Richard Homer Mandarin Spess Glowball!

[endless_summer]

Wow, my eyes are burned from looking at it! Much prettier than orange soda.

I vote bypass bezel -- it would be absolutely killingly perfect!

--- Laurie

I like the first setting....Lots!
I like the unique and a warm spess such as yours in white metal would be unique and in a simple bypass as you posted I think would be stunning.
and thank you for not even considering a halo!
your stone can and should be the star of this show!

Laurie & Movie Zombie - major thanks! What's funny is the bypass bezel was the first thing I thought of when I saw LtlFirecracker's stone! I think it emulates a sun in the sky, for some intangible, abstract reason. MZ, I totally agree with you - the stone has to be the star of the show - I don't think it needs anything else & less metal certainly helps I like unique things as well, and I've definitely not seen a ring like that before, which is part of what drew me to the setting too. And, I am glad you think it can pull off the white metal (I wear it so much more than yellow gold!).

But, I am actually somewhat torn between the two - do you guys think the bypass would hold its own over time, as opposed to the more classic setting? Not knowing any better (e.g., whether semi-bezels are like full bezels), if I can manage to avoid a reset for fear of harming the stone, then I definitely want to go that route. That said, if it's not an issue, and I can change my mind down the road without harming the stone, then I think I might lean bypass

 

[distracts]

Whoa it looks good enough to eat!

I like the classic semi-bezel more than the bypass. I think with a stone that big, the bypass might be uncomfortable to wear.

 

[FrekeChild]

 

[endless_summer]

Whoa it looks good enough to eat!

I like the classic semi-bezel more than the bypass. I think with a stone that big, the bypass might be uncomfortable to wear.

Thank you, Distracts! And, I do really appreciate your thoughts on the classic semi-bezel v. the bypass - interestingly enough, I could only find the Sholdt bypass for a 1 carat stone, so beyond comfort, there may be another reason that I haven't been able to find it for other sizes. I was thinking I'd have to go custom to pull it off. Do you think the ring wouldn't sit upright or securely hold the stone as a bypass? I really would be happy with either ring for the spess (I think with almost anything, I couldn't go wrong), so I am open to any and all thoughts regarding each potential setting

Freke - thank you - the clappy hands crack me up! Do you have any thoughts re: the setting?

 

[endless_summer]

I should have thought to ask this yesterday…but, can anyone with any photoshop talent paste the stone into the setting pictures? It would be so unbelievably helpful in picturing the stone in each of the rings - many thanks to anyone that has time and knows how to do it!!!

 

[movie zombie]

imo, the bypass will protect your ring more because the "bezeling" is north/south.
you will note that my e-ring in my avatar is set east/west and I think the "north" edge of my spess is more exposed to damage.
realize that a spess is not a 24/7 ring. the spess is only about a 7.25-7.5 on the MOH scale.
I put mine on when I leave the house and take it off when I get home.
admittedly, I'm not wearing it to a work situation.

you could make a mounting out of aluminum foil to see if you're going to like white metal with it.
make two aluminum foil mountings, one with the duller side and one with the shinier side.
won't be as good as the real deal but it will certainly give you an idea as to whether or not white metal will work.

I know the tendency is to go with yellow metal...I certainly did using 22k gold.
HOWEVER, I think your stone has the size and with the concave cut will rock the contrast look, especially in that bypass setting because the metal will not overwhelm your stone.

 

[endless_summer]

imo, the bypass will protect your ring more because the "bezeling" is north/south.
you will note that my e-ring in my avatar is set east/west and I think the "north" edge of my spess is more exposed to damage.
realize that a spess is not a 24/7 ring. the spess is only about a 7.25-7.5 on the MOH scale.
I put mine on when I leave the house and take it off when I get home.
admittedly, I'm not wearing it to a work situation.

you could make a mounting out of aluminum foil to see if you're going to like white metal with it.
make two aluminum foil mountings, one with the duller side and one with the shinier side.
won't be as good as the real deal but it will certainly give you an idea as to whether or not white metal will work.

I know the tendency is to go with yellow metal...I certainly did using 22k gold.
HOWEVER, I think your stone has the size and with the concave cut will rock the contrast look, especially in that bypass setting because the metal will not overwhelm your stone.

Movie Zomie, you totally hit a point that I was wondering about - the N/S sides of the stone would be completely exposed in the more classic semi-bezel. Absolutely, I wouldn't be wearing the ring 24/7 and certainly not anytime that I was doing any sort of manual labor or work around the house. My e-ring is platinum, and I set it around the stone - I liked it. Yellow gold complemented it slightly better, but I know I'd wear the platinum way more and the stone really pops against the white metal. And, I agree with you - I like that the bypass has a less heavy/more dainty look so as not to overwhelm the stone & serves as a nice contrast to with the more edgy cut. I think I might just have to get quotes, if in fact, the bypass would require custom work and then compare the two options again - but, either way, I'm super happy with the stone, and I'd be hard-pressed to not love it in any ring

 

[FrekeChild]

Endless_summer:
Freke - thank you - the clappy hands crack me up! Do you have any thoughts re: the setting?

I like them because they are a slow clap. The old ones are a fast clap. Makes all the difference in the world!

As for how I'd set it , I'd go with diamonds. I didn't used to be a diamond halo kind of person until the attached ring changed my mind. There is just something about how the orange slaps you in the face when it's surrounded by diamonds.

But that's how I'd set it. Of the choices you've presented, I'd probably go with...yeah. I can't decide. Maybe the bypass to lessen the risk for damage?

ETA: Miraclesrule's spess is the round. Don't remember the owner of the oval, and the other two in the last pics belong to NKOTB and hlmr I think? That pic is from this year's GTG.

 

[endless_summer]

Endless_summer:
Freke - thank you - the clappy hands crack me up! Do you have any thoughts re: the setting?

I like them because they are a slow clap. The old ones are a fast clap. Makes all the difference in the world!

As for how I'd set it , I'd go with diamonds. I didn't used to be a diamond halo kind of person until the attached ring changed my mind. There is just something about how the orange slaps you in the face when it's surrounded by diamonds.

But that's how I'd set it. Of the choices you've presented, I'd probably go with...yeah. I can't decide. Maybe the bypass to lessen the risk for damage?

ETA: Miraclesrule's spess is the round. Don't remember the owner of the oval, and the other two in the last pics belong to NKOTB and hlmr I think? That pic is from this year's GTG.

That the slow clap does! I did actually think about what it would look like to have the N-S ends of the bypass be diamonds…fleeting thought - I'd need to find an example that worked - but, I totally agree - I love the way the diamonds make orange pop, but I'd want to find a more 'contemporary' (probably the wrong word, but best I've got at the moment) way to do it than a traditional halo

That said - Miraclesrule's spess is flipping fantastic & even more so in her setting, and RH oval (I think it was a recut) is equally as awesome…gotta love orange!

 

[marcy]

That is gorgeous. Glowball describes it perfectly.

 

[Art Nouveau]

endless summer: Your spess is so beautiful. It is like a fireball. I have an idea that I would like to share with you. There is a way to combine diamonds and a bezel set stone. Some time ago, when invisible princess cut setting was the latest "in" style, I had a ring custom made for a 3 carat roundish oval blue sapphire. The stone was half bezel set, N/S, and the shank was channel set with 2 rows of invisible set princess cut. The look is quite contemporary. I like the setting, but I do not like the way the sapphire look in it. The bezel makes it look darker. I have since reset the sapphire. But with a stone like a spess, which is so bright already, this type of setting may work. You do not have to use princess cut. Baguettes or french cuts would work.

 

[movie zombie]

diamonds on a shank will give you the extra bling factor.
honestly, I don't like the halos at all with a concave cut spess......appears way to busy.
but then the ring isn't for me is it?!

 

[endless_summer]

That is gorgeous. Glowball describes it perfectly.

Marcy, thank you! Richard really hit the mark with this one in every way!

 

[endless_summer]

endless summer: Your spess is so beautiful. It is like a fireball. I have an idea that I would like to share with you. There is a way to combine diamonds and a bezel set stone. Some time ago, when invisible princess cut setting was the latest "in" style, I had a ring custom made for a 3 carat roundish oval blue sapphire. The stone was half bezel set, N/S, and the shank was channel set with 2 rows of invisible set princess cut. The look is quite contemporary. I like the setting, but I do not like the way the sapphire look in it. The bezel makes it look darker. I have since reset the sapphire. But with a stone like a spess, which is so bright already, this type of setting may work. You do not have to use princess cut. Baguettes or french cuts would work.

Art Nouveau - thank you! That is a beautiful setting & quite contemporary, but I would definitely want to keep the E-W completely open in the case of the bypass, so that the stone could catch some extra light That said, I do like the idea & am going to keep the picture for a potential oval project in the future!

 

[endless_summer]

diamonds on a shank will give you the extra bling factor.
honestly, I don't like the halos at all with a concave cut spess......appears way to busy.
but then the ring isn't for me is it?!

That's exactly why even incorporating diamonds into the N/S parts of the bypass was a fleeting thought - as much as I really like the white of diamonds against orange, I was afraid to 'overdo' it (especially for what would likely be a custom project and a stone that I would be super-nervous, if not terrified, to re-set from a half-bezel for fear of it getting chipped or scratched, in the event that I didn't love it at the end of the day). And, I do really appreciate your comments, likes, & dislikes - they are really very helpful for me

 

[movie zombie]

glad to know you appreciate my direct statement of opinion, endless.

you've got yourself a great spess from a great cutter and I know that was not inexpensive. you're right to want to get the setting right the first time and not take the chance of damaging that stone for a reset.

confession: buying the spess was the easy part. it took me about 8 months to commit to a design!

 

[T L]

This ring belongs to Yingh, and I think is absolutely gorgeous as a halo. To me, the diamonds and metal surrounding the stone enhances the concave cutting, and the diamonds do not take away at all from the stone IMO, but add to it's beauty. This is a traditional and timeless design, and very feminine as well.

Richard Homer cut this spessartite from a larger stone that Yingh gave him. He was doing recuts at the time (I don't believe he does them any longer).



Here's an interesting thread as an FYI about the original stone and Richard's recut.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/richard-home-recut-my-orange-spessartite.30522/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/richard-home-recut-my-orange-spessartite.30522/[/URL]

 

[D&T]

Gorgeous Spess. I love RH's concave, have had a few from him, I actually have a Roval Spess from Richard too, and love his work!.

As for setting, I prefer N/S bezels, and I've had a many custom semis, even two sholdt at one point. I much prefer the N/S, as I tend to knock my rings into things I cannot remember, once I abraded my diamond which was in a sholdt regular semi bezel at least it wasn't chipped - I would imagined if it was a different type of gems, it probably would have chipped - I remembered hitting the washing machine .

This is my current ring with the diamonds down the shank and two tone w/ N/S Bezel, I had it set in a temp two tone setting without and diamonds in a traditional semi bezel. for reference this is a 2.02 ct diamond at about 8.05mm my ring size 4.75

I've also had a bypass for a 7mm diamond, and the only wide part really is just where the semi bezel is around, then the shank swoops down pretty significantly as to sit where say a simple solitaire shank would sit so your overall Width of the entire ring isn't going to be 8-9mm.. The only problem is you'll have a pretty wide gap if you wore a band with it... I did and loved the look.

hope this helps.

 

[endless_summer]

This ring belongs to Yingh, and I think is absolutely gorgeous as a halo. To me, the diamonds and metal surrounding the stone enhances the concave cutting, and the diamonds do not take away at all from the stone IMO, but add to it's beauty. This is a traditional and timeless design, and very feminine as well.

Richard Homer cut this spessartite from a larger stone that Yingh gave him. He was doing recuts at the time (I don't believe he does them any longer).



Here's an interesting thread as an FYI about the original stone and Richard's recut.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/richard-home-recut-my-orange-spessartite.30522/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/richard-home-recut-my-orange-spessartite.30522/[/URL]

TL - I hope I didn't imply that I thought full halos took away from spesses or Yingh's in particular - I think her ring is fantastic, updated with Richard's cutting, and timeless at the same time with the setting, and her orange really just POPS! I'm just afraid that it would be overdoing it and be a little much on me. While I admire halos on other folks, I don't have one because, for now, I don't think they suit me or my style on a day-to-day basis. One of these days, I'll probably grow into them (love the art deco style ones on asschers, emeralds, and square shapes & the cushion halos on rounds!) - I just haven't gotten there quite yet

 

[endless_summer]

Gorgeous Spess. I love RH's concave, have had a few from him, I actually have a Roval Spess from Richard too, and love his work!.

As for setting, I prefer N/S bezels, and I've had a many custom semis, even two sholdt at one point. I much prefer the N/S, as I tend to knock my rings into things I cannot remember, once I abraded my diamond which was in a sholdt regular semi bezel at least it wasn't chipped - I would imagined if it was a different type of gems, it probably would have chipped - I remembered hitting the washing machine .

This is my current ring with the diamonds down the shank and two tone w/ N/S Bezel, I had it set in a temp two tone setting without and diamonds in a traditional semi bezel. for reference this is a 2.02 ct diamond at about 8.05mm my ring size 4.75

I've also had a bypass for a 7mm diamond, and the only wide part really is just where the semi bezel is around, then the shank swoops down pretty significantly as to sit where say a simple solitaire shank would sit so your overall Width of the entire ring isn't going to be 8-9mm.. The only problem is you'll have a pretty wide gap if you wore a band with it... I did and loved the look.

hope this helps.

DandT - yes, very helpful, especially your experience knocking rings and abrading a diamond - that would be my biggest hesitation for an E/W semi-bezel. Your ring is beautiful & so creative - gorgeous re-set! Wearing a band is not a worry, so wearing a ring in this style or bypass is not a worry

 

[missy]

Wow, your gorgeous Richard Homer Mandarin Spess looks like a spectacular sunrise on a clear summer morning. Amazing.
I am partial to MR's haloed ring as the shape and contrast really highlights the stone but however you set it I am sure it will be beautiful. Enjoy!

 

[Lula]

It's simply gorgeous! Perfect in every way. Although I do like the halos that TL posted, I'm partial to modern, sleek designs with concave cutting, so my vote is for a bypass setting. Especially if your lifestyle is more casual.

 

[endless_summer]

Wow, your gorgeous Richard Homer Mandarin Spess looks like a spectacular sunrise on a clear summer morning. Amazing.
I am partial to MR's haloed ring as the shape and contrast really highlights the stone but however you set it I am sure it will be beautiful. Enjoy!

Thank you so much Missy! I really appreciate your thoughts re: the setting - I think the bypass would really highlight the sunrise look to the stone, but I totally agree - MR's halo & the contrast it creates is quite impressive!

 

[endless_summer]

It's simply gorgeous! Perfect in every way. Although I do like the halos that TL posted, I'm partial to modern, sleek designs with concave cutting, so my vote is for a bypass setting. Especially if your lifestyle is more casual.

Thank you, Lula! I also am pretty partial to the bypass, as tempting as all of the others really are - it's not so much that I am casual all the time, but rather that more often than not, I always reach for pieces in simple settings over those with more intricate details. I feel like they suit casual & nice evening events equally as well, so I wear them more, and this stone is certainly one that I would want to wear quite a lot!

 

[T L]

TL - I hope I didn't imply that I thought full halos took away from spesses or Yingh's in particular - I think her ring is fantastic, updated with Richard's cutting, and timeless at the same time with the setting, and her orange really just POPS!

No, you did not, someone else did, but they're entitled to their opinion. I just wanted to defend Yingh's ring because I think it's really beautiful and so many of us in this forum do adore halos, including myself, much to some people's chagrin.

Good luck and get whatever you like, I'm sure the end result will be beautiful.

 

[movie zombie]

chagrin?! a bit of an overstatement, TL.....
and while I stated my opinion I was in no way attacking Yingh's ring.
the important thing is that she is happy with it: her color stone and her $.
and your $ as well.......

we like what we like, we don't like what we don't like.
what some like others think is busy.
like wise what some think is big and clunky others like me find "unique" and wear with pleasure.
it is rare but occasionally there has been a halo ring I've liked but that has been rare and I've stated that at the time.
and in some instances I've commented on a halo ring that I love the center stone w/o mentioning the setting.

one of my objections to halos is that they are everywhere. i like wearing something i won't see on someone else. that doesn't bother some. oddly, i mentioned this to the daughter of an artisan jeweler who is working on another piece for me. said daughter was taken about for a moment and then told me that her halo of 8 years was about to be reset because she was seeing halo rings everywhere and that bothered her.

but, again, it is each to their own....their own taste with their own $.
but when a poster asks for an opinion is it really necessary to only hear from one side of the peanut gallery?

enjoy your halos, TL!

 

[T L]

chagrin?! a bit of an overstatement, TL.....
and while I stated my opinion I was in no way attacking Yingh's ring.
the important thing is that she is happy with it: her color stone and her $.
and your $ as well.......

we like what we like, we don't like what we don't like.
what some like others think is busy.
like wise what some think is big and clunky others like me find "unique" and wear with pleasure.
it is rare but occasionally there has been a halo ring I've liked but that has been rare and I've stated that at the time.
and in some instances I've commented on a halo ring that I love the center stone w/o mentioning the setting.

one of my objections to halos is that they are everywhere. i like wearing something i won't see on someone else. that doesn't bother some. oddly, i mentioned this to the daughter of an artisan jeweler who is working on another piece for me. said daughter was taken about for a moment and then told me that her halo of 8 years was about to be reset because she was seeing halo rings everywhere and that bothered her.

but, again, it is each to their own....their own taste with their own $.
but when a poster asks for an opinion is it really necessary to only hear from one side of the peanut gallery?

enjoy your halos, TL!

I said you're entitled to your opinion MZ and yes, I will and do enjoy my halos.