Voce's Gemstone Ramblings...

[T L]

No wonder I love Halos!!

 

[leslie1956]

I have noticed that it can be hard for people to sell small size rings on LT, like less than a 5. Most women tend to fall in the 5-7.5 size range, so if you fall outside those parameters it can be a challenge if you like preloved rings.

I wear a 5 1/4 to a 5 1/2 for my ring fingers and it is an advantage when it comes to stone size. My largest gems fall between 1.5 and 2 cts and that's ample finger coverage for me

 

[voce]

*inner voice squeals in excitement*
@PriscaSinclair @lovedogs @T L and anyone following the story of me sending in my included red spinel for setting, Ivyandrosevintage is done with the ring! I love how it looks, and I'm going to have this to look forward to receiving.

 

[voce]

Oh, and here is the tsavorite garnet from @Rare gem lover, same style. And the Umba river garnet from Litnon set in yellow gold. It's a more substantial size but doesn't pop that much. I'm realizing I'm not much a fan of red garnets unless they're absolutely exceptional without looking like they black out.

 

[T L]

Voce, beautiful rings!! Are those your hands? They’re so pretty! Thanks for sharing!

 

[scouty]

Do you have all three of these lovelies coming your way?! love love love that art deco style

 

[voce]

Voce, beautiful rings!! Are those your hands? They’re so pretty! Thanks for sharing!

Not my hands. These were taken by Ivyandrosevintage, who sold the settings and set the stones. They're shipping today, so I'll have them on Friday.

Do you have all three of these lovelies coming your way?! love love love that art deco style

Yup! Credit goes to Ivyandrosevintage, because I could see my stones in these settings without having to pick out the sidestones myself.

 

[leslie1956]

All three of your new rings are beautiful, voce! I especially like the setting for your garnet. After you get your pieces, I would love to hear what you think about your experience with I&R re pricing, quality of workmanship and their timeline for production.

 

[T L]

I have my rhodolite in almost the same exact setting, but it’s silver. I like the yellow gold better.

 

[lovedogs]

yayyyyyyy those rings are SO PRETTY!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@voce those rings are gorgeous! May I ask what the measurements of the spinel and tsav are??? Such excellent finger coverage!

 

[voce]

All three of your new rings are beautiful, voce! I especially like the setting for your garnet. After you get your pieces, I would love to hear what you think about your experience with I&R re pricing, quality of workmanship and their timeline for production.

Ok, I can only comment on quality of workmanship after I see and wear the rings, but I can answer now regarding pricing and timeline for production.

1. Pricing. Their settings in the stock size are very competitive, perhaps better than Stuller. However, as my fingers are larger than their stock size of 6.5 or 6, I had to pay extra for resizing. I think their setting cost is in the middle range, not the cheapest but not overly expensive, since the bench was able to set my included red spinel without breaking it! When I got convo'ed regarding the fact that they wouldn't guarantee my stones won't break, I was worried, but I'm really happy with how the finished work looks, and at least from this picture they sent me the chips in that red spinel are covered up by prongs.

2. Timeline. They did CADs for each and every ring once they received my colored stones. It took 4 days from when they received my gems to invoice me. After I paid the invoice, the CADs were all done within 5 days. After I approved the CADs the same day, it took 2 weeks until my rings were finished. So all things considered, the process took 3.5 weeks from the time they received my gemstones.

I have my rhodolite in almost the same exact setting, but it’s silver. I like the yellow gold better.

I considered setting the garnet in silver, as it was a cheaper gem, but decided to set in yellow gold as white metals do red garnet absolutely no favors. Mine was not an exceptional garnet that would look as excellent as red spinel or a pure red ruby in a white metal.

yayyyyyyy those rings are SO PRETTY!

Lovedogs! It was your Looking For a Flaming Red CS thread that made me want my own red spinel (my birthstone is spinel, and I love red even though I already had an engagement ruby). I made some newbie mistakes in buying an included and very poor, shallowly cut gem that I did not ask for pictures outdoors, and I decided to recut the gem, and lost more than 50% of the original spinel's weight. It doesn't have fluorescence, just the pure red color, but this is my prettiest "learning" stone, so I decided to gamble and get it set.

Setting these gems was why I wasn't able to buy your nice pre-loved gems.

 

[lovedogs]

Ok, I can only comment on quality of workmanship after I see and wear the rings, but I can answer now regarding pricing and timeline for production.

1. Pricing. Their settings in the stock size are very competitive, perhaps better than Stuller. However, as my fingers are larger than their stock size of 6.5 or 6, I had to pay extra for resizing. I think their setting cost is in the middle range, not the cheapest but not overly expensive, since the bench was able to set my included red spinel without breaking it! When I got convo'ed regarding the fact that they wouldn't guarantee my stones won't break, I was worried, but I'm really happy with how the finished work looks, and at least from this picture they sent me the chips in that red spinel are covered up by prongs.

2. Timeline. They did CADs for each and every ring once they received my colored stones. It took 4 days from when they received my gems to invoice me. After I paid the invoice, the CADs were all done within 5 days. After I approved the CADs the same day, it took 2 weeks until my rings were finished. So all things considered, the process took 3.5 weeks from the time they received my gemstones.


I considered setting the garnet in silver, as it was a cheaper gem, but decided to set in yellow gold as white metals do red garnet absolutely no favors. Mine was not an exceptional garnet that would look as excellent as red spinel or a pure red ruby in a white metal.


Lovedogs! It was your Looking For a Flaming Red CS thread that made me want my own red spinel (my birthstone is spinel, and I love red even though I already had an engagement ruby). I made some newbie mistakes in buying an included and very poor, shallowly cut gem that I did not ask for pictures outdoors, and I decided to recut the gem, and lost more than 50% of the original spinel's weight. It doesn't have fluorescence, just the pure red color, but this is my prettiest "learning" stone, so I decided to gamble and get it set.

Setting these gems was why I wasn't able to buy your nice pre-loved gems.

Awww I'm glad you got them set, bc they look great! The pure red is lovely, but it sucks that it lost weight

 

[strawrose]

@voce they’re so pretty!

 

[voce]

@voce those rings are gorgeous! May I ask what the measurements of the spinel and tsav are??? Such excellent finger coverage!

Thanks @mellowyellowgirl!

The red spinel measurements were 7.3x5.5x3.6mm.

The tsav garnet measurements were 7.1x5.2x4.5mm. The tsav was more minty than ideal tsav color, but the good thing about that is that it never goes dark!

 

[voce]

Awww I'm glad you got them set, bc they look great! The pure red is lovely, but it sucks that it lost weight

Thanks for understanding! I paid $550 for what was a wonky cut, very included 2.22 ct spinel, but one that came with a cert from IGL. I had no clue it was included until I received it! The cert only said feather, and the red color covered up the visual imperfections from the inclusions so all I saw as a beginner was stoplight red.

I emailed pictures of the original spinel to Jerry Newman and Dan Stair. Dan Stair did not even think that it was worth cutting, but said that he'll take a look at it. Jerry was the one who gave me more confidence. We were thinking it would lose about 40% weight. He cut it down to probably 1+ ct, and all was well until he started polishing the stone, and then the girdle started crumbling. He felt bad about it so he gave me a discounted price on the recut.

All in all, I paid $700 for the stone+recutting and $564 to have it set. Do you think it was worth it?

Edit: I missed the $1250 mark by $14 , so I can't show it off in the $1250 and under CS thread.

@voce they’re so pretty!

Thanks strawrose, I had the tsav garnet for almost a year until last month when I figured I liked that setting and could see my tsav set in that style with rose gold. The red spinel I had since August last year, and I'm glad I finally decided to set them instead of dumping more money on loose gems!

 

[lovedogs]

@voce $14 is nothing!! Definitely add it!

 

[voce]

@voce $14 is nothing!! Definitely add it!

Ok, I'll add it this weekend after I take some hand shots.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Red stone was worth the drama! Gorgeous!

Definately add it! $14 is nothing. You do not now how often I try to aim for that thread

 

[elle_71125]

*inner voice squeals in excitement*
@PriscaSinclair @lovedogs @T L and anyone following the story of me sending in my included red spinel for setting, Ivyandrosevintage is done with the ring! I love how it looks, and I'm going to have this to look forward to receiving.

Three rings at once? Total score!
I love both the tsav and the spinel ring and the setting you used is a gorgeous showcase for their color. I can’t wait to see your hand shots!

 

[Rare gem lover]

Oh, and here is the tsavorite garnet from @Rare gem lover, same style. And the Umba river garnet from Litnon set in yellow gold. It's a more substantial size but doesn't pop that much. I'm realizing I'm not much a fan of red garnets unless they're absolutely exceptional without looking like they black out.

Omg Voce! It looks magnificent. Beautiful job.

 

[prs]

Voce, you are extraordinarily creative and inventive. Also, given your ability to put together brilliant pieces at well below market prices, I suspect you might have some Scottish heritage.

Talking of finger size, DW is barely five foot zero, but wears a size seven ring. She seems to have come to the conclusion that anything below 4 tcw just doesn't cut it anymore!

Tip of the Day: At auction size 7 rings that are not sizeable will sometimes sell well below estimate because the market for size 7 rings is limited.

 

[voce]

Omg Voce! It looks magnificent. Beautiful job.

Couldn't have done it without the tsav you sold me, so thanks a bunch!

 

[leslie1956]

Ok, I can only comment on quality of workmanship after I see and wear the rings, but I can answer now regarding pricing and timeline for production.

1. Pricing. Their settings in the stock size are very competitive, perhaps better than Stuller. However, as my fingers are larger than their stock size of 6.5 or 6, I had to pay extra for resizing. I think their setting cost is in the middle range, not the cheapest but not overly expensive, since the bench was able to set my included red spinel without breaking it! When I got convo'ed regarding the fact that they wouldn't guarantee my stones won't break, I was worried, but I'm really happy with how the finished work looks, and at least from this picture they sent me the chips in that red spinel are covered up by prongs.

2. Timeline. They did CADs for each and every ring once they received my colored stones. It took 4 days from when they received my gems to invoice me. After I paid the invoice, the CADs were all done within 5 days. After I approved the CADs the same day, it took 2 weeks until my rings were finished. So all things considered, the process took 3.5 weeks from the time they received my gemstones.

Thanks so much for the information, voce I want to have the option to get gems set outside of Yvonne's shop without starting from scratch with a custom design. I've heard good things about I&R before, but I wanted your opinion because your attention to detail is excellent. If your rings pass muster after you've seen them in person, then I'm sure that the shop will meet my standards for any future projects.

 

[voce]

Voce, you are extraordinarily creative and inventive. Also, given your ability to put together brilliant pieces at well below market prices, I suspect you might have some Scottish heritage.

Talking of finger size, DW is barely five foot zero, but wears a size seven ring. She seems to have come to the conclusion that anything below 4 tcw just doesn't cut it anymore!

Tip of the Day: At auction size 7 rings that are not sizeable will sometimes sell well below estimate because the market for size 7 rings is limited.

Thank you for the high praise, @prs. No Scottish heritage here (I'm 100% Asian), but DF may have some. I just love the process of figuring out what setting I want for each stone, so it's more fun for me to take a part in the creative decision-making than for me to hunt for a ready-made piece.

I sometimes wish I lived close enough to where they would hold jewelry auctions, but it's way better for my finances that I don't live close by! Will try to remember the tip if I ever go to an auction.

Thanks so much for the information, voce I want to have the option to get gems set outside of Yvonne's shop without starting from scratch with a custom design. I've heard good things about I&R before, but I wanted your opinion because your attention to detail is excellent. If your rings pass muster after you've seen them i n person, then I'm sure that the shop will meet my standards for any future projects.

Ok, I will definitely post and let you know.

 

[voce]

Today, I feel annoyed that Ivyandrosevintage shipped it to my home address and RESTRICTED delivery options so I wouldn't be able to sign for it at a UPS location instead. I mean, I want my jewelry, but I'm not going to take vacation hours just to sit and home and receive it.

As things stand, UPS is going to try to redeliver it Friday at the same time when no one will be home again. I can't even change the delivery time window. At this point, my best hope is that UPS will try again on Saturday morning, but then that means to receive it I would have to change my weekend plans to go out of town. Grrr!

I understand the signature requirement. Why won't they let me decide when/where to receive my package? I'd have to sign for it and present ID all the same. This is just frustrating because it ruins my weekend plans.

 

[scouty]

Today, I feel annoyed that Ivyandrosevintage shipped it to my home address and RESTRICTED delivery options so I wouldn't be able to sign for it at a UPS location instead. I mean, I want my jewelry, but I'm not going to take vacation hours just to sit and home and receive it.

As things stand, UPS is going to try to redeliver it Friday at the same time when no one will be home again. I can't even change the delivery time window. At this point, my best hope is that UPS will try again on Saturday morning, but then that means to receive it I would have to change my weekend plans to go out of town. Grrr!

I understand the signature requirement. Why won't they let me decide when/where to receive my package? I'd have to sign for it and present ID all the same. This is just frustrating because it ruins my weekend plans.

Can you call Ivy and Rose and have them change the restrictions? I've had other jewelers do this for me. I hear you on how annoying it is to have to wait around for packages. Luckily I can work from home if needed, but still annoying.

 

[voce]

Can you call Ivy and Rose and have them change the restrictions? I've had other jewelers do this for me. I hear you on how annoying it is to have to wait around for packages. Luckily I can work from home if needed, but still annoying.

I did contact them via Etsy, and they're rerouting the package to my preferred pick-up location.

 

[voce]

Still don't know when I'll have my rings. UPS is totally screwing things up and still attempting to deliver home despite the rerouting instructions.

In other news, anyone else notice how quickly Yvonne sold this 8x6 paraiba?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/689125308/paraiba-tourmaline-oval-8x6mm-oval?show_sold_out_detail=1

I favorited it this morning when I woke up (checking her new gems every morning helps me get out of bed), and two hours later, it's already gone. It's lucky for us that Yvonne doesn't mark them up more, but it's unlucky that there are so many people all wanting to buy more paraibas.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Oh noes @voce

So you won't get it today? I know the antsy feeling of waiting for a package you poor thing!!!!!