2023 — Your bling year in review

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Did not see this thread yet… show what you collected in 2023! If you don’t want to list everything, here are some other discussion ideas. For last year…

What was your favorite new addition in 2023?

Impulse buy you never would have predicted?

The jewelry gift you appreciated most this year?

A repair or a reset that turned out really well?

Any particularly good bargains?

Or any other piece you would really like to highlight.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Hmmm… silence!

What was your favorite new addition in 2023?

My 0.50 ct fancy dark brown pink that shifts from light pink through dark purple to matte black.

The jewelry gift you appreciated most this year?

Platinum Niessing coil


Please, someone else post!

 

[elizat]

My purchases for 2023:

Diamond pave flower petal earrings from Hello Noemie:



Vintage gold textured earrings




A preloved CvB Norah band, bad photo



My emerald cut got a new dress from Scholdt






I purchased the diamond in 2022, but Sako made the setting in 2023 for it








I purchased some vintage amethyst and gold earrings






David Klass made me a 5 stone old European band, approx 2.7 cttw. He found the 5th stone.






And I am missing one pair of coral earrings. I'll take a photo tomorrow!

 

[elizat]

And my favorite new addition is not jewelry, but he's better. My almost 16 year old man passed away last Christmas Eve and left a huge void. In May, we got a puppy. He's called Frankie and he's a Havanese. He's black with tan and white.

Here is with his brother, my older dog Oliver.

 

[glitterata]

I reset my heirloom OEC in a period-appropriate antique deco setting:

 

[glitterata]

My best bargain was the antique platinum deco two-stone "owl ring" with single cuts and calibre sapphires and a pair of 7mm color-shifty purple sapphires that were described as synthetic. I bought the ring for the setting, but the purple sapphires turned out to be natural.

 

[dk168]

Here we go...

January - took the plunge and purchased a branded bracelet, a Chopard Happy Heart with a tiny diamond and MOP - the cheapest one that I was able to afford!




February - finally went to Tucson, Arizona, and met up with Jeff White (thanks for the dinner) and Gary Braun of Finewater gems. I did not purchase much at Tucson, however, I did spend considerable time at one Tahitian pearl vendors (there weren't many) and picked out a pair of drop-shaped Tahitian pearls myself with their help; and made them into a pair of interchangeable drops for my tiny earth-mined diamond huggies.

I did not pay that much for them compared with my mis-matched Takahashi drops with a WSS and a black Tahitian or the WSS pair from pearlzaustralia, and am very happy with them.




Later in the year, I set a pair of Aquamarine pears I got from Ivy and Rose, and a pair of Petalite from AJS Gems during one of the close down sales; both in articulated halo drop design as interchangeable drops for my tiny diamond huggies. Very happy with the Aquamarine pairs, however, the Petalite pair does not thrill me as the Petalites lack sparkle. I shall re-make the pair with Petalites and replace with a second articulated halo and a pear-shaped LGD.



I have also received more earring drops that I had commissioned to go with my tiny huggies, a pair of 6mm round OEC Moissanites and a pair of heart shaped drops each made with 3 x 4mm LGDs purchased unset from another PSer.



Also received a pair of huggies with 3mm Moissanites to wear casually:



After finding the Tahitian pearl drops at Tucson much to my delight as I had been waiting for years for the right well-matched pearl drops to come along, I decided to seek professional help and asked pearlzaustralia aka our own katbran's Etsy shop, to source me a pair of WSS drops, and she had just the right pair still in stock, so happy! They completed my desire for pearl drops - a pair of mis-matched ones from Takahashi, a pair of Tahitians and a pair of WSS.



I paid off the large blue green Tourmaline that Jeff W will be cutting for me. It is my largest and most expensive CS to date and it will be worth it! Here is a pic of the rough:



I have set two of my Jeff W CSs, a pink Sapphire he sourced during his 2020 Tucson trip before the pandemic and recut to remove the window, and a blue Zircon in his Asscher cut that I adore, both set with LGDs:



That's it, I think!

DK

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Impulse buy you never would have predicted?

I saw a ring that I loved.



Normally I don’t wear big stones so I did not want to spend lots of money on it. I thought about LGD but am not usually a fan of radiant cuts. So I decided it wasn’t for me.

Then one day I saw an intriguing earth grown diamond listed as a radiant. It might actually be a Spring Cut. I thought maybe I could get that cut replicated in LGD.



It was one carat so not big enough for the inspo ring. But I wanted to see it for possible replication purposes. I ordered it and when it came in, it was beautiful. I liked it so much and it was more my size. So I set it and love to wear it often.



I decided that given how much I loved the inspo ring, and given that the prices of LGD were falling, plus I found the right kind of cut that was different from a radiant, I should go for the inspo ring. The LGD forum people helped me look. I could not find a LGD spring cut but did find something similar. And it was 4.5 carats for very cheap. The price-per-wear was reasonable. David Klass built the ring.



I actually wear it less than the one carat Spring Cut but am happy I got the inspo since I loved it so much.



That is how I have two favorite impulse buys for 2023.

 

[Mreader]

For me 2023 was the year of the bracelets. I got these:


I reset a tourmaline ring




Got this diamond for xmas




There is probably something I am forgetting! But these are the main things

 

[Starstruck8]

For me 2023 was the year of the bracelets. I got these:


I reset a tourmaline ring




Got this diamond for xmas




There is probably something I am forgetting! But these are the main things

Love them all, but especially the snake bracelet. The detail in the scales is amazing.

 

[Austina]

Had my bolo multi cut diamond bracelet, reset in to a bangle.

 

[Mreader]

Love them all, but especially the snake bracelet. The detail in the scales is amazing.

Thank you; I love the bracelet also. He's a bit big for me but everything else was so perfect I had to get it!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Here we go...

January - took the plunge and purchased a branded bracelet, a Chopard Happy Heart with a tiny diamond and MOP - the cheapest one that I was able to afford!




February - finally went to Tucson, Arizona, and met up with Jeff White (thanks for the dinner) and Gary Braun of Finewater gems. I did not purchase much at Tucson, however, I did spend considerable time at one Tahitian pearl vendors (there weren't many) and picked out a pair of drop-shaped Tahitian pearls myself with their help; and made them into a pair of interchangeable drops for my tiny earth-mined diamond huggies.

I did not pay that much for them compared with my mis-matched Takahashi drops with a WSS and a black Tahitian or the WSS pair from pearlzaustralia, and am very happy with them.




Later in the year, I set a pair of Aquamarine pears I got from Ivy and Rose, and a pair of Petalite from AJS Gems during one of the close down sales; both in articulated halo drop design as interchangeable drops for my tiny diamond huggies. Very happy with the Aquamarine pairs, however, the Petalite pair does not thrill me as the Petalites lack sparkle. I shall re-make the pair with Petalites and replace with a second articulated halo and a pear-shaped LGD.



I have also received more earring drops that I had commissioned to go with my tiny huggies, a pair of 6mm round OEC Moissanites and a pair of heart shaped drops each made with 3 x 4mm LGDs purchased unset from another PSer.



Also received a pair of huggies with 3mm Moissanites to wear casually:



After finding the Tahitian pearl drops at Tucson much to my delight as I had been waiting for years for the right well-matched pearl drops to come along, I decided to seek professional help and asked pearlzaustralia aka our own katbran's Etsy shop, to source me a pair of WSS drops, and she had just the right pair still in stock, so happy! They completed my desire for pearl drops - a pair of mis-matched ones from Takahashi, a pair of Tahitians and a pair of WSS.



I paid off the large blue green Tourmaline that Jeff W will be cutting for me. It is my largest and most expensive CS to date and it will be worth it! Here is a pic of the rough:



I have set two of my Jeff W CSs, a pink Sapphire he sourced during his 2020 Tucson trip before the pandemic and recut to remove the window, and a blue Zircon in his Asscher cut that I adore, both set with LGDs:



That's it, I think!

DK

definatly a satisfactory year then DK
be interested to see how 2024 can top this

 

[dk168]

definatly a satisfactory year then DK
be interested to see how 2024 can top this

It won't as the piggy bank is empty!

DK

 

[asterismdispersion]

Blurry, I previously purchased the lefthand citrine stick pin, then a garnet one in the exact same style popped up on eBay, so I had to snag it, too. The listing was for a lot of 2 stick pins so I received a bonus one (below).

I like the scroll design a lot on this one, too. I ended up reaching for it more often than I expected.

This was not an impulse purchase, per se, though it was one piece that I had to have as soon as I set my sights on it. Probably my favorite of 2023: art deco emerald and old cut diamond bar brooch in white gold. The engraving and geometry of the filigree just do it for me.

Thank you for sharing all your beauties of 2023, everybody!

 

[luckygreen317]

Impulse -
Alex Park listed 2 natural rosecut diamonds on his site and I responded “ I’ll take them” before even thinking what I would do with them. I always wanted a rosecut diamond and a fancy brown, so this checked 2 boxes for me.




Bargain -
I purchased a lab marquise stone from Alex Park because it was such a great price. David Klass setting. Not much of a bargain after the custom setting …




Appreciate the most -
I have wanted an Omega Constellation watch for over 20 years and now I have one.




Reset -
Original marquise ring sat high and was uncomfortable. Reset into platinum undulating milgrained bezels.

 

[Mreader]

Impulse -
Alex Park listed 2 natural rosecut diamonds on his site and I responded “ I’ll take them” before even thinking what I would do with them. I always wanted a rosecut diamond and a fancy brown, so this checked 2 boxes for me.




Bargain -
I purchased a lab marquise stone from Alex Park because it was such a great price. David Klass setting. Not much of a bargain after the custom setting …




Appreciate the most -
I have wanted an Omega Constellation watch for over 20 years and now I have one.




Reset -
Original marquise ring sat high and was uncomfortable. Reset into platinum undulating milgrained bezels.

Love all - but that reset is just divine!

 

[worldtraveler101]

My purchases for 2023:

Diamond pave flower petal earrings from Hello Noemie:



Vintage gold textured earrings




A preloved CvB Norah band, bad photo



My emerald cut got a new dress from Scholdt






I purchased the diamond in 2022, but Sako made the setting in 2023 for it








I purchased some vintage amethyst and gold earrings






David Klass made me a 5 stone old European band, approx 2.7 cttw. He found the 5th stone.






And I am missing one pair of coral earrings. I'll take a photo tomorrow!

Any pics of you wearing the first set of earrings? All your purchases are so good!

 

[LilAlex]

Blurry, I previously purchased the lefthand citrine stick pin, then a garnet one in the exact same style popped up on eBay, so I had to snag it, too

OMG these would be such killer earrings! With a little articulation at the top.

 

[lala646]

What was your favorite new addition in 2023?

Definitely my snake ring, since I've wanted one for ages, and finally found one with heaps of character.

Impulse buy you never would have predicted?

I saw these earrings on TRR, and I thought the shape looked really promising. Got them, and loved them. A friend asked where I got them, and I did a reverse image search in the hopes she could still find them, and it turns out they're by Ted Muehling and way more expensive than I would ever have splurged on if they had been properly attributed. I wear them easily once a week.

A repair or a reset that turned out really well?

I swapped a diamond into this pendant which had held a nearly-black sapphire, and now it's in heavy rotation.

I also finally got my CvB rose cut pear ring resized, so I don't have to just admire it in its ring box.

Any particularly good bargains?

I got this OMC ring for a song because the main stone is hella wonky, and I guess it scared everyone else off. Heavy, French, weird, and I love it to bits. It's one of my go-to's.

Or any other piece you would really like to highlight.

This was one of my last purchases of the year, and it was on TRR for a weirdly low price, and I figured if it's terrible in person I'll just return it, since their photos can often be less than encouraging. Once it had a good bath, it's absolutely lovely, lively, and I'm completely smitten. Strong way to close out the year!