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Lilac Sapphire

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airplay355

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
331
Just grabbed the lilac sapphire Gene posted. Wifey decided she'd like it in a pendant so now I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. I'd like to do something more than just a solitaire setting. I don't really have a budget in mind.

I was thinking maybe setting it in rose gold surrounded by pink diamond melee but I really don't know what I'm doing. What do you guys think? Heeeelp :knockout:

23_lilac_sapphire.jpg
 
Pink diamonds = pricey! It's pretty, but already quite pink. Do you want to emphasize the pink color or try to de-emphasize it?
 
I think emphasize. She absolutely loves pink (her engagement ring is pink) so I don't think it could ever be too pink. The melee don't have to be pink though, that was just my first thought. I'd like the center of attention to be the sapphire so maybe pink is a bad idea?
 
Platinum bezel with a rose gold chain maybe?
 
I thought about a bezel but would that make it darker and less sparkly? She would like a sparkly lighter look instead. It seems like shes leaning towards a flower style halo. I feel like that's too boring and run of the mill though. I want something fancier :D
 
I don't know enough about pink melee to make a judgement on those. Having said that, there are different grades of color to pink diamonds, and that doesn't have any color discussion at all.

Hmmm...Pink sapphire melee?

I'd do prongs, personally. No reason to cover up a faceted girdle.
 
I think white metal is fine.

I think light pink sapphire melee would look awesome. Bright pink might overtake the center...

How blingy does she like?
 
I think you're right, light pink would be best.

I'm not too sure how to answer the blingy question. She likes things to br bright and sparkly but wouldn't want anything that seemed over the top or gaudy.
 
An open halo is a good idea -- the girdle on that stone is too nice to hide. You'd also get plenty of sparkle from all the light allowed into the gem that way. WG would be fine with it -- is she (PLEASE don't call her Wifey!!! :errrr: ) not into yellow gold either? I'd prefer it to wg with that nice lilac, myself -- more contrast & a richer look.
 
She likes that nickname (she refers to me as hubby), it's not meant in a chauvinistic manner.

And yes, she does not like yellow gold.

I like the idea of an open halo the best so far. Do you think it would end up being too large (from the extra space around the stone)? The sapphire is 6.6mm in diameter.
 
airplay355|1370267553|3458103 said:
She likes that nickname (she refers to me as hubby), it's not meant in a chauvinistic manner.

And yes, she does not like yellow gold.

I like the idea of an open halo the best so far. Do you think it would end up being too large (from the extra space around the stone)? The sapphire is 6.6mm in diameter.
Click to expand...

I don't think it will look too large at all, will show nicely from a distance and not get lost on her neck...I would keep the melee size fairly small though. I really like the idea of the open halo to showcase that pretty girdle.
 
What would be considered small melee? Somewhere between 1 and 1.5mm?
 
Well, I don't know what she would consider "too large", but 6.6 mm is just a hair over 1/4 of an inch. You could ask Brian Gavin Diamonds -- bonus for you: others here have used BGD for settings with pink sapphire melee & have been pleased -- for

(a) their recommendations for the color & size of the melee (I'm thinking the white gold may "bleach" light pink melee to a paler hue than what you two want to end up with, but this is just off the top of my head because pink with white gold is not a combination I've done myself), and

(b) pricing and dimensions of open halo pendant using your stone.
 
Great idea! I'll e-mail them right now!

You guys are the best :D
 
I love that necklace! It's so pretty! Let us know what they say!
 
Ok, got an e-mail back from Brian Gavin...

They suggested using diamonds instead of pink sapphires to make sure the center stone is really the center of attention but the price quoted is for pink sapphires in 18k WG (14k is apparently the same price). The price is...$1050 :shock:

Why so expensive? This is the first piece of jewelry I've had made (aside from the e-ring) so I'm kind of flying blind. Is that just what good jewelry costs?
 
Some others might be more in your budget. Try Daniel M. http://www.etsy.com/shop/danielmjewelry Many people here have had them make things; they do a good job for a reasonable cost. (I'm waiting for CADs from them now.) They are very easy to work with.

I agree about white diamonds -- didn't say so earlier because you seemed set on pink & it's your (& wife's) choice that counts, but I think white would provide more contrast & let the sapphire take the spotlight. Let us know how you do!

-- Laurie
 
Oh, please speak up if you think I'm making something ugly :D If the consensus is pink won't be as nice then I won't use pink. I don't have the experience to say I definitely know what I want.

What ends up being the difference between vendors like BG and Daniel M? Does BG use nicer melee, do better polishing/casting, or is the price difference unjustified? I suppose I should get a quote from Daniel M before assuming he's cheaper.

I'm not too concerned with how much it cost, I just want to make sure I don't pay $1000 when I could have paid $500. By first reaction is to think that cost is high but maybe that's market price?
 
Hmmm...I'm not terribly surprised by that quote and it's kind of what I was expecting. The most significant cost is going to be labor, most likely because of setting so many melee.

Why don't you wait until you get it to see if you think pink melee will suit the stone? Diamonds will go with anything, so they are always a good fall back.

Daniel M has been making jewelry for a long time, it's his full time job. His etsy store is a night and weekend gig that started because he and his wife wanted to do something together.

BGD uses ideal cut melee, and Daniel M will use whatever kind of melee you want (believe me, I've asked!). As far as casting/setting and finishing, I don't know. I've never compared the two, as I only have pieces from Daniel M, nothing from BGD.
 
In this world often the picture frame costs more than the picture.

I like the idea of colorless diamond melee.
 
Daniel M says rose gold/pink sapphires, BGD says WG w/diamond melee. Hopefully the stone will show up soon and whisper in my ear what it wants or something :confused:
 
It probably will. Gemstones are awfully talkative for being made of minerals.
 
Well, I love pink diamonds- but probably wouldn't use them for this. If you were to put them in white gold- you will need to use at least Fancy Intense Pink color as anything less will not show as pink in white gold. The cost for just the melee then would be over $2000.00. You could get away with lighter pink diamonds if you use rose gold- but then it might blend with her skin as a pendant. I think the white gold and white diamonds would look beautiful- highlighting your beautiful sapphire.

Here is a pendant (using an amethyst, but you get the idea) that I loved the unique halo. You could do something on this order to set off the gorgeous sapphire- I think ERD made this one. Obviously, it would be different as the shape of the stone (and size) are quite different, but gives you an idea of using a different style of halo to highlight the center stone.

_6839.jpg
 
Very pretty. If you intend to pair a color with that stone, I would use something that is at the other end of the color spectrum, like mint green, or yellow. This will emphasize the lilac color in the sapphire.
 
I think the brian gavin quote was a good price. As Freke said, there is a lot of labor involved. Did they say what it would cost with diamond melee?
 


bgohp.jpg

bgohpdeman.jpg

bgohppink.jpg

bgohpyell.jpg
 
BGD said $1250 w/ diamonds and 18k gold.

DanielM said $740 w/1.5mm sapphire melee and 14k gold.

Thanks for the photoshops vapid! They helped a lot. I had photoshopped the stone into a rose gold with pink diamonds halo and she was wishy washy about it. I think she really just wants something more plain.

TL - I thought your mint green idea was awesome. She says she likes diamond melee the best so I guess that's what we're going to go with.


I think I'm just going to go with BGD so I don't have to deal with having anything designed especially for me. DanielM (I think I've mostly been e-mailing with his wife) was very helpful though. I'll definitely go back to them if I need something more custom.
 
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