A GREAT afternoon in San Francisco!!!!!!!

[widget]

This adventure rates a thread of its very own!

What a nice day! Wallermama, Flopkins, Innerkitten , Movie Zombie and I met at Absinthe Brasserie and enjoyed a wonderful two hour lunch. (Time just flies when PSers get together...if we hadn''t had to leave to meet Waller''s vendor [whose name right now escapes me] we might still be there

)

Of course we talked mostlly about jewelry, gemstones, and Pricescope. and passed around our goodies. I fell in love (again) with Waller''s antique antique crescent moon diamond ring, was reminded by Flopkins'' sparkler that pear sides in a simple mounting is my all-time-favorite configuration for an RB, and of course marveled at the workmanship and beauty of Innerkitten''s antique deco Ering.

But if I had to pick a "Best of Show", I''d have to vote for MZ''z spessertite. Diamond guys talk about light return....that sucker not only returned light, but appeared to generate its own. I''ve NEVER seen a gemstone so blinding...truly.

Finally we left and took a brisk uphill walk to the gemstone guy''s flat (with poor ol'' widget bringing up the rear, huffing and puffing all the way)....and then TWO MORE HOURS huddling around a small table playing with a vast array of colored gemstones: Mostly spinel, but zircon, tourmaline, moonstone, peridot, hessonite as well. A veritable feast of colored stone yummies.

Although everyone tried valiantly convince everyone else to buy something, we all successfully resisted except for Flopkins. I''ll let her share about that.

I already knew that Waller is a great gal....I''m SO GLAD I got to meet MZ, Flopkins, and Innerkitten...such neat women!!!!

Thanks everybody...I had a blast. (And thanks to Waller''s wonderful (and patient) gem connection...he''ll be hearing my thanks personally very soon.

I dutifully took my camera, but only took ONE picture all day long. Here it is:

widget

 

[Linda W]

Widget,

It sounds like you ladies had a wonderful time. I so wish I could have been there too. I hope I will be able to make the next meeting. Any idea when that one will be?

Linda

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

It was so much fun to meet with you fine ladies!

I''m still blind in both eyes from eyeing Movie Zombie''s spess in person. Since this whole afternoon started off as an attempt to start to educate myself on colored gems, it was a treasure to hear four brains like you guys bantering around with gem vocabulary words I''ve never heard. Truly, that spess is a sight to behold. In a gorgeous 22kt throne. Sigh.

Innerkitten, Flopkins, Widget, and MZ...thank you. Next time we''ll actually make it to ALL of the places on our list!

And I love that pic...it shows the true crows that we were...pecking at the sparkly seeds on the ground...

 

[movie zombie]

we were joking that we were hovering over that table like a bunch of druggies! and we were: color gem druggies! we didn''t even skip a beat when widget asked about taking a picture.....we just kept looking at those little packets trying to find the best.

it really was a lot of fun! i loved seeing everyone''s pieces.....and i''m glad i had my loupe to get a closer look.

thank you, wallermama, for organizing the event and making it all happen. and thank you to everyone who was able to be there. it really was good to meet you all in the flesh.

i 2nd keeping that list and organizing for another color fix event.

i had a great afternoon and hope to see you all again soon!

movie zombie

ps and thank you all for the compliments this afternoon re my spess!

 

[innerkitten]

It was wonderful meeting you all and I had a blast too! We have to do it again some time and check out the jewelry stores.
I love the photo you took, can''t wait to see what Flopkins got

 

[Art Nouveau]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you all had a great time. Wish I was there. Movie Zombie''s spess ring sounds wonderful. I hope to see it in person one day. Any comments on the quality and prices of this dealer''s stones?

AN

 

[Kismet]

Sounds like a fun time but only one pic? *whine* How were the gems you saw? Better than what they have online?

 

[movie zombie]

re the vendor and this is my opinion only: stones better than on line and lots of them. however, he wholesales to others [wholesalers and jewelers] and i saw a pretty pair of emerald cut pink spinel walk out with a santa cruz wholesaler that was in no way matched by what we saw. i think he''s at the end of his trip and the really good stones are already sold. most stones had too much extinction for my taste and it would bug me. there were three stones that i thought had what spinel should have that didn''t display the dreaded ''extinction'' and their price reflected that....in one case, $1800k: it had that stop sign red thing going on that is so desired in red spinel but even this stone had some black extinction. another stone i liked had inclusions but no extinction....the inclusions would not have bothered me but did bother others viewing it.

in short, he is not even close to being a high end vendor....which is not a sin. he was very gracious and knowledgeable. he knows he''s not selling the best stones and in the case of the red spinel i noted above, commented that if it had more of that red going on, it would be much higher per carat price....and he''s right. they specialize in spinel and he knows what good spinel is all about.....he''s just not selliing to that market.

again, you get what you pay for.....you don''t get a D diamond for M prices. same with color stones. having said all this, i''ve got his card because he will also be a great source for keeping his eyes and ears open for something when and if i decide i''m in the market for spinel. he travels a lot but keeps up with his e-mail. he''s a really nice guy and not out to sell you something you don''t want which is refreshing, to say the least.

movie zombie

 

[Dee*Jay]

LOVE that picture! Druggies indeed--jewels are an addiction too!

Sounds like you gals had a great time.

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

I should add that what we saw was more like 10x what you see in that photo. First he brought out a pile of fancy colored spinel singles. Then came the fancy pairs. Then the red singles. Then the red pairs. Then the small red singles. Then the topaz. Then the zircon. And raspberry garnets. And spess. Etc etc etc.

Such fun!

 

[flopkins]

HI gals!

It was wonderful to meet you all, it was such a pleasure to meet some fellow 'addicts'... we were walking to meet our 'dealer' in a semi-shady part of town, in a tiny apartment, with the goods all spread out on a little makeshift table... definitely the twilight zone, but in a good way!

I have to agree w/the others, MZ's spess was the most amazing piece - it was glowing from across the room. But I also really admired innerkitten's ering, wallermammas ering and antique ring, and widget's emerald and ruby rings - yum!

The gemcal guy was very nice - not pushy at all, and knew his stuff as far as I (a novice) could tell. But I also have to agree w/MZ on the quality of stones - most were mediocre cut but there were a few pieces that really stood out - a beautiful pair of red spinel cushions, and an emerald cut pink spinel that was a perfect shade...

both were out of my price range. (heck, who am I kidding, I wasn't even looking to buy anything in the first place!) and, the prices seemed reasonable.

Widget you called me out, sigh, I got a small 1ct purple spinel in a EC, I think I fell in love w/the emerald cut more than anything else. One of my closest friends is a purple fanatic, I might set it as a pendant for a birthday or something... not a fantastic stone to write home about, but a very reasonable price and has some nice flashes.

If anything it was a great educational experience to see so many stones in so many shades. Unfortunately it has reinforced the conclusion that my taste is quite selective (read- expensive)!

 

[smitcompton]

Dear All,
It sounds like you all had a great time. I''m glad there was no robbery at the gem dealers. I have a friend who is always worried that I''m going to have a burglary at my house. She always makes me go to the bank and put them away. People can scare you, so now I can''t play gems and jewelry any more. Back to the bank.
It did remind me of a shady operation. Card table, gems out, loupes out and quick make a decision before the cops get there. I know, I just have a vivid imagination. It might be my silly week. Last week was my Ghandi week.
Well, MZ, I''m not alone in admiring your ring. I have looked a widgets pictures and I think her jewelry is beautiful too. I love colored stones but don''t remember diamonds at all..
Yes MZ, I think we have a similar interest in the immigration question facing the country. I see you are interested in politics
as much as I am. Political Science was my major in college(wanted to be a lawyer). I moved to Chicago where i received a political education like no other. I went to the 1980 democratic covention with the biggies from my state. My best friend
ran for political office where i had so much fun and laugh even now. She died, but has a beach named after her, and I moved to the suburbs and got sick. I was something outhere( democratic committeeman) for a short while until I got sicker and moved to England for a while. That''s enough. Sorry ladies, I was trying to answer MZ from another thread.
I enjoy what you have to say. Thanks
Annette

 

[movie zombie]

i would like to add that seeing everyone''s rings.....color or not....gave me an appreciation for one thing or another: wallermama and innerkitten for antique rings/cuts, flopkins for pears and dainty diamond bands, and widget''s emerald and the ring she wore that was her mother''s. again, thank you ladies for a wonderful afternoon!

movie zombie

 

[Art Nouveau]

Movie Zombie,

Thanks for your assessment of the vendor''s goods. In the future, perhaps it can be arranged to see him before he sees the dealers. Did he have any super quality over 2 carats red spinels that look like rubies and how much per carat are those going for? I bought one years ago for ~$300 per carat.

AN

 

[bookworm21]

Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun! Wallermama, where is your vendor located? I would love to go take a look at the colored stones that he has.