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Opinions please! How to set new Spessartite

anythingorange

anythingorange

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
81
I recently purchased this Spessartite:

http://rwwise.com/products/id|1626

I'm planning on setting it in a ring. Because the size of the stone and the size of my finger, there won't be too much room for side stones.

How would you set this stone? White or yellow gold? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Thanks in advance!
 
It looks nicer in the video than the static picture. Do you have any handshots of it? It also helps to see your skin tone with it. Since you aren't doing any sidestones, I'd probably go with 18K yellow gold (the higher the kt the better).
 
Yes, Chrono, the still photograph does not look anything like it! I really don't see any brown in it, although I do know that it's not the "Fanta" color.

I knew someone was going to ask for photos! I'm a terrible photographer, but I'll try to take some today.

If I could make room for some small side stones, do you think I should do it? Or would the stone be best to stand on its own? If side stones, what shape?

Sorry for all the questions. I value all opinions. I'm new to this, so I don't quite trust myself just yet. :twirl:
 
I find that my handphone takes more colour accurate pictures than my point and shoot digital camera. :bigsmile: Nothing fancy, just as accurate as you can get, colourwise.

The stone is 11.6 x 11 mm. What is your finger size? Unless you have really thick fingers, I would not do sidestones. If you want some added bling, some accents diamonds will fit in seamlessly.
 
my 8.18 spess [also purchased from richard] is set in 22k gold.
spess is not meant for 24/7 wear and i'm a firm believer in protecting such a high quality spess from damage by at least bezeling some of it. as you can see from my avatar, that is what i did.
i "talk" with my hands and wanted to try and reduce potential damage......
if you're not going to wear it very often [i wear mine when i leave the house, even to the farmers' market] prongs in 18k gold would be lovely.
spess of the quality you've purchased does not need a lot of side stones. it is large enough and has good cut and crystal. it can stand alone w/o any problems at all.
take your time with the setting. buying the stone was the easy part for me! commiting to a setting took 8-9 months.
most of all: enjoy your stone! richard does have an eye for high quality spess.

eta: imo, anything less than 18k gold for this stone would not do it a service. but then i'm not a fan of 14k gold in the first place.
 
Thanks for your input, Movie Zombie. Your Spessartite is gorgeous! I was looking for more photos of your stone/ring, but I couldn't find any. Do you have others you can share?

So, it sounds like I should go with 18/22k yellow gold in a somewhat simple setting.

Other suggestions are welcome!
 
Ready for photos?!

IMG_6631.JPG
 
Please ignore the fingerprints. :)

IMG_6643.JPG
 
To give you an idea of the size on my finger, here it is upside down:

IMG_6661.JPG
 
The stone is barely oval. Here it is east-west:

IMG_6665.JPG
 
Now that I've finally taken some photos, does everyone still think no sidestones? Just a simple setting in 18/22k yellow gold?

Thanks so much for your help!
 
Gorgeous....no sidestones necessary. Ether white or yellow gold is your choice as the spessartite can very well stand on its own. Diamond accents if you wish or not.
 
Thanks, Chrono and Movie Zombie. Hubby will be happy that there are no votes for sidestones so far. =)
 
Beautiful and huge stone. I would say a little melee, but I love bling, so I'm partial. As for higher karat gold, I would secure it with double prongs, or some heavy duty prongs, as high karat gold is softer and the stone can easily be lost (I learned that the hard way).
 
Thanks, TL. Although I just joined Pricescope, I've been lurking for a couple of months and I respect your honesty.

When you say a little melee, you mean maybe some small diamonds on the shank with a plain head? Or a halo? Chrono also mentioned some diamond accents might be nice.

Thanks for reminding me about the double prongs! Richard made that same suggestion, but I had forgotten until you just mentioned it.
 
anythingorange|1330716486|3139364 said:
Thanks, TL. Although I just joined Pricescope, I've been lurking for a couple of months and I respect your honesty.

When you say a little melee, you mean maybe some small diamonds on the shank with a plain head? Or a halo? Chrono also mentioned some diamond accents might be nice.

Thanks for reminding me about the double prongs! Richard made that same suggestion, but I had forgotten until you just mentioned it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the confidence.

MZ will kill me for this one :o ;) , but like a halo, or something dynamic and unique like Chrono's wonderful spessartite ring, or even some diamonds on the shank.
 
I agree...Chrono's ring is :love: :love: :love: !

Chrono, who made the ring for your gorgeous Spessartite?
 
If you like yellow and white metals equally, I would say yellow gold with melee diamonds. Otherwise, go with white gold/platinum because I think that stone would like fine in it.
 
100% yellow gold. I put a spess in white gold and it was the worst thing I ever did. It lost it's "oooomph" and orangeness. Of course it would because the white gold make the stone look much colder than it was but for some reason I thought the orange glow would outweigh it - it didn't!

Once the stone is set (in whatever setting) it will be more substantial and cover your finger due to the width of the gold so you're really not going to see much of the sidestones. However it sounds like you really do want some so how about having traps set up close aligning down the shank? Or a melee shank? Or a small melee halo and melee shank?

It's a very gorgeous stone (lucky you) and your photos really do it justice. It's amazing how different the video and still photos are. I would NEVER in a million years have looked at those photos and realised how beautiful it was.
 
Beautiful stone! My heart skipped a beat when I saw that picture (on a balcony?)... what if the stone fell! :eek: But I'm can be paranoid sometimes ;))

I'd definitely skip the side stones. And the melee. And go for simple, clean lines in yellow or white gold. But that's me and my taste. :bigsmile: Good luck with the setting search!
 
Thanks for the suggestions, Jeweljunke.

That first setting is interesting. It wouldn't typically be my style, but I actually like it. And the multiple prongs are a plus (both Richard and TL suggested this due to the size of the stone). It's funny, on my monitor, it looks like rose gold, but the description says white gold?

The second setting is nice and blingy!
 
pregcurious - I'm used to wearing white metals, but I'm certainly not opposed to yellow gold. I just want something that will look nice with the stone and, being inexperienced, I don't know what that is! Everyone's input is helping though. Thanks!

LD - Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely don't want to regret how I choose to set it. Given everyone's advice, I'm leaning toward yellow gold. I do like the idea of traps, but I'm just not sure that there is enough room? I guess if they are small enough...

One thing I've learned is that photos can be very deceiving. When I just saw the still photograph of the stone on Richard's website, I thought: :knockout: . But then I saw the video, and thought: :mrgreen: . In the end, I just had to put my trust in Richard.
 
GemFever - Hahaha! Yeah, that crossed my mind. I can be paranoid sometimes, too.

I love your ring! One of the reasons why I'm having a difficult time deciding is because I'm typically a minimalist (in terms of home decor, accessorizing, etc.). But when it comes to rings, sometimes I like them blingy. I know that a bezel would provide a lot more protection, but the added sparkle of some small diamonds would be fun.

I think the first decision I need to make is whether to go with white or yellow gold. With all of the great input I've received, I think I'm going to go with yellow gold. So, thank you and everyone else who has provided input...it's really helped me a lot. :wavey:
 
That is a gorgeous stone - love the size, your finger coverage and I do like the shape - so it's not a perfect oval... who among us is PERFECT anyway? ;)

I agree with the YG recommendations and IMO, I'd go with some detail or scroll work on a basket or shank, in YG and skip the melee or side stones. I think that stone is 'speaking' on its own and deserves to be heard (that sounds dumb, but I hope you know what I mean!). I'm definitely a prong nut, so if it were me, I'd be doing double 'claw' prongs.

"CLAW PRONGS RULE" :D :bigsmile: :naughty:
 
Enerchi|1330732889|3139579 said:
That is a gorgeous stone - love the size, your finger coverage and I do like the shape - so it's not a perfect oval... who among us is PERFECT anyway? ;)

I agree with the YG recommendations and IMO, I'd go with some detail or scroll work on a basket or shank, in YG and skip the melee or side stones. I think that stone is 'speaking' on its own and deserves to be heard (that sounds dumb, but I hope you know what I mean!). I'm definitely a prong nut, so if it were me, I'd be doing double 'claw' prongs.

"CLAW PRONGS RULE" :D :bigsmile: :naughty:
Click to expand...

I would recommend claw prongs if it were platinum, a very hard and durable metal. I don't know so much with high karat gold. Perhaps if they were "large claws" if that makes any sense. I'm really paranoid about losing gems though. Gold also wears down over time, and a point prong might diminish in size a great deal more than a regular shaped prong. JMO. I wonder what others have to say about it though.
 
Enerchi - Thanks for your kind words. And I'm with you...I *love* claw prongs. I've been admiring Leon's famous prongs!

TL - :o ! No claw prongs?! And I had just decided to go with 18K yellow gold, and now you're telling me I need platinum prongs?! :(sad ;)
 
LD|1330725825|3139477 said:
It's a very gorgeous stone (lucky you) and your photos really do it justice. It's amazing how different the video and still photos are. I would NEVER in a million years have looked at those photos and realised how beautiful it was.
Click to expand...

This exactly. I love the color.
 
anythingorange|1330733776|3139592 said:
Enerchi - Thanks for your kind words. And I'm with you...I *love* claw prongs. I've been admiring Leon's famous prongs!

TL - :o ! No claw prongs?! And I had just decided to go with 18K yellow gold, and now you're telling me I need platinum prongs?! :(sad ;)
Click to expand...

As much as I love Leon's prongs, I have heard they get caught on things quite a bit. Fortunately, if platinum, it is less likely to bend back and the stone will fall out. If in 18K, and a pointy claw, well, logic tells me you're taking your chances there. I think some people have more bulky claw prongs in gold, that might be more secure though. Leon's are very delicate.

You don't need platinum prongs, but if you want to keep your stone secure, make sure it has double prongs, and they are substantial, not dainty "Leon prongs."

Also, if you plan on wearing your stone every day, platinum needs less maintenance. Gold prongs need to be maintained more, especially in high karat gold, which is softer.

I recently almost lost a stone. The prongs were 18K, and one bent back as I was moving my car seat back. It hit the side of the door. I looked down at my hand later in the day and the stone was gone. It wasn't as if these were old worn out prongs either, they were brand new ones my jeweler just put on. Fortunately, I turned off all the lights in the garage, got an LED flashlight out, and found the stone on the floor of the car, under the drivers seat (phew!!), and my jeweler is adding double prongs on the stone now. I also have a four carat mint garnet, and the 14K prongs became slightly loose on that, and I added four additional prongs on that setting too. I am constantly checking my prongs.

Don't mean to make you paranoid, but I would want a really secure setting for such a valuable gem, or any gem someone loved. :))
 
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