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congrats to me custom ring - stone help pls!

whitehotblank

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
122
I should, sometime in 2012, be finishing a project I will have spent 3+ years working on and have decided to buy myself a Yay Me present in the form of a custom Leon Mege ring with a single stone, a halo, and a micropave shank (I am a pearl girl and may have some terms wrong here).

As of right now, I am searching for the main stone. My two main criteria are: bright and very sparkly/firey. I am considering a diamond with a halo of coloured stones, but I am also considering a coloured stone with a halo of...coloured stones. My dream stone would be a perfect pinky peachy pad with lots of fire (surrounded by a halo of paraiba - I fully intend to go for the colour here!). However, I don't know a lot about coloured stones. Can anyone recommend a type of stone or a specific stone that will be full of sparkle and life? I am open to any colour. Demantoids seem very firey but I'm worried about finding a good one.

Basic specs would be no smaller than 5x5mm and hopefully at least 6x6 - cuts I like are asscher, cushion, square/emerald, radiant. Budget is in the up to $6000 range, in general, for this center stone.

Please help me find a colour saturated (but not dark at all) stone that will dazzle and glow and blind innocent passersby :D. Possible preference to pads, paraibas, bright neon greens, hot red/pinks, fanta oranges.

Thanks!

EDIT: I would strongly prefer a natural, 100% untreated stone
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,159
whitehotblank|1305660342|2924139 said:
I should, sometime in 2012, be finishing a project I will have spent 3+ years working on and have decided to buy myself a Yay Me present in the form of a custom Leon Mege ring with a single stone, a halo, and a micropave shank (I am a pearl girl and may have some terms wrong here).

As of right now, I am searching for the main stone. My two main criteria are: bright and very sparkly/firey. I am considering a diamond with a halo of coloured stones, but I am also considering a coloured stone with a halo of...coloured stones. My dream stone would be a perfect pinky peachy pad with lots of fire (surrounded by a halo of paraiba - I fully intend to go for the colour here!). However, I don't know a lot about coloured stones. Can anyone recommend a type of stone or a specific stone that will be full of sparkle and life? I am open to any colour. Demantoids seem very firey but I'm worried about finding a good one.

Basic specs would be no smaller than 5x5mm and hopefully at least 6x6 - cuts I like are asscher, cushion, square/emerald, radiant. Budget is in the up to $6000 range, in general, for this center stone.

Please help me find a colour saturated (but not dark at all) stone that will dazzle and glow and blind innocent passersby :D. Possible preference to pads, paraibas, bright neon greens, hot red/pinks, fanta oranges.

Thanks!

EDIT: I would strongly prefer a natural, 100% untreated stone

Super fine padaparadschas are around at least $20K per carat, and 99% of the ones out there are just not super fine. The hard part will be trying to get one. Most have too much brown, are too pale, too orange, too pink, etc. . .

Padparadschas are one of the most difficult stones to buy, and I was once told by a gemologist that browses this board (Mr. Zeolite) that you really need to find a padparadscha expert to go with you to a huge gem show to find one. I would personally try to view very fine ones in person, otherwise you'll probably get a mediocre one, and not even know it.
 

Indylady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
5,717
Dream stone--pad.

Does that mean you're looking for a pad, and only a pad, or are you open to other stones?
 

whitehotblank

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
122
I am open to anything bright and sparkly! Suggestions welcome :)

I have heard pads can be near impossible to find and it doesn't look like my budget is going to help. For what it's worth, as long as it's brightly coloured, I don't mind if it's 'too orange' or 'too pink' - I wouldn't want anything with too much brown, tho.
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
10,261
Not sure how much you know about gemstones but Pads and Paraibas are a little like the holy grail - i.e. finding one is going to be a loooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg hard and expensive search!

So, let''s break your search down a bit?

1. Is this for a ring to be worn every day or on occasion. That's critical to knowing what to recommend.

2. Demantoids - high sparkle BUT can be too yellow/brown. Wouldn't class them as bright per se (i.e. most definitely not neon like a paraiba).

3. You like hot pinks? If so, look at Mahenge Spinels. They literally glow and radiate colour and although they have increased in price, it's still possible to get a good one if you look for a while. The material isn't, generally, as good as it was a year ago but there's still lovely ones to be had. Do a search on this board for them and you'll see tons of examples. If you can't find pictures shout up and I'll post mine. Another really good thing about Spinels is that they are fairly durable so you could probably wear more often than most of the others I've listed here.

4. In terms of bright neon greens, if it's an occasional wear ring you could go with a tourmaline (not Paraiba) or Apatite (very fragile and again only for occasional wear).

5. Oranges? Mmmmm, that's not so easy. Anything that's bright orange is typically again like finding the holy grail. Spess garnets spring to mind but finding Fanta orange is difficult and most on the market are either too yellow or too brown. Again, being a garnet, it would be an occasional wear ring.

6. Have you looked at Sphene? Again, it's not a durable stone BUT it is perhaps one of the most sparkliest stones you'll find and you can get it in a lime green that then flashes yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, green etc. Like one of life's little mini Christmas trees!

A word of caution. If you're designing a ring with lots of colour (ie pink centre surrounded by blue accents) you may love it initially but then fall out of love AND it may be difficult to co-ordinate with what you're wearing. Most bright gemstones benefit from being the centre of attention and accented by diamonds - there are exceptions of course but I just wanted to mention it.
 

JewelFreak

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
7,768
Not a pad but wow color & cut: http://www.spectralgems.net/A-corundum.html

Also, untreated: http://www.spectralgems.net/A-corundum.html

Garnet a just under the size you mentioned, untreated, marvelous color & cut: http://www.bespoke-gems.com/SacredGeometrics_Gemstones_Garnet.php#image_302

Great spinel: http://www.bespoke-gems.com/SacredGeometrics_Gemstones_Spinel.php#image_360

Slightly above budget but B.R.I.G.H.T! http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1080/12910

Be sure to read the comments on this one. http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1083/7236

LD's advice is great all around. I agree w/her about a tad of caution in combining bright colors -- if you get a knockout center stone, you want it to be the star of the show; bright or strong accent stones can lessen its impact. Also you could get tired of it -- like painting a room a color you can't resist at the time but eventually it gets to be not your favorite choice.

Congratulations on whatever you worked so hard on -- great idea for a "congratulate me" prize!

--- Laurie
 

whitehotblank

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
122
Thank you for the links - I am perusing them with great interest. This stone stands out to me: http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1080/12910 - that is *exactly* the kind of eye popping colour I'm looking for, really, really beautiful.

Re: the Finewater pad, why is it so cheap? Because it's heated? I saw that a few days ago but was just wondering about the price...thought maybe there was some flaw I wasn't noticing. Also wondering the same about the linked paraiba (why so cheap) and am assuming it's because of provenance?

To answer a few questions, this is not intended to be a 'daily' wear ring, nor is it intended to be something I only bust out on special occasions. I definitely want this to be worn a few times a month (and am assuming right hand wear, if it matters). THAT SAID, I definitely have a sense of my own style and am a total clothes/shoes/bag horse as well as a gem/pearl horse (ha) - while I understand the concern about going nuts on colour, it is definitely what I want. I love the idea of a bright center stone surrounded with a halo of also coloured stones. I'm imagining the ruby posted above (the first link in this post) surrounded by a paraiba halo (also assuming paraibas of this tiny size would be easier to find!) - just imagining for now. My wardrobe tends to be full of charcoals, beiges, creams, navys, definitely neutrals, and I never wear black clothing. I am blonde and pale skinned. I use certain items - usually a piece of jewelry or a pair of shoes as the stand out of an outfit, and that fits my personality as well as my style. A very colourful ring would suit me. I love the stylish/classic/conservative look thrown off (in a good way) with an awesome, bright piece/item.

Oh dear I am officially in love with that ruby.

I would also appreciate any links to demantoids and sphenes - both of these are stones that have stood out to me because of their fire, and I am allll about the fire for this center stone.

Also one more thing, I have not completely ruled out the idea of a diamond as the center stone, I am just drawn to the idea of a colourful and less common stone as well. If it's a diamond it's going to have to be perfect, white and blinding. :D

Thank you for the ideas and advice. I do not know a lot about gemstones and you all are a great help!!!

EDIT: just as an example of what I love, here is a demantoid that caught my eye: http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11060/13876 - he's probably too small, but he's gorgeous
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
The Finewater padparadscha is off symmetry (off set culet and is off round), is extremely deep at 83% and thus faces up well under 1 carat despite weighing in at nearly 1.4 carats. It is also listed as an SI so expect to see some inclusions face up. As for the AJS Paraiba, it is moderately included and the saturation is very light, hence the lower pricing. It is not going to be easy to find well saturated Paraiba melees, so expect to pay a pretty sum and it’s also probably something you are unlikely to find on your own.

If interested in gemstones from Wildfish, I would request more natural shots, particularly handshots. The reflective background surface and large amounts of brilliance (possible strong lighting) is throwing off what it will look like most of the time in a real situation.
 

kelpie

Ideal_Rock
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Jan 8, 2008
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I can't post a link but you have to check out the hot pink asscher spinel on Spectral Gems. It looks radioactive! Google will find it.
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
10,261
The AJS Paraiba is not a great example of a Paraiba but the price reflects that. It's a "nice" stone but it's arguable whether you would class that as a Paraiba (and that's NOT because of the locality but because of the colour). Whilst it has been ruled that locality doesn't matter and stones from Mozambique can be given the name "Paraiba", for me, they still need to deserve that title and have the colour saturation, neonicity and glow to warrant the name.
 

Indylady

Ideal_Rock
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