Simply Silica: A Gem Silica Pendant

[prs]

Yes. Halo it. It is beautiful. I like a good. stone that you can dress up with a halo and it looks a million dollars.

Im.not usually into halos but when i first saw this one i thought it woukd look really lovelly with a halo

that is gorgouse!
definatly matching earings next!
the halo is just right

i know nothing about this gem

DW wasn't into the halo idea at first because she wanted an exact match to the pendant. However whilst the single diamond looked really cute on the long pendant, it looked weird on the shorter ring. So halo won!!!

 

[prs]

The pendant and the ring are both gorgeous! I love the picture showing the ring stone glowing!
Yes! Your wife definitely needs matching earrings

Thank you! Actually it's going to be really tough sourcing gem silica small enough for earrings. I guess because this material is relatively inexpensive, cutters tend to cut pretty big cabs out so they can justify a reasonable price. Almost all the available stones are too big for rings, let alone earrings.

 

[prs]

There is just something about a glowing striking cyan blue and yellow gold.

Love the ring and pendant. Yes to earrings to complete the set!

Thank you, the gem silica in the ring is a shade greener than the stone in the pendant, and I suggested that white gold might be a better match. However, as always, DW knew better and we stayed with 18K yellow. We actually added a 0.70mm wide raised lip around the outer edge of the halo to increase the visibility of the yellow gold.

DW loves the color of the stone and the way it glows. In our weaker moments we might even pretend it's a Paraiba.

 

[prs]

Great results! What a beautiful matching set!

I love to hear about your teamwork and the decisions and possibilities you and your dear wife consider.

Congratulations on another success story!

Thank you so much for your kind words! DW and I do work well together as a team. After almost 40 years of training I've learned our team works best when I just follow orders and do what I'm told to do!!

Actually that's not quite true, we do discuss thing a lot, and generally make decisions by unanimous consent. However when it comes to jewelry I do make suggestions, but the final decision is always hers, I know she has much better eye for beauty.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

I was just thinking "who needs a Paraiba when these exist! Did I miss it in the thread where you mentioned the vendor you used? I'm inspired!

 

[LD]

What a beautiful set. It just reminds me of summer and I love the addition of the diamonds. Hope your DW enjoys wearing them.

 

[prs]

I was just thinking "who needs a Paraiba when these exist! Did I miss it in the thread where you mentioned the vendor you used? I'm inspired!

Some of the world's best Gem Silica comes from Arizona's Inspiration mine, and both our stones are from there. There is a great article about Gem Silica sources on the AJS website. LINK

We purchased the pendant stone at a Bonhams Natural History auction in Los Angeles. The stone was cut by Jason Baskin. When we saw how terrific it looked when set, I tracked down Jason to see if he had a matching piece suitable for a ring. Here's a LINK to his Instagram account. Unfortunately all the higher quality pieces he had available at that time were much too big.

The only other source for high quality GS I could find was AJS Gems in Thailand LINK At first it seemed strange that the only source was in Thailand, but it turns out the American owner spent his early career in the South West trading in turquoise and Indian jewelry. No doubt that's when he made his Gem Silica contacts. This is where we bought the stone for the ring. Of course both pieces were set by DKJ.

 

[prs]

DW's Gem Silica set went out for dinner last weekend.

 

[ChaiK]

DW's Gem Silica set went out for dinner last weekend.

I love Gem Silica! It is a bright crazy blue!!!!!!

 

[prs]

I love Gem Silica! It is a bright crazy blue!!!!!!

I believe it was you who told me about Gem Silica from Arizona. I think we were discussing Jadeite alternatives in your Specific Gravity thread.

Thank you!!!

 

[ChaiK]

@prs , where did you buy this gem silica from? Thanks in advance.

 

[bright&shiny]

DW's Gem Silica set went out for dinner last weekend.

Both so beautiful - and that ring!!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Back in July of last year I was admiring @icy_jade's gorgeous Peruvian Blue Opal ring, and suggested that Peruvian Opal might make a good alternative to jadeite. @ChaiK then gave me the tip that I should take a look at Gem Silica from Arizona's Inspiration mine as another alternative.

DW and I had never seen any Gem Silica in person, but later that year we just happened to come across a piece at an auction. It was a rather unusual shape, but once DW saw how well it looked against her skin she decided it was destined to be a pendant. As some of you might know, DW has a thing for pendants. Here's a picture of the stone, it is 16.1ct measuring 30.7x9.8x7.0 and cut from Inspiration mine rough by John (Jay) Baskin.



We had some other projects in the works so didn't give the stone to Amy at DKJ until a few weeks ago. DW had determined the stone was so beautiful in its own right it didn't need a diamond halo or anything too fancy. Just a simple setting in 18K yellow gold to enhance the stone and keep it the center of attention. Amy and the DKJ pulled off this simple but elegant design to absolute perfection, here's their video and a couple of their studio photos.

This Gem Silica does take on more of a blue shade in strong lighting, but in regular lighting it's more of a teal green, and it does look a lot like jadeite! A few neck shots in different lighting



DW did add a single diamond highlight to the design. I tease her that her pendant has a pimple!

Just revisiting your thread
i think you have made me fall in love with gem silica because i have googled it a lot in the last year !

 

[prs]

@prs , where did you buy this gem silica from? Thanks in advance.

Look no further than post #37 immediately above!

 

[ChaiK]

Look no further than post #37 immediately above!

Thank you.