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A Cherished Project: a Mandarin Duck Ring

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Been too busy to spend much time on PS lately, but I am totally looking forward to this project and thought it too good not to share. Since I got a rare Loliondo emerald cut garnet (clean without sugary inclusions!) from Mike at Gran Gem, I have been thinking to set it with emeralds. At some point, I wanted top grade emeralds that were duck neck green, and the idea of a Mandarin (garnet) duck (emerald) project just became fixed in my head. You see, in East Asian cultures, Mandarin ducks are a symbol of love and marital bliss, and I coveted the idea as an expression of my love for my dear fiance and wanted to express my hope for our future together. I wanted to get colors that are reminiscent of the colorings on the actual duck species. Luckily for me, they are very colorful.

Without further ado, the stones, who are going to be the stars of this show.
IMG_20190712_141428216.jpg IMG_20190712_141559150.jpg
The spess aka Mandarin garnet.
IMG-20211020-WA0002.jpg
With a pair of wonderful emeralds from Afghanistan sourced by Inken (Enhoerning Jewelry), and a pair of benitoites sourced by Yvonne (Cecile Raley Designs). All of these gems are rare to me, the Mandarin garnet for the clean crystal and the rare cut, and the side stones for the rarity and very fine color. The benitoites are for the blue in the Mandarin duck and a nod to the fact that I'm a California girl at heart.
PXL_20211020_153628088.jpg
Here's my original sketch before we had the actual sidestones. I wanted cutouts of fish both because it's in the duck theme, but also because my fiance is Pisces.

At this stage, I have decided to add four diamonds and make this a nine-stone.

Here's the CAD rendering that I've approved for casting, in 18k rose gold. IMG-20211027-WA0000.jpg

Center three gems are bezel for a cleaner look. The sidestones on the shank will be set bright cut pave, similar to how it was done on my crown ring.

I have the option of going for hand engraving with some kind of water motif. That would be really sweet if it doesn't look overdone and overelaborate.
 

Mreader

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
6,068
Also - fiancé? Have I missed an e-ring somewhere ;-) I’ve seen so many of your gemstone rings but don’t recall an e-ring.
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Also - fiancé? Have I missed an e-ring somewhere ;-) I’ve seen so many of your gemstone rings but don’t recall an e-ring.

Yes, I've been engaged for a while now. Initially planned for a wedding in 2020, but COVID threw a wrench in those plans. Now I'll have a wedding in December 2021.

I'm sure I've shown my e-ring in the eye candy threads both here and in the Show Me the Bling forums. Here it is on my ring finger. Unheated Tanzanian ruby in a diamond halo.
PXL_20210825_220039252.jpg

It's not as fancy as a lot of my other rings, but it's the one ring that really sparked my love for colored gems and jewelry. So you have her to thank for all these subsequent projects!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Beautiful!!! I love those emeralds especially!


I love the emeralds, too! I haven't verified with Inken, but I suspect that these are for my project.
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,159

I love the emeralds, too! I haven't verified with Inken, but I suspect that these are for my project.
Those aren’t octagons like the ones above though.
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Those aren’t octagons like the ones above though.

Good catch! You're right, my emeralds are Asscher cut. In my defense, it was 5am my time when I was making the post :p.
 
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Sprinkles&Stones

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 19, 2020
Messages
1,992
This is going to be amazing!
 

blingmeupscotty

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 12, 2016
Messages
960
Beautiful.. congratulations!
 

Venti25

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
256
Lovely! I'm so glad I'll get to see more of that spess. I was watching it from afar hoping someone here would get it! This looks like an awesome project.
 

Cinders

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 30, 2021
Messages
444
Oh @voce , this is so neat!! I've been wondering what your next fabulous project would be. You always do the most intriguing things---I love to see how much thought you put into each piece! (My whole process is just, "hmm, do I like these colors & this size?")
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Oh @voce , this is so neat!! I've been wondering what your next fabulous project would be. You always do the most intriguing things---I love to see how much thought you put into each piece! (My whole process is just, "hmm, do I like these colors & this size?")

When I buy gems, I just think, do I like the color and is the cut tolerable? I have a vague idea of what I could do with the stone. I don't even consider the size unless it's melee and I'm trying to find what would work with an existing setting. A lot of the stones that I buy go into already designed settings. Some stones just whisper to me demanding a more special home. This was one of them.
 

2Neezers

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,874
Gorgeous!!:love:
I love the stones, the setting and the beautiful meaning behind the piece.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
 

Burmesedaze

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
4,000
You are so imaginative! Took me a few tries to spot the fish cut-out, love them!

The stones are awesome and that's a different style of ring from the rest you have
 

JackTrick

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 23, 2019
Messages
592
You do the COOLEST projects. So excited to see the final result!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161

Gorgeous!!:love:
I love the stones, the setting and the beautiful meaning behind the piece.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
Thank you @2Neezers! I'm very much looking forward to the wedding. The only things left to arrange are the photographer, seating, and the honeymoon.

You are so imaginative! Took me a few tries to spot the fish cut-out, love them!

The stones are awesome and that's a different style of ring from the rest you have
Yes, the fish cutouts may be more apparent in the video, which I linked in this post.

You do the COOLEST projects. So excited to see the final result!
No, YOU do the coolest projects. But I'll be excited to see the result, too.
 

peacechick

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
1,709
Looking forward to this project! Love the sentiment and the symbolism of Mandarin ducks. I have a pair of rose quartz ducks that a friend gave me as a wedding gift and even though we’ve moved five times, I still have them on my bedside table.
 

CSpan

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 7, 2016
Messages
1,293
Those colors are breathtaking. What a fabulous project. And I love the benitoites!
 

leslie1956

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2017
Messages
974
Been too busy to spend much time on PS lately, but I am totally looking forward to this project and thought it too good not to share. Since I got a rare Loliondo emerald cut garnet (clean without sugary inclusions!) from Mike at Gran Gem, I have been thinking to set it with emeralds. At some point, I wanted top grade emeralds that were duck neck green, and the idea of a Mandarin (garnet) duck (emerald) project just became fixed in my head. You see, in East Asian cultures, Mandarin ducks are a symbol of love and marital bliss, and I coveted the idea as an expression of my love for my dear fiance and wanted to express my hope for our future together. I wanted to get colors that are reminiscent of the colorings on the actual duck species. Luckily for me, they are very colorful.

Without further ado, the stones, who are going to be the stars of this show.
IMG_20190712_141428216.jpg IMG_20190712_141559150.jpg
The spess aka Mandarin garnet.
IMG-20211020-WA0002.jpg
With a pair of wonderful emeralds from Afghanistan sourced by Inken (Enhoerning Jewelry), and a pair of benitoites sourced by Yvonne (Cecile Raley Designs). All of these gems are rare to me, the Mandarin garnet for the clean crystal and the rare cut, and the side stones for the rarity and very fine color. The benitoites are for the blue in the Mandarin duck and a nod to the fact that I'm a California girl at heart.
PXL_20211020_153628088.jpg
Here's my original sketch before we had the actual sidestones. I wanted cutouts of fish both because it's in the duck theme, but also because my fiance is Pisces.

At this stage, I have decided to add four diamonds and make this a nine-stone.

Here's the CAD rendering that I've approved for casting, in 18k rose gold. IMG-20211027-WA0000.jpg

Center three gems are bezel for a cleaner look. The sidestones on the shank will be set bright cut pave, similar to how it was done on my crown ring.

I have the option of going for hand engraving with some kind of water motif. That would be really sweet if it doesn't look overdone and overelaborate.

Beautiful stones and design, voce! Is Inken making the ring for you?
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Beautiful stones and design, voce! Is Inken making the ring for you?

Yes, it's Inken who is producing the ring. She loves getting all the details right, asking the right questions, and I've loved every custom project I've done with her.
 

LilAlex

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Messages
3,589
At some point, I wanted top grade emeralds that were duck neck green, and the idea of a Mandarin (garnet) duck (emerald) project just became fixed in my head. You see, in East Asian cultures, Mandarin ducks are a symbol of love and marital bliss

Great project and beautiful design!

Those are startlingly close to Oregon Duck colors -- so there's that, too, for your good-luck metaphor!

But mostly congratulations -- very happy for you! My folks always warned "Never go to bed angry at each other!" But we are much closer to Barenaked Ladies' One Week. I still smile in recognition whenever I hear that song...
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Screenshot_20211108-135816.png Screenshot_20211108-131423.png
Squee! I am really happy with how this ring turned out, and I think I am going to add in hand engraving!
 

Starstruck8

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2021
Messages
586
Beautiful! You have such an eye for design. The colours work together so well. The emeralds are amazing - good colour and clean. This ring is definitely going in my inspiration folder.

Do you have more photos? Perhaps showing the shoulders?
 

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,756
:shock:Another color magic ring from the master! Engraving would be the bomb on that lovely. :love:
Can't wait to see hand shots!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
@Starstruck8 I'll try to get more screenshots from the video when I can find more time.

@ItsMainelyYou hand engraving is going to add another month to the finish line! So hand shots won't be forthcoming anytime soon.
 

Mreader

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
6,068
I love it!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,756
@Starstruck8 I'll try to get more screenshots from the video when I can find more time.

@ItsMainelyYou hand engraving is going to add another month to the finish line! So hand shots won't be forthcoming anytime soon.

And now my watch begins...it will not end until your handshots and I forget the rest. :lol: You get the gist.
 
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