Black centre stone engagment ring

[katebar]

My sister has recently become engaged and wants an elegant and somewhat different ring this time around.
Orginally she thought of a black diamond (more bang for your bucks) but it seems that the Carrie sex and the city ring is a Hollywood creation and hard to acquire and even harder to wear on a daily basis.
She wanst a diamond sparkle but with a very dark dark stone and she will use diamond pave.
Any suggestions for sourcig the stone or what type of stone would fit the bill?

 

[T L]

My sister has recently become engaged and wants an elegant and somewhat different ring this time around.
Orginally she thought of a black diamond (more bang for your bucks) but it seems that the Carrie sex and the city ring is a Hollywood creation and hard to acquire and even harder to wear on a daily basis.
She wanst a diamond sparkle but with a very dark dark stone and she will use diamond pave.
Any suggestions for sourcig the stone or what type of stone would fit the bill?

Black spinel, and super cheap. JTV.com has tons of them in every shape and size. The nice thing about black spinel over black diamond is that it's untreated, whereas black diamond is almost always irradiated.

 

[jstarfireb]

She wanst a diamond sparkle but with a very dark dark stone...

A black stone will not show diamond-like sparkle, even if it's a black diamond. The blackness will absorb all the light instead of returning it to the eye like a white diamond. If she wants a liiiiiiittle bit of sparkle on a very dark background, I'd go with a dark blue spinel or sapphire, or possibly a dark rhodolite garnet.

 

[sphenequeen]

I will say that the cool thing about black diamond is that it has a luster unlike any other gemstone.

Have your sister check out designer Anne Sportun - sheis a Canadian designer who does some really amazing work with black diamonds in both un-rhodium plated white gold and in yellow gold. The designs are a bit more on the "organic" side, which I really like, and if your sister is willing to try out a black diamond, it sounds like her tastes could be a bit more esoteric.

www.annesportun.com

 

[velouriaL]

A dark spinel in any color might do the trick. I have cheap cheap red one that's as dark as can be but lights up with crimson sparkle glowiness when the sun hits it...

There's also gray spinel, which will conduct light better because it's lighter but still be in the "black family." I could imagine a cool version of ring you posted with a gray spinel and black and white diamond pave!

A a black or gray star sapphire or spinel would be great. Thegemtrader.com had two nice one in their latest drop but I think they're both reserved. Still, your sister could email and let him know she's looking...

Another dark stone that's pretty cool and probably hard enough for everyday wear that's quite interesting is andalusite. It's basically brown but gives flashes of green, red, and orange, all mixed together, kinda like a less dramatic oil slick.

Though I will say that if she's looking for unique, there are a lot of other-- and I think, more attractive-- ways she can go other than a black stone. I know two people who started out saying that they wanted a black stone just because it was the most unusual thing they could think of, not really knowing anything about colored gems. Has she thought about a star sapphire or ruby? An Alexandrite or a color change sapphire? A catseye and/or neon green chrysoberyl? A bicolored sapphire? There are a lot of weird and beautiful things out there!

But, if she's set on black, the two options that seem the most engagement-qualty to me are precision cut platinum/gray spinel or black star sapphire.

 

[Indylady]

Though I will say that if she's looking for unique, there are a lot of other-- and I think, more attractive-- ways she can go other than a black stone. I know two people who started out saying that they wanted a black stone just because it was the most unusual thing they could think of, not really knowing anything about colored gems. Has she thought about a star sapphire or ruby? An Alexandrite or a color change sapphire? A catseye and/or neon green chrysoberyl? A bicolored sapphire? There are a lot of weird and beautiful things out there!

Just what I was thinking too.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I like the black contrasting with the sparkly whiteness of the diamonds as well. Would your sister be open to a cab? While a facetted black stone won't sparkle, a black cab still has the wonderful liquid movement of light over its surface. Add a nice, shar eye or star and it would be even more striking.

The stone would also be able to sit lower without setting problems or looking smaller, which is good for a ring that is worn everyday.

 

[katebar]

Thanks TL the spinel are super cheap and we have just discovered that black diamonds are treated.
jstarb have no idea about colur and light reflection so this is v helpful. The ring looks so shiny and sparkly on the Pat Field web site so must be creative lighting!
Sphenequeen lovely site and very interesting settings.
velourial thank you so much such a wealth of info in your reply and thanks to you to Indylady.
Lady disdain not sure if a cab is an option. Her BF just got a new 4 ct cushion with 2 ct trillion either side and boy that thing sparkles!
A cab might be the way to go!

 

[jstarfireb]

When you say shiny/sparkly, I think you're talking about luster, the somewhat metallic reflection coming from the surface of the stone. Spinels also have great luster, though. You will still notice luster in a black stone, just not any degree of brilliance/fire/scintillation. Does that make sense?

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

If your sister is still looking into black diamond, I see a pretty ring on
kyleannemetals etsy shop right now.
It is just a simple rose cut black diamond in a bezel setting
but it is attractive (to me, anyway)
Why not give it a look-see ?
(I like how she photographed it with a few stacking rings,
I think its really pretty that way)

edited to add: geez, and look at that pear!

 

[Pandora II]

I designed a setting for one of my diamond dealers' wives. She had a 2ct black diamond and personally I thought it was a pretty ugly thing and this was a good stones as black diamonds go.

First of all they are opaque and any inclusions (they're really just one big inclusion) look like white specks of dust. The lustre is metallic and they don't show fire in the way that a white or other coloured diamond will.

If she wants black then I would go for a very dark sapphire over a spinel as sapphire is the harder of the two.

Otherwise, what about a really nice chocolate coloured diamond - I've seen some amazingly beautiful ones and they're not easy to find in great saturation or colour.

Or, if she wants rare then something like taafeite?

 

[Gempassion]

I agree with Pandora. Here's a dark metallic blue spinel as an example:

http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/10064

 

[katebar]

Yes thanks. I think the lustre is what she is looking for.
Thanks oooshiney. I love this persons stuff. Just gorgeous. My sister is looking for quite a dramatic and a bit OTT ring and I think she really wants the pave.
As usual Pandora very helpful;. She had no idea about black diamonds but just Carries ring so she thought it would be an easy brief to fill. How wrong she was.I am sending her the link for this topic and she can start to investigate alternatives. It seems spinels are cheap but a sapphire would be loads more but harder for every day wear?
Thanks Gem passion its an interesting stone and very unusual.

 

[movie zombie]

i'd go the black star sapphire cab......the best and biggest i could afford.

MoZo

 

[jstarfireb]

If your sister is still looking into black diamond, I see a pretty ring on
kyleannemetals etsy shop right now.
It is just a simple rose cut black diamond in a bezel setting
but it is attractive (to me, anyway)
Why not give it a look-see ?
(I like how she photographed it with a few stacking rings,
I think its really pretty that way)

edited to add: geez, and look at that pear!

I want to vouch for Kyle Anne Metals as I have 5 rings from her, and they're all very nicely bezeled.

I'll add the link to make it easier to see here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61766381/rose-cut-black-diamond-bloom-one-of-a

I actually saw some black diamond beaded necklaces today and have to say the luster was really intriguing. I still think black diamonds are kind of a fad and don't really have the best characteristics of a diamond, but seeing them in person gave me a better appreciation of why some people like them.

 

[quaxie]

Sapphires are a bit harder than spinels, but not "loads." Both are suitable for everyday wear, although after years and years, even diamonds can show a little wear and tear.

I'm with MZ... the choice with the most transcendent value and beauty is a black star sapphire. If she wants to go in this direction, would start by checking out Simply Sapphires, the Natural Sapphire Company, and emailing Wildfish Gems and The Gem Trader.

I do think that complementing a black star with white and black pave could look nice.

 

[quaxie]

Look at these:
http://www.simplysapphires.com/html/imagesstars2006/blackstars1-sm.html

Only $30 each! You could ask them to help you pick out a really nice one.

 

[LD]

I was never a fan of black diamonds (seemed like a very poor relation to other diamonds!!) until I found a 4ct pear with the coolest fluor in the world! I had it set and now when I wear black, I wear this a lot and it gets tons of compliments. I never thought I would wear a black diamond but I do!

In terms of lustre, yes it does have some but it's nowhere near a white diamond. The white diamonds make it look much better though and if you do go with a black diamond I would definitely say to have a white diamond halo or accented in some way.

 

[Harriet]

i'd go the black star sapphire cab......the best and biggest i could afford.

MoZo

So would I. Black diamonds and spinels look liveless to me.

 

[velouriaL]

LD - cool! Do you have any shots of the flour? And how did you source it?

 

[LD]

Velourial as requested, a fluor shot! A friend of mine (gem dealer) found this for me about 6 years ago and I had it set about 2 years ago (in a LOGR setting).

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

Oooooo Cool!

 

[jstarfireb]

It looks like a lapis in that fluor pic. Amazing!

 

[velouriaL]

Oh wow! That's awesome! Do you ever catch bits of it in ordinary light?

 

[acebruin]

i can say that natural black diamonds are out there, however they are pretty rare compared to the radiated ones, natural black diamonds have gia color origin report

if she likes it, i don't see why she can't have a black diamond ring