Seaglow's Finds

Burmesedaze · Feb 24, 2017

They turned me away as I didn't bring my passport with me and it's not something I want to carry around with me. Heading back to the hotel now and calling it a day.

Seaglow · Feb 25, 2017

Burmesedaze|1487997403|4133368 said:
They turned me away as I didn't bring my passport with me and it's not something I want to carry around with me. Heading back to the hotel now and calling it a day.

Sorry to hear that.

but you will go tomorrow?

Burmesedaze · Feb 25, 2017

Yup, a day of shopping and good food has fortified me and restored my spirits. Will pop by for a couple of hours.

Seaglow · Feb 28, 2017

My full color change alexandrite set as a pendant.

Very nice green in daylight with a very slight hint of blue to a pure purple in incandescent light. Stone is only 0.64 carat with a natural crystal inclusion, origin is from India. Set in 18k WG with diamond melees.

Top left showed in indoor diffused wight lighting, top right in incandescent light, bottom left in direct sunlight (registering in photo as blue but in reality a green almost same as top left photo, only brighter), bottom right in indirect daylight (photo registering as purple but in reality also a green color).

Also got this copper-bearing electric green tourmaline at the Bangkok Fair. Included but amazing radioactive green color. Stone from Mozambique.

In direct sunlight (apologies for the fingerprint smudges)...

In indoor light...

Burmesedaze · Mar 1, 2017

Oooh nice green. Saw nothing like them on Sunday

elle_71125 · Mar 1, 2017

Ooh...I love those electric green tourmalines.

Seaglow · Mar 2, 2017

Thanks Burmesedaze and Elle!

The good thing about the greens is I selected them from a parcel of paler stones. The seller has fantastic colored windex and swimming pool blues and blue greens but since this type of green is rare, not commercially viable, and not the market demand, it was a fraction of the cost of the blues! I interviewed the African seller and I asked him more about these type of greens, and he said it was difficult to find and returned the question to me - do you see anymore greens from my stock? That's just it.

Burmesedaze · Mar 2, 2017

Good choice

I'd rather go for what's hard to find.

I didn't see any African sellers too. You were right, they must have already packed up by Sunday

Seaglow · Mar 10, 2017

Thanks Burmesedaze!

My recent purchase is a big one.

Got myself a grape garnet! 14.45carats. For big purchases, I usually only accept a lab brief from labs that I know. But in this case I can confirm the inclusions myself as unheated rhodolite. I love looking at 100x magnification as it has interesting needle and crystal inclusions.

Burmesedaze · Mar 10, 2017

WOW. Would you be setting it?

You make me want to get one too!

Seaglow · Mar 10, 2017

I'm sure you could. Throw in some big Burmese peridots!

Seaglow · Mar 10, 2017

I forgot to answer your question
...yes I'll most likely set it as a pearl enhancer pendant...or a cocktail ring...but most likely an enhancer with neon pink or red spinel melees and diamonds on a double halo.

austinj · Mar 12, 2017

! I LOVE your new gigantic garnet! I also love your setting ideas. Can't wait to see how this one plays out. I love the idea of red spinel Melee around it. You could do something like Beyonces sapphire ring! I'll try and attach picture later.

Seaglow · Mar 13, 2017

Thanks austinj! Yes, I'd definitely would like to see the photo!

austinj · Mar 13, 2017

Ok here you go! Your rich purple garnet with delicate red spinel halo.. ahh it would be gorgeous!

Seaglow · Mar 13, 2017

Wow. Blue on blue looks exquisite! Thanks for the photo austinj!

Burmesedaze · Mar 13, 2017

How about customising a setting that lets you wear it both as a pearl enhancer and clips tightly onto a ring too?

I like pink so the pink spinels have my vote

Seaglow · Apr 5, 2017

I got a couple of Thai sapphires straight from the mine. I reserved to order for a couple of big cleaner stones stones among a batch that came out fresh from the mine. They are cut for weight so they are windowed. The roughs are mostly bi-colored yellow and green, so the pavilions aren't usually deep and honestly quite thin for most stones. I selected stones with a decent depth. They are traditionally heated (no diffusion), with the green a bit dark which is common for Thai green sapphires. The stone is 6.73 carats. The other stone is a Mekong whiskey color at 5.32 carats.

Seaglow · Apr 5, 2017

I have a red Burmese spinel that holds its bright color in every lighting. It doesn't turn brownish, the most it gets is a blood red or a stoplight red and neon in some lighting. It is included though and it is at 1.15 carats. The inclusions though appear in some lighting (in others the inclusions are not pronounced) but look like fireworks inside so I decided to have it set in a half eternity band with diamond melees in 18k white gold.

Here are the photos of the spinel:

Seaglow · Apr 5, 2017

I also had set a light watermelon tourmaline into a very simple solitaire ring in 18k rose gold.

Seaglow · Apr 5, 2017

Burmesedaze said:
How about customising a setting that lets you wear it both as a pearl enhancer and clips tightly onto a ring too?

I like pink so the pink spinels have my vote

Great idea. However, I would have to go to Bangkok or at the gem fair to get a nicely colored calibrated melees.

Seaglow · Apr 5, 2017

My bright yellow Thai sapphires (no diffusion) that I had sent for re-cut. They used to be lopsided with the pavilion not centered. The oval used to be 2.43carats and now down to 1.98 carats because the culet was not centered. The other stones used to be a lop-sided cushion at 2.53 carats, and now at 2.22 carats.

Seaglow · Apr 7, 2017

Also had another 18k rose gold ring done with an unheated mint tourmaline and yellow and pink sapphires to pair with my watermelon tourmaline ring.

elle_71125 · Apr 7, 2017

Those two rings go so well together. I love it. Pastel goodness!

Burmesedaze · Apr 7, 2017

They look like spring

deco1 · Apr 7, 2017

The tourmaline looks very pretty in rose gold -- I would not have thought of it. Your spinel is a showstopper.

Lisa Loves Shiny · Apr 8, 2017

Seaglow you have such lovely gems and jewelry.

Seaglow · Apr 12, 2017

Thank you elle, Burmesedaze, deco1, and Lisa RN!

Seaglow · Apr 12, 2017

I like rose gold and have a couple of rose gold rings that I haven't really focused on here on this thread. One is a 7.53cts. color-change diaspore (aka as "Zultanite") in 14K. I bought it direct from the producer of color-change diospore Turkish company called Zultani after unsuccessfully finding one in Istanbul (the stones at the shops were usually fakes). Another one is a morganite ring in 18K made by Spanish jewelry maker SuperOro.

Here are the web photos and actual photos. The morganite is more of a peach and I have taken a photo of the ring beside my 5.82 carats unheated pink morganite.

Seaglow · Apr 19, 2017

Taken in different lighting conditions....
Here's a nice unheated hot pink tourmaline, 2.68 carats.

Beside it is an unheated Burmese flame spinel solitaire ring, 1.66 carats in 18k gold.