New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some ?'s

[jerhoman]

First off, I found this board last night whilst googling a bunch of things online, and I tell you what, 3 hours of my life have never dis appeared so fast! I must of read the first 3 pages of posts and looked at all the AMAZING and stunning/beautiful rocks. Im going to spend alot of time on these boards. Thank you for all the amazing pictures, all the knowledge, everything.

About me? I'm 25, and have a wonderful GF who I love dearly. I want to marry this woman. However, she has told me time and time again, she would not want a diamond but a colored stone. More or less, she wants something turquoise or a very lucent green. Initially, I'm stoked. It makes the ring mean that much more to me becuase I get to spend time looking at hundreds of stones, maybe even thousands, to find the right one. FYI; I love watching Gem Hunters and the other show on Weather Channel. (Someday when I have a cusion, I would not mind going to Colorado and mining in the mountains. It'd be so much fun I think.)

Anywho, after some brief research.. I didnt see that many stones in the two colors she wants. Oh no!

This is what brings me here to you wonderful people. What stones are you aware of that come in turqoiuse or a shiny transparent light green? This would be an engagement ring, so it needs to be hard-er(I know Diamond takes the cake). Also, what other stones do you recommend to replace Diamonds?

We're going to a local gemstone dealer this weekend to take a look at some stones IRL; maybe she will allow more colors once she see's the beautiful spinels and the gorgeous blues (I love blue, color of my eyes). I'm a fan of tourmaline(sp?).

Also, anyone a jewler on these boards? How much would it cost to get a ring "custom" made?

Thanks so much! I look forward to learning so much from all of you!

-Jeremy

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

Welcome, Jeremy. Roaming around PS is addictive, a warning there! As a beginning, if you haven't read the thread on buying gems, it's a good idea to check it out:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/. The info there can save you time & agony.

Besides diamonds, corundum (sapphire & ruby) is hard enough for everyday wear, but tends to be more expensive & can take time & knowledge to find the right stone. Spinel is also able to withstand normal wear, is not treated as corundum usually is, but is mainly shades from pink to red, or blue. Tourmaline is not as durable, stands a chance of chipping, cracking, or abrading when worn daily. If she is very easy on rings, it's possible but certainly not ideal.

It's easier to recommend ideas if we have an idea of your budget, if your GF has a preference for size and/or shape, whether you have a time crunch, etc. As for having a ring made, cost depends on material, how intricate the design is, stuff like that. There are ways to do it without breaking the bank -- in fact, often for less, or at least equal to what you'd pay a brick & mortar store for a stock ring.

Montana sapphires are generally a denim blue (I love them!), but also can have green or blue-green colors & flashes. Good examples here: http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html. They can be very beautiful.

Looking forward to hearing more, and congratulations on your almost-engagement!

 

[deskjockey]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

There are ways to do it without breaking the bank -- in fact, often for less, or at least equal to what you'd pay a brick & mortar store for a stock ring.

Montana sapphires are generally a denim blue (I love them!), but also can have green or blue-green colors & flashes. Good examples here: http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html. They can be very beautiful.

Just because I love mine:


It's not perfect and the color shifts so you see more of a greyish blue much of the time, but montanas are an interesting way to go if you like blue with some green in it.

As for price, we did it pretty inexpensively, bought the stone and then found a setting at a local store that happened to be on clearance. It is not my dream setting, but I like it and figure as a present will get something perfect to celebrate an anniversary down the road. I'm far more interested in the stone than what it goes into, though!

Hardness wise, there's a couple people on here with e-rings in less durable materials (spessartite, chrysoberyl) than corundum. Or if she's ok with treatments, maybe check out blue topaz?

 

[Niel]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

Chrysoberyl is a durable stone you can wear for daily wear.

A nice chrysoberyl comes in in a lovely light green/ chartreuse color and is extremely reasonably priced.

Also I could name lots of custom places for settings, but it would help to know your budget.

Now this one is sold, but an example of color and price

http://www.thegemtrader.com/Dec13ChrysoPage.htm

 

[distracts]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

Montana sapphires can come in blue-greens. They won't be the vibrant, bright turquoise of turquoise (the stone) but are as close as you're going to come in a durable stone that isn't a colored diamond. I have one that isn't even particularly turquoisey and I love it.

Chrysoberyls are durable and come in lovely light greeny/yellows.

As for a custom setting, pricing really depends on what you want, who is making it, and how they are doing it. Prices can range from under 1k to tens of thousands of dollars. I'd say 1k-4k is a pretty normal range based on popular styles, where 1k would be a simple solitaire and 4k would be a halo with pave. If you go to more or larger sidestones, the price will go up. If you go to hand-forged (totally handmade, not designed on a computer, cast, and then handfinished) the price will go up. If you go to totally cast, with stones cast in place rather than hand set, the price will go down (but so too will the quality, appreciably imo). Much of the price has to do with a particular store's overhead - if you are buying from somewhere in a high-end shopping center, they have to pay more in rent, so your price will be higher, etc.

 

[Niel]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

This seems a bit pricy, but another pic of some lovely lime green chrysoberyl

http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1083/16967

 

[RTFrog]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

Here's a couple to narrow down the color range a bit more - all but one is suitable hardness:

Blue-Green Spinel (For color, not cutting, suitable for everyday wear)


Tourmaline (More green color choice, not for everyday wear)


Blue-Green Montana Sapphire (Suitable for everyday)



Are any of these colors closer to what you are looking for?

 

[chrono]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

Hmmm....I think we might have a problem with the colour that she likes. Although there are many gemstones that are turquoise and lucent green, they aren't durable enough for everyday wear. Potential stones include sapphire (more blue and less green and these are typically not bright but a darker shade), tourmaline (the super bright cuprians are very expensive), garnet, turquoise, apatite, and zircon. Of all those mentioned, only sapphire stands up to daily wear.

Cost of the ring will depend on:
1. Type of gem (size/carat weight, colour, treatment, clarity and cut)
2. Metal type used
3. Design (ornate or simple)
4. Stock or custom setting

The setting itself can range anywhere from $200 for a plain stock solitaire to $10K for an ornate handforged pave custom setting.

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

I guess I'm still back on what you are seeking - size, clarity, color, etc. I am not familiar with the term lucent green and am not sure what you mean by it, so that would be a good place to start - to explain that. Do you care about clarity? I take it from your interest in turquoise that maybe clarity/sparkle are not on the wish list as much as color? Are there certain styles you/she are more drawn to? Imo, it is waaaaay too early to show pics of certain stones until we understand your expectations etc. For example, would you mind if her ring had a beautiful stone that showed signs of damage over time? Would you be willing to replace the stone, or are you looking for "the one" stone that will be sentimental and will be there always? This will help us guide you in stone type as well.

Okay - thats enough for now!

 

[MollyMalone]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

Like your GF, Jeremy, I love turquoise! I don't know if her desire for a non-diamond engagement ring is either a matter of principle for her or reflects a wish for something that's more unique -- or if anything like these rings would appeal to her --but a ring with inlay would be a way of having a turquoise ring that would better withstand daily wear.

I'm not familiar with Southwest Originals/Patrick Barnes (found his web site when I was surfing Google Images for you just now), but I really enjoyed my e-mail conversations last year with Jim Hardwick, who also sells on Etsy and eBay as Jeweler Jim & I 'd like to work with him in the future (I ended up deciding to postpone the ring project I'd discussed with him).
http://www.southwestoriginals.com/store/wedding-engagement-rings
http://www.jameshardwickjewelers.com/

 

[MollyMalone]

Re: New to the board, firstly thank you, second I have some

P.S. My emerald e-ring was nearly 120 years old when I received it & in the 20 years I wore it daily, it suffered only 1 other teensy-weensy chip. One of my "go to" rings nowadays is a turquoise & pearl ring that's ~100 years old; I'll wear it for weeks on end (I get into jewelry ruts like that) & it's doing fine.

So I myself don't think a diamond, sapphire, or spinel are the only possible choices, provided your GF removes the e-ring when washing dishes, using housecleaning solutions, etc. (I take the same precautions no matter what ring I'm wearing). Of course, her mileage may vary because some people are harder on their jewelry than others are & as minousbijoux alluded to, many couples want the e-ring to be a forever one, would be rocked if anything happened to the primary stone... although even a diamond or sapphire is not absolutely impervious to damage.