black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diamonds

[the_universe]

some pictures under intense sun



Stone before it was set: outdoor under overcast clouds


stone before it was set: under intense sunlight


indoor camera phone video
**edited by moderator, no personal videos for everyone's security**

black opals are notoriously hard to take videos and pictures of without the perfect setup (which I obviously dont have ). Opals diffuse light and most gemstones refract light so it just confuses the hell out of most camera phones.

The colors are a lot more saturated in real life and the body tone of the stone is actually very dark grey ("black"). You can get a better idea of the colors when I pull the ring away from the lens toward the middle/end of the video but then the ring is a bit out of focus. You'll notice when the ring is far from the camera lens that the body tone of the opal appears a lot darker and colors in the opal look a lot more saturated. Also the yellow diamonds look a lot more saturated in color as well. I spent so much time with the lens up close so you can see the play of color (notice how the colors constantly move and swirl).

is there any way to embed a youtube video? I couldnt figure it out so I linked it instead. sorry

 

[thecat]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

It's amazing! How did you come up with the idea of opal with yellow diamonds? This is so unique and gorgeous!

 

[Siameseroo]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Your ring is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

 

[arkieb1]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

I love this ring, congrats, nice opal too!!!

 

[missy]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Beautiful ring and lovely opal.

 

[the_universe]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

It's amazing! How did you come up with the idea of opal with yellow diamonds? This is so unique and gorgeous!

Thanks!

The idea for the yellow diamonds and opal as follows:

1) The black opal with no white gold, no white diamonds (only color stones), and a halo was dictated to me by my girl... in so many words.

2) Opals look better on yellow gold imo. Its a warm metal for a warm stone.

3) Yellow diamonds match yellow gold (similar to how white gold matches white diamonds). Also after some trial and error I concluded that off color halo stones (from the metal) are too distracting and take my attention away from the center stone.

4) Red and yellow are complimentary colors. Also there are flecks of yellow color play in my opal so I knew worst case scenario it would match anyways.

5) Some my fav rappers talk about "Lemonade" in their music (which is slang for yellow gold on yellow diamonds) so its gotta look tight right? Seriously though, I respect a confident artist's eye for beauty and style. Also, really liked Heidi Klum's yellow gold yellow diamond ring. So this was the social validation I needed to pull the trigger.

This series of eureka moments came about over the course of a few months. I had some doubts as this combo with opal wasnt something I saw online. But then again I thought most of the opal rings online were tacky anyways (not trying to offend anyone this is just my opinion).

 

[Lovinggems]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Gorgeous.

 

[nycspring]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Beautiful ring, that opal is amazing!

 

[kenny]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

I LOVE that opal!

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Beautiful. Looks regal and plush! Can you show us some handshots when its not in direct light? Would love to see what the opal looks like most of the time...

 

[telephone89]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

I wish the videos wouldn't keep getting edited out. I want to see it

But it is stunning! I hope to see more photos since the video will not stay up.

 

[telephone89]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Very nice!

 

[athenaworth]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

I knew this was going to be stunning but never ever did I imagine it would be THIS stunning!! Good job!

 

[motownmama]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

MORE PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Beautiful. Looks regal and plush! Can you show us some handshots when its not in direct light? Would love to see what the opal looks like most of the time...

Opals are quite a bit different than other stones in a few ways. The stone looks dramatically different in slightly different kinds of light. So for example:

the loose stone pics were both taken on the same day. In the one with the sun shining on it you can see a "glow effect" on the colors that are showing and also you see what looks more of the raw body tone of the stone. Then you can look at the one labeled "overcast" and that was simply a cloud passing over the me at the time. You can see more colors (less of the body tone patches), however the colors are more stagnant (not as much color play). Something as simple as a cloud passing over you really changes the way opals look.

Then the same principle is with indoor lighting or off lighting or indirect indoor lighting. The opal looks different from room to room and from time of the day and time of the year. (the stone looks different on a sunny winter day than it does on a sunny summer day). Then the stone also looks different on what latitude you are located at.

Opals typically look best in really bright sunny out door locations or indoor locations with tall ceilings and recessed lighting. However, I personally like the way they look on overcast days as well because all the colors are showing at once (however there would typically be less color play).

If I get around to taking more pics ill post them up.

Also another thing to note is that Opals are very much a subjective item. It can have the highest ratings in both body tone and brightness but if you dont like it you arent going to buy it. Likewise if you see an opal with slightly lower quality body tone and brightness but the colors are in line with what you want and color play is on point then you will likely buy that one.

With diamonds there is color clarity and cut which makes the selection process more mathmatical. Whereas, with opals, the grading system is only a guide to help, as there is always a huge emotional element that cant really be defined with numbers. No 2 opals are the same. Its for this reason that sometiems you can snag a great quality opal at a great price if the vendor is just going by the opal grading system. There are some opals that are so impressive with their color play that it trumps any lack of brightness or body tone it may have.

**edited by moderator, please respect our policies**
and go to the 1st hit.

Here are its flaws:
1) it has a huge sand spot on the center of the color face. This would normally drastically lower the opals value
2) Its not a Harlequin color pattern (the highest "graded" pattern)
3) it has a body tone of 3 which is very good but its not "the best."
4) the seller says its a brightness of 5. However, it looks to me more like a brightness of 4 (the clue is that his thumbs are more purple which means that hes not shining the brightest light on it and/or there is a filter over the lens to make the colors pop more). Stones with lighter body tones ("lower quality") are typically shown this way to make them look better.

Never the less, given all these imperfections and set backs from it being a "top gem" via the "opal grading system," this stone is priced way higher than most "better quality top gems" (n1 b5 harlequin pattern) similar in size;. The reason is that the play of color and pattern is so unique and so beautiful that its undeniable beauty; this stone has that "it" factor which cant really be graded with a standard system and is thus subjective.

You know the_universe, I think you'll find that most of us (especially over in CS) are quite knowledgable about gemstones including opals. I was asking for photos in other lighting situations precisely because I know the appearance of opals, like all gemstones, vary predicated on light and latitude. So please post more photos!

 

[the_universe]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

did you see the youtube video of it yet?

 

[Ella]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

did you see the youtube video of it yet?

Please respect our policies regarding videos and personally identifying information. It's for everyone's protection.

 

[the_universe]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

did you see the youtube video of it yet?

Please respect our policies regarding videos and personally identifying information. It's for everyone's protection.

protection from what? I dont understand. A video is a picture that moves. We are allowed to post pics. If a video is posted and there is anything scammy about it, then everyone here will call that person out on it. So it would protect us more if everything was on the table for discussion no? Also forums are supposed to be about free and open communication.

 

[the_universe]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

nm... lol

 

[Tekate]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

OH God that is gorgeous!!! hand pix, more pix!!

 

[momhappy]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

It's an interesting combination - enjoy your new ring

 

[Ella]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

did you see the youtube video of it yet?

Please respect our policies regarding videos and personally identifying information. It's for everyone's protection.

protection from what? I dont understand. A video is a picture that moves. We are allowed to post pics. If a video is posted and there is anything scammy about it, then everyone here will call that person out on it. So it would protect us more if everything was on the table for discussion no? Also forums are supposed to be about free and open communication.

People's youtubes/video accounts are often linked to personal names, locations, etc. And expensive jewelry. There's a very clear security risk to allowing users to post personal links on PS, whether videos, facebook pages, etc.

We have few policies here, but we do need you to follow them in order to post here.

 

[Acinom]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Amazing ring!! It's so fabulous and unique, yet classic and wearable at the same time. You both have a great taste for jewelry.

 

[the_universe]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

did you see the youtube video of it yet?

Please respect our policies regarding videos and personally identifying information. It's for everyone's protection.

protection from what? I dont understand. A video is a picture that moves. We are allowed to post pics. If a video is posted and there is anything scammy about it, then everyone here will call that person out on it. So it would protect us more if everything was on the table for discussion no? Also forums are supposed to be about free and open communication.

People's youtubes/video accounts are often linked to personal names, locations, etc. And expensive jewelry. There's a very clear security risk to allowing users to post personal links on PS, whether videos, facebook pages, etc.

We have few policies here, but we do need you to follow them in order to post here.

thats kind of weird logic. Its assuming we are dumb **edited by moderator, profanity not welcome on PS** who dont have common sense. Its really not that hard to make a new email account without any personal data in order to post a vid. it took me less than 3 minutes give or take.

its undeniable that videos would make this forum better but "fear-based" logic and "assumptions" are preventing this from happening. but you probably dont make the rules so it is what it is. anyways...


“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

― Benjamin Franklin

 

[dori2002]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

What great colors, Don't see many opals like that. Wear it well.

 

[yssie]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

This is a stunning piece the yellow diamonds in yellow gold showcase the vivid colours in your opal beautifully.

A couple of comments re. some of the points that were brought up in your other thread - opals are softer than many other "traditional" engagement stones, and pave settings are more delicate than other styles, so it's definitely worth talking to your SO and ensuring she understands that this is a delicate piece that she will have to be careful with.

Also, I don't recall if you had to have your yellow melee sourced? In any case it can be non-trivial to find matching melee, and even well-made pave settings will lose stones occasionally - I'd suggest buying a few extra stones from the parcel(s) your jeweller used so you have them on-hand right away should you need replacements down the road. Many PSers do this, especially with melee that's harder to find and/or match.


I gotta ask - are you generally this confrontational or is this part of your online persona? There's nothing to argue about here - you want to play in the PS sandbox, you play by PS rules, whether or not you agree with them... your aggressively argumentative tone is tremendously distasteful.

 

[Laila619]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Gorgeous and unique! It's nice to see something so different!

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

This is a stunning piece the yellow diamonds in yellow gold showcase the vivid colours in your opal beautifully.

A couple of comments re. some of the points that were brought up in your other thread - opals are softer than many other "traditional" engagement stones, and pave settings are more delicate than other styles, so it's definitely worth talking to your SO and ensuring she understands that this is a delicate piece that she will have to be careful with.

Also, I don't recall if you had to have your yellow melee sourced? In any case it can be non-trivial to find matching melee, and even well-made pave settings will lose stones occasionally - I'd suggest buying a few extra stones from the parcel(s) your jeweller used so you have them on-hand right away should you need replacements down the road. Many PSers do this, especially with melee that's harder to find and/or match.


I gotta ask - are you generally this confrontational or is this part of your online persona? There's nothing to argue about here - you want to play in the PS sandbox, you play by PS rules, whether or not you agree with them... your aggressively argumentative tone is tremendously distasteful.

Well said, Yssie.

 

[Ella]

Re: black crystal opal engagement ring w/halo of yellow diam

Trust us, there are many on the forum who have posted license plates, phone numbers, etc. without realizing it. It happens almost daily and these rules help.

Your options are to follow them or find another forum to post on, we do not appreciate your profanity about our policies when we are doing our best to take the time to explain them.