Design advice please

[gemnut]

I''m happy to announce that I have a new project! Since this is the very first time I''m trying to put together a jewelry piece from scratch, I really, really would appreciate your advice.
But let''s start from the beginning... about a month ago it seemed that everyone in this forum was talking about Paraiba tourmalines and the pics you guys enclosed just blew me away! So... I went Paraiba hunting and ended up ordering a couple of Mozambique stones. Perhaps I will describe my adventures with Customs some other time, what is important right now is that I''m trying to think of how to set these stones.
The first one pictured below, I want to set into a ring. It''s a much more beautiful stone than pictured, with the brightest, sweetest blue-green pastel color I have ever seen. It''s 3.09 cts and measures 11.4x8.2x4.7 mm. I chose the stone for color and although I bought it from a picture over the net, I''m so happy with it, I wish I had bought more!!
I''d like to make an unusual ring if possible, since it''s an unusual stone, so if you can make some original suggestions, I would appreciate it very much. (If anyone can help me with this, it''s you guys!)
I''m thinking of 18K gold, white or yellow not decided, with diamond accents - but not in a halo, I''m a bit tired of halos at this point. I have a jeweler that does high quality work and sets with FVVS diamonds in great micropave that I''m considering using.

 

[poshpepper]

That stone is beautiful!!!!

Not sure if this is unusual enough for you or not, but this is what came to my mind when I saw that stone...

 

[gemnut]

My second project involves a second Paraiba trourmaline I bought at the same time. This one is not quite as pretty as the first one - it''s a bit too green for my tastes - but it''s still a shiny, pretty stone. I thought I might combine it with 2 other tourmalines I just happened to have lying around and make a pendant. I''m enclosing a pic of all 3 stones - the top one is an IF unheated pink tourmaline 0.5 cts I bought a couple of years ago, the middle one is the Paraiba, measuring 2.65 cts or 8.4x6.6x4.8 mm and the bottom one is just a run-of-the-mill supposedly chrome bearing tourmaline around 5 cts that I really don''t know if I want to include or not.
Any suggestions?

 

[gemnut]

That''s a beautiful ring poshpeppper. Can you give me an idea of the size of the stones in it?

Folks, donn''t be afraid to give me all your ideas even if they sound extreme! I''m keeping an open mind.

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 8/8/2007 4:24:32 PM
Author: gemnut
That's a beautiful ring poshpeppper. Can you give me an idea of the size of the stones in it?

From the website with the ring:

"This hand-made, hand-engraved ring is crafted in platinum. The oval sapphire weighs 2.49 carats and measures 8.5 by 6.9 millimeters. The two crescent-moon diamonds weigh a total of 0.61 carats. They are D-E color and VS2 clarity. The ring is finger size 6 1/2 and can be resized to fit most fingers."


Linky if you want to see more pictures (and design ideas... they have alot!): Sapphire ring

 

[simplysplendid]

Hey that''s a gorgeous ring that poshpepper posted.. i like that idea for the oval tourmaline. For the second design idea, I would omit the 5ct tourmaline and the small one because i like the green by itself. I like the small tourmaline too, perhaps two rings or a pendant and a ring?

 

[gemnut]

Date: 8/8/2007 4:31:51 PM
Author: poshpepper

Date: 8/8/2007 4:24:32 PM
Author: gemnut
That''s a beautiful ring poshpeppper. Can you give me an idea of the size of the stones in it?

From the website with the ring:

''This hand-made, hand-engraved ring is crafted in platinum. The oval sapphire weighs 2.49 carats and measures 8.5 by 6.9 millimeters. The two crescent-moon diamonds weigh a total of 0.61 carats. They are D-E color and VS2 clarity. The ring is finger size 6 1/2 and can be resized to fit most fingers.''


Linky if you want to see more pictures (and design ideas... they have alot!): Sapphire ring

I got dizzy from looking at all the wonderful rings in the site you gave me! I''m afraid, however, that 2 such large diamonds to use as side stones are probably way outside my budget. I was courting with the idea of micropave because I know I can get relatively reasonably priced small stones. And if you take away the 2 diamonds, the design becomes pretty plain

I can do a lot more with the gold and I have a picture in my head of a YG snake curling around my finger with the Paraiba as its outstretched head, small micropave diamonds around its neck. Can someone whip up an image of such a design for me just to "see" what it would look like?

 

[gemnut]

This is the closest image I could find to what I''m imagining, with a smooth metal body and a "necklace" of diamonds.

 

[Kismet]

Although it uses a pear and not an oval, this one looks kind of snake-like.

 

[Stone Hunter]

I like the Pariba Tourm. and would set it by itself. So you want pave? How about putting it in a basket setting and then wrapping a strand or two of pave over the stone? It would really stand out and maybe tone down the green a little -- since you said you weren''t thrilled with the color.

I like the color though. Who''d you buy it from?

 

[gemnut]

Date: 8/9/2007 10:44:25 AM
Author: Kismet
Although it uses a pear and not an oval, this one looks kind of snake-like.

Yes, that''s very nice! Better than what I was imagining too!! I wonder how much those baguettes would cost?

 

[gemnut]

Date: 8/9/2007 10:55:43 AM
Author: Stone Hunter
I like the Pariba Tourm. and would set it by itself. So you want pave? How about putting it in a basket setting and then wrapping a strand or two of pave over the stone? It would really stand out and maybe tone down the green a little -- since you said you weren''t thrilled with the color.

I like the color though. Who''d you buy it from?

I bought both the Paraiba tourmalines from thaigems via e-Bay, believe it or not. They were so much better in real life than the stones pictured, I would not hesitate to buy again and again from these people. I''ve been e-Bay shy for a long time due to the horror stories I''d heard so it was a pleasant surprise when things worked out so well.

Yours is the second recommendation on setting the green tourmaline alone in the pendant. If I get a third, the other two go out the window! lol I am a bit nervous that the stone may be too small to set alone in a pendant, but the basket/paved strand idea sounds appealing. I don''t suppose you can post a pic or two of such a design?

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 8/9/2007 7:00:10 PM
Author: gemnut

Date: 8/9/2007 10:55:43 AM
Author: Stone Hunter
I like the Pariba Tourm. and would set it by itself. So you want pave? How about putting it in a basket setting and then wrapping a strand or two of pave over the stone? It would really stand out and maybe tone down the green a little -- since you said you weren''t thrilled with the color.

I like the color though. Who''d you buy it from?

I bought both the Paraiba tourmalines from thaigems via e-Bay, believe it or not. They were so much better in real life than the stones pictured, I would not hesitate to buy again and again from these people. I''ve been e-Bay shy for a long time due to the horror stories I''d heard so it was a pleasant surprise when things worked out so well.

Yours is the second recommendation on setting the green tourmaline alone in the pendant. If I get a third, the other two go out the window! lol I am a bit nervous that the stone may be too small to set alone in a pendant, but the basket/paved strand idea sounds appealing. I don''t suppose you can post a pic or two of such a design?

I''ve been looking at alot of settings the past couple of days. I may have seen this in a hardcopy at the jewelry store. But if I find it online I will post a copy.