Tsavorite Man Ring Ideas?

[Cascade]

I'm interested in acquiring a Tsavorite gem to create a Man-ring as Garnet is my Birth Stone, and Emerald Green had been my favorite color until I started seeing some online pictures of Tsavorite Garnets. I've done a bit of looking around on this site, Africa Gems, Swala Gem Traders, Lapigems, etc ... and am just trying to get a better feel for what I want.

First question I have is ... what sort of cut should I potentially be looking for for a Man-ring? I saw one on this site that had a square cut. I guess I'm trying to develop a preference here . There seems to be a lot of nice oval, trillion and round cuts out there? I've always been fascinated with Emeralds, and thought that having Garnet as a birth stone was unfortunate, but now I'm learning that these Tsavorites can be better than Emeralds and I do like the look of some pictures I see online.

At any rate, I've seen a couple posts where people recommend coming out here BEFORE buying a stone ... so that is what I'm doing. I came close to buying a stone on one of the sites above, but now I'm glad I waited. Any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I do understand that these are Type 2 gems(?) and so have more inclusions potentially than Type 1 gems. I've also seen where Chromium Tourmaline (?) can be confused with these? Also that they should be untreated as they are a natural stone not needing treatment. However any other advice people can offer would be greatly appreciated!!

Respectfully,
Cascade

 

[wakingdreams53]

If you're starting with zero cut preference, think about the "look" of the ring. Do you imagine yourself wearing this stone in a bezel? Something with prongs? or more of a Belcher style? The cut partially depends on envisioned style. I personally prefer bezels because you can have any shape.

Like this perhaps?


ETA: My FIs wedding band will have a square emerald cut sapphire, so I vote shape with edges (as opposed to round/oval). A trillion tsavorite would be pretty awesome in a mens ring. Maybe like 2nd row, 3rd stone from the left http://www.gemfix.com/garnet_tsavorite.html

I can't vouch for the quality, but I've heard great things about Gemfix and think the shape and color are pretty cool.

 

[GregS]

Shape is subjective, so is color. I could tell you my preferences in a ring, but that doesn't mean it would suit your tastes.

Can you upload a picture of the stone you're interested in? Swala has a lot of nice Tsavorites...

 

[VapidLapid]

Asschers are good shapes for colored stone man rings. I have a tsavorite man ring under construction with one.
Roger Dery of Spectral Gems, Gene Flanigan of Presicion Gems, and Gary Braun of Finewater Gems are good sources. I wouldn't expect them to have exactly what you want sitting on a shelf, but you can inquire if they have rough they could cut that would fit your needs.

 

[Cascade]

wakingdreams53, thanks for the suggestion ... the trillion cut has appealed to me at times too and that one was a nice picture you pointed out. I do kind of wonder about the quality though on that particular stone since it mentions inclusions but doesn't say whether they are visible by the eye or not? I think I want to get at least an "eye clean" specimen as I see that is the term people seem to be using. It doesn't have to be totally clean under 10x for me ... but at least to the eye it would be nice.

GregS ... good point ... that was the cause of my hesitation about posting. I'm not sure if I'll like the same things other people do, but if enough ideas bounce around ... then perhaps I'll find something I really like. As for a picture, I tried to download from the site, but that must be locked. The one I have come close to buying is on Africagems site and it is magnified enough that you see the inclusions on it in the picture, but after communicating with Marc he says that it's the picture, and it should be eye clean. The site did say it was GIA certified, but he said that was a mistake and that particular one isn't. So not sure on that one. It is over a carat, and at a price I can afford, and it sounds from what I've seen online that Marc is an honest dealer, but still thinking at the moment. He says "This rare gem is so wonderful, perfect for any jewelry design that needs a good helping of color. The color of this gem is such a wonderful, bright shade of green. It is alive with brilliance and luster. The cut is a bit shallow, with a slight window, but it also has a large face, making it seem like larger size. It is a fabulous choice for a ring." and at the risk of someone else buying what the heck (I'm not 100% on the stone anyway), here is the link:
http://www.africagems.com/tsga1ca15.html

VapidLapid ... what is "Asschers" don't have much time at the moment so can't google it, but I haven't heard of that cut before? Thanks for the 3 leads, I'll have to check them out tonight when I have more time.

Thanks ... wasn't sure if anyone would respond ... thank you all!

 

[GregS]

Personally I don't care for that Tsavorite, the cut looks to be seriously lacking. Here's one on Swala that looks much better, to me.

http://www.swalagemtraders.com/sear...atch=&indicate=&reserve_type=&pagefrom=search

 

[Cascade]

GregS ... I actually saw that one last night. I'm wondering about the clarity details of that one though? That does look nice by that picture.

I just asked them a question on it ... curious what they say on it's clarity. Thanks!

 

[GregS]

I'd guess it to be eye clean at arm's length. Keep us posted.

 

[Cascade]

No word yet from Swala ... sent them an email yesterday and today ... they must be swamped or something. I'll keep you posted when/if I hear anything.

 

[Cascade]

Researched the Asschers Cut. Interesting ... does that bring out the "fire" more in Tsavorites then?

 

[emmmme]

Hi Cascade,

Have you looked through the Mens Ring Eyecandy Folder in the SMTB forum?

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/mens-bling-eyecandy-folder.116617/

There aren't a ton of coloured stone rings but it might help inspire you with some ring styles, stone shapes and metal colours.

 

[pregcurious]

Researched the Asschers Cut. Interesting ... does that bring out the "fire" more in Tsavorites then?

The Asscher cut, and other cuts that are not brilliant cuts (e.g. emerald) do not show as much fire from a stone. Instead, they emphasize the facets of the cut, and can look very elegant. Blue Nile actually has a good description of the different cuts, and notes that for an Asscher, the stone should not have obvious inclusions. For a colored stone, you can ask for one that is "eye clean".

I personally prefer Asscher cuts in stones that are light in color, and have a large face-up size (7 mm +). By having a light color and a bigger stone, you will be able to see the facet pattern well. I was looking for a thread on Asschers, but I can't find any.

 

[pregcurious]

I couldn't think of the name for cuts like Asscher and emerald in the previous post, but I just remembered...they're called step cuts.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Hi Cascade!

Marquise, pear and hearts are probably the least "manly" cuts. They all have a feminine vibe to them. Not saying they can't be worn by guys, but it takes a well thought out and executed setting. Hearts being the most difficult to be thought of as masculine.

Angular cuts are the easiest to make masculine. Think emerald, radiant, asscher, baquette etc. These read masculine right off (but can be very feminine if put in the right/wrong setting).

Rounds/ovals are kinda gender neutral. The setting really sets the tone for masculine or feminine.

Man rings are usually all about the metal and then the stone. The more metal the more masculine seems to be the trade preference. Otherwise, it may look light/airy/dainty/feminine.

From my personal taste, it's all about sleek low profile settings with out much width difference between the stone and the shank. Anything under about 5mm in width looks too dainty (IMO) for the typical male hand. Anything over 12mm becomes a bit hard to wear.

I like my rings somewhere between 6 to 9 mm in width.

I also like the stones to be set as low as possible. Bezel, half bezel or gypsy/burnished are an easy seating possibility for this style. You can also have prong work done this way (my trillion chrysoberyl for example)

Visual references. These are my rings.

This is a squarish cushion cut spinel. The setting is a semi bezel. It once housed my radiant cut diamond.



Here it is with the radiant.



This is my trillion chrysoberyl. It is prong set, but the prongs are basically just an extension of the shank.



Here is a bezel set kite cut diamond. The band is about 7.5mm wide.



This is an antique setting with a round diamond. It borders on feminine with the taper of the shank, but it's androgynous enough for me to wear. The squaring of the center around the stone adds just enough masculinity to it with it.



I hope this helped

Angles are a guys best friend. They keep the ring from looking soft and feminine.

 

[Cascade]

Sorry, been sick the past couple days ... just getting on before I find my pillow again. Anyway, thanks for all the posts! I still haven't gotten anything back from Swala

I like the pictures, and I took a look at that man-ring thread. Nice! I find myself gravitating towards the celtic designs, but then they are usually without rocks ... so I suppose I could look at one of those and place a rock on it? Not sure if that is too busy looking or not though.

I appreciate all the advice and pics ... this site is awesome!