The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmaline!

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Thank you MJO!! I have to admit I am still have a tendency to make choices with my heart and eyes instead of truly informed choices
But Arkieb mostly warns me just in time before I buy windowed stones etc
I could very very easily get used to very well cut stones with excellent color like Gene's stones.

That's a huge compliment Niel, thank you!!

Aww, I really appreciate that you like my stone so much Marlow

Me too moviezombie! I was a bit tempted to choose the 9 ct stone but I decided to be wise and choose the 5.3 ct rough which fitted nicely in my budget. So I was very surprised to see the outcome. Gene stated that he tends to underestimate the rough to avoid that he will be disappointed with the outcome. I am thrilled with the color and the size.

MrsCornishwed: thank you
And well, as you can see there is still rough available

DK as always you are so mean to me, but somehow I still like you a lot
I can assure you I will be very prudent from now on... I like the first setting Ricezo posted and I am still thinking about the Trueste. What would you recommend?
And what about resetting your EC???? I thought you were focussing on your anniversary goodies . Keep some pennies for the tent! I would love to see some handpics with you wearing fabulous jewelry while lying in a tent!!

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

I could not resist doing a sisterhood post.
So curious to see how Laurie and Sparklieslover will set their stones.

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

And if you were wondering what the stones look like with concave cutting:

 

[dk168]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Cheeky is my middle name!

If it was mine, I would probably have half moon side stones or traps as my middle finger is fat and chunky enough for it.

However, with your slender fingers, I too would suggest a pave diamond band with no side stones like the one ricezo posted.

Personally, I am not keen on split shank, they just do not look good on me.

Re: my EC reset, CAD has been approved and a big chunk has been paid for, it is just a simple halo with an air line gap, 5mm plain shank reducing to 3mm at the bottom, no millgrain, that's all. I shall start a new thread eventually once the EC has been reset, as it will be another 2 months before I have the means to complete this project.

DK

 

[Marlow]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

OK - Now I like some concave cuttings...

Hope to see the rest of the rough bought by other PSer here cut into beautiful gems.

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Cheeky is my middle name!

If it was mine, I would probably have half moon side stones or traps as my middle finger is fat and chunky enough for it.

However, with your slender fingers, I too would suggest a pave diamond band with no side stones like the one ricezo posted.

Personally, I am not keen on split shank, they just do not look good on me.

Re: my EC reset, CAD has been approved and a big chunk has been paid for, it is just a simple halo with an air line gap, 5mm plain shank reducing to 3mm at the bottom, no millgrain, that's all. I shall start a new thread eventually once the EC has been reset, as it will be another 2 months before I have the means to complete this project.

DK

Whaaaaat? So you are not going to give us at least a sneak peek of the CAD????
Well, I am looking forward to see the end result.

Thanks for your advice! Mm, it could work with Victor's 3 sided pave . Or single sided with some engraving...

And yes, cheeky you are! You are much much much more active in buying stones and new setting than I am

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

OK - Now I like some concave cuttings...

Hope to see the rest of the rough bought by other PSer here cut into beautiful gems.

Ah, converted already Marlow!!
I have the same hope! Ricezo also bought a green tourmaline but from a different rough. I like!

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Some pics Gene snapped for me yesterday.
I like

 

[dk168]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

It's massive on Gene's hand, and it will be massive on yours!!!

I don't want to jinx the EC reset, as I have only paid about half of the total cost required. I have big outgoings next two months, therefore, I need to be careful with my spendings. Hopefully the overtime at work in December would help towards the cost of the semi-mount.

DK

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

It's massive on Gene's hand, and it will be massive on yours!!!

I don't want to jinx the EC reset, as I have only paid about half of the total cost required. I have big outgoings next two months, therefore, I need to be careful with my spendings. Hopefully the overtime at work in December would help towards the cost of the semi-mount.

DK

I am so happy for you that you will get such beautiful pieces. And you deserve it as you work hard and voluntarily sleep in a tent
Gene will be away to Germany. It would be good for our wallets if Jeff Davies and other cutters would take a loooong break

So curious to see how it looks on me but it will take a little while before I take a final decision.

 

[dk168]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

I am not going to buy anymore stones from Jeff D for a while, not after my latest purchases that are winging their way to me, as I really should set some of them first!

DK

 

[Marlow]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Looking at the handshots - who needs a paraiba.....

 

[T L]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Tell Gene to take a pic of it on his forehead (he's a handsome guy )

Nice stone Acimom, can't wait for your plans for it.

 

[mochiko42]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Acinom, I feel sometimes that you are like a magician at a show, always pulling new and magical things out of your hat that make us ooh and aahhh. I'm always so awed and impressed by your projects.

What a beauty! Sooo jelly, I can't wait to see how you would set it. I think it would look best set N-S instead of E-W due to the size of the stone (depending on your ring size), and personally I would set it in a diamond halo, or else with simple tabbed prongs with an ornate basket/gallery underneath for contrast...high karat gold would also be wonderful here, but do you prefer platinum usually? I do love the emerald Trueste that you posted, it is so simple yet elegant and PERFECT.

In summary, you have so many options on how to set this gorgeous stone and I can't wait to see what you decide.

 

[Siameseroo]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Some pics Gene snapped for me yesterday.
I like

Oh my it looks amazing! And yes the simple solitaire setting would be beautiful. I'm going to live vicariously through you until mine arrives!

Could you please provide more info on the process of having a stone custom cut by Gene from the rough? The stats of your stone are so impressive! Did Gene have a good idea of the colour and clarity prior to cutting? And was the final price based on the weight and quality of the stone post cutting? Or did Gene provide you with a quote beforehand? I am so intrigued! Would love to do this one day!

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

DK: you have such gorgeous stones and it will be such a nice process to have them set. You will be busy for a while

Marlow: oh well, I will now have 2 Paraiba and this yummy green thing. I have the feeling this will be my favourite...

TL: oh is he??? So is nice, talented AND handsome? Too late now, the stone is on its way to Victor!!


Thank you for you kind words Mochiko. I still cannot believe I will wear this beautiful stone on my finger. And many options to have it set indeed. I will take my time to make up my mind. I have narrowed it down but even then there are many options.

Ricezo: I called Gene to enquire about the stone you bought and to ask if he had more rough. That evening he send me a pic of the rough he had available and that he preworked. See my first photo on the first page to get an idea. I choose the rough piece that was expected to come out as a 5,3 ct stone.

He had a good idea about quality and colour since he already cut some stones from this particular rough. He could therefore also send photo's of already cut stones (including Laurie's and Sparklieslover's stones). He then asked me to make a choice between concave facets or flat facets.

He did not want to receive a payment before I had seen the stone on photo. He had set a price per carat as well as an estimate of the carat weight. The carat weight came out heavier then expected at 7,8 ct. He worked a bit on the price as he initially quoted me lower because if the difference in carat weight. I will not go into detail here but he did a great offer.

He actually cut the stone within a timeframe of 1,5 days. The first time I contacted him is now 1,5 weeks ago.

If you have very particular demands on the shape, then he will cut it especially for you and perhaps request a deposit or full payment.
In this case he said that he would sell this stone anyway also if I had decided not to take it.

It was a great and carefree process and I can completely recommend working with Gene.

I think this is a post from the rough my stone is made of:

 

[SB621]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Oh very pretty! I think with the elongated cut of this stone you will need to set it in a setting with diamonds. At least that is my preference. More cushion-y/ pillow-y/ round stones I think you can get away with solitaries.

I can't wait to see how this ends up!

 

[Siameseroo]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Thanks so much for the update, it was very informative!. Sounds like Gene was fantastic to work with and what a great turnaround time!

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Oh, Acinom!

I'm so extremely excited for you. Gene is such a great guy. He sent the stone directly to VC, correct? I cannot wait to see more of your lovely new stone and how you choose to set it. It'll look fantastic on your hand!

Also, I'm glad he's opened up about his rough. It's so beautiful. It really deserves to be seen although I know he's quite (understandably) attached to it.

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Oh very pretty! I think with the elongated cut of this stone you will need to set it in a setting with diamonds. At least that is my preference. More cushion-y/ pillow-y/ round stones I think you can get away with solitaries.

I can't wait to see how this ends up!

Haha, I love this shape but it takes me completely out of my comfort zone. Thank you for chiming in and sharing your view SB!!! Victor also suggested a bit of horizontal coverage. I was so convinced about the Trueste and I think it would have been gorgeous with a very chubby rectangular. But the stone came out with 2 mm additional length which creates such a different look.

Something like this could perhaps work. It gives some oomph on the side but still has a simple and elegant non fussy look. I cannot get the Trueste complete out of my head so I still have some thinking to do.

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Thanks so much for the update, it was very informative!. Sounds like Gene was fantastic to work with and what a great turnaround time!

You are welcome Ricezo!! Gene was incredibly fast!! I think he wanted to complete the stone before his trip to Germany. I was so surprised when I got his email. I was hoping he would finish it but tried to not hold my breath. Perhaps Sparklieslover can share her view on the process as well.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Haha, I love this shape but it takes me completely out of my comfort zone. Thank you for chiming in and sharing your view SB!!! Victor also suggested a bit of horizontal coverage. I was so convinced about the Trueste and I think it would have been gorgeous with a very chubby rectangular. But the stone came out with 2 mm additional length which creates such a different look.

Something like this could perhaps work. It gives some oomph on the side but still has a simple and elegant non fussy look. I cannot get the Trueste complete out of my head so I still have some thinking to do.

Random question/thought: are any of your current stones this large? Because the dimensions of the tourmaline are quite hefty. Maybe cut a piece of paper and put it on your finger. See if you'd want side stones or if that helps you envision anything.

haha I know, I feel the same about the Trueste.

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Oh, Acinom!

I'm so extremely excited for you. Gene is such a great guy. He sent the stone directly to VC, correct? I cannot wait to see more of your lovely new stone and how you choose to set it. It'll look fantastic on your hand!

Also, I'm glad he's opened up about his rough. It's so beautiful. It really deserves to be seen although I know he's quite (understandably) attached to it.

Sparklieslover!!! Thanks for chiming in And thank you for the inspiration.
Lee had other nice and quite affordable emeralds, but I suspected cut issues as they looked really really dark on the hand. The one you posted was lovely but already sold when I inquired. The 1.24 stone was a dream stone but not in terms of price.

And now I have the green tourmaline!!! I am so happy with it.

How accurate did Gene predict your carat size? Mine came out considerably bigger and I am not complaining. I love the substantial size.
And how long did the process take in your case?

Big hug for you. It will be such fun to see how you, Laurie, Ricezo and myself will set the stones.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Thanks so much for the update, it was very informative!. Sounds like Gene was fantastic to work with and what a great turnaround time!

You are welcome Ricezo!! Gene was incredibly fast!! I think he wanted to complete the stone before his trip to Germany. I was so surprised when I got his email. I was hoping he would finish it but tried to not hold my breath. Perhaps Sparklieslover can share her view on the process as well.

I'd definitely recommend working with Gene. Great, honest, straight-forward guy. I didn't know he had the rough, but on one of my communications with him he opened up about it. I was very upfront about my budget and what exactly I wanted. He said he didn't really like to do commissioned work because you never know what will happen when you cut a piece of rough. It could be larger, it could be smaller, it could be included, who knows; it's a huge guessing game, and that Afghan rough he bought is not exactly something you want to gamble with. He's had it for over a year and only cut a few pieces, so he does have some idea of what it's like. But we worked through it (meaning, I was as patient as I could be ), and he cut the stone within a couple weeks of my initial email. He didn't ask me to put down a deposit. He sent me the stats and picture of the stone when he was finished, and when I said "yes, I want it!" that's when he required payment. Easy transaction. I feel very lucky to own something from him.

Acinom - anytime. Yes, the one I posted for "you" was sold in no time. haha I'm glad someone scooped it up but I wish they'd post more pictures. (hint, hint) haha Yes, I'd feel the same about the 1.24!

Well, when I spoke with Gene, I told him 10mm was my ideal. He didn't take pictures of the rough for me. Instead, he said he had one he thought would cut 10 and one that'd cut around a 13mm. I said of course I'd LOVE the 13 but I didn't know if that'd be within my budget. Again, I was totally transparent with him about this. He said he'd start with the smaller of the two pieces and see what turned up. It ended up being larger than he thought at 11.1mm instead of 10, and just like you I did not complain! haha The process took a couple weeks, but that's because he was cutting other stones and I said I wasn't in a hurry. I didn't want to pressure him, so I tried my best to leave him be.

Thank you for the hug! Ditto to you, too, about the setting!

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

ETA: Gene and I never spoke in carat size. I told him in mm what I was looking for since I learned early on that carat size is totally deceiving when it comes to colored stones.

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Thank you for your reply on the process Sparklieslover! And it shows that there is probably no fixed process when it comes to cutting rough.

In my case he send the pic with the rough pieces and an estimation of carat weight. He also made an estimation of the dimensions which he estimated to be 11.5 x 10 approximately while it came out 13 x 10 approximately. Gene stated that he only requires payment upfront if the requested shape is very very different from the shape he suggests. He also sent the pics of the concave stones and the classic stones. I was happy with the pics as it reduced my anxiety

You are so right when you state that you can never be sure about the outcome. I almost begged him to do a payment as it felt weird that he started cutting on my request without the financial commitment. But he simply refused to give his Paypal mailaddress . Looks like he only wants very happy customers.

From your thread it indeed felt like a fairly relaxed process. So I was more then confident to take the plunge.

Good suggestion to cut out the dimensions and put them on my hand. Excellent idea. My currently biggest stone is my OEC which measures about 11.34 x 11.38. So the tourmaline is actually smaller, but has more length and is a more soft squarish shape.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Anytime.

I can see how what he did would be very helpful. Plus, who wouldn't love to see a picture like that?

It did feel weird knowing that he was working and I hadn't paid him a dime yet. But on the other hand, I trust his process as it seems to work well for him.

I'm glad you took the plunge!

Oh, I thought your tourmaline was a bit longer? I thought the dimensions were 13.229 x 10.034. That'd make the one side a few mm longer, right? Maybe I'm mistaken. Not a big deal. Anyway, I wasn't sure if the cut-out would be helpful. Did VC have any suggestions?

 

[Acinom]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Anytime.

I can see how what he did would be very helpful. Plus, who wouldn't love to see a picture like that?

It did feel weird knowing that he was working and I hadn't paid him a dime yet. But on the other hand, I trust his process as it seems to work well for him.

I'm glad you took the plunge!

Oh, I thought your tourmaline was a bit longer? I thought the dimensions were 13.229 x 10.034. That'd make the one side a few mm longer, right? Maybe I'm mistaken. Not a big deal. Anyway, I wasn't sure if the cut-out would be helpful. Did VC have any suggestions?

Hihi, you are right. Those are the exact dimensions. What I meant is that the tourmaline has much more length but a smaller width compared to my OEC.

Victor suggests a split shank, a 5 stone similar to the one I posted or a 3 stone.
Of these suggestions I like the 5 stone best.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

Ah, okay. Yes, you are correct.

The 5-stone is very pretty. Do you think you'll be able to see both stones on the side? You have smaller fingers, correct? Just trying to picture it all in my head/on your hand. Excuse the dumb questions.

 

[liao]

Re: The Precision Gem experience:a green-blue Afghan tourmal

tourmaline is not my cup of tea, but it is gorgeous

if I may ask, how much does it cost?