I''m new and have Q''s about tension setting a gemstone...

[historychick]

Hello everyone I recently stumbled accross your wonderfull forum and after lurking for a day or two decided that I deffinitly needed to join. It''s good to be here and I hope everyone is doing well, may I say you have some amazing gemstones pieces.. wow. Now for my dilema which I''m hoping that you can help me with. I''m looking in to upgrading my original e ring. The hubby picked it out w/o any input from me and went with a 50 ct. princess tiffany white gold setting. It''s a lovely ring, lots of fire and he''s a perfect guy but lets just say that I am not a princess type of girl I think that they are lovely stones in their own right but just not for me. I love gemstones and always had my heart set on a colored e-ring so naturally I want my upgrade to feature a gemstone as the main attraction. The only problem is I also love tension set rings, is it possible to tension set a gemstone? The stone I have in mind is a 1.35 ct. color change garnet from Bekily Madagascar that goes from a lovely icy violet to a rich almost neon red/orange with a 95% color change vs2 clarity...I am in love with it and would really like to have it tension set in titanium. The hardness of the stone is a 7.5 and I understand the impracticality of a softer gemstone e-ring ie the need to remove it while showering, gardening, cleaning ect...but other than those limitations is there any reason I can''t tension set the stone? Will the pressure of the setting crack the garnet? Can I have it done anyway as long as I am really carefull about removing it and keeping it safe? If not is there any gemstone that I can tension set? I''m sorry this post was so long... my next one won''t be so bad. Anyway I''m happy to be here and I await your expert advice and experiences. Thanks everyone!

 

[FrekeChild]

I''m not sure but I don''t think so. I think that the lowest hardness that can be set in a tension setting is an 8.

Check out this site

 

[movie zombie]

i''d avoid the tension setting......all it takes is one strike against the girdle in just the right way.....

semi-bezel might be a good compromise, especially if this is to be an e-ring. my avatar is my garnet e-ring. its not a tension setting but it is an example of a semi-bezel. you''re already well aware of the limitations re wearing the garnet 24/7. welcome to the land of pricescope color!

movie zombie

 

[Pandora II]

Welcome!

I wouldn''t go for tension setting.

MZ''s suggestion of half bezel will give you a somewhat similar look, but with much less worry.

 

[chrono]

I would not do a tension setting for a garnet. I second (or is it third) the idea of a pseudo tension setting where it looks like tension setting from the top but has a bridge on the underside for added support and strength.

 

[mercoledi]

Ditto. Check out Shigidigi''s ering, it''s ment to look like a tension-set ring but has a basket for strength and stability.

 

[historychick]

Thanks for all of your help everyone... does anyone have any pics of a basket setting? I''m still not quite sure that I can envision it. I also might try to look for a different stone that is harder, I really have my heart set on a tension set ring.

 

[FrekeChild]

Well, what I would do is check out all the sapphires you can find because those can be set in a tension setting, and they come in all the colors of the rainbow. Which is never a bad thing!

 

[historychick]

really sapphires...would I have a problem finding one around 1-1.5ct with no inclusions for less than $500.00 assuming I don''t want anything from Cleyon ect..

 

[Pandora II]

Check out the Natural Sapphire Company.

Ceylon - or rather Sri Lanka - is where most sapphires come from today.

I think you are thinking of Kashmir, in which case you would need a LOT of $$$$$.

For $500, you will have to compromise in order to get anything like 1.5ct - it depends what colour you like in particular. The padparadaschas and the vivid mid-tone blues are unlikely to be in that price range.

On NSC - the biggest ''blue'' stone under $500 is 0.96ct and is very opaque - there are some smaller stones which are a pale blue colour. There''s a pink one that is 1.22ct - it''s a nice colour but looks included to me and has a big window which I would hate.

To be honest to get something with good colour, clarity and cut - which you would probably want for an e-ring - you might find something for around 1ct - but you''ll probably struggle to find anything bigger.

If you don''t care about heat treatment etc you might find a bit more.

Check out multicolour.com - there are quite a few in your price-range, but the cuts look a bit off to me on most of them. There''s this one which is better than most - it''s $435.50 and 1.34ct - it''s heat-treated and a light blueish violet:

I would definitely put the major part of your budget into getting the best rock you can.

 

[FrekeChild]

Depends on what color you want. Here''s a light icy violet blue that''s eye clean, an oval and 1.9 cts. 8.40mm x 5.50mm for $313.50 and personally I think it''s a pretty awesome color, but if you''re looking for something that''s a bit more saturated, the price will go up.
Pretty Icy Sapphire


Here''s a pretty maroon/wine kind of color, also an oval, slightly included, 1.94cts, for $209.52
Wine Sapphire


Super yellow round/oval, 2.22cts, for $555.00
Yellow Sapphire


Cool yellow oval, 1.88, $361.90
Cool yellow


I''m also wondering if jewelers would be willing to tension set a spinel. It''s got a hardness of 8. That might be something to look into. What color are you looking for? That would help narrow everything down.

Eh, here''s a bright blue stone, round, 1.78, $516.09.
Bright blue

Bright sunny orange yellow sapphire 2.1cts, VVS, $231.00
Golden orange

Basically pink, blue and yellow are the most popular colors for the sapphire. Purple is gaining on those three, and pretty much everything else is lagging behind. So the most popular will also be the most expensive. I''m looking for a sapphire for my own e-ring and we''re on a grad student budget, so I''ve learned a lot about them recently. I hope this helps out a little bit.

 

[movie zombie]

good sapphires go for thousands. buying a less popular color will help reduce the cost per carat but for $500 or less there are definitely a lot of compromises being made for a 1-1.5 carat sapphire. however, the most important thing is are YOU pleased with the stone as an e-ring?

sapphires are tension set. but any flaws in cut and color are going to be more noticeable in such a setting. i 2nd the advice to get the absolutely best stone you can even if it means stretching the budget a bit. the setting is there merely to hold the stone and imo it is the stone that is the most important.

we all want to get the best stone for our $$$. compromises do have to be made by anyone of us at any given time due to budget. i''d go a smaller stone to get better quality just like i would with a diamond.

movie zombie

 

[FrekeChild]

Ditto MZ.

I personally plan on falling for the stone that just speaks to me, even if it isn''t the most expensive or the best color or even somewhat included. I think in ways I''d even prefer that (shhh...don''t tell anyone!) because I really don''t like the IF stones I''ve seen that look so perfect they look fake. Sorry guys.

Personally, I''d rather have something unusual than perfect, but you''ll find a lot more people who are wanting their idea of perfection and will pay a premium for it. Luckily for BF I''m pretty easy going in that area.

 

[movie zombie]

there used to be a poster here....vincent....who is in the business: he loves imperfect stones with inclusions. says they have personality. i''ve also heard other color stone professionals say they''ve lost that loving feeling for stones w/o inclusions. but none lose their love for great cut or color. now great color doesn''t have to be what is currently the most desireable and therefore the most expensive: for example, ceylon blue sapphire. personally i like some of those multicolor blue/green gems, but even those with great cut and good saturation aren''t under $1000 for a stone of around 1 carat. actually, vincent even loves native cut stones! but then he''s not wearing one as an e-ring!

movie zombie

 

[historychick]

Thanks so much for the information about the sapphires and the advice about the stones. Tension setting spinel is not a problem and I would love beautiful spinnel just as much as an amazing sapphire. As far as color goes I really would like something either orange or green prehaps yellow or a combination of those hmmmm... and I prefer paler stones with less of a color saturation. I deffinitely agree that the best quality stone should be purchased and I would go for a stone closer to or just under 1ct to get better quallity in the cut and clairity. I recently found Jeff White''s website and his work looks amazing. Has anyone worked with him before that would know if it would be possible to obtain a spinnel around 1ct in a pale orange or green in my budget?

 

[historychick]

sorry I forgot one last thing... what''s the deal with heat treatment anyway? There is such a vast discrepency in price for treated sapphires is it really a big deal? are there any adverse affects to the stone''s quality? I''m not really going to resale my e-ring but does it really bring the value of the stone down that much?

 

[movie zombie]

ok, let me be frank: if you were spending a ton of money on a stone i might say hold out for an untreated stone. heat treating imo isn''t that bad especially in your price range. BE treating is a whole different story and i''d avoid that.

re spinels: they are extremely pricey like sapphires. luckily, you''re not into the most popular colors. however, i have yet to see a 1-1.5 carat spinel for under $1800 that i didn''t think had too much extinction. granted i''m rather touchy about extinction but this is an e-ring.

personally, i''d lean toward the sapphire, heated, smaller than 1 carat, no diamonds, tension set.

however, this is your e-ring. it should speak to YOU. perhaps you should see as many spinels and sapphires as you possibly can and then make your decision. online pictures at websites just aren''t adequate for judging a stone. and everyone''s monitor is going to show colors differently. maybe get a bunch of books at a library, visit a bunch of jewelry stores....both chain and highend....to get a better idea. the more i see color stones, the better my eye gets.....and the more i realize my budget is inadequate to keep up with my eye......

take your time and let some lucky stone speak to you!

movie zombie