Mahenge Spinel and Diamond 7 Stone

[FrekeChild]

I went out this morning when it was "cool". If 85 is cool, well...but still! Better than the blistering heat that was this afternoon! Regardless, I will persevere and suffer to bring pics to the masses!

LOTS MORE PICS!!!!!

 

[FrekeChild]

More...

 

[FrekeChild]

More.

 

[FrekeChild]

I might be going a bit overboard...

 

[FrekeChild]

Ok, that's all for now.

 

[FrekeChild]

A little bit about a few things.

First - the stones don't really match any other stones except their mates. David expressed concern about the lower color of the cushions and the colorlessness of the pears and how they would look in the ring. I told him I wanted the pears to not really show from the top, so it wouldn't be an issue for me.

The center spinel and the outside spinels don't really match perfectly, but good enough for the configuration, since they are separated by diamonds. Which is also the logic behind the diamonds - since they are separated by spinels, I don't care.

The pair of rounds has a slight orange undertone, while the center has a slight blue undertone.

I had the ring made in a larger size than I normally wear (6.25-6.5) anticipating that it would be thicker than most of my other rings - SO GLAD I DID! Especially in the summer heat, because my fingers swell like crazy in 100+ degree temperatures!

Also, David was great! I emailed him, prompt reply, and the stones were in his hands June 11th, and he promised me that it would be finished within 35 days. 30 days later, July 11th, it was on my doorstep.

This ring is a bit of a reach for me. Ok, that's an understatement. It is by FAR the blingiest ring I own, and doesn't really resemble the style of any of the others in my jewelry box. And It was meant to be that way. I figured the stones were not subtle, the ring shouldn't be either. And it's not. Obviously. So it's going to take a bit of getting used to!

 

[FrekeChild]

Jewelfreak - Awwww thank you!!!! I went a bit gratuitous there....

missy - Thank you! What a wonderful thing to say.

Kelli - hahaha! Thank you!

Maryjane04 - Thank you! Alternating the stones became very important, as you can tell from my last post!

Loverskites - Thank you! The pears were a sort of a last minute addition, but I think they worked out perfectly. And all of them certainly have a history here!

Enerchi - Lol. Thank you! You'll be waiting a long time - I don't tend to sell a lot of gifts from my husband. Maybe my daughter will sell it?

mariedtiger - Thank you! I've been playing with it all day.

Starzin - Thank you! You and Enerchi might have to fight my daughter over it!

endless_summer - happy yet?

MelodySaw - I hope you have a lot of patience!

packrat - thanks m'dear!

DandT - Thank you! Owe it to you!

Minoubijoux - I totally didn't know what to expect when I saw the CAD, but I love them too! I don't think I've seen a prong configuration like this before!

Tanzigrrl - Thank you! I love the profile too!

makeable - Thank you! The center especially seems to have a life of it's own in low lighting.

kama_s - Yes, it is awesome to finally finish something and have it on my hand. I've had the big diamonds almost 4 years, and all of the other stones have been collected since then. It's been a long time coming, and I am not a patient woman!

ephsea - Thank you! I think it did!

pregcurious - give him a try! He did, and I can't wait for my next project with him.

Staci76 - Thank you! I love it too!

 

[innerkitten]

Very pretty! Great use of stones. Perfect when you are having a pink sort of day

 

[Cupcake_Panda]

Freke this ring is AMAZING!!!

I think part of what makes it so amazing is that it *isn't* perfectly matchy-matchy --- that's my favorite part! ...Along with the beautiful spinel colors, the sparkly diamonds, the shape combinations, the claw prongs, and the side scroll-ish profile of the ring, oh yeah, and the picture by the pool water with the blue color contrast.

And I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as too many pictures

 

[NKOTB]

YEAH, BABY!

Love that it's a mishmash of PSers' offloads. Love that it involves Mahenges and diamonds. Definitely a statement piece. Too bad it wasn't finished before Vegas, I would have loved to try it on.

Now, you just need a pink purse.

 

[chrono]

Do you mind writing a review about your experience with David Klass on this project?
1. Customer service
2. Workmanship
3. CAD/design
4. Turnaround/time
5. Cost/quality value

It's great to see stuff recycled; I recognized the Jerry recut spinel and the pair of rounds. Since I am a CS gal, the diamonds did not look familiar to me but the end result is still great! Any particular reason you went with a white metal instead of yellow?

 

[OreoRosies86]

Well, what can I say except

I love that it is a quirky mix of stones. They all look beautiful together. Really those are my favorite kinds of rings.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Stunning! Love how all these pieces were put together into one amazing piece!

 

[indigoblue]

Gorgeous! You're tempting me to go pink on my current project.

 

[katharath]

Very special piece - beautiful stones and I love the setting. Well done!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Simply gorgeous Freeke and I think the yellowish diamond are just tinted enough to look purposely different than the pears, especially given that it's a coloured gemstone ring! Really fantastic!

 

[tyty333]

Really beautiful! I love the colors!

 

[packrat]

Ask me how many times I've been back to visit this..no wait, don't, I will sound like a crazy lady.

 

[FrekeChild]

More pics. I added my 3.39ct (Strawberry Soda) spinel for fun.

The big one is deeper in tone, probably medium to medium-dark, while the ring stones are medium-light to medium, and the big one has a lot more red in it. Also, the lighting whites out the facets in the ring, making it look lighter than it is in some lighting situations. You can see the blue in the ring vs the red, maybe orange-y undertones of the larger necklace stone.

 

[FrekeChild]

Added a collection pic. I'm in a little bit of a transition period, so I don't expect this handful of bling to stay the same for long.

 

[FrekeChild]

innerkitten: Now I have two awesome pink rings to wear on pink days. Now I just need to get more pink clothes. Hah!

Cupcake_Panda: Awww, thank you. Yeah, if I'm honest, my pool is my favorite prop. You can see why!

NKOTB: It'd kind of crazy how many people's stuff went into it. Next year. I do need a pink purse. I went out wearing my orange/black/white dress today, and was driving my bright blue car, with my bright green purse, bright purple wallet, and my hot pink bling. I felt obnoxiously brightly colored.

Chrono: I will respond to you separately.

Elliot86: Thank you! I didn't want something that anyone else had.

royalstarrynight: Thank you!

indigoblue: Do it! Everyone needs pink bling!

katharath: Thank you! I'm really pleased with it.

Dreamer: Thank you! Funny seeing you over here in CS! Whatcha up to?

tyty333: Thank you!

packrat: Hahahahahahahahahaa!!!!!! Glad you like it!

 

[FrekeChild]

Do you mind writing a review about your experience with David Klass on this project?
1. Customer service
2. Workmanship
3. CAD/design
4. Turnaround/time
5. Cost/quality value

It's great to see stuff recycled; I recognized the Jerry recut spinel and the pair of rounds. Since I am a CS gal, the diamonds did not look familiar to me but the end result is still great! Any particular reason you went with a white metal instead of yellow?

1. Customer service
David was great. I had actually approached another vendor about this project and after repeated requests for information and no response for over a week, I went to David, and had a response back less than an hour later. I wanted something similar to another ring he had made before, belonging to DandT, so the whole thing was pretty easy. The CADs were actually tweaked from her ring, and so there were no CAD revisions. He said 35 days, and 30 days to the day after receiving it, it was on my hand.

2. Workmanship
I love the claw prongs. Under macro I can see some unpolished bits, but you can't see them at all without magnification, so they don't bother me in the slightest. The ring was polished so that it's comfort fit, and that's great. It's a pretty intricate ring, so I can forgive a bit of less than perfect.

3. CAD/design
As I said, it's based on a ring that DandT had made. I will attach a picture of her ring, since I already posted the CADs earlier in the thread.

4. Turnaround/time
First email was June 6, he got the stones June 11, CADs were in my inbox June 18, I got pics of the finished ring July 10, and it was in my hand July 11.

5. Cost/quality value
I think I got great value for the money. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I am very pleased with the end result. This project came in under budget, and came through at exactly what he quoted.


I doubt I ever made a thread for the earrings, and I don't think Kelpie ever posted the pears, so I don't think you'd remember them. I haven't even posted my more recent pair. I tend to not post diamond items that I wear all of the time. None of my diamond bands, earrings, etc have gotten threads. That'll probably change relatively soon, but we'll see.

As for yellow and white gold, it was never even a consideration to put them in yellow gold. Probably because I have a clear preference for white metals, but it would have looked nice in yellow instead, but I probably wouldn't wear it as much. None of my bands are yellow metal right now, and I only have one yellow gold piece, except for my mom's pieces, which rarely get wear. So I think I made the right choice, even though it wasn't a choice at the time!

 

[sparkleismyfavcolor]

I'm a little late here, but omg Freke. Speechless. Ok lemme try - that is an incredible, stunning ring. I know a few weeks ago on the talk or show us thread I was highly intrigued by your CAD's and was trying to get you to spill the details...WOW!!! The real thing is DOPE! lol. I'm inspired! Incredibly inspired.

 

[sapphirecats]

simply the most stunning ring I've ever sen!! I love it!

 

[Lula]

It's beautiful! And what a fun project.
Thanks for the review of DK, too -- I'm really impressed with David's work.

 

[FrekeChild]

sparkleismyfavcolor: Thank you! Hahahahah! I've never had a ring described as dope before, love it!

sapphirecats: Thank you! I love it too!

Lula: Thank you! I was pleasantly surprised. I have friends that have pieces by him, and I've seen plenty of macro pics, but everything has a different feel in real life, you know?


Today is the first day I didn't wear it. That's because it was a veg on the couch and go swimming in the afternoon kind of day.

 

[BlingObsession]

I am a bit late to the party but just wanted to say that your pinks are gorgeous. Well done!

 

[mochiko42]

I'm a bit late to the party but WOW what an amazing saturated pink those Mahenges are. This sounds like a very epic PS project resulting in a standout piece of bling!

 

[endless_summer]

Yes, very happy! I love the new pics - beautiful ring!!!

 

[woofmama]

So pretty & intricate! All of the little details just work together so perfect Really beautiful mix with the pinks and diamonds