Tanzanian Rocks!.

[FrekeChild]

The spinel I was talking about would be the first one-Tanzanian Spinel 5.8 x 7.6mm supernova oval cut- because I love the color. I love the colors on all the other ones, but that blue/violet color calls to me.

I went to a couple of jewelers the other day to think about getting my topaz set (simple plain basket setting-wg) and just feel them out for BF...For my stone- 12x10mm Jeweler A quoted me over $500 and Jeweler B quoted me just over $200.

Talk about a difference! Plus A was kind of snotty and rude, probably because I look so dang young. Anyway guess who I''ll go with when it''s time to do it?

Would the VC setting be in yg? I think that would be really pretty.

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, I wasn''t sure what this thread was going to be about but then I checked (since you are such a sweetie) and then I saw these glorious stones!!!! LOVE THEM!!! YUMMY colors! Can''t wait to see how you set them!

 

[Harriet]

Love in Bloom,
Please take those lovelies out of the temporary stone holders. I chipped my spinel in one of them.

 

[Pandora II]

Very nice!

I love the garnet and the darker spinel!

 

[movie zombie]

you have been having a lot of fun....color fun!

movie zombie

 

[akmiss]

You did a great job! I have also been looking @ Barbara''s site since Freke posted her "silver topaz." Those supernovas are gorgeous

I really hope you keep the pink tourmaline because it is fabulous! Thanks for all the eye-candy / inspiration

 

[Gemma12]

Date: 4/25/2008 4:36:16 PM
Author: Love in Bloom

Date: 4/25/2008 4:20:40 PM
Author: innerkitten
Those are nice. Neon pink, cool! I especially love the purple red on that garnet. So what are your lans wih these?

Thanks Innerkitten! I would love to put the garnet into this pendant if not in a ring. The weird thing is, the garnet was not too expensive (under $200) and the setting is probably super hella expensive (it''s by VC). I think the stone would look good in this pendant setting...

Would it be too weird to have such an inexpensive stone made into a pendant like this?

Love in Bloom, those stones are just yummy!

I do love that garnet-fabulous colour. I personally think that setting is stunning and would love to see the stone in it!

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 4/26/2008 1:56:31 AM
Author: Gemma12

Date: 4/25/2008 4:36:16 PM

Author: Love in Bloom

Date: 4/25/2008 4:20:40 PM

Author: innerkitten

Those are nice. Neon pink, cool! I especially love the purple red on that garnet. So what are your lans wih these?

Thanks Innerkitten! I would love to put the garnet into this pendant if not in a ring. The weird thing is, the garnet was not too expensive (under $200) and the setting is probably super hella expensive (it's by VC). I think the stone would look good in this pendant setting...


Would it be too weird to have such an inexpensive stone made into a pendant like this?

Love in Bloom, those stones are just yummy!

I do love that garnet-fabulous colour. I personally think that setting is stunning and would love to see the stone in it!

Yah! That setting is lovely and perfect for that stone! The garnet is a lovely color.
Beautiful stones LIB!
Ahhh That purple spinel drives me wild! I love that magnified shot--beautiful cut!

 

[Selkie]

Beautiful pendant! If I had the spare cash (hah) I''d set everything in either VC or Greenlake! As it is I have a hard time trying to justify putting a relatively inexpensive stone in a setting that costs 5x as much!

 

[Love in Bloom]

SanDiegoLady - I purchased the ovals (light purple spinel, Umba garnet) and square (tourmaline) from acstones.com. The darker purple cushion spinel was from artcutgems.com. Both were lovely to work with, and shipped very quickly!

Frekechild - Thanks for clarifying about which spinel...it was really nice to get complements on my spinel, but kind of weird too because I couldn''t figure out which one

! Oooh I can''t wait to see your silvery topaz set, though I''m not a good one to talk in regards to price differences. That Van Craeynest pendant setting is probably upwards of 15X as much as I paid for the stone

. I would think a plain basket setting sounds simple enough and would have suspicions too as to the disparity in price. In either case, I hope jeweler A was not being rude to you because of how young you may look. I have had that happen to me and it is infuriating!

Skippy - You are such a darling! Thank you for looking...I''ll be needing opinions on how to set one of them soon.

Harriet - The deed is done. Thanks for the warning; what a horror that would be!

PandoraII - The garnet is my absolute favorite and I think garnets in general are becoming one of my favorite gemstones. You and your tsavorite actually helped spark my interest in garnets. Oh to have a tsav of my own; perhaps someday

.

Movie zombie - Never knew loose stones were so entertaining...LIB enjoys some good color fun once in a while. Though I''m probably not having as much fun as you...your spessarite looks so juicy it makes me drool everytime I look at your avatar!

akmiss - Thanks for your input; I''m still deciding on that tourmaline. I will have to return it if I decide to keep the dark purple spinel. Oh decisions, decisions

Gemma12 - I love that setting too, but worry about it looking a little mature for me (I''m 25). There are some more options for setting my garnet...I''ll post below

Coatimundi - Why thank you! In my heart I know the garnet would look great in the pendant, but I''m still thinking...

Selkie - I''m totally in the same boat! The Greenlake site is actually the first place I went to look for setting ideas, but I''m not quite into going totally custom. Do you know about Greenlake''s pricing on custom work? I''m struggling (perhaps temporarily

) to justify 15X the stone cost to set it in a ring or pendant by VC. My heart knows the garnet, no matter how inexpensive, is gorgeous, and also that Van Craeynest pieces are totally worth it. I would be completely happy with it set in that pendant or a pierced ring...my mind is just having a strange time of it given the

numbers

.

 

[Love in Bloom]

So here are the options I have been dreaming of for my Umbalite. Please let me know what you think

1.) My first thought...a pendant, would go for it in yellow gold. But I do already have my VC heart pendant that I wore at my wedding and everyday since; I never get tired of it. I have never seen this design in person and I do worry about it looking a little old-ladyish on me (I'm 25).

2.) Not sure about what metal to get if I chose this one though (all plat, all YG, or two tone). Saw this one at Belenky Bros. in Soho; the profile is so gorgeous:

3.) My all time favorite ring, in platinum. Got to try it on in person while in San Francisco...it also goes with my wedding band:

 

[Love in Bloom]

So maybe I''m not gonna get too many opinions on how to set my garnet

.

Anyway, here are some interesting pictures of the purple spinel cushion:

 

[Selkie]

Date: 4/26/2008 11:09:52 PM
Author: Love in Bloom

Selkie - I'm totally in the same boat! The Greenlake site is actually the first place I went to look for setting ideas, but I'm not quite into going totally custom. Do you know about Greenlake's pricing on custom work? I'm struggling (perhaps temporarily

) to justify 15X the stone cost to set it in a ring or pendant by VC. My heart knows the garnet, no matter how inexpensive, is gorgeous, and also that Van Craeynest pieces are totally worth it. I would be completely happy with it set in that pendant or a pierced ring...my mind is just having a strange time of it given the

numbers

.

I had a ring made for my mom by Green Lake, and had a lot of fun going the custom route.They have this nifty design blog feature that lets you post pictures of your ideas and communicate directly with their designers. Here's a thread on her ring: Aqua and diamond band from Greenlake. It was a fairly simple ring obviously, and was based on one of their bands-cost of the setting was $400. I recently asked for quotes on the pendant and the yellow gold filigree ring I posted in my Tsav/Sapphire/Zircon thread-the pendant would be around $485 without a chain. So...definitely not cheap, but in the same ballpark as say, a Whiteflash halo or bezel pendant. The ring was over $2000, which is probably because of the filigree and my ginormous ring size (9). So that is on hold for now.

 

[Selkie]

Ha, we totally posted at the same time. That is a beautiful photo of the spinel! I''d keep that over the tourmaline in a heartbeat.

Are you set on a filigree setting for the garnet? Because I think it''s fabulous enough to set in something really simple, a bezel with scrollwork on the basket maybe?

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 4/27/2008 3:51:34 PM
Author: Selkie

I had a ring made for my mom by Green Lake, and had a lot of fun going the custom route.They have this nifty design blog feature that lets you post pictures of your ideas and communicate directly with their designers. Here''s a thread on her ring: Aqua and diamond band from Greenlake. It was a fairly simple ring obviously, and was based on one of their bands-cost of the setting was $400. I recently asked for quotes on the pendant and the yellow gold filigree ring I posted in my Tsav/Sapphire/Zircon thread-the pendant would be around $485 without a chain. So...definitely not cheap, but in the same ballpark as say, a Whiteflash halo or bezel pendant. The ring was over $2000, which is probably because of the filigree and my ginormous ring size (9). So that is on hold for now.

I adore the combo of the stones, so subtle with a splash of color

. What a sweet gift Selkie! Thanks for posting the link; I guess I didn''t hang around the Colored Stones threads enough to see it back then

. Those prices seem reasonable...what metal was the ring? I''m stuck in a platinum or 18K yellow rut because of my finicky dermis

. Not that I could by a handfull of jewelry from them at one time, but the prices are waaay better than I expected especially considering the hike in precious metal prices. Does Greenlake do work in palladium? Perhaps I''ll go with them for my light purple spinel

.

 

[Selkie]

Thanks, I love that ring, and would like a matching one with peridot and diamond someday (DH and my birthstones). It''s my brother''s birthstone (aqua) and hers and mine (diamonds). My mom''s ring was 14K, but they use the whole gamut, 18K, plat, palladium, titanium etc.

I love this oval halo setting:


Price estimate:
$935 - 1,760
In 18k/.750 Gold

 

[Selkie]

Or this, for the filigree junkies:

Price estimate:
$1,760 - 2,750
In 18k/.750 Gold

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 4/27/2008 3:56:59 PM
Author: Selkie
Ha, we totally posted at the same time. That is a beautiful photo of the spinel! I''d keep that over the tourmaline in a heartbeat.

Are you set on a filigree setting for the garnet? Because I think it''s fabulous enough to set in something really simple, a bezel with scrollwork on the basket maybe?

LOL, PS Tag! You''re it!

The weird thing about the spinel is that it looks mostly flat grey (not even that purple!) in real life, but it photographs beatuifully. I just don''t get it...everytime I look at the pictures I want to keep it, then I look at it right in front of my eyes and think, "where did the pretty purple go??"

I totally love that simple bezel idea...perhaps a half bezel. Do you mean a setting like this one? I would prefer trilliants rather than the small pink stones:

 

[Love in Bloom]

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 4/27/2008 4:13:35 PM
Author: Selkie
Thanks, I love that ring, and would like a matching one with peridot and diamond someday (DH and my birthstones). It''s my brother''s birthstone (aqua) and hers and mine (diamonds). My mom''s ring was 14K, but they use the whole gamut, 18K, plat, palladium, titanium etc.

I love this oval halo setting:


Price estimate:
$935 - 1,760
In 18k/.750 Gold

Wow, I never knew they worked with all of those metals. So much food for my jewelry thoughts...
Selkie, you are wondeful!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Oh yeah, back to the spinel pics...looks almost color change under an LED:

 

[Love in Bloom]

This stone is entirely eye clean but I thought this looked cool

:

 

[Miscka]

As far as setting, I love the ring you posted as option #3!! Gorgeous stones.

 

[planet_jp]

I vote for your "all-time favorite ring setting." The garnet in that setting would be gorgeous. Is the half-bezel with the little pink stones you posted also VC?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Pretty stones!

 

[Love in Bloom]

I appreciate your setting votes Mischka and planet_JP

And thanks for your kind words about my stones Tacori and all around!


ETA:
planet_JP - The half bezel filgree setting with the little pink stones in the triangles is a ring not by Van Craeynest, but by Greenlake Jewelry Works . Their designs are gorgeous!

 

[marcy]

For your first gemstone purchases - you did GREAT!!! They are all gorgeous.

 

[icekid]

I missed this thread for a while because I thought it was going to be about Tanzanite... turned out it was so much better though. I totally love each of those stones. Yummy yummy. I will definitely be looking for the BB signature on ACS from now on. Congrats LiB; you picked some lovelies.

 

[Selkie]

Date: 4/27/2008 4:49:09 PM
Author: Love in Bloom


Wow, I never knew they worked with all of those metals. So much food for my jewelry thoughts...

Selkie, you are wondeful!

*blushing* Thanks! I've spent WAAAAAAAY too much time recently looking at colored stone settings, so it's fun to share it with like-minded people. If I ever make it to the mid-west, we'll have to get together!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Thanks so much MarcyC and icekid

Selkie - Sounds good, though I''d rather come back to the west coast....there''s lots more to do out there jewelry wise

!