Trillion Mahenge and Violet spinel bypass ring

[T L]

I know most people do not like trillions, so the thought of a trillion bypass ring sends shudders down everyone's spine. I can't get the sun to cooperate with me, but here are the specs. One 1.91 carat, 8mm Mahenge, and one 1.5 ct 7mm violet spinel, both from Tan. The setting is a modified version of a lanbo setting that was originally made for two 4mm stones. He made it for one 8 and one 7mm stone. It's in 18K. The stones are both cut very well, no windows, and I'm exceptionately happy how it turned out, but as always, honest opinions are welcome. The sparkle and luster, as with most spinels, cannot be captured by the photos as well as IRL.

The middle photo was taken late in the day as the sun was going down. The orange specks in the violet spinel in the third pic are reflections from my orange sweater.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

OOOOH

I love the trilliants and the ring. I bet that ring is stunning IRL.

I love trilliants in general, no shudders up this spine

 

[Aoife]

That turned out really well, TL, and I especially like the way it looks next to your larger trillion ring! Personally, I tend not to buy trillions because they are so difficult to find settings for, rather than any particular dislike for the shape. Were you happy with the quality of the lanbo setting? At one point a lot of people, myself included, had some issues, but it looks as though he did a good job for you on this one.

 

[chrono]

You’ve been on a spinel kick lately and these look great, especially the middle picture. You can see the luster in that picture and although I’m not a fan of trillions because of setting design limitations, you made it work so well with this combo (metal, stone and all).

 

[T L]

Thanks Davi!

That turned out really well, TL, and I especially like the way it looks next to your larger trillion ring! Personally, I tend not to buy trillions because they are so difficult to find settings for, rather than any particular dislike for the shape. Were you happy with the quality of the lanbo setting? At one point a lot of people, myself included, had some issues, but it looks as though he did a good job for you on this one.

Thanks Aoifie,
He did do a good job. The workmanship is just as nice as my Daniel M bypass garnet ring, which is a lovely ring. When I first requested the customizations, he thought I wanted one 7mm bypass ring, and one 8mm bypass ring, so two rings!! I'm glad I caught that in his email to me, and I sent him a photo of the ring in question with text on one of the heads denoting 7mm and the other 8mm. I told him that I only wanted one ring. I try to keep my correspondences with him simple, and try to explain things in photos if I can. So far, I've had no problems with cutomizations, knock on wood, and when I got the setting, the stones fit in their heads perfectly. I also requested 18K and a size 9, so that had to be done on this piece as well.

 

[T L]

You’ve been on a spinel kick lately.

You just noticed??? LOL!

Thanks Chrono!

 

[LD]

I really like these colours together. They just work and are very much "you"!

 

[Lovinggems]

I love it.

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

How Absolutely LOVELY !!!
The colors are gorgeous together, great idea!!!!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Wow, TL - I really like the combination and think it works really well with those colours!

I still love your trillion halo, though. That ring is a thing of beauty!

 

[packrat]

I think it looks great! I don't care for trillions but...with this one, I don't even notice the shape, I notice the gorgeous colors. They look so nice together.

 

[Largosmom]

I like trillions and those are great stones!

 

[y2kitty]

This is so pretty!

 

[Cind11]

The ring turned out really well. I like trillions and love pink and purple together. Great ring!

 

[Dandi]

Well, I like trillion cuts, and I LOOOOVE the combination of colours you've got going on there! With the yellow gold it's all beyond delicious. LOVE that pink, you have the most amazing taste and ideas!

 

[T L]

Thank you all for the kind words. I really appreciate them, but if someone didn't like it, I don't mind the honesty, honestly!!

 

[Arkteia]

It. Is. Wonderful. The stones, and the workmanship. Great color combo.

 

[LD]

Well here's some honesty then ................. I HATE trillions and I really don't like bypass rings either but like everybody else I really do like this ring! You just don't see the trillions, you see only colour!

You know, with paler gems or different colours I'm not sure it would have worked so well. Because these are both so vibrant and striking, it takes the ring to another level.

 

[T L]

Thanks Crasru,

LD,
Thank you. The violet spinel does have some grey, so it's not really that vibrant, but I do love the coolness of the gem next to the hot pink of the Mahenge. Thank you for your kind words, and at least I didn't set it in rose gold, because that would be three things you hate, trillions, bypass rings and rose gold. LOL!

 

[LD]

Thanks Crasru,

LD,
Thank you. The violet spinel does have some grey, so it's not really that vibrant, but I do love the coolness of the gem next to the hot pink of the Mahenge. Thank you for your kind words, and at least I didn't set it in rose gold, because that would be three things you hate, trillions, bypass rings and rose gold. LOL!

Now had you set it in rose gold ........... different story!

 

[T L]

Thanks Crasru,

LD,
Thank you. The violet spinel does have some grey, so it's not really that vibrant, but I do love the coolness of the gem next to the hot pink of the Mahenge. Thank you for your kind words, and at least I didn't set it in rose gold, because that would be three things you hate, trillions, bypass rings and rose gold. LOL!

Now had you set it in rose gold ........... different story!

I can imagine!! LOL!

 

[velouriaL]

This is my favorite of all your pieces, I think. I really, really love it! The colors are amazing together. I think the color combo allows this to read as a lot more fashion-forward than most by-pass rings. It's actually a little bit-- dare I say it-- rock-n-roll!

 

[PrecisionGem]

TL, I'm surprised you went for that spinel. I know how you don't like to "see gray", and to me, the stone looks rather gray, with out a lot of saturation. Not that I make or even have any jewelry, but sometimes I'll see two stones that seem to go together well, and it's usually because the intensities are the same. The pink spinel is much more saturated.

 

[T L]

Thanks velouriaL!!

TL, I'm surprised you went for that spinel. I know how you don't like to "see gray", and to me, the stone looks rather gray, with out a lot of saturation. Not that I make or even have any jewelry, but sometimes I'll see two stones that seem to go together well, and it's usually because the intensities are the same. The pink spinel is much more saturated.

Hi Gene,
Thanks for the honest opinion. It's not THAT grey IRL, but I would be lying if I said it doesn't have some grey. With spinels, the blues and violets are very prone to grey, so I'm willing to overlook a little grey because the tone, luster and sparkle are awesome. Some people don't want to make that trade off, and want full saturation of color. Now if I had paid $$$$$ for that spinel, I would expect it to have strong to vivid saturation, but I didn't.

When people see this ring in person, they say in regards to this stone, "oh it's purple," not grey. It's also cut superbly, so that's another plus. One of the greyest stones in my collection, a violet tourmaline, is one of my prize stones because it's a very rare size, clarity and color for a tourmaline. I also wear a greyish green diamond every day, so I guess I like grey more than I thought. What I don't like is when the grey overpowers a gem where you see mostly grey, and in some hues, like yellow or green, or very dark toned stones, I think it can be very unattractive IMHO.

You are correct though, the pink spinel is much more saturated. There is no grey or brown in that stone whatsoever, but I like the combination of cool and hot in my bypass rings, or any ring where multiple stones are selected. Love discussing this topic. Thanks for asking.

ETA: I also selected higher karat yellow gold for this stone because I think it lessens the grey, then if I had put it in white metal, for instance.

 

[ladyvengeance]

Wow. That bypass ring makes trillions easy to love. Fabulous piece.

 

[Michael_E]

It's not THAT grey IRL, but I would be lying if I said it doesn't have some grey.

I figured that you'd eventually come over to my way of thinking TL. I've been waiting to capture this statement for quite a while and now am keeping it as my favorite quote, (at least for a day).


By the way I REALLY like that violet spinel and think that it provides a great counterpoint to that poor, dingy pink stone that is being used to highlight it. Good Choice!

 

[T L]

Thank you LadyVengance.
Good luck on your Leon Mege setting for your spinel.

It's not THAT grey IRL, but I would be lying if I said it doesn't have some grey.

I figured that you'd eventually come over to my way of thinking TL. I've been waiting to capture this statement for quite a while and now am keeping it as my favorite quote, (at least for a day).


By the way I REALLY like that violet spinel and think that it provides a great counterpoint to that poor, dingy pink stone that is being used to highlight it. Good Choice!

Michael,
I didn't think my tolerance for a little bit of grey in spinels was a huge secret. Most blue/violet spinels have a little grey, and some are overly grey (which I don't like), unless they're a fine cobalt. I am willing to tolerate a little grey in violet and blue spinels because they do have great sparkle and luster. I also obtained this spinel for a great price, and it was really a good match for the hot pink stone. I probably would not set it by itself. In all, I think the two stones together provide a good visual effect.

For me, the issue I take with grey (and also brown as a modifier) is that some gems have an overabundance of grey or brown, and are also very expensive as well. That to me, is a double whammy. If the stone is also too dark in tone, then that's a triple whammy. I feel that if someone likes very grey spinels, or very dark spinels, or both, that's perfectly fine, but one should not pay too much for them.

 

[Michael_E]

TL, You don't have to explain, 'cause I'm just pulling your chain! (and it was fun too).


As for gray, it looks to me like your violet spinel doesn't have any. The reason? Because in the picture with the gray in it, the spinel is reflecting the gray from the ceiling in the room where the picture was taken. With light toned stones like this, seeing gray or brown or any other color depends as much on the environment that it's in, as on the color of the stone. Pale aqua's, for instance, can be effectively "colored" by taking them outside under a clear blue sky. With many pictures, there's just no way of knowing what sort of modifiers are in the stone and which are in the environment, so we just have to trust the eyesight of the picture taker. I wasn't kidding about the stone BTW, I really like it! That pink one on the other hand is strictly a "Barbie Doll" stone. I can't even get in the mood to cut stones like that unless I'm wearing pink somewhere.

 

[T L]

Michael,
Thanks. There is grey in the violet spinel because it's what I would call violet, medium light tone, very slightly greyish, if I were to grade the stone honestly. or V 4/3. While I do admit that the interior of my car is grey, I'm not sure if that's why it's showing itself to be so greyish, in particular in the first and third photo. Therefore, perhaps you're right, it is reflecting additional grey. The second photo was taken later in the day, outside of the car. However, if it didn't have any grey, it would be very strongly saturated, and I would feel like I was lying to the PS club if I said that. Regardless of the grey, I feel it is an attractive gem, and again, the grey is not overpowering it. Thanks.

Here's a vendor video still of the stone, which I think is more accurate for the color. I am drawn to lighter toned material as you can see here.

 

[T L]

Here's a photo of the stones up close in my house, with the sun coming through a window.