- Joined
- Jan 25, 2012
- Messages
- 800
I thought I'd share my latest aquisition...while I will still attest that I am not a jewelry-enthusiast, I definately enjoy either having input in designing the rings, whenever I can. The rings are a way for me to enjoy my stone, especially during the day when I am toiling away at work, while all my stones are in their gem jars. So I get why everyone is into jewelry. I love my stones, so it just works.
Anyways, heres the story!
I had a "phase", before I was interested in gemstones, where I was buying scrap gold pieces. I somehow felt that gold was going to go up dramatically (at the time it was around $1500/oz if I remember right) so whatever extra money I had, I would use to scour eBay and try to win auctions where I felt the selling/winning bid would be lower than the value of the gold...and this piece was part of that.
The ring was sold to be as Victorian, and from the 1890s. It is only 10K, but again...I was buying based on price/gold value and it was a deal. The stone that was in the ring was a synthetic Ruby. Who knew they used lab stones back in Victorian times! (who knows if the stone was original to the piece though, or if the seller was lying about it being from the 1890s..but I did research that lab Rubies were used back then...anyway, I digress.
As time went on, I started getting interested in gemstones, and I had the ring restored. The stone was removed, the prongs were cut off, and it was given a polish and I knew when I found the right stone for it, I would use it for a setting.
Meanwhile, I had contacted Barry Bridgestock and told him that Im on a mission for a RED Garnet. I wanted as red as I could get without it being super-dark like an Anthill Garnet..plus, it had to be big enough for my tastes..as I dont really like small stones. He had two Red Garnets available, the one I bought, and the super-awesome 10MM one thats on his site. The 10MM stone was just a tad purple (or was it Orange...shoot, I cant remember) but itwas only a tad. The other one however, was the red I was looking for!
I had it set by my local bench, who did a great job! Im really happy with how it turned out, and I am still shaking my head that he only charged me $100 for the whole project. I did give him a very lightweight 10K setting that I had, in case he had to melt additional gold for the prongs. He later told me that he wasn't able to do that, so he had to buy the gold wire to do the prongs...but I let him keep whatever gold was there as a tip
Notes about the stone: BB's cutting is just stunning, but everyone knows that. I call Barry the "master of the round". The stone is a medium-dark Red, and set this way is never over-dark. It has awesome Red flash. It is at its best on cloudy/overcast days, or inside in incandescent. The only negative with this stone/ring came when it was very Sunny out yesterday. Unfortunately, the combination of Sunshine and Yellow Gold brings out a little of the Orange..which I was really trying to avoid with the project. I guess I wasn't smart enough to realize that yellow(gold) plus Red=Orange. LOL. But, its very minor, and I'll just wear the Sapphire on Sunny days!! I cant decide if I like the way it looks in overcast natural light (most of the pics) or lower-lit incandescent where its darker but wow, the sparkle is amazing.
Stats: The stone is 8.5mm and 2.97ct, and Barry called it a Malaya Garnet.
Sorry for the length of this post...all for a simple Garnet and a very inexpensive 10K ring...but, I just love it
Anyways, heres the story!
I had a "phase", before I was interested in gemstones, where I was buying scrap gold pieces. I somehow felt that gold was going to go up dramatically (at the time it was around $1500/oz if I remember right) so whatever extra money I had, I would use to scour eBay and try to win auctions where I felt the selling/winning bid would be lower than the value of the gold...and this piece was part of that.
The ring was sold to be as Victorian, and from the 1890s. It is only 10K, but again...I was buying based on price/gold value and it was a deal. The stone that was in the ring was a synthetic Ruby. Who knew they used lab stones back in Victorian times! (who knows if the stone was original to the piece though, or if the seller was lying about it being from the 1890s..but I did research that lab Rubies were used back then...anyway, I digress.
As time went on, I started getting interested in gemstones, and I had the ring restored. The stone was removed, the prongs were cut off, and it was given a polish and I knew when I found the right stone for it, I would use it for a setting.
Meanwhile, I had contacted Barry Bridgestock and told him that Im on a mission for a RED Garnet. I wanted as red as I could get without it being super-dark like an Anthill Garnet..plus, it had to be big enough for my tastes..as I dont really like small stones. He had two Red Garnets available, the one I bought, and the super-awesome 10MM one thats on his site. The 10MM stone was just a tad purple (or was it Orange...shoot, I cant remember) but itwas only a tad. The other one however, was the red I was looking for!
I had it set by my local bench, who did a great job! Im really happy with how it turned out, and I am still shaking my head that he only charged me $100 for the whole project. I did give him a very lightweight 10K setting that I had, in case he had to melt additional gold for the prongs. He later told me that he wasn't able to do that, so he had to buy the gold wire to do the prongs...but I let him keep whatever gold was there as a tip
Notes about the stone: BB's cutting is just stunning, but everyone knows that. I call Barry the "master of the round". The stone is a medium-dark Red, and set this way is never over-dark. It has awesome Red flash. It is at its best on cloudy/overcast days, or inside in incandescent. The only negative with this stone/ring came when it was very Sunny out yesterday. Unfortunately, the combination of Sunshine and Yellow Gold brings out a little of the Orange..which I was really trying to avoid with the project. I guess I wasn't smart enough to realize that yellow(gold) plus Red=Orange. LOL. But, its very minor, and I'll just wear the Sapphire on Sunny days!! I cant decide if I like the way it looks in overcast natural light (most of the pics) or lower-lit incandescent where its darker but wow, the sparkle is amazing.
Stats: The stone is 8.5mm and 2.97ct, and Barry called it a Malaya Garnet.
Sorry for the length of this post...all for a simple Garnet and a very inexpensive 10K ring...but, I just love it
Congrats Chris! It really looks great. I love it in the yellow gold and I think the setting really sets the stone off nicely. Really, really looks great!!
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