Voce's Gemstone Ramblings...

[polarisfire]

Whoaaa where did you source those stones? (Those Emeralds!)

 

[voce]

Whoaaa where did you source those stones? (Those Emeralds!)

The spess is from Gran Gem in Etsy, and the emeralds, I had Inken (Enhoerning Jewelry) source.

 

[voce]

I don't know if anyone else runs into this problem. Every time I go to LoupeTroop and see the letters RED my heart skips a beat, not at the prospect of a hot sale, but at the prospect of a red stone. When I then realize it's not a red stone, I'm disappointed. :'(

 

[voce]

Bad news and good news this month. GIA chipped my emerald pair, so I'm back to square one with my mandarin duck project.

Three new rings were completed. I got some vibrant gems from Yvonne for some further projects.

 

[Polabowla]

Bad news and good news this month. GIA chipped my emerald pair, so I'm back to square one with my mandarin duck project.

Three new rings were completed. I got some vibrant gems from Yvonne for some further projects.

Oh no what happens in such a case, do they reimburse you?

 

[voce]

Oh no what happens in such a case, do they reimburse you?

They reimbursed my jeweler the wholesale price. The jeweler offered a full refund, and I decided to have her do a custom project for me using the refund.

 

[Niffler75]

@voce Aaargh no, sorry about your emeralds! Hope you get reimbursed.

 

[deorwine]

Bad news and good news this month. GIA chipped my emerald pair, so I'm back to square one with my mandarin duck project.

Three new rings were completed. I got some vibrant gems from Yvonne for some further projects.

Ooh, very pretty! Where is the sapphire from, and the right-hand red spinel?

 

[voce]

Ooh, very pretty! Where is the sapphire from, and the right-hand red spinel?

LOL deorwine you jump straight to asking about the blue sapphire.

The blue sapphire is an 8x6 oval I bought from Inken off LT last year. It is unheated, Burmese, around 2 cts, but had color zoning and inclusions. However, the inclusions aren't bothersome to me, and the color saturation is such that I don't notice the inclusions in my office setting. The stone, including the GIA report, was just under $1k, which I thought was fantastic value. It's in a classic Stuller setting. Here's some more pictures.



Which red spinel are you asking about? There's a faceted cushion and a roval cab in that post I believe you are referring to.

 

[deorwine]

LOL deorwine you jump straight to asking about the blue sapphire.

The blue sapphire is an 8x6 oval I bought from Inken off LT last year. It is unheated, Burmese, around 2 cts, but had color zoning and inclusions. However, the inclusions aren't bothersome to me, and the color saturation is such that I don't notice the inclusions in my office setting. The stone, including the GIA report, was just under $1k, which I thought was fantastic value. It's in a classic Stuller setting. Here's some more pictures.



Which red spinel are you asking about? There's a faceted cushion and a roval cab in that post I believe you are referring to.

LOLOLOL it's like you know me or something? I feel the way about blue sapphires the way you do about red rubies/spinels, hee. Anyway it's very beautiful and that ring sets it off so well! Nice job getting that value and that lovely ring!

I was asking about the spinel cushion, the one to the right of the cab? Is that the one you got off Etsy? (I swear I'm not stalking your purchases, but that particular one was the One That Got Away for me and so I am interested to see the eye candy for it, then I can console myself by realizing it has a beautiful home )

 

[Rfisher]

!Ugh! about the chip, but at least GIA was forthcoming about the situation and it resolved.
I love seeing all your pretties @voce
That 8x6 blue sapphire is fantastic and your two spinel florals are my faves

 

[voce]

LOLOLOL it's like you know me or something? I feel the way about blue sapphires the way you do about red rubies/spinels, hee. Anyway it's very beautiful and that ring sets it off so well! Nice job getting that value and that lovely ring!

I was asking about the spinel cushion, the one to the right of the cab? Is that the one you got off Etsy? (I swear I'm not stalking your purchases, but that particular one was the One That Got Away for me and so I am interested to see the eye candy for it, then I can console myself by realizing it has a beautiful home )

I do remember in a previous post you said you just collect sapphires, without having a lot of different gem types like tourmalines, zircons, garnets and etc. Because if you sink all your money on beautiful sapphires, what's left for the other types of gems? Thank you for the compliments.

I don't remember if you had mentioned the cushion spinel as the One that Got Away before; I thought there was one other member who mentioned to me they were going to pull the trigger on it; this is my Jedi spinel from thegemcollector back when she was more active on Etsy. Now it's been a long time since she posted any new stones on Etsy. The setting was originally an alternate design for Bron357's ruby that she had considered selling to me but then decided to keep for herself apparently, at least for now. I found a Mozambique ruby to fit the original design (my avatar with the super secret original gallery I've never shared) Dawn (Bron's unheated Burmese ruby) inspired, and this Jedi spinel got set in the second design Dawn had inspired. Both of these designs were executed with the help of Inken (Enhoerning Jewelry), and I'm happy to share the resulting eye candy. It's the least I can do when you gals graciously let ME have the Jedi spinel.

@Rfisher thank you! I love your current avatar picture; it's perfect as a beautiful gem RGB photo!

 

[deorwine]

Haha, yes, I do some collecting of other stones -- red spinel and garnet are my second and third choices -- but I usually end up either taking the money I was going to use for them and buying blue sapphires, or buy those other stones and then resell them later on LT because a blue sapphire caught my eye and I need funds for it. It's rather silly

The cushion spinel: Yep, that was me unless there were two of us -- I was waffling because of thegemcollector not being in the US, and then I made up my mind to buy it but you already had So I'm glad that you were the one to buy it and that you posted pics of it!

 

[voce]

Less sunlight coming through the windows now. I've decided I like this combination.

 

[2Neesers]

Beautiful new rings @voce ! I loooove the pinky ring . The cabochon ring is so gorgeous too!!

 

[leslie1956]

Less sunlight coming through the windows now. I've decided I like this combination.

Beautiful new rings from CRD! I like cabs, so I really love that spinel cab in your Camellia ring

 

[ShinyPink]

Dang, girl! Those are some beauties! I don't know which one I love more! I think you need more fingers, though.

 

[YC]

LOL deorwine you jump straight to asking about the blue sapphire.

The blue sapphire is an 8x6 oval I bought from Inken off LT last year. It is unheated, Burmese, around 2 cts, but had color zoning and inclusions. However, the inclusions aren't bothersome to me, and the color saturation is such that I don't notice the inclusions in my office setting. The stone, including the GIA report, was just under $1k, which I thought was fantastic value. It's in a classic Stuller setting. Here's some more pictures.



Which red spinel are you asking about? There's a faceted cushion and a roval cab in that post I believe you are referring to.

I have to say that this stone is a good deal, with its colour and origin! And the intense colour masks the colour zoning and inclusions

 

[Acinom]

I looooove this thread @voce . Thanks for sharing your pretty things

 

[voce]

My hands are dry from all the hand washing and sanitizing. Look at the rings, not the hand! I've got 2 more gems set! Pink spinel from Burma and California spess. Worn, of course, with rings you've seen before.
Bonus: here's my jewelry box atm. Took rings off for housework.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

Ooh...I absolutely love that pink spinel and the gorgeous setting! You have an amazing and unique collection, Voce. Congratulations!!

 

[missy]

My hands are dry from all the hand washing and sanitizing. Look at the rings, not the hand! I've got 2 more gems set! Pink spinel from Burma and California spess. Worn, of course, with rings you've seen before.
Bonus: here's my jewelry box atm. Took rings off for housework.

Ooh...I absolutely love that pink spinel and the gorgeous setting! You have an amazing and unique collection, Voce. Congratulations!!

Yes. Agree with @MissyBeaucoup. Gorgeous
collection!

 

[natasha-cupcake]

Your collection is gorgeous! I've had my eye on a few of those Ivy and Rose settings and I'm so happy to see them "in person". They look beautiful and sturdy. How do they compare to some of your other settings? I have some Yvonne Raley stones, that I want to have set in one of her designs, but I have a few others for which I might use an I&R setting. The I&R settings are reasonably priced, in my opinion.

 

[2Neesers]

Your new rings are beautiful and perfect for your gorgeous stones . I love all of the pieces in your jewelry box!

 

[voce]

Thanks @MissyBeaucoup @missy @natasha-cupcake @2Neezers.

I had some ups and downs today.

Up: Daniel M is finished with some projects that he handmade for me. These were the sketches and stones I sent him.
Here are the final pictures he took. I think he did a great job again with my rings.


This is a stacking ring using a 5.5mm vanadium beryl Asscher(?) cut I received as a gift from Dana during Rocktober sale 2018. It doesn't look perfectly symmetric, and I wonder if it's the gem that isn't symmetric (it should be as I remember it) or Dan's camera angle.


This is a heart-shaped lavender spinel @2Neezers posted on the Somebody's Gotta Buy This Stone page. I bought it from MultiColour. Set in silver silver with burnished diamonds and rose gold bezel.

The peridot was from Mastercut Gems in 2018, 8.8mm or so, Burma origin. The tourmalines are both 8x6, and I bought them from Litnon at different times, but since they were both calibrated sizes I decided to use them as a mismatched pair of "bunny ears" for my peridot. The pink tourmaline is from Brazil, and the teal from Afghanistan.

Down: I was sorting my gems today during a break, but I forgot to bring my tweezers. I tried moving a Mahenge spinel (not the one I had gotten from deorwine) around the gel layout box, and it popped over my shoulder. I thought I would've heard a sound when it hit the floor, but nothing. I gingerly stood up, agitated my clothes, and nothing came down. Then I thought it had somehow gotten into the inside of my clothes or was stuck in a tangle of my hair, so I went to the bathroom, tried to shake a gem from my hair like a crazy person, took off my clothes just to be sure it wasn't somehow in there. I looked all around the umpteen things on my desk where I was playing with my gems, I checked the perimeters of the room, every nook and cranny of my rolling office chair, even the path I took between my desk and the bathroom, and it was all very perplexingly unfruitful. I felt terrible for an hour or an hour and a half, wondering how it was that I couldn't see a 7x5 VIVID RED gem.

Up: found my gem where I didn't expect it, in the opposite direction from the direction it popped out of the box. It must've hit my clothing and rolled down my leg in the opposite direction from where I had seen it fly and expected to land.

Down: my phone is hot and dead because I left it in the car, and I had realized it earlier than I went to go get it, but because I was terrified the gem was somehow still in my hair, I thought it was too much of a risk for the gem if I traveled to my car in the parking lot. I had resolved to find my gem first before going to the car, and after I found the gem I made it to the car to find the phone hot to the touch and definitely turned off.

Up: phone is working again. Whew.

In other news, Daniel M told me he's going to work on my cat ring CAD. I am really looking forward to wearing my CS bunny ring set and seeing how he renders my cat design!

 

[elle_71125]

Thanks @MissyBeaucoup @missy @natasha-cupcake @2Neezers.

I had some ups and downs today.

Up: Daniel M is finished with some projects that he handmade for me. These were the sketches and stones I sent him.
Here are the final pictures he took. I think he did a great job again with my rings.


This is a stacking ring using a 5.5mm vanadium beryl Asscher(?) cut I received as a gift from Dana during Rocktober sale 2018. It doesn't look perfectly symmetric, and I wonder if it's the gem that isn't symmetric (it should be as I remember it) or Dan's camera angle.


This is a heart-shaped lavender spinel @2Neezers posted on the Somebody's Gotta Buy This Stone page. I bought it from MultiColour. Set in silver silver with burnished diamonds and rose gold bezel.

The peridot was from Mastercut Gems in 2018, 8.8mm or so, Burma origin. The tourmalines are both 8x6, and I bought them from Litnon at different times, but since they were both calibrated sizes I decided to use them as a mismatched pair of "bunny ears" for my peridot. The pink tourmaline is from Brazil, and the teal from Afghanistan.

Down: I was sorting my gems today during a break, but I forgot to bring my tweezers. I tried moving a Mahenge spinel (not the one I had gotten from deorwine) around the gel layout box, and it popped over my shoulder. I thought I would've heard a sound when it hit the floor, but nothing. I gingerly stood up, agitated my clothes, and nothing came down. Then I thought it had somehow gotten into the inside of my clothes or was stuck in a tangle of my hair, so I went to the bathroom, tried to shake a gem from my hair like a crazy person, took off my clothes just to be sure it wasn't somehow in there. I looked all around the umpteen things on my desk where I was playing with my gems, I checked the perimeters of the room, every nook and cranny of my rolling office chair, even the path I took between my desk and the bathroom, and it was all very perplexingly unfruitful. I felt terrible for an hour or an hour and a half, wondering how it was that I couldn't see a 7x5 VIVID RED gem.

Up: found my gem where I didn't expect it, in the opposite direction from the direction it popped out of the box. It must've hit my clothing and rolled down my leg in the opposite direction from where I had seen it fly and expected to land.

Down: my phone is hot and dead because I left it in the car, and I had realized it earlier than I went to go get it, but because I was terrified the gem was somehow still in my hair, I thought it was too much of a risk for the gem if I traveled to my car in the parking lot. I had resolved to find my gem first before going to the car, and after I found the gem I made it to the car to find the phone hot to the touch and definitely turned off.

Up: phone is working again. Whew.

In other news, Daniel M told me he's going to work on my cat ring CAD. I am really looking forward to wearing my CS bunny ring set and seeing how he renders my cat design!

Those were some serious highs and lows. I was worried that spinel was lost forever!
I love how your rings turned out. The spess and emerald pairing is gorgeous and you know I love me a good pink spinel.

What is the kitty ring? Did I miss that info somewhere?

 

[voce]

Those were some serious highs and lows. I was worried that spinel was lost forever!
I love how your rings turned out. The spess and emerald pairing is gorgeous and you know I love me a good pink spinel.

What is the kitty ring? Did I miss that info somewhere?

This is a design I created when mellowyellowgirl was looking for ideas on how to set a 5mm pad and a 7mm diamond. She didn't go with it because she didn't have custom jewellers where she is, but she encouraged me to use my own design. At the time I didn't have stones that fit the proportions, but then in fall 2019, before the online drama happened, I bought a 5.2mm and a 7.2mm demantoid garnet from Dan Stair, Jr. I asked Inken to source yellow diamonds, and she said she's ok passing on this project since it wasn't her style. Since Daniel M had done a "bee" ring for me before, I figured another cute animal ring would be something that he'd do well. He hasn't disappointed me so far.

 

[elle_71125]

This is a design I created when mellowyellowgirl was looking for ideas on how to set a 5mm pad and a 7mm diamond. She didn't go with it because she didn't have custom jewellers where she is, but she encouraged me to use my own design. At the time I didn't have stones that fit the proportions, but then in fall 2019, before the online drama happened, I bought a 5.2mm and a 7.2mm demantoid garnet from Dan Stair, Jr. I asked Inken to source yellow diamonds, and she said she's ok passing on this project since it wasn't her style. Since Daniel M had done a "bee" ring for me before, I figured another cute animal ring would be something that he'd do well. He hasn't disappointed me so far.

I love it!!! Now this is a project I can get behind. I’ll be eagerly waiting to see how this one turns out.

BTW, I adore your bee ring. It’s super cute.

 

[2Neesers]

The bezel rings look amazing! I absolutely adore the spinel heart ring . The rose gold bezel compliments the stones color perfectly!

 

[Kitten35]

@voce Those are cool, I saw them on his sold page yesterday!