Looking for a new favorite colored stone!

[Shiny42805]

I''m looking to create a 3-stone RHR with a princess center and half moon sides. We''ve toyed with using diamond half moons, but it doesn''t give me the little punch i was hoping for...not to mention, diamonds are on the pricey side lately.

I''m certain we''ll go ahead with half moon sides - now it''s just a matter of what color/stone.

The exact setting:

Some lousy photoshop on my end. I think I like the look of a lemony sapphire set...

I would love any suggestions!

My only qualifications are
1) colorful
2) less expensive than diamonds

Thank you!!!

 

[chrono]

Half moons aren''t common especially in coloured gemstones, and matching pairs are even harder to find. I''d suggest sapphires (yellows are reasonably priced compared to blues and pinks and are tough enough for a RHR). If choosing this route, I''d suggest getting a vendor to find you a pair. Wink would find you a lovely pair at a reasonable cost www.winkjones.com

 

[ma re]

When it comes to these unusual cuts and colored stones, your best bet would be one of the affordable, more common gem varieties, cause they''re cut like that more often. It will be very hard to find rare stones and those of higher price categories in these shapes, and by that I mean sapphires, rubies, emeralds, alexandrites and also most spinels, tourmalines and garnets. Among those where you''d stand the best chance of finding what you need are (IMHO) aquamarine, citrine, amethyst, green or yellow beryl, blue topaz, peridot and maybe some green tourmaline. Now, among these there are some that wouldn''t be a great idea for a ring stone cause they''re not very durable (topaz and peridot especially). I think the best idea would be to get stones custom cut by a good cutter - that way you can choose not only the variety, but also be very specific about the details of cut or color. I think it wouldn''t be too expensive either (certainly compared to diamonds).

 

[PrecisionGem]

A chrysoberyl could give you the color you are looking for, and it''s a very hard stone. The price is reasonable too.

 

[Shiny42805]

Thank you everyone!
This is the exact advice I was hoping for.

I''m headed into NYC (Bowery, not diamond district) on Saturday. Hopefully I can find something to suit my needs!