Voce's Gemstone Ramblings...

[voce]

Just wanted to put these pictures in my own thread too. I will wait at least 10 months to pay off my loans and to ponder what color gold to use for the stacker ring I'll set this one into, along with a trio of small but mighty sapphires I bought off of Desertrose.

The options are black rhodium plated white gold or rose gold or "boring" white gold. Seriously, I have too many rings in white metals. Black gold would feel "edgy" to me, but I'm worried that it wouldn't wear well? Would appreciate it if anyone could share their experiences with a black gold ring!

P.S. I'm supposed to receive that spinel/tsav package from CRD, and indeed it was out for delivery on Monday, but alas my work schedule, I won't be able to claim my valuable package until Saturday! Grrr! Sometimes l hate it when work gets in between me and my gemstones.

P.P.S. also hoping my custom crown ring gets finished fairly soon.

P.P.P.S. I sure am thinking about gemstones and playing with my rings a lot. Here's proof of that. Voce presents the six rings she mixes and matches and wears the most!

 

[leslie1956]

So you scored that trio of sapphires from Desertrose! The only reason I didn’t get them, was that I had just gotten my own royal blue sapphire from Yvonne. They should make great stackers. Yvonne has told me that the rhodium plating used for black gold does wear away after a while, though it can be reapplied.

 

[2Neesers]

@voce I love your collection . Do you by chance know the size of the diamond melee in your ruby engagement ring? I think they are the perfect size for a halo!

 

[voce]

@voce I love your collection . Do you by chance know the size of the diamond melee in your ruby engagement ring? I think they are the perfect size for a halo!

Thanks 2Neezers, the diamond melee are 1.5mm.

 

[Rfisher]

I think black rhodium against your emerald sounds really intriguing. I’d opt to keep it in the design as close as you can/aside/under the stone in concave areas - so there’s no worry about it disappearing with wear.

 

[T L]

I think black rhodium against your emerald sounds really intriguing. I’d opt to keep it in the design as close as you can/aside/under the stone in concave areas - so there’s no worry about it disappearing with wear.

It will wear off if you clean your rings though, over time. I do think it would look beautiful on black rhodium though. I would love to see a pave emerald piece in black rhodium.

 

[deorwine]

Ooh you got those sapphires! Are you making stackers from that and the tsav? Yummy!

 

[2Neesers]

Thanks 2Neezers, the diamond melee are 1.5mm.

Thank you . It’s beautiful

 

[voce]

Sharing hand shots of the tsav and spinel CRD ring that I picked up today. The custom crown ring, also with CRD, isn't finished yet.

@deorwine the little loose gem I showed in post #181 isn't a tsav but a Panjshir emerald, of what I think is a high quality (not having owned big emeralds yet).

 

[fantapanda]

Just wanted to put these pictures in my own thread too. I will wait at least 10 months to pay off my loans and to ponder what color gold to use for the stacker ring I'll set this one into, along with a trio of small but mighty sapphires I bought off of Desertrose.

The options are black rhodium plated white gold or rose gold or "boring" white gold. Seriously, I have too many rings in white metals. Black gold would feel "edgy" to me, but I'm worried that it wouldn't wear well? Would appreciate it if anyone could share their experiences with a black gold ring!

P.S. I'm supposed to receive that spinel/tsav package from CRD, and indeed it was out for delivery on Monday, but alas my work schedule, I won't be able to claim my valuable package until Saturday! Grrr! Sometimes l hate it when work gets in between me and my gemstones.

P.P.S. also hoping my custom crown ring gets finished fairly soon.

P.P.P.S. I sure am thinking about gemstones and playing with my rings a lot. Here's proof of that. Voce presents the six rings she mixes and matches and wears the most!

you’ve got excellent taste voce! i love every single one of your 6 rings and can’t wait to see your emeralds set!

 

[voce]

Excited excited my slider pendant is done! Cobalt spinel center and paraiba and demantoid for sidestones. Possibly the only nice cobalt spinel I'll ever own, since they're so expensive.


I haven't received any updates on the crown ring yet, so it's presumably still at the setter's.

 

[Arkteia]

Just wanted to put these pictures in my own thread too. I will wait at least 10 months to pay off my loans and to ponder what color gold to use for the stacker ring I'll set this one into, along with a trio of small but mighty sapphires I bought off of Desertrose.

The options are black rhodium plated white gold or rose gold or "boring" white gold. Seriously, I have too many rings in white metals. Black gold would feel "edgy" to me, but I'm worried that it wouldn't wear well? Would appreciate it if anyone could share their experiences with a black gold ring!

P.S. I'm supposed to receive that spinel/tsav package from CRD, and indeed it was out for delivery on Monday, but alas my work schedule, I won't be able to claim my valuable package until Saturday! Grrr! Sometimes l hate it when work gets in between me and my gemstones.

P.P.S. also hoping my custom crown ring gets finished fairly soon.

P.P.P.S. I sure am thinking about gemstones and playing with my rings a lot. Here's proof of that. Voce presents the six rings she mixes and matches and wears the most!

All rings are gorgeous, but that spinel!

 

[voce]

All rings are gorgeous, but that spinel!

Thanks Arkteia, but your spinel is bigger and TDF as well! Looking forward to how you'll set it in your pendant!

 

[lovedogs]

Omg that pendant is life!!!! How big are the stones? Those colors are incredible

 

[voce]

Omg that pendant is life!!!! How big are the stones? Those colors are incredible

Thank you, lovedogs. The center spinel is 3mm, and the paraibas are 2.3mm, and the demantoids are 1.25mm. Small but mighty, I think. I'll be wearing this with a dainty chain.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Love your collection. Especially your new blue and green pendant.

I like the idea of antiquing or blackening for one of your next settings. It provides a nice secondary color.

Thanks for sharing your gemstone collection with us!!

 

[leslie1956]

Your new pendant is epic, voce! The color combination is awesome, but how could you go wrong with cobalt spinel, demantoids and paraiba

 

[voce]

Your new pendant is epic, voce! The color combination is awesome, but how could you go wrong with cobalt spinel, demantoids and paraiba

Thanks! I was inspired by @mochiko42's 3 stone hexagon ring for the color combination, though I'm not sure if the dark stone(s) on her ring was/were sapphire or spinel. I just remember loving the color combination, but not whether the paraiba was/were the center stone or sidestones.

I love buying these gems separately and then combining them together. Thanks to your examples, I knew that I loved the demantoid green next to the paraiba blue.

 

[deorwine]

This is lovely! I also just love slider pendants like this, without a bail.

(Also jealous you have a cobalt spinel, however small! )

 

[voce]

@deorwine what's the stone in your avatar? Cobalt spinel or a sapphire? Why should you be jealous of me? I snatched this for $700 if I remember correctly. Before getting into this expensive hobby and learning how rare these cobalt spinels are, I could never have imagined that I'd pay so much for a 3mm gem! It's tiny, and I knew I had to set it in something special just for it to be visible and not get lost i.e. catch people's attention.

 

[natasha-cupcake]

Excited excited my slider pendant is done! Cobalt spinel center and paraiba and demantoid for sidestones. Possibly the only nice cobalt spinel I'll ever own, since they're so expensive.


I haven't received any updates on the crown ring yet, so it's presumably still at the setter's.[/QU

Love, love, love this color combination. What a beautiful piece!

 

[voce]

Here is another piece of eye candy. Crown ring at the setter's, just finished. I think the lighting is strong workshop lighting, and I can't wait to see this one in natural light.

 

[prs]

Here is another piece of eye candy. Crown ring at the setter's, just finished. I think the lighting is strong workshop lighting, and I can't wait to see this one in natural light.

Jaw-droppingly stunning, quite extraordinary!!!

I want to be King and wear that crown!

 

[deorwine]

Haha, that post came out completely wrong, sorry @voce! I said "jealous" but I meant more that I admire very much your abilities to get gems that are gorgeous, good quality, and varied. Though $700 seems to me like a good price for even a small cobalt spinel! Good for you finding a deal on this elusive, lovely stone.

I seem myself to have an inability to stop buying sapphires so I have a hard time saving up money for other gems, which is one of the reasons I admire your ability to get varied stones I have a small collection of them, though almost all are small and many have a fair amount of grey. The one in my avatar is the one rather nice (and largest) blue sapphire I own, an intense 1.85ct sapphire that I bought ten years ago before sapphires began their upward climb in price -- I wouldn't be able to afford one like this now (especially given that I have a problem with immediately spending gem money, lol). Someday I will have the time to take pictures and make a post of them

That crown ring is spectacular! I also very much admire your design panache <3 Love the way the strong colors contrast.

 

[leslie1956]

Here is another piece of eye candy. Crown ring at the setter's, just finished. I think the lighting is strong workshop lighting, and I can't wait to see this one in natural light.

Wowser, voce, that ring is incredible! The gem colors really pop

 

[voce]

Jaw-droppingly stunning, quite extraordinary!!!

I want to be King and wear that crown!

Oh wow, prs, you make me blush with such a compliment. I originally wanted the crown to curve around the finger like a real crown curves around the head, but Yvonne told me that it would be difficult for the setter to set, especially since these are elongated shaped gems that are not oriented orthogonally in the 2D layout, so we made the crown flat at the top. I wasn't expecting the milgrain, since I had only indicated simple prongs to Cecile Raley Designs, but I think they are a nice touch now that I can see the almost-finished product. I believe this is just due for a quick polish before the ring is ready. Looking forward to the CRD glamour pictures.

Wowser, voce, that ring is incredible! The gem colors really pop

Thanks Leslie, these gems are a tsavorite suite from Kenya, 4 2.25mm blue sapphires, 1 2.5mm Burmese spinel (at the top between the sapphires), a 5x3mm Burmese ruby lying E-W, lavender Ceylon sapphire ovals, and Mahenge spinels (outer bottom). I know they don't rhyme, but these are a few of my favorite things. For some reason, the Sound of Music song My Favorite Things popped into my head.

 

[voce]

@deorwine thank you, although I'm not sure that I have an ability, so much as I browse vendors that carry varied gems, and I browse a lot online. I have some not-so-good quality gems, too, that I bought for metaphorical pocket change to give as gifts to family or friends. Yeah, I'm selfish and keep the good stuff to myself, because if they're not super duper into gemstones like me, I'm still the one who appreciates the gem the most! I'm not about to give away some valuable small object only to have it languish at the bottom of a drawer and then sold for pennies by an ignorant owner.

I did start off buying sapphire, but 1) the good ones are expensive, and 2) I like more colors like green that sapphires can't offer. I learned that there are other gems that are cheaper and rarer than sapphires (i.e. certain color spinels, tourmalines, garnets), so the idea that hey, you can get paraiba tourmalines for this price and so many years later they're no longer going to be available anymore, drives me to make purchases of other stones. Sapphires are still going to be among my favorites (especially the red ruby and lavender varieties that fluoresce), but in my mind they're going to be available in the future, too, whereas Mahenge spinel and cobalt spinel are only still available for a little longer. I think if you count my little melee gems, down to the 1mm size, I have more of ruby than anything else, lol, but those aren't interesting to show unless I've set them into jewelry.

 

[voce]

Ok, this is in hand. Just picked up the ring at USPS after work.

 

[leslie1956]

Oh, prettyYour crown ring looks lovely on hand along with the other colorful rings

 

[deorwine]

Ooooooh, I love it!