Ering

[exturkconner]

I wanted to do something special for my girlfriend. Her favorite colors are blue and orange,and she was a University of Florida Gator. So this color scheme has multiple meanings. I can't seem to get a good photo. Either the light is such that the sparkles ruin the focus or theres not enough light to see anything. But at the least this image gives you a good sense of the colors. Anyhow enjoy...

 

[mochi]

Sweet!! I''m watching the Gator''s game right now!!

The ring is very pretty!!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Beautiful! I''m sure she''ll love it.

 

[SB621]

Beautiful! what are the stones?

 

[D&T]

looks beautiful!

 

[marcy]

Looks gorgeous. I too am curious about the stones.

 

[ckrickett]

pretty

 

[exturkconner]

There are six diamonds on the band. Two sapphires (a little on the dark side I''ll admit but it worked for what I was going for) and a slightly red tone mandarin spess.

 

[ma re]

That photo almost go me dizzy, but the ring is really nice

 

[mariedtiger]

I like the colors!

 

[loriken214]

Very unique and creative!!!

Lori

 

[exturkconner]

I know it makes for a difficult viewing experience. I don''t have a camera with a manual focus. That''s the issue the rings sparkles are throwing the focal point. I''ve seen that when trying to photograph fireworks before. It''s worse in natural lighting I tried today..the spess really gets bright at sunrise or sunset...if theres any orange in the sky it seems to suck it up and reflect it back with verve.

Thanks all for the words of encouragement. When I was buying the parts and explained to some people what I was doing everyone said "Orange and Blue really? Don''t you think that''s abit garrish?" or the like. But I''m of irish decent. What can I say? I see things through. I''m really pleased with the result. I''m fairly confident if she says no it would be because of my lack of personality and social grace and not because of the ring

So thanks again all. I''m trying to get a body of mine to let me use his DSLR. If he does I''m confident I''ll be able to get a picture of the ring that will work.

 

[exturkconner]

So going to post up the images of just the setting here. Figure it''ll be easier to tolerate on the eyes. I don''t want to cause any unnecessary seizures. I can''t seem to figure out how to post mutiple images in one post so sorry for the group that''s bound to follow.

 

[exturkconner]

I''m not sure why but the first image got a little distorted it looks like an oval setting when it''s a round. Not sure why if anything to do about that.

 

[exturkconner]

I got the Spess from GemSelect.com it's not a huge stone but she's a danty girl and it works well in proportion with the other stones or I think so anyhow. I've read alot of mixed reviews and some people seem to think the stones are all photoshopped. I can safely say mine was right on in all color,cut and clarity details. Here's the link to the stone I purchased aswell as the final setting image.

http://www.gemselect.com/spessartite-garnet/spessartite-garnet-209943.php

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I think it''s really pretty, I used to do fine arts and blue and orange are very complimentary, so don''t listen to the sceptics out there!

 

[Gailey]

Date: 9/6/2009 5:38:01 AM
Author: mariedtiger
I like the colors!

I like the colour combo too (and I''m not a blue lover). Nice job! Tell us about the ring. Did you buy the stones yourself?

 

[exturkconner]

The setting came with the six diamonds. Decent clarity for tiny stones I think there si-2 with an h color index. They are .16 or so. The sapphires the band originally had didn't really capture what I wanted so they were removed and I was given a fair discount. I then found the sapphires I liked. I honestly don't recall where I purchased them from. There about .4ct each and have pretty good clarity and depth for deeply colored stones. In bright light they are really very pretty. They were set by a fellow who does custom jewelry in the local mall. I then had it appraised to see what we were talking about. My appraisal value was in the 1250-1300 dollar range. My cost at this point is about 350 so I'm doing pretty well. Then I wanted a vibrant orange stone. I didn't even know if there was such a thing. That's how I found my way to this group. I'm a bit of a research junky. So I learned what I could about spessarite and went out on the hunt. I fell in love with the color of the stone on gemselects. I asked the board for opinions on the site and recieved no help. So I dug about the net for customer reviews. About 80% were favorable and about 10% of the unfavorable were shipping related issues that may have been the post offices fault. So I decided that I'd give them a go. As of right now the spess is just sitting in the setting. It will be set Tuesday and the ring given it's finish polish. So all and all the rings been about a 6 month long project. I put alot of thought,and alot of effort into it.

It's a tough month for her this month. She's a paramedic and as you can imagine September 11th is not a good day. It's also the one year anniversary of her mentor's death. The Paramedic who trained her tragically perished in an ambulance accident on the 15 of last year. I don't want to put too much on her plate with all of that on her mind right now.

At the end of the month I am taking her to Daytona Beach. It's her favorite place and well I hope it will bring her a little peace. I booked a room in a hotel over looking the water. Plan to wait until the late evening on a clear looking day. Walk with her along the tide line until the sky just starts to color. Kneel down into the water. I figure she'll laugh at me for a moment before she realises whats going on. I don't mind being laughed at. Anything to make her smile is worth the bother to me. The box taken out. Her hand in mine. Tell her how much she means to me and that I'll always support her in whatever she does or tries to do. That I'll be hers for as long as she wants me. Then open the box. If the sunsets got any orange to it it'll make for the best time to show the ring anyhow. If not it'll still be a lovely moment. From there I reckon the rest is on her.

 

[AustenNut]

What a unique e-ring! I''m sure your fiancee will appreciate all of the thought that you put into it.

 

[cellentani]

Wow, Gainesville is my hometown! My brother, some 20-plus years after his graduation, is still an avid Gator fan, and will probably kick himself for not thinking of a ring like this himself (he did wear an orange and blue tie to his wedding, though). The combo actually looks nice together, and for a second, I thought you had an orange sapphire instead of a spess. I usually don''t care much for 3-stone settings, but that one is beautiful! Hope you post more pics, and best of luck with the proposal.

 

[exturkconner]

Thanks for the well wishes. Blue and Orange tie sounds like a fine idea. She''s my princess and I am going to do the best I can to make everything she wants happen on her big day. We''ve talked about it a little here or there. She wants either a brown or blue theme. Brown because shes Itilian and the coffee and chocolate theme really speaks to her. She''s shown me the dress she likes and with expresso trim it''s lovely. I think she''d preffer the blue theme, but she''s worried that it''ll look too much like an EMS theme wedding. She doesn''t want to take her work with her that much. I''m a pale white dude. English,Irish,Scottish, and a we bit of Navajoh tossed in just for seasoning. So I tend to take more too the blue than I do the Dark Brown. We''ll see when it comes closer to the big day I reckon. I know she wants a January wedding and with that being so close I can''t think we''d be doing it this year so I suppose we''ll have plenty of time to work out the details. I''m sure saying "plenty" of time sounds great now. I''m aware of how much there is to do once I''m in the mix I''m sure it''ll seem like not nearly enough. I''m trying to stay positive though .

 

[KaeKae]

The ring is beautiful and so special in it''s meaning. (Though the colors made ME think of the NY Mets, rather than the Gators...

.) The description of your plans for the proposal gave me goosebumps, btw. I wish you both all the best and look forward to pictures of the ring on your lady''s hand!

 

[exturkconner]

Really? I didn''t think anyone thought of the Mets. Sorry. That''s the Massachuesetts in me talking.

Thank you for the kind words again. If she accepts I''m sure there will be pictures of it on her finger at some point. I''ll try and keep things updated.

Everyone seems to respond well to the proposal idea. My mother cried, her mother punched her husband. Hopefully she reacts as strongly (and less violently).

 

[oddoneout]

I think it''s sweet you put so much thought into the ring. The proposal idea sounds very romantic.

 

[exturkconner]

What I lack in attractiveness I make up for with thoughtfulness hehe.

 

[Stone Hunter]

I really like the color combo and I bet she will too. Good Luck!!

 

[exturkconner]

I want to thank everyone again for the confidence inspiring words.

Everythings been put on hold for the time being it seems. My gf is an army reservist combat medic, and we had though at this point she''d not be activated. She''s been in the reserve for 3 years and 9 and a half months. Come January her commitment would be at it''s end. All of a sudden a week ago they put her on activation status which basically means be preparred for whatever. The other day while at work she was called and told she''d need to be heading off to trainning. So now she is in North Carolina and is to be deployed when her trainning is done. Anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months.

 

[serenitydiamonds]

Very original and very beautiful, great job!

--Joshua