Boom
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2003
- Messages
- 394
I just received my Whiteflash double halo ring and would like to share some background story before I post some photos I took.
When I first started searching for a spinel last year, I contacted a few US vendors and attached a photo of a man holding a 10ct spinel and told them I wanted something similar to that stone. Most referred me to Pala, but all they had were red, orangish-red, or bubblegum pink spinels.
With information on the photo, I searched on the internet and found swalagemtraders and Eric Saul. I knew I’d found the colour I was looking for, but swala was based in Tanzania and at that time there was no review of them anywhere. I was apprehensive but emailed Eric who was patient and helpful and we exchanged tons of emails (over 30) . I consulted with a couple of friends and decided to go for it.
When I received the spinel, it was exactly the colour I wanted. I was very happy and went about looking for the best setting I could. I’ve posted the rest of that story before so I won’t repeat it here but this stone was actually lost in the USPS system for more than a month when I sent it off to be set. You cannot imagine how depressed I was at that time. This stone has given a lot of heartache, but I am still in love with it.
I did however decide that I needed another ring to cheer me up and was looking for a green stone when I found this cushion spinel. I had always wanted a cushion gemstone and the colour looked different from my oval spinel even though they are both Mahenge. I emailed Eric and this time, very quickly decided to make the purchase and had the stone sent directly to Whiteflash for a custom setting. Since the cushion faced up substantially smaller than the oval, I decided to go double halo. Working with Joe at Whiteflash, I was able to have all the details I wanted incorporated into the design.
I received the ring a few days ago and I am very pleased. Although the cushion spinel turned out to be closer in colour to the oval than I’d thought (I’d expected a pinker stone) and both stones are haloed, they have different feels. One showcases the center stone and is more elegant whilst the other is more fun and blingy.
If you’re still with me, thank you and now on with the photos. I want to add that re-sizing/cropping the photos caused the stones to lighten up. IRL, they are more saturated and closer to red than pink.
When I first started searching for a spinel last year, I contacted a few US vendors and attached a photo of a man holding a 10ct spinel and told them I wanted something similar to that stone. Most referred me to Pala, but all they had were red, orangish-red, or bubblegum pink spinels.
With information on the photo, I searched on the internet and found swalagemtraders and Eric Saul. I knew I’d found the colour I was looking for, but swala was based in Tanzania and at that time there was no review of them anywhere. I was apprehensive but emailed Eric who was patient and helpful and we exchanged tons of emails (over 30) . I consulted with a couple of friends and decided to go for it.
When I received the spinel, it was exactly the colour I wanted. I was very happy and went about looking for the best setting I could. I’ve posted the rest of that story before so I won’t repeat it here but this stone was actually lost in the USPS system for more than a month when I sent it off to be set. You cannot imagine how depressed I was at that time. This stone has given a lot of heartache, but I am still in love with it.
I did however decide that I needed another ring to cheer me up and was looking for a green stone when I found this cushion spinel. I had always wanted a cushion gemstone and the colour looked different from my oval spinel even though they are both Mahenge. I emailed Eric and this time, very quickly decided to make the purchase and had the stone sent directly to Whiteflash for a custom setting. Since the cushion faced up substantially smaller than the oval, I decided to go double halo. Working with Joe at Whiteflash, I was able to have all the details I wanted incorporated into the design.
I received the ring a few days ago and I am very pleased. Although the cushion spinel turned out to be closer in colour to the oval than I’d thought (I’d expected a pinker stone) and both stones are haloed, they have different feels. One showcases the center stone and is more elegant whilst the other is more fun and blingy.
If you’re still with me, thank you and now on with the photos. I want to add that re-sizing/cropping the photos caused the stones to lighten up. IRL, they are more saturated and closer to red than pink.