opinions on color combo

[velouriaL]

Hi guys,

So, I have had an idea I've been tossing around in my head for a while and I'd love your opinions!

At some point, I'd love to have a ring made in rich yellow (or maybe coppery not pinky rose) gold with ruby (and maybe some diamond) accent stones that sort of evokes a rustic Georgian style. More "inspired by" than a reproduction, though.

I seem to have also caught the gray spinel bug. I have a couple of dark, crappy ebay spinels in a few shades and MAN even they really sparkle and throw off colors in the right light. I think I'd really love a LIGHT colored VERY well-cut grayish spinel.

Neither of these are the exact ring I think I would actually wind up with, but they have the color scheme and vibe that I'm going for. They are from Neta Wolpe on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/netawolpe). whose work I really like a lot. I'm not sure if I'd even be able to go with her for custom because she is in Israel and I'm in the US.

To test it out, I did a (horrible) ebay mock-up with Freke's gorgeous lighter gray spinel.

What do think about this color combo? I was a little worried about the gray plus the gold, but I'm thinking it might work. Am I crazy? What color and shade of gray do you think would be best? Do you think yellow gold or coppery rose gold?

 

[velouriaL]

Re: opinions on color comb

OK, so Freke's spinel is looking pretty blue there, which I definitely like-- I'm leaning toward a blue rather than pink or purple gray right now, but for comparison, here are (also horrible) mock-ups with a much grayer stone. I'm thinking that whatever spinel I get will look at least this gray in at least some lighting.

 

[chrono]

The first design appeals more to me, regardless of whether it is slightly bluish or completely gray. The little stones around it draws the eye to the center stone much better, yet is still feminine and classic.

 

[velouriaL]

So Chrono, do you think the color combo works? You can be honest. I'm not married to it. It's just something I've been trying to visualize. Do you think it works better if the ruby accents are closer to the gray spinel? As I said, I'm not picking between these settings, they are just close to the look I am going for. Do you think rg or yg?

 

[AprilBaby]

I totally dislike the color combo. I think they clash. I love ring #2.

 

[chrono]

I think rubies in yellow or copper will be interesting. It's not an easy combo to pull off and its departure from mainstream might mean that most do not like it.

 

[marymm]

I do like the settings you've posted, with a slight preference for the first. But since gray spinels come in such a wide variety of shades, as do rubies, I think you won't really be able to answer your own question until you have the spinel in hand

I have a light silvery gray spinel (8.5mm round) - and I had a similar thought, that it would look neat in high karat yellow gold, and also that it might look good with ruby side-stones. Well, I eyeballed my gray spinel next to a thick 18kt yellow gold band, and also next to a pair of 5mm round rubies (fracture-filled but to the naked eye very nice color and clarity) - and for my spinel,the combos did not work, not at all. I didn't like the spinel with the high karat yellow gold even by itself, and I didn't like the spinel with the ruby color, regardless of metal.

I do wonder, looking at your first setting, about putting a gray spinel in high karat yellow gold with a halo of white diamonds, and then rubies on the shank? That combo might work real well...

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[royalstarrynight]

Rubies in yellow gold usually make me think ethnic. Such as South Asian/Indian jewelry or even Chinese/Thai. They're usually very warm colors. Sometimes they'll tie in some green jade or emeralds.

However, it's pretty uncommon even for those ethnicities to tie in blue or grey with red and yellow since they are cooler colors.

First obtain the spinel/stone and set it next to a penny to see if it'd even work with yellow gold then try something red next to it for fun. As marym said, it's really dependent on the shade of spinel you get.

Color matching is pretty personal and it's important that you try things out first to make sure it suits your taste.

 

[velouriaL]

Thanks Chrono, AprilBaby, Marymm, RoyalStarryNight for being honest and helpful!

Basically, I have been obsessed high karat yellow and coppery rose gold rustic Georgian-inspired style for a while now. I especially love rubies in it. RoyalStarryNight is right that the vibe is sort of "ethnic," too.

Really, I think this style would look best with old cut, low color diamonds, but I'm just resolutely not a diamond girl. I don't really know anything about them and the thought of learning and going on a hunt and looking at zillions of photos just doesn't excite me the way the same process does for colored gems. That's just me! Plus, definitely couldn't afford one in a larger size, especially for for a "fun" project like this.

Influenced by the board and my own so-so but sparkly spinels, I've also been thinking how I'd love to have a really light colored one.

So, I thought, why not just combine the two projects! I couldn't tell if I really loved it or totally disliked it!

So, if anyone had any thoughts, these are the questions I'm thinking about:

1. What colored ring-suitable stones might look good in high karat yg or coppery rg with rubies? Something yellow (chrysoberyl with minimal green or yellow sapphire)? Something light blue or lavender with less gray (sapphire or spinel)? Something cool green (vanadium chrysoberyl or blue-green sapphire?) Any opinions?

2. If I nix the rubies, is it a lost cause to think about light gray spinel in high karat high karat yg or coppery rg? I think Marymm is probably right that it so much will depend on the spinel. I really am not loving white metals right now (personally) so even if I abandon trying to make a light spinel happen with rubies, it might be hard to find one that I like that will look good in rg or yg. Does anyone have any pictures of this combination? Right now, I prefer bluish to pinkish or lavenderish, but I'd definitely be willing to change my mind if it would look good in the metal I like. I wonder if, as RoyalStarryNight sort of implies, a "warm" gray would work. Maybe a pink-gray in rg?

 

[Edward Bristol]

Velorial,

Great that you dare to combine different colors. Not many people do.

I think green is a total eye-catcher with ruby, but not the yellow greens of zircon or chryso but a fat green of tourmaline or extra good garnets.

 

[chrono]

Vel,

As others advised, it is best to wait until you have the centre stone in hand because the nuances of its colour could sway it one way or the other with regards to metal colour and accent stone colour. In general, the theme is to either stay all cool (gray with white metal and gray accents) or all hot (brown/orange with yellow metal with similar accents).

Coppery metals can go either way. I've seen it done with great effect with grayish blue stones and light green stones to amp up the blue modifier. It also amps up certain shades of pink stones (tamps down the gray). It might be a good choice for certain shades of chrysoberyl as well. In fact, I think a greenish chrysoberyl is an excellent choice to set in rose gold.

 

[LD]

Mmmmmmm well I'm going to be honest and say that I personally wouldn't put a silvery grey/blue stone in yellow gold because you're putting a "cold" looking stone with a "warm" shank. For me, colder stones perform much better in white gold or platinum. Of course there are exceptions. If adding accent stones I also wouldn't combine cold/warm. Interestingly (again this is personal) but warm stones can look good in cold white gold or platinum i.e. rubies BUT I don't like it the other way around (ie cold stone/warm shank).

Not sure I've answered your question?

 

[velouriaL]

This is a time when I wish I had a lot of stones at my disposal to look through in person!

I'm glad this opened up at a larger conversation about warm and cool metal and gem colors. I prefer yellow and rose metals right now for sure. I REALLY wish my tourmaline were set in yellow or rose gold. I tend to advocate yellow or rose for (almost) anything... and seem to have picked the one stone that I don't think will work at all! I think it's the rubies that are really throwing it off.

I think a cooler toned (pinkish) rose gold might work with gray. Here are some examples from the world of gray rough diamonds and pearls. These are all pretty, but don't really give off the vibe I was hoping for.







Hmm yellow gold (I think?) looking kinda cool: