This is pretty cool, it''s a citrine Stargazer Cut. So, if you think you''re seeing a big hole in it, you''re actually not. It''s a bizarre optical game that Richard plays when he''s cutting it! It''s just awesome, when you look down into the hole, you see a little sparkly glimmer of citrine.
I'm trying really hard to get the sparkly effect of the inner facets. I like this stone for the heroic cutting. I really like things I haven't seen before.
Absolutely no inclusions, it's picking up the surroundings.
Richard said the cutting time on the Stargazer is very long. I think you can see where the cutting reverses at the culet. It''s so tiny, I can''t figure out how he does it.
The colour he chose is really suited for that design; it looks like a sun with a shining aura/flare coming off around the middle in your faraway handshot.
@ TL: Thanks! Richard has out done himself with this bit of wizardry.
@ sarahbear: yup, totally a jumbo solitaire setting. It's a ring toy to play with when I'm bored.
@ crasru: Thank you!
@ chictomato: Actually, I'm thinking a big halo. Just kidding, wouldn't that be awful? The solitaire setting will be just plain yellow gold.
@ chrono: I didn't think of that, but you're exactly right! It's very orange for a citrine, hardly any yellow tones.
I was going to for a ring that my grandkids will find interesting. I don't actually have any grandkids yet, but someday. . .
It is so bizarre, there is no actual hole, it's just a dimple in the table. The whole back of the gem is concave cut, which you can see "underneath" the dimple when you hold it at an angle. The dimple appears to "float" when you rotate the gem, it kind of hovers over the concave faceting. But when you look in the dimple, it looks infinitely deep, like those infinity mirrors from the '80's. Then there's a little orange star at the end of the "tunnel". I can't actually figure out how it works. And I didn't manage to capture ANY of that in the photos.
It reminds me of a bead that I inherited from my great aunt: The brown wooden bead has a hole in the side and when you look inside, there's a drawing of a buddha with little chinese letters all around. There's also some kind of lens inside it and a little hole on the opposite side, that lets light in. So when you look in it, the buddha appears large, lit, and magnified. It's awesome.
So, you see, I have a family tradition of weird jewelry to keep up!
Go Big or Go Home, LOL (I''ve been told some of my gemstones are "too big" when I''ve wanted to have them set, my 10 mm peridot and 11 mm spessie.) Good to see I''m not the only one who likes a good sized stone here.