Grey spinel and diamonds by DKJ

[mrs-b]

Took a few more photos now that the swelling in my hands has gone down. Look out for those artificial Christmas trees - they pack a wallop!!

I took these photos to show what I meant when I said that this style of ring also makes a good engagement ring; I think it goes very well with the 2 different bands.

 

[mrs-b]

I can not wait! I love seeing everyone's collections, it really helps me visualize what I think I want in mine for the far distant future, and I'm hoping that by following in more experienced footsteps, I won't make too many costly mistakes

Every time I see these posts of yours the back of my mind goes...uh huh...so let's add that to my wish list at number....1709759845. Alas, with the new-ish house, a wedding, and law school in 2020 I will just have to start small .

Ohhhh we can be upgrade buddies! My DF totally just got on board with me buying an "upgrade" stone for our anniversary! One that I can slowly put money into until it hits some magic number that makes me go THIS is perfect. I haven't decided between a CBI or a WF ACA yet though. May I ask if there's any particular reason you're going with WF over CBI? (please feel free to tell me I'm a nosey nelly if you don't want to divulge this online)

Not nosey at all!

WF has a bigger selection and their prices are better. All my WF stones have been STUNNING, so that's good enough for me.

And yes - happy to have an upgrade buddy!

 

[paperunicorn]

I am loving this forum so far! You all are so nice and I'm learning so much from reading these threads. Hmmm...my wishlist...

1. More diamonds... I used to think I didn't like them because they were too "plain"/not colored. Clearly I've changed my mind. I would like an asscher cut eventually, and something 2ct+...eventually I'd also like a nice glittery bracelet.
2. A couple of curved eternity bands to go with my jelly opal halo ring
3. after seeing the Paraiba tourmalines on this forum...I definitely need one of those.

I think that's the bulk of what I definitely know I want, but I'm like a magpie and attracted to shiny things so I'm sure it's not all I'll end up buying.

 

[Starfacet]

Thanks @Starfacet. I always knew I was going to love her, but I wasn't sure what anyone else would think. Truth be told, I came very close to just putting her in a solitaire, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to glam her up a bit and do all I could to bring out 'the depths of her soul'! Gees...it's like talking about a tortured adolescent, isn't it!!

Actually, @mrs-b I was thinking that my oval would good in that setting. If you don't mind my copying you, that is! I loooove it with the bands!!!

 

[rainydaze]

Love it paired with a band too! Gawd this ring is awesome!! You have such great taste and vision mrs-b!!

 

[mrs-b]

@paperunicorn - that's a great sounding list! Keep a record of it and, in 5 years time, see how far you've progressed towards it...or away from it! I think all of us here had things we definitely wanted...until we didn't! Everyone's jewelry journey is fascinating!

@Starfacet - wouldn't mind at all. And I think that style would look fabulous with an oval! I used a basic formula for mine; I wanted the combined height of the 2 side diamonds sitting on top of each other to be roughly 2/3 the height of the spinel. The spinel is is 8.25, so I wanted the first 2 side diamonds on each side to be no higher than 5.5 - 5.6mm - meaning I wanted the diamonds to be roughly 2.8mm each in diameter. It gives you a nice visual taper and makes it fold around the finger in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

Thanks, @rainydaze! I love it with the band also. Makes a great looking wedding set, I think. But I'm pretty sure I'm biased...

 

[MonkeysInk]

Just gorgeous! I have a moody cushion-shaped grey spinel tucked away in a drawer while I consider ideas and this is simply fantastic. It's beautiful.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Gorgeous! Special spinel!

cheers--Sharon

 

[mrs-b]

Thank you, @MonkeysInk Do you have a plan for yours yet? I'll look forward to seeing where you end up!

Thanks, @canuk-gal - I looked for this one for a long time. I'm very happy with her.

 

[natasha-cupcake]

Just gorgeous! Love the different shades of color in that stone. Another huge win, Mrs-b.

 

[Catmom]

Love the new pics!

 

[MonkeysInk]

Thank you, @MonkeysInk Do you have a plan for yours yet? I'll look forward to seeing where you end up!

Thanks, @canuk-gal - I looked for this one for a long time. I'm very happy with her.

No plan yet....I see things I like and think my mind is made up and then I see something else....you know how that goes.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Thanks @MakingTheGrade - the spinel is almost like a navy blue in some lights. What a chameleon!

One of the many things I love about colored stones (or lower colored diamonds) is how much they change in different lighting! I’ve recently gotten obsessed with opal which I guess is the most extreme example of that.

 

[mrs-b]

One of the many things I love about colored stones (or lower colored diamonds) is how much they change in different lighting! I’ve recently gotten obsessed with opal which I guess is the most extreme example of that.

Every time someone says 'opal' - I feel like Homer Simpson: "mmmmmmmmmmm OPALS!"

 

[mrs-b]

Thank you, @natasha-cupcake! I'm really trying to get them *all* right these days; re-makes are expensive!

Thanks, @Catmom! Have you been wearing your new bug? She's AWESOME! There *must* be a may of wearing a grouping on a plain sweater, so you can look as tho a little colorful, sparkly, flock has fluttered down and landed on you!

@MonkeysInk - yes. I know EXACTLY what that's like!! Luckily, the journey is half the fun.

 

[mrs-b]

Sorry - I can't resist.

Wanted to share these flashes of blue. These were taken in a beige room looking out to a fully enclosed courtyard with a 12' hedge, so the blue is coming from the heart of the spinel when it's captured at juuuust the right angle. The second photo shows its intense silvery-ness. Gorgeous, gorgeous stone.

The only thing that would have made these photos better is if I'd remembered to clean the stone before I took them! Big splodgy finger marks - sorry! But...seriously...those prongs...!!

 

[Tekate]

MrsB I bow to you. Such gorgeous rings, such beautiful stones, I love this new ring.. girl you got it going in taste fer sure. LOVE this new ring!

 

[mrs-b]

MrsB I bow to you. Such gorgeous rings, such beautiful stones, I love this new ring.. girl you got it going in taste fer sure. LOVE this new ring!

Oh @Tekate, shucks! You sweet talker, you!

 

[mrs-b]

I know I keep bumping this thread, and I do apologize. But this stone is such a chameleon, it shows ever-so-slightly different colors every day, and I want to capture them all!!

This evening - overwhelmingly purple with fuchsia undertones. I don't think my camera was able to capture, given that it's night here - but you can make out something going on. If you scroll back to the photos I posted last Thursday, it's extraordinary to look at the second photo that day, which shows the stone as a pure silver, or the first photo that day, which showed flashes of blue, and realize it's the same stone as today's stone, with its bright purple and deep, hot pink!








Blurry, but you can see the color undertones a smidge more clearly.

 

[MarionC]

Mrs b, I’m in love with your grey spinel ring, totally and utterly.

 

[mrs-b]

@Jimmianne - I am too! It's such an interesting ring - I actively enjoy it. And it looks great with a band, so I wear it often on my wedding finger, without relegating it to being a RHR.

This one is a bit like that Rick Astley song - "Never gonna give you up...."

 

[Halogirl1130]

@mrs-b where did you find this spinel? I just found this post when searching for more info about this ring. I LOVE this. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, about how much money did it cost for this project? I’m not super familiar with the prices of spinels!

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Moody. I can't wait to hear what it's like in different lighting conditions.
Close to done with projects? I have to believe you since all your collections are marked by taste and restraint. But there are those (me, for one) who enjoy seeing your lovely jewelry so much! You need to put your photos on a loop and release them periodically. Keep us from having a mrs-b deficiency.

 

[Dandi]

@mrs-b where did you find this spinel? I just found this post when searching for more info about this ring. I LOVE this. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, about how much money did it cost for this project? I’m not super familiar with the prices of spinels!

I *think* it was cut by Jeff Davies.

 

[mrs-b]

Awww - thank you, @Ibrakeforpossums! I *did* give it up, tho. I loved it so much, I wanted something slightly larger, so that's when I got *this* one:



This one is a better size for my finger / hand, and I love the rose gold in it - as the spinel itself is slightly more pink than the last one. I love the one I sold to @DorotheaBrooke - but I think each of us now have the ring that suits us best.

 

[mrs-b]

Hi @Halogirl1130

I'm sorry about this, but I'd rather not share precisely how much the ring cost - just because I've sold it, and it would mean telling you how much someone else's jewelry is worth.

Speaking generally, tho, spinels vary in price - red being most expensive and grey being the least. But once you got to a certain size, clarity and level of cut, even a grey spinel will set you back a couple of thousand (the spinel in my current ring in the post above, for instance, cost around 2k). But in general, if you want a grey spinel of around the 2ct size with excellent color and a great cut, you can normally pick one up for around 1k. Take a look on FineWaterGems.com - Gary normally carries a couple at any one time. Jeff Davies (thanks, @Dandi! .. ..) cut the one in the ring you're asking about, and he normally carries nice ones also. If you want a grey spinel, tho, be aware - they're going up in size. I had a phone conversation with Gary a while back and he told me that every virtually every grey spinel he'd sold 2 years ago he could now sell for double the price because a) they're more popular and b) they're becoming less plentiful.

This setting is in platinum and has about 2/3 of a ct of well cut, colorless, very clean diamonds (6 x 11pt stones) - and in real life, you can see that quality just from looking at the ring. The setting was custom made for me, so, again, not a cheap proposition - tho it was made by David Klass Jewelry, whose prices are reasonable.

Hopefully that will all be enough to give you a ball park!

 

[Halogirl1130]

Hi @Halogirl1130

I'm sorry about this, but I'd rather not share precisely how much the ring cost - just because I've sold it, and it would mean telling you how much someone else's jewelry is worth.

Speaking generally, tho, spinels vary in price - red being most expensive and grey being the least. But once you got to a certain size, clarity and level of cut, even a grey spinel will set you back a couple of thousand (the spinel in my current ring in the post above, for instance, cost around 2k). But in general, if you want a grey spinel of around the 2ct size with excellent color and a great cut, you can normally pick one up for around 1k. Take a look on FineWaterGems.com - Gary normally carries a couple at any one time. Jeff Davies (thanks, @Dandi! .. ..) cut the one in the ring you're asking about, and he normally carries nice ones also. If you want a grey spinel, tho, be aware - they're going up in size. I had a phone conversation with Gary a while back and he told me that every virtually every grey spinel he'd sold 2 years ago he could now sell for double the price because a) they're more popular and b) they're becoming less plentiful.

This setting is in platinum and has about 2/3 of a ct of well cut, colorless, very clean diamonds (6 x 11pt stones) - and in real life, you can see that quality just from looking at the ring. The setting was custom made for me, so, again, not a cheap proposition - tho it was made by David Klass Jewelry, whose prices are reasonable.

Hopefully that will all be enough to give you a ball park!

Thank you!!! I love both of those rings. They are gorgeous!!!