2 fun things today: OsirisGems Fire Opal and...

[delayedreaction]

I snagged a fire opal from Osiris Gems (the ebay store) a couple of weeks ago, and picked it up today from the post office, which was on my way to get my spinel. I had it set in a temporary setting since I couldn''t make up my mind and didn''t want to spend lots of money only to change my mind in a year or two since the designs I was considering were north of $3,000. (Diamond melee starts adding up fast, and that much bling might have been a little OTT.)

Oh and an amusing moment happened when I was at Quest picking up my ring. So I''m waiting around for the ring to be brought to the front, and there are three couples looking at the various display cases. There''s a young couple to my right, maybe mid to late twenties or so. The Wife/Girlfriend says to the Salesperson, while moving from one display case to another: "I was never really much into jewelry, but now!" and then just gives a really cute sigh. And the Husband/boyfriend just has this hilarious shellshocked expression as he''s looking down at the display case.

Maybe I should have pulled him aside and told him about pricescope. Ah well, on to the pictures.

 

[delayedreaction]

Fire opal: 1.34 carats, 8.7 x 7.3 x 5.9 mm. Camera's adding more red than there is in person.

 

[delayedreaction]

The vendor picture is more accurate. As you can see, my picture above has more red in it, which is not true in person.

 

[delayedreaction]

Ring hand shot. I''ll probably reset this in a year or two after I live with it for a while.

 

[delayedreaction]

Showing the dichromism:

 

[delayedreaction]

From one side.

 

[delayedreaction]

Last one. The mount modification was done at Quest Jewelers, which is local for me. (I photoshopped the logo off the box.)

 

[VapidLapid]

That spinel is bold and emphatic - simply splendid!

I like the FO too though better with the camera-added red! What was your experience with this vendor? The photo style makes me believe that it is the same vendor that offered another PSer an orange zircon recently, with a stated no returns policy, so I am curious how you liked them.
Also dying to know where you got that spinel! What a great saturday treat!

 

[delayedreaction]

This vendor (Osirisgems) has a 14 day return policy, so I just bought it as soon as I saw it listed. Maybe they share the same photographer? The FO goes a little brighter orange in daylight, but I like reds as it is, and wouldn''t have minded either way.

The spinel is from Tan''s OdysseyGem ebay store. Original thread with more (bad) pictures is here.

 

[Arcadian]

Nice! I like the setting you chose (though temporary) I also like your fire opal. I''ve checked out some of his stuff... I''m slightly in love...lol

-A

 

[oddoneout]

Beautiful stones.

 

[VapidLapid]

The cutter is a woman.
She is one of the lapidaries on oneworldgemstone.com

 

[ma re]

Fire opal is really nice, although it might be tricky to set (it''s durability + this shape = potential trouble), and the ring is beautiful, especially the profile. Enjoy them!

 

[Indylady]

Very pretty! I love the clean lines of your spinel ring.

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 4/18/2010 10:14:48 AM
Author: VapidLapid
The cutter is a woman.
She is one of the lapidaries on oneworldgemstone.com

oops! I stand corrected!

She does fantastic work!

-A

 

[virgoruby]

Great looking ring! Your fire opal is lovely too.
Osirisgems seem to have some cool stones, though I''m not quite sure what to make of ''genuine English sea glass (from N-E England beaches), offered on their ebay store...

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 4/18/2010 2:00:15 PM
Author: virgoruby
Great looking ring! Your fire opal is lovely too.
Osirisgems seem to have some cool stones, though I''m not quite sure what to make of ''genuine English sea glass (from N-E England beaches), offered on their ebay store...

Sea glass is a big deal for some people and quite collectable. On a cruise I met a few people who were really into collecting it while in Bermuda.


-A

 

[Barrett]

Hey delayedreaction..wanna snag that sweet colored zircon..it''s yours for $210 if you want..worked out a deal with osirisgems..since you got the fire opal he will sell you that sweet bright zircon for $210..I think he thought I was you..

 

[T L]

Date: 4/18/2010 10:14:48 AM
Author: VapidLapid
The cutter is a woman.
She is one of the lapidaries on oneworldgemstone.com

Are you sure? He mentions growing up as a young boy on his website.

http://www.osirisgems.com/Designs.html

More beautiful lapidary designs. Wow, he (or she) can do magic with a sleepy stone. He's a cutter out of Germany.

 

[VapidLapid]

She''s a man, baby?
Uli is, in my experience, a girl''s name in germany. But who knows, its the 21st century!

 

[T L]

Oh yes, I'm such a dope. Delayed, I love the spinel ring. it came out great. It's so masculine and substantial. It looks like a very expensive sapphire ring. The fire opal is lovely. Does it sparkle?

 

[VapidLapid]

You are right. She''s a man! He''s a man.
The lapidary is male.
Regardless of gender, the cutting looks to be quite good! I expect we''ll be seeing more of his work around here.

 

[PumpkinPie]

that fire opal is gorgeous!

 

[delayedreaction]

Thanks everyone for your compliments on the ring and opal!

Date: 4/18/2010 2:14:07 PM
Author: amethystguy
Hey delayedreaction..wanna snag that sweet colored zircon..it''s yours for $210 if you want..worked out a deal with osirisgems..since you got the fire opal he will sell you that sweet bright zircon for $210..I think he thought I was you..

Oh, I''m not really looking for a zircon at this point. So if you want to pick it up, go for it!

Date: 4/18/2010 6:19:15 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Oh yes, I''m such a dope. Delayed, I love the spinel ring. it came out great. It''s so masculine and substantial. It looks like a very expensive sapphire ring. The fire opal is lovely. Does it sparkle?

Thanks, and the fire opal throws off a lot of sparkle. It holds up sitting right next to a little spessartite garnet I have from Dana, although it does look redder next to a purer orange.

 

[T L]

Thanks,
I love the color of the orange and reddish orange fire opals, and I think they can hold their own in color next to many fine spessartite. The only thing that has held me back from buying one is that I worry too much about their hazy appearance, and I wanted a faceted one for a long time. I will keep that in mind.

 

[chrono]

Lovely temporary setting for the spinel; it’s well made too, enough to last a while and the design is sleek and simple for everyday wear. The fire opal is really something and just screams to be set although the durability has always held me back from getting one myself.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/19/2010 9:39:14 AM
Author: Chrono
Lovely temporary setting for the spinel; it’s well made too, enough to last a while and the design is sleek and simple for everyday wear. The fire opal is really something and just screams to be set although the durability has always held me back from getting one myself.

Someone please correct me if I''m wrong since I''m not an opal expert at all. I have heard that opals, although soft, are still durable gems. Pearls are another soft gem that are very durable, as an example. I think I would be more tempted to set and wear an opal vs a zircon for example, even though a zircon is slightly harder.

 

[chrono]

Pearls are durable but if extreme care is not taken, the outer nacre can be badly damaged to the point that the satiny luster is worn away. My concern with fire opals is that excessive heat must be avoided under all conditions because they contain varying degrees of water and will simply break in case of artificially caused drying. From what I’ve read, fire opals react negatively to excessive heat as well as to contact with acids, lyes, and sharp objects. Extremely unfavourable conditions will fore the stone to shed water, making it dull and resulting in fissures. Like all other opals, fire opals should not be subjected to intensive light for too long. It does, however, appreciate being worn frequently: the humidity of air and skin thus available will help the stone maintain its balance of water. As with pearls, keep it away from cosmetics. Should the stone, however, have become dull, then at least a fire opal can be polished up again.