Help a pauper brainstorm -- custom e-ring ideas

[raddygast]

Isn't Beryl very brittle?

I think I'm strongly leaning towards pink sapphire or spinel (red, maybe pink). Pad sapphires are awesome but I think this lady isn't very fond of oranges, yellows, or greens.

I visited Leif's studio today...

 

[valeria101]

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On 10/23/2004 2:19:06 AM raddygast wrote:

Isn't Beryl very brittle?

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Nope. Saturated red and green beryl (emerald) happens to come with lots of inclusions, and that makes gems brittle. Without inclusions it is a hard gemstone. Light colored beryl of any shade (aquamarine, morganite, green beryl) is typically clean too... There is more of this story in the last post of this thread.

Why beryl ?

 

[foxglove]

See valeria's post on beryl and brittleness. I prefer corundums and beryls only because I'm going down the Moh's scale from diamonds.

How was Leif's studio?? I'm very curious!

fox

 

[raddygast]

I was largely impressed, though he wasn't too keen on the idea of me procuring my own stone. I don't necessarily doubt him when he says he has access to the two largest/best/most experienced colored gem dealers in the city, but I want to feel that he's more flexible. He told me if I brought an outside gem it would be my responsibility, i.e. he wouldn't vouch for whether it was what it claimed to be, he would just set it. That's fine, but he also said if something happened to it, i.e. it was damaged/scratched/shattered during the setting process, if it was a stone I got through him he would take full responsibility -- which implies that if he messes up a stone I bring in, I'm SOL. That was the only bad vibe I got from him, but it's serious enough to make me think twice.

As for everything else -- I think he has talent and a real enthusiasm for the medium of metal. If I do go with him I'm sure he'll come up with something striking and really well-made. On the other hand, he was sort of pushing the nickel-based white gold alloys, which turns me off a bit. I'd much rather the palladium (I think) unless it's really ugly.

 

[raddygast]

Wow. Any chance I'd be able to get a spinel of this color at 1-1.5 cts for under 1500 USD?

link

 

[Diamondsbybree]

This one is really pretty. Nice price to~!
http://www.ajsgems.com/SPI/SPI-00130.htm

 

[valeria101]

Hm... I somehow doubt that piece at AJS is in the same league.

Pala lists three round spinels, one nicer than the next at this time and surely there are others offline. Too bad obtaining price quotes there is so convoluted. Maybe they'd answer your Q though ?

It also helps to ask for a size rather then weight - you surely know why after that post about the proportions of color gem cut. If you search hard, spinels as deep as they are wide are not very rare at all

One more: of the three spinels lined up in the same picture HERE one is gone, but the other may still be out there in the waiting. Interesting ?

 

[velouriaL]

Make sure you post pictures and details of the ring you end up with! I'm really curious to see the end result of this process!

 

[velouriaL]

I just found these mounntings and they made me think of you--

http://www.etienneperret.com/rhalo.htm

Pretty reasonably priced, I''d say. It says that they''ll set your diamond in the ring... maybe your sapphire/spinel?

And check it out! It says they carry this designer in Birk''s jewelry at 55 Floor St. West, Toronto, Ontario (though I don''t see it on the Birk''s site).

 

[raddygast]

Cool, thanks. I may check them out. Still waiting to see some stones, though.

 

[velouriaL]

Hey Raddygast--

When this setting on http://www.sunjewelry.com, I thought of you, and just thought I would pass them along...

The setting only on this one in wg is $550

 

[raddygast]

That''s pretty cool, although I don''t like prongs. In this case the prong setting is quite unusual and hence doesn''t incur the disadvantages of prong settings (according to my taste). Though I''m not sure I like the rotation of the princess.

 

[kaylagee]

*dust brush* bump