Advice on an ering?

[~Angela~]

My boyfriend and I have been ering shopping. After convincing him that I''m anything but traditional he''s finally agreed to look at colored stones. Seriously he kept telling me an ering HAD to be a diamond. I don''t actually like diamonds or wear them. I don''t really have a stone preference. I love pads! I also like greens, blues, pinks, yellows and greens. Meaning if it''s the right ring then I''ll just know. The only problem is our budget is 3K or under but we''d like to upgrade the stone(s) later when finances are better. I like antique style settings. I love side stones. The only setting I dislike is the 3 stone setting. I''ve looked at The Natural Sapphire Company but not a big fan of the presets there. Thought I''d ask here to see if anyone has any suggestions?

 

[D&T]

for some reason this ring stuck out in my mind, has side stones, and antinquey engravings. What about, buy your stone from someone and get a mount from somewhere else? you can usually maximize your budget this way to get the nicest stone and setting.

http://www.knoxjewelers.biz/products/barcelona

Do you also have preference in size (mm), and shape of stone?

ETA: how bout cuts? I love looking at these from Richard Homer http://www.webgraphicsengineering.com/Gemstones/query3.cfm?yVarieties=Fancy%20Sapphire&ySpecies=Corundum

 

[packrat]

Fun project! You could start by browsing Knox (the setting D&T posted is sooo pretty!), and James Allen
for setting ideas. Also, you could play around on some of these sites and look at stones..would give you a better idea maybe, of what cut/color/size you might be more drawn to.

Barry Bridgestock
Dan Stair
Gary Braun
Jeff White
Gene Flanigan
Master Cut Gems

 

[pjean]

I love pads too. I have one in my ering, although it wasn''t what I was originally looking for. I was seduced by the warm rosy pinkness. Sadly, they are not cheap.

One route you might consider is to get a spinel in a colour you love. They''re hard, sparkly, and gorgeous! Gene (listed above) has some rosy pink spinels listed, and while they''re probably larger than you''re looking for, you could ask if he has any more rough lying around that might cut to a smaller size. Then you could choose a setting for it, and drool...

The only thing I would say is that with coloured stones, it can be a problem to fall in love with a setting first, because coloured stones aren''t always tidily shaped and calibrated like diamonds. That''s not to say you shouldn''t look at settings, but speaking as someone who fell in love with a weirdly shaped oval stone, keep your setting options open.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Another lovely thing about spinel is that the rosy-pink hue is fairly affordable, so you could spring for a fancy setting by Tacori or Saturn Jewelers, both of whom are well known for antique-inspired settings.

I was in SoHo in NYC today, and stopped by some jewelery shops, I adore this setting by Saturn Jewelery, it looks exquisite in person!
http://www.sohogem.com/ps-402-2-40-58-131.aspx?pagenum=1&SortType=0

 

[ma re]

Angela, you can also browse youtube for videos of gemstones to see how some of them look IRL, not just in photos. There are numerous videos available, mostly clips of tv shopping networks, but still potentially helpful. Also check out www.gemstone.org to learn a bit more about stones and see what varieties there are. That should narrow your choices a bit, then return here with a more specific idea of what you'd like and many PS'ers will be happy to help.

P. S. Your budget isn't modest at all, you can get a nice, custom made ring for that much.

MTG, wow for that setting

 

[Barrett]

Angela..so glad to hear you are not into diamonds..everyone needs to get off the diamond high horse..such a boring and overrated/over priced stone(not counting colored diamonds ..of course

)..colored stone are so much more interesting and fun..let us know what you decide to go with...color rules!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/30/2009 9:30:56 AM
Author: amethystguy
Angela..so glad to hear you are not into diamonds..everyone needs to get off the diamond high horse..such a boring and overrated/over priced stone(not counting colored diamonds ..of course

)..colored stone are so much more interesting and fun..let us know what you decide to go with...color rules!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, I''m ALL for "to each their own", but it really saddens me to read posts like this. Do you ever think about the women on here who DO like/love diamonds and may read a remark like this? Do you ever think how your post may make them feel? Just a thought, about others.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Pads are stunning. Great choice.
A lot of the PS vendors have great settings that you can buy. But, like pjean said, with a pad you won''t neccessarily find the perfect cut. So it''d best to be a bit flexible.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I see you mentioned greens several times - a Tsavorite might be a good option. They are gorgeous.

I also agree that spinels would be an excellent option. I recently received a couple spinels that I love love. They are so appealing and come in a range of colors.

 

[litebrite]

MTG, how did I miss that lovely ring? I was in there and tried on some Bev K rings, found some beauts. I was surprised by how lightweight they felt (in a good way.) More for the wishlist.

As for the OP, I''d also recommend spinel - comes in plenty of colors and is pretty hard. For settings, I think prongs will be easier than bezels if you plan on replacing the center stone. Here''s another PSer with a pad-colored spinel: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/another-pad-spinel-added-to-my-spinel-collection.39352/
Unfortunately, most of the time when I see a pad spinel, it has already been bought up.

Here''s a nice pinkish-purple spinel pear that I saw at Multicolour

Another pear: Multicolour

Happy hunting!

 

[VRBeauty]

Angela -- One thing you'll want to keep in mind is that all stones are not created equally durable, so you might want to consider how you'll be wearing your ring as you choose your center stone. For example, if you expect to wear your ring pretty much 24/7 ( or at least during your waking hours), you might want to look at sapphire, spinel, or topaz. Tourmalines and garnets (including tsavorite) are going to require a bit more babying.

You might also consider whether you want your gemstone faceted, clear and sparkly... or whether you might be interested in a stone that has "special effects" such as asterism (like a star sapphire), or some silk, or maybe even a stone that changes color under different lighting conditions.

ETA: Since you're drawn to antique style, is a true antique an option? There are lots of lovely older rings out there, such as this light blue star sapphire ring:

http://www.langantiques.com/category/30/4/item/30-65-73/

Or this blue sapphire ring:

http://www.langantiques.com/category/30/4/item/30-1-3559/

 

[~Angela~]

Wow! This is a lot to look at and take in. I''m really loving some of the spinels I''ve been looking at. I do love true antiques. We''ve been to a lot of antique jewelers but I haven''t found the one yet. I do want to wear the ring 24/7. I''m also a nurse so it has to hold up to gloves, hand washing, etc. On Knox I saw a halo with a split band that had a green stone but I think it''s sold already. I loved that ring!! And I do hope I didn''t offend anyone that likes diamonds. I''ve always been kind of granola and just wear what I wear. I like jewelry a lot. I own a lot of amethyst and opals though the running joke is that I always lose my opals. My earrings are mostly long earrings that are lampwork beads or dichoric glass. I mostly work with terminal pediatrics so whatever is bright and fun. This is going to be a hard selection!

 

[Barrett]

so you have narrowed it down a little..spinel might be what you want..it''s hard enough for everyday wear..now the color..the most important part..any thoughts..since you have quite a few ammy''s maybe you might look minto a purple spinel or a purpleish-pink one???

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 8/30/2009 9:30:56 AM
Author: amethystguy
Angela..so glad to hear you are not into diamonds..everyone needs to get off the diamond high horse..such a boring and overrated/over priced stone(not counting colored diamonds ..of course

)..colored stone are so much more interesting and fun..let us know what you decide to go with...color rules!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amguy -- you could have expressed your preference/appreciation for colored stones without dissing diamonds and those who also love them.

This is, after all, the colored stone forum on a website devoted to diamond education

and we have many members who like both and frequent many different parts of the website.

Now back to Angela's search, OK?

BTW Amguy, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with that rough!

ETA your last retort was totally uncalled-for. You might want to re-read the forum policies.

 

[Pandora II]

Hmm, Amguy may have been a bit forceful, but plenty of us have been irked by the:

''Why don''t you get a nice gemstone ring until you can afford a diamond'' posts that abound in other sections of the forum...

Plus it is true that diamonds are overpriced for their rarity - it''s just the price they can command in the market due to the advertising genius of companies like De Beers.

 

[AustenNut]

What about something like this? It's ruby instead of spinel, but ruby is in the corundum family (same as sapphire) so it would be really durable. http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/f529r9rd.html

ETA: 1.37ct ruby for $2500

 

[AustenNut]

Here's a sapphire antique from http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/f204r7sd.html. I'll continue on the premise that you're interested in blues, greens, yellows, pinks, etc until I hear otherwise. I'll just restrict myself to hardy stones like the sapphires, spinels, etc.

ETA: 1.93ct sapphire ring for $2900

 

[AustenNut]

http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/e704r8sd.html

2.14ct sapphire for $2000 (gosh...business must be bad for these sales, but gosh, it''s tempting!)

 

[AustenNut]

http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/e107r3sd.html

$1600 for a 1.46ct sapphire ring with a very different look

 

[AustenNut]

http://www.faycullen.com/rings/800/f827r4sd.html

Last one from faycullen, just a tad over your budget. If you go to the website you''ll see there are some more interesting sapphire side stone details on it.

1.23ct sapphire ring for $3250

 

[AustenNut]

http://www.topazery.com/antique-jewelry-item-rg2917.htm

A 1.49ct green sapphire ring for $1499

 

[Barrett]

hey austen that last sapp. from fay cullen is sweet..like the setting

 

[Pandora II]

Do a search on Fay Cullen if you are tempted to buy. There are some ''interesting'' posts...

 

[AustenNut]

Thanks, Pandora for the note. Didn''t mean to point anyone in a bad direction. It''s too bad such beautiful looking rings have such bad customer service!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Fay cullen is nice to browse for ideas though!

 

[Barrett]

I will have to do a search of Fay..is it higher priced designer type stuff?

 

[VRBeauty]

some people have had bad experiences with Faye Cullen pieces, quality-wise.

 

[Barrett]

as in the pieces are just shoddy looking or tend to break or not take wear very well? good note..thanks VR!

 

[ma re]

Houston, we have a problem! Angela likes antique-looking jewellery which probably means that she likes pieces with quite a few diamonds as accents, but also wants something that will hold well for 24/7 wear and a nursing job. Sounds like mission impossible.

You should know that most times, those melee size diamonds are held in place by very small pieces of metal which don''t wear that well i.e. you don''t need a lot of force to damage them. And in that case, stones can become loose and start falling out, which can become costly if it happens often (not to mention that frequent repairs don''t do any good for structural integrity of the piece - quite the opposite).

There are some solutions like using bezel or similar settings, avoiding channel, pave or invisible settings and/or delicate elements like a halo, as well as not setting accents in parts of the ring that go through most wear (i.e. think about setting them on the sides instead of on the front).

With frequent wear simple is always better, but I do hope you find the style you love without risking too much of anything