Have you ever had this regret..

[Cockatiel]

I set my umbalite in silver, although white gold probably would have been better. It made the hot pink pop.

I go to Scott Sills at gem shows. sandsgoldanddiamond.com is the website. They travel to gem shows mostly in the southeast.

I really like silver...especially the way it becomes scratched and develops patina. I'm thinking of setting a stone or two in silver. Have you used silver polishing cloth on the umbalite ring? I'm wondering if I'll be able to clean the gemstone part with silver polish cloth if the ring ends up tarnishing. I have Tiffany silver stuff without any gems so I just use polish cloth from time to time, but have no idea if the polish cloth is bad for gems.

 

[chatoyancy]

I really like silver...especially the way it becomes scratched and develops patina. I'm thinking of setting a stone or two in silver. Have you used silver polishing cloth on the umbalite ring? I'm wondering if I'll be able to clean the gemstone part with silver polish cloth if the ring ends up tarnishing. I have Tiffany silver stuff without any gems so I just use polish cloth from time to time, but have no idea if the polish cloth is bad for gems.

I had earrings made from a pair of umbalites I bought from Jeff Davies. They are cut in the stop sign looking octagon style he does. The silver has been fine. I do just use a cloth for them. I don’t think the cloth is bad for gems. At least I haven’t heard it was. I like silver too. I’m just not good about keeping it clean if I don’t wear it often. I do wear my earrings pretty frequently, so I’ve been good with them.

 

[metall]

Noted! I have another picture here where it’s a bit more pink and it does seem like it’ll look better with white gold. I was looking through Ivy and rose settings and it just seems like all their settings are for smaller stones. Say around 6.5 mm while this is 7.5 mm. Sigh, I thought they were a reliable back up.

Oh WOW, that pink is so so vivid! That is a GORGEOUS stone! I love the how beautiful that cut is! I think that the contrast with silver (especially a more oxidized silver) would really make the pink pop more.

 

[Gemobsessed]

Oh WOW, that pink is so so vivid! That is a GORGEOUS stone! I love the how beautiful that cut is! I think that the contrast with silver (especially a more oxidized silver) would really make the pink pop more.

Thank you so much for your kind compliment. I’m leaning towards a simple setting like this one hoping it will suit the pink

 

[Gemobsessed]

I set my umbalite in silver, although white gold probably would have been better. It made the hot pink pop.

I go to Scott Sills at gem shows. sandsgoldanddiamond.com is the website. They travel to gem shows mostly in the southeast.

Thank you so much for sharing. Unfortunately I’m based in Singapore so I have to find someone who has an online shop.

 

[Acinom]

Gorgeous pink!!!
I love the elegant setting you have in mind for it.

 

[metall]

Thank you so much for your kind compliment. I’m leaning towards a simple setting like this one hoping it will suit the pink

I can definitely see it! I love how simple it is, but with just a little bit of fun in the basket. Would you be sticking with the white?

 

[chatoyancy]

Thank you so much for sharing. Unfortunately I’m based in Singapore so I have to find someone who has an online shop.

You’re welcome. I wish I could help. I have also had Stuller settings done and custom work done. I just make my decisions based on the stone. Your tourmaline is so insanely beautiful, I don’t think you could go wrong.

 

[Gemobsessed]

I can definitely see it! I love how simple it is, but with just a little bit of fun in the basket. Would you be sticking with the white?

thank you yes I think I’ll stick with white, I’ve never really been a yellow or rose gold person. I have one pink Tourmaline set in rose gold already.

 

[Gemobsessed]

Well, I will say I think you nailed the perfect setting for each of those stones!

I do have a few rings with extra-large colored gemstones, and I definitely wear them but not as often as some other CS rings I have that I find more "wearable" (which I define as, easy and safe to wear when doing errands and while at work). For me, if I love the ring, it is okay that I only wear it 6-12 times a year, versus other rings that I may wear 50 times a year.

And, I think it is natural that a brand-new ring is a new favorite, pushing out anything else.

But if you think your preferences have realigned and you know you'll never reach for an 11mm CS ring, then it is okay to let it go.

Now, as an related aside, I love the setting your green stone (is it a mint tourmaline or mint garnet?) is in ... can you share deets on that?

I think it's perfectly normal to have changing feelings regarding your rings.
Every time I get a new ring, it instantly becomes my new favorite. I wear it non stop. Then, the "new" wears off and I start wearing my other rings too. I love having many different choices. I have my "fancy" paraiba ring that I only wear on special occasions and my little flower paraiba that I wear all the time.

Some rings feel more fancy and you just wear them during more dressed up situations. A night on the town, a play, a Holiday dinner. If you still love the color (and it is a fantastic color), I'd say keep it and let it find its way into rotation naturally.

By the way your rings are both fabulous! Just put the pink one aside for a few months and then take it out again so it feels brand new again!

Your pink tourmaline ring is fabulous (as well as your blue/green tourmaline ring) but I understand how you feel. Maybe your tastes are changing a bit and maybe you will feel differently in time. If you do decide to sell your pink tourmaline ring it will go fast and make someone else very happy.

Both of your rings are beautiful . I have a similar problem in that I love my stones when they are loose, but not as much once I set them. I think I haven’t quite found my setting style yet. You picked the perfect settings for both of your stones. They are very different looks from one another, and maybe you are finding your everyday style preference leans more toward the tourmaline, but I would still keep the garnet at a statement piece, it’s gorgeous!

I second everyone's comments that you did very well designing each ring. They're both beautiful! And holy ^&#%, that piece of rough! Love it.

I will say that when I started out, the stone had to be 10mm or above (because I have large hands). It was all about size for me. My first stone was a 11.1mm green-blue tourmaline. It's a ring I still love but rarely gets worn because it sits up high and I'm afraid of banging it. As I hung around PS more and learned a lot more, I realized color was most important to me and size moved way, way, way down the list. Now I appreciate 1-5mm stones with vivid color that I wouldn't have even looked at before. I also love smaller stones because they're much more wearable. So my tastes have definitely changed over the years and it hasn't even been that many years. hahaha However, I'm keeping what I have because I love the stones themselves, and I always design my rings around the stones which makes me fall in love with them in a whole other way.

My advice is to keep stuff for now and, like others have said, rotate different rings in and out. Let some time go by and see if absence makes the heart grow fonder or if you legitimately never reach for a certain ring. Also, see if there's a place in your life for more of a statement ring. Time will give you some answers, I think. And in the meantime, enjoy wearing whichever one(s) you pick!

OMG don't do that....that just feels wrong...you know. To spend money and to assume lots of risks to end up with a smaller stone, and the results are not even guaranteed. You might not even be able to reuse that setting. On top of the possible damage to the stone, the setting may be messed up too when the jeweler fiddles with it. It doesn't look like you can just replace the head easily or something. And as far as my past experience goes, the recutter might not be able to give you an exactly 9mm stone either...I'm clueless about tourmaline but isn't it also terribly dichroic, and a drastic recut might change the perceived color or something?

Hi again you guys! I felt I had to report back and thank you for helping me avoid making a big mistake!

I wore my new green tourmaline every day since I got it and felt like I’d never want to wear my big pink and found every little thing wrong about it but today I woke up and put on a classic black out for for work and actually felt like wearing my big pink. I didn’t feel at all like I should have worn my green and decided not to give a damn what other people think about the big size. I loved wearing it today. You guys prevented me from making a knee jerk reaction about a reset or a selling. And since then I have collected more pink Tourmalines, honestly nothing beats this colour, it’s very complex. It felt great to fall in love with it again. That being said I will now only buy stones around 7-8 mm because though this is a great statement ring I don’t think I have that many places to wear it to.