50th birthday ideas for my mother?

[Octavia]

I was just looking at Mother's Day gifts and it got me thinking that my mom's 50th birthday is in September and I'd really like to get her something nice to commemorate it. Most of her jewelry is maul-store quality -- which is standard for the area they live in, since it's very rural and JCPenney and Kay's are where people go for "upscale" jewelry there. I hate to sound like a snob, since I honestly didn't know about high-quality jewelry until quite recently, when I found PS! But now that I do know, I'd love to give her a really fine piece for her big birthday and I think she'd treasure it.

Unfortunately, my budget won't allow me to go all-out, but I'm thinking that something in the $500 range would be doable for me alone, more if my brother wants to go in on it with me. Right now, my thought is a necklace with bar-cut sapphire (similar to this one, although I'm not crazy about its color and I know budget could be an issue for something with more "desirable" color) set dangling N-S under a teeny RB diamond. I'm open to all ideas, though! Right now I'm just thinking (and trying to save$$), I'll probably try to get the project underway by July or so to make sure it's ready in plenty of time.

So, any thoughts? If you're a mom, what would you most like to receive from your kids? If you're a "kid," what would you consider getting for your mom?

 

[Margot]

This isn''t quite one gift, but one thing you could do which would be fun, is to arrange people she knows to send her birthday cards, 50 in total. My BF''s mom turned 60 this year and she was quite surprised when her mailbox was overflowing with sixty birthday cards. I thought it was a neat idea.

 

[Octavia]

Margot, that is a great idea! I''ll definitely see if I can coordinate something like that

I think I''ll also want to get her something with a sapphire in it, but the card thing would probably be just as meaningful, if not more so!

 

[Stone Hunter]

I like the necklace idea. The stone you linked to would probably be darker in person, at least that''s the way it has worked with other vendors.

If I were turning 50, and my kids wanted to buy me something...I like the necklace idea alot and I would want to have their birthstones in it. Is Sapphire your Mom''s favorite or a family birthstone? If not another blue stone in a good color may be easier to find.

Fun project!

 

[Octavia]

Date: 5/5/2009 2:58:48 PM
Author: Stone Hunter


I like the necklace idea. The stone you linked to would probably be darker in person, at least that's the way it has worked with other vendors.


If I were turning 50, and my kids wanted to buy me something...I like the necklace idea alot and I would want to have their birthstones in it. Is Sapphire your Mom's favorite or a family birthstone? If not another blue stone in a good color may be easier to find.


Fun project!

Hmm, interesting thought to have our birthstones instead of my mom's...I'm March and my brother is November, so I'm not sure how good they'd look together. It's certainly something to contemplate, though -- I might be able to make it work! Thanks for the input! I'm not opposed to using a different stone either, if I could find something really spectacular, I just automatically thought of sapphire because she wears sapphires a lot and all of hers are dark and inky.

 

[Kismet]

How about a pear dangling under a teeny RB diamond? Although that one may take up too much of your budget to allow setting.

 

[T L]

Does she like colored gems?

Get this stone from vallejo916

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pink-tourmaline-7-3mm-1-46ct-fancy-cut-clean-USA-cut_W0QQitemZ280341549807QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4145a892ef&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

It's a pretty soft baby pink, but it appears to be cut really well and have great sparkle.

Then put it in this setting by LOGR.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cushion-7mm-Diamond-14k-Gold-Semi-Mount-Ring_W0QQitemZ370194163372QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGemstone_Rings?hash=item56314aa6ac&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1326%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1309%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A200

Depending on if you win the auction, you should have a decent ring at a price way below budget, and have maybe room to buy some earring studs.

I would do yellow gold for the setting, unless she's a white gold kind of gal. the soft pink tourmaline would look great in yellow gold I think. His rose gold is probably too coppery for it.

It will be ten times nicer than anything at JCPenney's or Zales.

Personally, I don't care much for blue sapphires unless they're top of the line. The ones in your pricerange will either be diffused, or black. A color changer that is mostly purple might be an option, but finding a good one in your pricerange would be difficult. It certainly wouldn't leave much room for a setting.

 

[icekid]

Octavia- You are really sweet to do this for your mom''s birthday! Of course, this is what I did for my mom''s 50th birthday a few short months ago myself

(she also has a sept birthday, though I was not quite as prepared as you are and she did not get her pendant until Christmas)

You definitely won''t be able to get THE best blue, but I really think you can still get a nice sapphire in budget. I would check with some of the custom cutters and see what they have available for rough.

 

[Octavia]

Kismet, I like the pear idea! It would probably flow better than a rectangular stone.


Tourmaline Lover, I don''t think I''d do a ring, my mom only wears her wedding set on her left hand and an heirloom piece on her right hand. I''ve NEVER seen her wear any other rings, and I can''t picture her wearing a halo at all. I do like the stone though, it looks really nice!

icekid, I might have to search back for your threads, I think they could be helpful! I''ve gotten stones from a couple of the custom cutters we see here and I think I''ve gotten spoiled pretty quickly. I didn''t want to start pestering them until I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but maybe I should contact them to see what''s available and let that help guide me. Before that, I ought to talk to the bro and see whether he''s in, though (I can imagine he''ll be thrilled to let me handle it, but he''s unpredictable sometimes).

Thanks everyone, and keep the ideas coming! I''m getting excited

 

[icekid]

Date: 5/5/2009 4:54:37 PM
Author: Octavia
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icekid, I might have to search back for your threads, I think they could be helpful! I've gotten stones from a couple of the custom cutters we see here and I think I've gotten spoiled pretty quickly. I didn't want to start pestering them until I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but maybe I should contact them to see what's available and let that help guide me. Before that, I ought to talk to the bro and see whether he's in, though (I can imagine he'll be thrilled to let me handle it, but he's unpredictable sometimes).


Thanks everyone, and keep the ideas coming! I'm getting excited

I got my mom's sapphire (and mine, for that matter) from Barry at ACS. He is the nicest guy I can imagine and I would recommend him very much. He sorted through some rough and picked out a great stone for my mom! (and super reasonably priced, too)

 

[T L]

Date: 5/5/2009 5:07:27 PM
Author: icekid


I got my mom''s sapphire (and mine, for that matter) from Barry at ACS. He is the nicest guy I can imagine and I would recommend him very much. He sorted through some rough and picked out a great stone for my mom! (and super reasonably priced, too)

I 100% agree with that!

 

[chrono]

Date: 5/5/2009 5:34:38 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 5/5/2009 5:07:27 PM
Author: icekid


I got my mom''s sapphire (and mine, for that matter) from Barry at ACS. He is the nicest guy I can imagine and I would recommend him very much. He sorted through some rough and picked out a great stone for my mom! (and super reasonably priced, too)

I 100% agree with that!

I third that option too! He''s a great guy and will work with you to see if there''s anything suitable for your budget.

 

[WHJI147]

Just a little suggestion, why not step out of the box and take a look at Smoky Quartz. They are very good looking and not many people have them, or if they do I do not see many of them.

Take a look at pendant, earring and ring sets they should not take up to much of your budget. However, make sure they are set in 14K White or yellow gold. Many you will find will be set in 10K.

In my opinion Smoky Quartz looks great in white gold.

 

[WHJI147]

Octavia:

Don''t be fooled, many Mall Jewelers have some very fine Jewelry. You just have to know what you are looking for.

 

[innerkitten]

A bracelet would be nice. A sapphire will take the majority of your budget though. How about a pendant? What''s her birth stone?

 

[innerkitten]

How about an aqaumarine?
http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Aquamarine.html

 

[ma re]

A tanzy? Not the finest quality of course, but they can be pretty decent looking for about 100-150$/ct in small sizes. And since you''re after a pendant, durability wouldn''t be an issue. Iolites can be very pretty sometimes (if they''re not greyish which most are) and quite affordable. If you consider opaque stones, lapis is an obvious choice (might even get her the whole necklace or even a set).

 

[innerkitten]

A set made with lapis could be gorgeous.

 

[WHJI147]

Had you considered a briolette? This cut in offered in many colored stones. (Earrings, Pendants, Ect).

 

[Octavia]

Hi again! Thanks for all your suggestions before, I''m sorry I let this thread die, but I really appreciate all your suggestions. My brother wanted to go in with me, so that helped a lot with budget...and he wanted to do a green stone, so we decided to give this one a try:

 

[Octavia]

1.18 ct tsavorite garnet from Gene at Precision Gem

ETA: sorry for the shiny hands, the camera flash doesn't do me any favors!

 

[D&T]

oooh I love that shape. necklace right? it will look stunning.. what a great gift.

 

[Octavia]

Yep, D&T, we''re probably going to set it with a tiny diamond above. I particularly liked that it''s 5-sided

. Just need to get some daylight pictures tomorrow (it was too late by the time I checked today''s mail) and send them off to my brother, but I think this is a winner.

 

[Kunzite]

Whoa! Love the shape and color

 

[packrat]

Really pretty! Will make a lovely necklace!

 

[Stone Hunter]

Oh I like the shape and the color too! Congrats!

 

[Lovinggems]

A lovely stone, I like the colour.

 

[Octavia]

Thanks, Kunzite, Packrat, Stone Hunter, and Lovinggems! Here are a couple more photos, this time in daylight -- much truer to the color I see IRL. I''m still a little wary of the inclusions, there''s one in particular that I can see clearly when I look closely at the stone but I don''t think my mother will even notice. The color is perfect, though, and I love the cut -- and I know we couldn''t afford a stone this pretty if it wasn''t a bit lower in clarity. I''ll make sure to post back when I have the finished product

 

[Octavia]

Bit of fire

 

[marcy]

What a lovely stone. She will love it.