blue-green tourmaline from Barry

[Kelli]

So I know I said I was saving for a demantoid and all… But this popped up on Barry's site and I bought it sort of on impulse because I know how quickly his stuff sells. I say "sort of" on impulse because I have a very similar stone in pink that I've thought for a while about putting in a stack. The pink one I have is an Afghan tourmaline from gemfix and is 7.5mm. This is an Afghan tourmaline as well and isn't an exact size match but should be pretty close at 7.3mm. I wear pink and teal together a lot for work and I thought maybe I could put them in thin silver bezels and wear them together, but that may be too much for my size 5.5 fingers. I guess I'll see when it comes in. Here is the stone

 

[Kelli]

And here is the pink one. I don't really even know if they'll look good together, but I suppose we'll see when it comes in.

 

[chrono]

I think the size and colour combo should work well together.

 

[Kelli]

Thanks. I'm hoping so!

 

[minousbijoux]

I love both colors and love the way the pink looks on your hand. The only thing I wonder is if they would really both fit at once on your finger, as it will be a lot of finger coverage with those two stones. Other than that, go for it!

 

[OTL]

Did you just get it recently? I couldn't find it on his site.
Congratulations on the new stone. It is very bluish!

 

[JewelFreak]

Pretty tourm! Pink & teal should look great together, if they aren't too big for stackers on your teeny hand. (They would even make nice mismatched earrings if set the same. I'm going to do that sometime.) Look forward to seeing photos when you get it!

--- Laurie

 

[Kelli]

Yep, I got it last night and he took it down right away- like within minutes of me buying it. I have a feeling it wasn't up for long because I'm pretty sure I checked the site earlier yesterday and the stone wasn't there. For some reason I never get the newsletters so I check it all the time to see if anything new strikes my fancy. Like that suite of mismatched garnets that I missed out on but totally would have bought.

 

[Kelli]

And thanks guys. I am thinking it'll be a lot on my fingers, but I'll at least wear them separately.

 

[minousbijoux]

Hey, and when you feel like it, you can rock out and go big!

 

[chrono]

I think Kelli can rock both stones on one finger; just stagger one higher and to the right/left of the other and she's set.

 

[OTL]

Yep, I got it last night and he took it down right away- like within minutes of me buying it. I have a feeling it wasn't up for long because I'm pretty sure I checked the site earlier yesterday and the stone wasn't there. For some reason I never get the newsletters so I check it all the time to see if anything new strikes my fancy. Like that suite of mismatched garnets that I missed out on but totally would have bought.

Lucky girl! I was on Barry's site a couple times last night but didn't see this...

 

[Kelli]

I really think I must have caught it almost immediately after it went up, and I bought it pretty much without a second thought. I never catch anything, so I added to cart right away

 

[T L]

Enjoy your new stone Kelli.

I would love to see them in a two stone ring, because I love pink and bluish green, but then again I have big fat fingers, unlike your pretty hands. I don't have a problem wearing multi-stone rings like that. It would be cool to see them in a bypass of some sort.

 

[katharath]

I didn't see that one up on Barry's site either and I've been stalking it, lol. I think you must have snagged it quickly

Can't go wrong with a pretty Barry gem like that...congrats on your buy!

 

[Kelli]

Thanks guys. I've seen your rings on your fingers TL and I'll trade you my small(ish) hands for your gem collection any day! I actually did think about a bypass ring as well. I know they'll fit, because my engagement ring diamond is about 7.3mm and I can fit that on there with my pink stone. However, they look pretty silly together. They're both in prong settings (and not even similar ones) and the diamond's brightness kind of mutes down the tourmaline. I'm hoping that both tourmalines will compliment each other rather than compete for attention, but I guess I'll wait to see when I get it. I also wanted them bezel set, but I just read in someone else's thread that bezeling tourmalines might not be a great idea? Plus the bezels will add more size. Hmmmm….

 

[chrono]

You can have tourmaline bezel set by a skilled bench. The reason this isn't recommended often is because many benches do not have "soft" hands. Some bezels are also super thin and will not add much additional size.

 

[T L]

Thanks guys. I've seen your rings on your fingers TL and I'll trade you my small(ish) hands for your gem collection any day! I actually did think about a bypass ring as well. I know they'll fit, because my engagement ring diamond is about 7.3mm and I can fit that on there with my pink stone. However, they look pretty silly together. They're both in prong settings (and not even similar ones) and the diamond's brightness kind of mutes down the tourmaline. I'm hoping that both tourmalines will compliment each other rather than compete for attention, but I guess I'll wait to see when I get it. I also wanted them bezel set, but I just read in someone else's thread that bezeling tourmalines might not be a great idea? Plus the bezels will add more size. Hmmmm….

Thanks for the kind words Kelli,
I would advise against bezel setting a tourmaline. A bench can also hide chips caused by bezel setting too, by the actual bezel itself. I've seen it happen. Only a super skilled bench can do a very even and delicate looking bezel. Many of the ones I've seen look like they're swallowing the stone and/or are not very even. Since tourmaline is a stone that easily chips as well, I wouldn't recommend it, but perhaps others have had really good luck with a bezel set tourmaline with a certain bench. JMO.

 

[Kelli]

Thanks for the perspective from both sides. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I should just let these two stones exist on their own in two unrelated settings… Or even find another similar stone and put all three in something different like a chunky sterling cuff bracelet. I don't know who I'd trust to do that though, and most of my cuffs are pretty dinged up from my clumsiness.

 

[T L]

Thanks for the perspective from both sides. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I should just let these two stones exist on their own in two unrelated settings… Or even find another similar stone and put all three in something different like a chunky sterling cuff bracelet. I don't know who I'd trust to do that though, and most of my cuffs are pretty dinged up from my clumsiness.

Then you're going to chip the tourmaline if its in a bracelet or cuff. I like the idea of a prong set bypass ring, but that's just me.

Not this exact ring, but something like this, and perhaps you can embellish it with ribbing, or David Yurman style touch.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5mm-6mm-Round-2-Stone-Pre-Notched-Solid-Sterling-Silver-Bypass-Ring-Setting-/151163728923?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item23320f741b

 

[FrekeChild]

Meh. I say put them in solitaires. Then you can just stack them and still achieve a similar look to the bypass ring that TL linked to, AND have the option of wearing them by themselves.

 

[T L]

The only reservation I have with stackables is that because they are larger stones, they're more apt to move around, and they could end up scratchng each other. Perhaps they can be made such that the stackables move together, but the stones don't move individually.

 

[chrono]

Not a good idea to have the tourmalines as a bracelet / cuff stone even if bezeled. You will chip the crown facets and unless you have the bezel flush with the table, damage is inevitable.

 

[Kelli]

TL that link won't work for me. I'd like to see it though, if you wouldn't mind trying again?

And yeah, that fleeting cuff bracelet idea was not a bright one. I'm hoping to get the stone today. Maybe seeing them together in person will point me in some sort of direction.

 

[marymm]

While I don't disagree with the posters indicating caution with bezelling Tourmalines, if your jeweler is experienced with colored gemstones and your setting is likely to be the final setting (rather than a temporary one), a bezel setting could be a fine choice. As an example, I have two Tourmalines bezel-set, both by Julia Kay Taylor - while of course I cannot know if the stones were chipped at the time of setting in a location now hidden by the bezel (and undisclosed to me by the vendor), I did trust the vendor, both bezels were well-executed, and the Tourmalines are in excellent condition (occasional wear only).

My viewpoint is that my colored gemstones are for me to enjoy, and as long as I take care to choose appropriate vendors with the skill-sets and experience required by the projects involved - and for me I don't set stones with Mohs lower than Zircon - I choose prong or bezel settings depending on which will bring out the best in the specific stone and what kind of wear I envision for the jewelry piece.

If you do not have a trusted jeweler with colored gemstone experience, or if your gemstones have tremendous intrinsic value, or if you are setting an extremely soft stone, the above is not applicable.

 

[T L]

TL that link won't work for me. I'd like to see it though, if you wouldn't mind trying again?

And yeah, that fleeting cuff bracelet idea was not a bright one. I'm hoping to get the stone today. Maybe seeing them together in person will point me in some sort of direction.

This is just a basic, run of the mill bypass setting in silver, but it gives you an idea of how a bypass would look.

Daniel M made a pear bypass ring for me that I love, but it's two large pears. I have a fat size 8 finger though. The pears are 3 and 2.5 carats respectively, and it sits well on my hand. I may even add a diamond to the middle of the stones because I love bling.

 

[Kelli]

You're talking about the tsav/spess ring right? I LOVE that one. I do like that silver one you posted too. I admittedly have a major thing for plain old solitaires, but I have plenty of them and this would allow me to wear two pretties at the same time. So would stackers IF they didn't look ridiculous. I was hoping to have gotten the stone on Saturday, but no such luck. Maybe today…

marymm I agree about buying stones to set and enjoy them. I have two jewelers I use and so far I haven't had any trouble, but I might be taking more risks these days with the types of stones and settings. I wish I had a local guy who worked in silver, or I wish there were local classes I could start going to so I could learn to do it myself. I know it wouldn't be easy, but with this addiction I've got it would be worth the work. I hate sending my stones away and it seems like most trustworthy people are taking longer and longer to finish projects because they've gotten so busy. Good for them, bad for the likes of me.

 

[Kelli]

I got it, and it's so pretty! It looks like a shimmering mermaid tail.

 

[Kelli]

 

[Kelli]

I'm not loving how it looks next to the pink like I thought I would. I can see a noticeable size difference, and it seems so far like they prefer different sorts of lighting. Maybe I'll just leave them separate.