen and calming. Thank you for your thoughts and advice. You're the Colour Queen!

I like D best. Even if I love saturated stones. For this particular lot, I like D best.

Oh, I think you're being too modest. You ask very good questions. I've seen spinels that look better in some lighting and not others. It's why I love red spinels and lavenders. Both these colors of spinel, and pink also, hold their color. They'll hold their color if they don't have too much gray. (Stone C looks much more lavender under incandescent; C has the most gray.) I like neon pink, but not enough to buy the really expensive stuff, as I would go for red over pink any time. Pink is too sweet, and I like to think of myself as spicy. So I use pink mostly in combination with other colors and not as center stones with white diamonds halos.

I just checked; all are very sparkly except the emerald cut. I think we prefer D because it has the least gray. It's less sparkly than the précision cut C and E, but its luster is softer and not as metallic compared to those two. When I bought D last year I did not bargain on price (though I did for two other stones I bought at the same time) because it was to me the holy grail of lavender color that I liked best. That said, I think D is cut deep and E shallow because E was a recut where I asked to preserve face-up size.

 

[chrono]

I voted E but looking at the picture again, I think D has potential. Can you please post more pictures of D and E together?

 

[voce]

I voted E but looking at the picture again, I think D has potential. Can you please post more pictures of D and E together?

I'm at a car dealership, with lights overhead but natural light through the windows. It's shortly past 8am.

 

[chrono]

I change my vote to D, but in a more enclosed backing/setting to deepen the tone. I think D is going to be the one that throws out rainbow sparkles if compared to E.

 

[Module]

My vote is on D, I would pair it with the lightest shade of silvery gray spinel sides for a 3-stone.

 

[prs]

I think they are all beautiful. Even though E has IMHO the best color, I would set C first due to the size and pleasing shape. Here is an inspiration photo.

Yes, I think a smaller halo is better with less saturated stones. That way the diamonds don't overwhelm the center stone.

I think this might apply to all of them with the possible exception of E.

 

[voce]

I'm looking at Stuller settings for D and E. I am looking at different options for E, where the variations are based on melee size. For D, I'm leaning towards the following setting, which has 2 2mm round sidestones. I'm thinking of using white diamond for the 1.1mm halo, and 2mm "pop" colors. What colors would you think to contrast with D? I have red spinels that size, but what do you think of vibrant emerald green? Please help me decide before Tucson ends...

 

[2Neesers]

I played with a few color combinations with Stuller’s”set stones“ option. The only purple they had was amethyst, which is much darker than your lavender spinel. I wish I knew how to photoshop the center lavender.. but since I don’t, hopefully it still gives you a better idea of the color combos. The last one i added because Yavorskyy had lavender spinels with Paraiba on Instagram yesterday and they looked very pretty together.

 

[2Neesers]

Here’s a screenshot of the lavender spinel and Paraiba together from Yavorskyy.

 

[chrono]

If you do green, go with light green so they compliment and not compete with D. Light but not pale aka light tone but good saturation.

 

[voce]

If you do green, go with light green so they compliment and not compete with D. Light but not pale aka light tone but good saturation.

I still have some green Merelani mint garnet that are light green and might do the trick. Will compare this weekend.

 

[elizat]

I like d, then e.

 

[T L]

Can you get both? E is a very rare color for spinel. You rarely see deeper purple spinels without a significant amount of grey. I like the lighter one as well, but I suspect, and correct me if I’m wrong, it looks less ideal in certain lighting.

 

[voce]

Can you get both? E is a very rare color for spinel. You rarely see deeper purple spinels without a significant amount of grey. I like the lighter one as well, but I suspect, and correct me if I’m wrong, it looks less ideal in certain lighting.

Yeah, I can get both. Was thinking about setting these soon, but an unexpected bill came today, and so I'll have to watch my expenses and postpone setting them. I'm considering Stuller settings for them to keep expenses down since they're fairly close to standard sizes.

About the "less ideal in certain lighting" suspicion, can you be more specific? So far I've viewed D under different lighting, and the only thing I have noticed is that it gets more pink under incandescent light.

 

[T L]

Yeah, I can get both. Was thinking about setting these soon, but an unexpected bill came today, and so I'll have to watch my expenses and postpone setting them. I'm considering Stuller settings for them to keep expenses down since they're fairly close to standard sizes.

About the "less ideal in certain lighting" suspicion, can you be more specific? So far I've viewed D under different lighting, and the only thing I have noticed is that it gets more pink under incandescent light.

Is it more grayish and less saturated in certain lighting?

 

[voce]

Is it more grayish and less saturated in certain lighting?

No, not to my eyes. It just looks pink under incandescent, without looking grayish or losing any saturation. E looks grayer under incandescent, but D does not. I've seen them in most lighting: direct sunlight at noon, direct sunlight in the morning, diffused natural light, incandescent light, fluorescent light. They're inert under UV, as I expect for natural spinel. Incandescent pictures below.

 

[voce]

@T L I guess under fluorescent D turns more silvery lavender. E turns a little more metallic compared to incandescent.