Dan Stair - Spess Asscher "Baby"

[fierypyropixy]

Last week, I was watching a movie I''d seen at least ten times, and doing a little bored browsing. I checked Dan Stair''s site and saw that his "NEWEST STONE!!!" box was this little beauty . . .

 

[fierypyropixy]

1. I love me some asschers.
2. My previous forays into the world of spess garnets had left me rather cold and gemless.

I was concerned about how small it was (I previously set my limit at 8mm), but . . . what can I say, I''m a sucker for an asscher. I debated a good solid one minute before dashing off an email like a madwoman hoping I''d asked about it first. That''s me, always envisioning a mad sample sale wrangle for each stone that catches my eye.

WHEW! It was mine, and it arrived yesterday. I opened it, yes, it seemed tiny, but immediately it started showing off . . . it must have been happy to get out of that envelope and into a good home!

***I don''t know if . . . oranges are hard to photograph, or it''s garnets, or if I can blame my four year old point and shoot camera. It seems to photograph a little darker than what I''m seeing, and there''s just no way to translate it''s fiery little dance. End Disclaimer. I Love This Stone!

 

[fierypyropixy]

Shading it from the sun a little -- a little blurry, but a good color approximation.

 

[fierypyropixy]

More shading, a little better detail.

 

[fierypyropixy]

I accidentally blasted it with the flash here, but it hints at the fiery dance a little.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Here, it was sitting in our office, which is on the side of the house that doesn''t get direct sun. No overhead light. "It''s Electric, boogiewoogiewoogie!"

 

[fierypyropixy]

Surprisingly, not a bad size on the hand. Does it mean I''m lifting the usual 8mm rule? No.

But this exception didn''t fail me.

It had obviously twisted around here, but it''s odd -- the 8mm setting that I''d bought for the 8mm topaz asscher fits this 6.28 almost perfectly.

Can''t decide what to do . . . plain setting here, or do I break my rule and do one of the LOGR "Legacy" halos. Can''t decide.

I can''t actually decide for a while. I was so excited about this little baby asscher that I committed myself to buying his other spess, very clean, emerald cut. No settings for a bit! It should be here soon . . .

 

[Arcadian]

Oooooo thats really gorgeous!

That stone can go either way, so its about how much presence you want it to have. Mine is a white gold solitare with diamonds on the shoulders, but my stone is also nearly 8mm. if you went with a halo, just make sure its not too big.


I find when they''re this color they are VERY hard to photograph!


-A

 

[ma re]

Love it!

I think this stone would allow some bling around, but don''t overdo it - or overdo it if you feel like it

 

[D&T]

Beautiful Fiery! I love it!

 

[AustenNut]

Wow, what a beautiful stone! Glad that you''re still loving it despite it''s smaller size. Looking forward to seeing how you eventually decide to set it.

 

[Fly Girl]

Nice stone. Looks like it has a great deep well look. Nice color, too.

 

[princessplease]

Wow, what a lovely stone! The color is out of this world!!!!

 

[LD]

Very very pretty. Congratulations.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Wooo! That is gorgeous!!! Love it!!!!

I''m kind of liking the plain setting, but if size will be an issue, I''d halo that puppy!

 

[geckodani]

I saw that one! I''m glad someone fab got it!

 

[oddoneout]

Usually I''m not a fan of Asschers but yours is amazing. I love the colour and the cut really shows off the stone.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Arcadian -- Thank you -- It IS crazy hard to photograph them! I''ve been wondering about a really fine little tiny thin halo all around. Very delicate so as not to overwhelm. But in all likelihood I''ll set it as a solitaire for a while until I can find someone that could do it well . . . and that wouldn''t break my wallet. I''ve already vowed NO MORE STONES until at least January 2010!! LOL

Ma Re -- Thank you -- Hehe, moi, overdo? Home of the 12mm asscher??? Never!! Whatever gave you that idea . . . hehe

Geckodani -- Thank you -- I hope I didn''t step on any toes!

D&T, Austen, FlyGirl, Princess, LD, LTP, and OddOneOut -- Thank you! I am very lucky, I love it.

 

[Porridge]

ooooooh, that''s a beauty!

 

[Lovinggems]

Very nice! This setting or the lotius setting will be lovely.

 

[glitterata]

How pretty, you lucky girl!

 

[mochi]

I love it, it''s gorgous!!

 

[SB621]

Beautiful stone! I also saw that on Dan''s website and *almost* pulled the trigger- i love the color and cut but I need to save money for settings! I''m so glad it went to a PSer though. I can''t wait to see it set.

 

[marcy]

Very pretty stone. Spessartite is so sparkly too.

 

[BWise]

Congrats on a pretty new stone!

 

[fierypyropixy]

Thank you, Porridge, LG, Glitterata, Mochi, Sarah, Marcy, and Yingh!

I think I spent a collective hour last night playing with it and flashing it at a mirror to see the fire -- somehow with the overhead lighting it acted out for the mirror much better than me. If that''s the case still when set, I might catch quite a few eyes with it. LOL

So tell me -- could I expect a rhodolite garnet to have this same flashy intensity? Or is this not a trait of all garnets?

 

[geckodani]

Date: 11/3/2009 4:23:35 PM
Author: fierypyropixy
Arcadian -- Thank you -- It IS crazy hard to photograph them! I''ve been wondering about a really fine little tiny thin halo all around. Very delicate so as not to overwhelm. But in all likelihood I''ll set it as a solitaire for a while until I can find someone that could do it well . . . and that wouldn''t break my wallet. I''ve already vowed NO MORE STONES until at least January 2010!! LOL

Ma Re -- Thank you -- Hehe, moi, overdo? Home of the 12mm asscher??? Never!! Whatever gave you that idea . . . hehe

Geckodani -- Thank you -- I hope I didn''t step on any toes!

D&T, Austen, FlyGirl, Princess, LD, LTP, and OddOneOut -- Thank you! I am very lucky, I love it.

Nope! Not at all - I was thinking about emailing, but decided against it. I''m just glad a PSer got it so I could see pictures!!!

 

[ma re]

Date: 11/4/2009 11:04:31 AM
Author: fierypyropixy

So tell me -- could I expect a rhodolite garnet to have this same flashy intensity? Or is this not a trait of all garnets?

I''m sure our expert cutters could manage an (almost) equally sparkly rhodolite, but R. I. of a rhodo is a bit lower than that of a spess so it probably wouldn''t be as lively. Who knows, the difference might not be very obvious at all.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Date: 11/4/2009 11:09:09 AM
Author: geckodani

Date: 11/3/2009 4:23:35 PM

Author: fierypyropixy

Arcadian -- Thank you -- It IS crazy hard to photograph them! I''ve been wondering about a really fine little tiny thin halo all around. Very delicate so as not to overwhelm. But in all likelihood I''ll set it as a solitaire for a while until I can find someone that could do it well . . . and that wouldn''t break my wallet. I''ve already vowed NO MORE STONES until at least January 2010!! LOL


Ma Re -- Thank you -- Hehe, moi, overdo? Home of the 12mm asscher??? Never!! Whatever gave you that idea . . . hehe

Geckodani -- Thank you -- I hope I didn''t step on any toes!


D&T, Austen, FlyGirl, Princess, LD, LTP, and OddOneOut -- Thank you! I am very lucky, I love it.

Nope! Not at all - I was thinking about emailing, but decided against it. I''m just glad a PSer got it so I could see pictures!!!

Ok, whew, good.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Date: 11/4/2009 11:15:41 AM
Author: ma re

Date: 11/4/2009 11:04:31 AM

Author: fierypyropixy


So tell me -- could I expect a rhodolite garnet to have this same flashy intensity? Or is this not a trait of all garnets?

I'm sure our expert cutters could manage an (almost) equally sparkly rhodolite, but R. I. of a rhodo is a bit lower than that of a spess so it probably wouldn't be as lively. Who knows, the difference might not be very obvious at all.

Thanks Ma Re - Alright, so this stone probably would not have . . . what I think of as the knife edge fire that shoots out of the spess garnet when it grabs on to some random light source then?