New Purple-Bluish/Purple Color Shifting Spinel!

[ChrisA222]

Hey...its been a while since I've bought a new stone that I am REALLLY excited about...and I already have some ideas in my head on setting it into a ring for myself (Men's ring, for those that don't know).

The stone is a Spinel, Round Brilliant Cut. I got this from Jeff Davies from his eBay site. He's had some nice deals lately...I also picked up a really nice, nearly 6ct dark pink/purple Zircon...I'd never seen that color before. But back to this stone. Jeff had it called Precision-Cut, and it certainly looks very nice in the pictures, at 8mm, its a great size for me for a ring, and 1.91cts.

I also have Jeff make jewelery pieces for me, as he does a great job and his prices cannot be beat. While I knew this stone was on the dark side, I still bought it intending to bezel-set it. When I told Jeff this, he told me that he thinks the stone is too dark to be bezel set, so I tried to come up with some different style rings that I still like. But gosh darn it...the style ring I really want with a large-ish round is that headlight gypsy bezel set. So I dunno...I think what Im going to do, instead of having him do the ring, is have him send me the ring and let me play with it and then Ill send it back for the setting to be created. Its a pain shipping back and forth to Thailand, but the cost savings is significant for custom pieces. There just aren't many semi-mounts like what women have, for men. So I always go the custom route.

I also really wanted something different, as I have a white gold ring, and a yellow gold ring. I was thinking of doing red/rose gold. Is that not a good choice for this color stone though? This is why I need you guys.

First, the stone pics.

 

[ChrisA222]

Pics showing shift, flourescent

 

[ChrisA222]

This is the type of Ring that I really wanted... but, if this look cannot be accomplished without making a dark stone darker, than I will have to choose something else.

The tension/prong set ones are OK, if those you guys think will make the gem present/perform better.

 

[ChrisA222]

Last option..

Im interested in any comments (negative or positive) about the stone. I know its on the dark-side, which I like, but I just don't want it to be much darker than it already is. jeff says its awesome in flourescence (which is where most of my day and night is spent...the office has flourescent overhead lights, at home we have flourescents or CFLs). I have almost no incandescent, and jeff says the stone isn't great outside of flourescent. this is all fine with me. The stone was $200.

Im also interested in comments about the ring designs...how to get the closest to the bezel look or if I have to go with one of my compromise options.

Thanks!!

Oh and don't forget metal choice...rose/red gold too dark? Silver or White Gold? Plat is too expensive for this guy! It'd be 14K possibly 18K.

 

[chrono]

8 mm is pretty broad, even for a man's ring. Do you have the finger real estate for that? It is rather dark, looking at the pavilion view so I wouldn't bezel set it. I adore tension settings though so that's a possibility. Do you know if a spinel is a good candidate for that type of setting? I know very clean corundums are fine but don't know about spinels. There are only certain alloys used for tension setting so your metal choice will be limited. Let's wait to see the stone in person before deciding the best metal colour.

 

[ChrisA222]

Yeah, I like the size..thats why I wanted to go for that bezel set look. So you agree then..can't do bezel set. No..I don't have huge fingers or hands, unfortunately. I wear a size 8.5 ring. But I have no problem wearing a larger size stone. My cab Onyx ring I think is 14x10 oval. Ill post this picture although I've posted it before just so you can see. If someone thinks Im wearing a ring that looks too big, I don't really care, but at the same time, I want to like what it looks like as far as gem performance and style.

So theres no way I can bezel set??? Man. So you like the tension sets, Im ok with those, but what about the sorta-bezel set ones that I posted before the tension set? Granted those are ovals and I think one is a cab...

I just don't really think of an 8mm as large, lol...I wouldnt want some honking 12mm round, but 8?

 

[ChrisA222]

Chrono, Re:clarity, Jeff had it rated VVS....thats about all I know. I trust him so...

 

[beaujolais]

Really pretty color stone, Chris (M)

Here is a good link for you regarding if a stone can handle a bezel or not:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bezelling-stones-how-to-check-they-will-look-good.116993/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bezelling-stones-how-to-check-they-will-look-good.116993/[/URL]

I'm wondering if rose gold would bring out any pink tones in this stone?

 

[ChrisA222]

Thanks Sonoma! I love it...blue and purple are my favorite colors and I prefer the darker stone...as long as its not blackish with only colored flames...Jeff has return policy if its too dark. I don't mean too dark to bezel, as Ill just go with a different style if I must.

I was curious about those sorta-bezels of the second and third picture. Would that look silly on a round stone?

The thing is I had wanted Jeff to make the setting and send it finished but I guess I have to have him send the stone first...oh well..lol

Pink tones? How about red tones!

 

[beaujolais]

I love the second setting with the green cab. Would it work with a round - I think so. I'd see if you can find any rounds in a similar setting on the net.

As for pink tones / red tones - I think someone more knowledgeable than I needs to answer. I figured you wouldn't want pink tones, so I brought that up.

I have stone holders in both white metal and a yellow metal. It's amazing how different a stone can look in a different color metal.

 

[RedSpinel]

This is the type of Ring that I really wanted... but, if this look cannot be accomplished without making a dark stone darker, than I will have to choose something else.

The tension/prong set ones are OK, if those you guys think will make the gem present/perform better.

I kinda like that white gold or platinum tension mount at the bottom there. I'd always be worried about the stone falling out though, even though it probably never would.....

 

[chrono]

The style you are referring to is called a semi-bezel. I've seen it done with round diamonds. I like semi-bezels too but prefer not to guess how the stone will perform in such a setting without seeing it first. I'm afraid it's best to wait until you have the stone in hand and play around with it to see how it reacts to various amounts of light.

Red Spinel,
So far, I've heard of one case where the diamond fell out of a tension setting while the lady in question was at the Opera House or something to that effect. Fortunately, they found the stone but had finger pointing issues with the jewellery maker about how she treated the ring. I do not recall the maker of the ring but there's only 2 or 3 branded tension jewellers out there, correct?

 

[minousbijoux]

IIRC, that stone looked darker on the video he had. As much as its a pain in the rear, I also suggest you get it in hand first and play around with it a bit. Its not so onerous to send stones back and forth - I know its hard to wait, but better to be sure first.

It does look like a nice stone - at least in the fluorescent lighting he shows. I hope its that pretty in all lighting.

 

[ChrisA222]

Well...me too! I prefer the darker stones, but Jeff and I both decided to have him send me the stone unset. If the stone is too dark, I can return the stone to him, and I can do the same thing when I am ready to have him set it for me.

Here is the video...again, I like dark, just as long as its not black. Im mainly interested in flourescent performance...the other lighting is secondary. Ill let you know in a few weeks when the stone comes in and Ill update the thread. Then Ill try all the crazy tricks you have all taught me involving tin foil and zip ties to judge if a bezel will work...maybe a half bezel...

Thanks!

Heres the video on youtube which is what sold me on the stone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7bzL6HEwfro

 

[chrono]

Is that video taken under fluorescent lighting? It looks to have very large areas of extinction.

 

[ChrisA222]

Chrono, yes, its taken under flourescents. Ill have to see it IRL....which is why Jeff wanted to send it to me before setting it. I really don't understand extinction fully though. I understood extinction to be a gem where, say, half of it was colored, and the other half blacked out, and when you moved the stone, the area of color moved to the other side of the half. I think you or someone on here defined it as half and half extinction. I didnt see that in the video. I see color and black evenly distributed throughout the stone. Is that what you are referring to as 'extinction'? I just assumed that was just what a medium dark/dark stone looks like. I LOVE the look, whether it is extinction or not. I think it looks very interesting and cool. Thats going by the picture/video. If it looks completly diferent in hand, well then...onto another stone.

 

[chrono]

What you describe above is "half and half extinction, which one doesn't see all that often. There's 'regular' extinction too, for lack of a better word. This type of extinction is evenly distributed through out the stone, sometimes only showing a few flashes of colour leaving the majority of it black or in darkness. The part where the flash of colour shows is when that particular facet is directly hit by the light. All the other facets will appear black.

The section on extinction is towards the end of the page.
http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/brilliance_windows_extinction.htm

 

[royalstarrynight]

I know this thread has been long dead but I'm sort of curious what type of setting was ultimately chosen or whether the stone got sent back or kept.

 

[ChrisA222]

I kept this stone for a while...unset...but I did recently sell it. I had regretted selling it, but was able to buy a larger, better-cut but otherwise similar stone from Gene (its in a recent thread by me, 3.17ct).

Comparing the stones, Genes has a stronger blue (daylight) color, and this stone had slightly better purple (artificial light) color. Genes stone is much better cut though, and while I thought the dispersion was great in the stone in this thread, it does not compare to the larger one from Gene.

I do have a feeling I will set the stone, but not in a bezel like I was hoping for originally when I bought this stone. It is too dark for bezel setting so I'd want as much light as possible to get to the gem.

 

[iLander]

I LOOOOOOVVVEEE that stone! Congrats!

 

[JewelFreak]

Smart, Chris. I can't wait to see what you do with the new one -- it will be such an interesting piece of jewelry. I liked the first one a lot too, hope it found a good home!

--- Laurie

 

[ChrisA222]

Thanks iLander and Laurie!

I have a thing for dark (lol) Blue and Purple Spinels....

This is another one that I have, that I got from Jeff Davies...I realize its darker than what is considered "ideal" (<--except to me!) but I love the rich saturated color, and its really nice in both shifts. This one is 2.56ct...I did 'ok' with the pics but the purple is better than what i was able to capture. Also, its since been partially recut into a brilliant-style pavillion as I do not like step cuts. I haven't had a chance to re take some good pics since the recut. It shows some extinction in the pics but it is much better in person since the recut..

Overall this stone has considerably better color than the 3ct stone from Gene, but even with the recut, isn't as well-cut as the Gene stone.

 

[royalstarrynight]

If you don't mind, may you post the vendor photo?

 

[corundum_conundrum]

I really dig the blue. The purple looks a bit dark--but it may also be the photo, and it may be the place where tastes diverge.

So I take it this was the original stone with steps? I'd love to see some of the photos with the recut!

 

[ChrisA222]

Sure, here's the vendor photo.

The purple is not as dark as my pic...but thats the best I could do. Its hard to get anything decent with my camera setup. Ill get to taking new ones with the recut.