SparkleC
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2018
- Messages
- 111
Hello All:
Some of you may remember this past fall I posted asking for help to find an "OMG blue sapphire" for a ring. I want to thank all of you for your generous feedback, honesty, and support as I proceeded through the process. Special thanks to @lovedogs @Bron357 @qubitasaurus @icy_jade @whitewave @Rfisher @MainSequence @Lilith112 @2Neezers @Rad_Fan for teaching me so much about how to best photograph stones, how colored stones look in different lighting, and so much more!
I think the thing that held me back the most in selecting a stone was my own inability to envision the setting I wanted with any other cut except round. I definitely learned if you fall in love with a setting first, you need to make sure you understand all the possibilities that setting has. I fell in love with Yvonne's tourbillion design as soon as I saw it:
It had a round cut stone and I just could not imagine any other cut working. I am sure I frustrated dear Inken to death because she had many gorgeous stones to show me but not as many rounds.
My lightbulb moment came when I took a picture of the stone I really loved (even though it was a cushion) and photoshopped it onto the setting. OMG! Game changer!
I also learned that I loved the pictures of velvety, silky sapphires, but in real life, I preferred a stone with sparkle. It's absolutely imperative that you see the stone in person. I would have never realized how I truly felt if I had not had the chance to see the stones and admire them in different settings and lights.
After my epiphany regarding cut and brilliance, everything fell into place.
I chose a gorgeous unheated cushion 1.71 ct, 6.60 mm, 4.15 mm depth. Inken's description was, "Here you are entering territory of what I sometimes informally call “Cartier” quality. The color is superb, vivid saturation, medium tone (= not dark). Perfectly clean, and the cutting is excellent...neither deep, nor shallow. Great compromise between color and sparkle. This one was recut in New Y ork from a larger gem, so the polish is very fine, too."
This is the video Inken sent me for my review:
Here are some shots of the stone:
Here she is in her presentation box:
Here she is in the kitchen:
Here she is outside:
I was so fortunate that Inken and Yvonne are trusted colleagues and Yvonne agreed to use the stone I found with Inken for her design. Inken passed the stone to Yvonne and the design phase began. Yvonne had to rework the design for the size and shape of the stone. The waiting was difficult but she kept me informed with updates throughout.
There was some concern that the ring might not arrive before Christmas. While the project had not started as a Christmas gift, it sort of became one during the process. The concern about delivery was that Yvonne's engraver is highly in demand and at the holiday season, there can be long wait times. The finished ring actually arrived about two weeks before Christmas but I wasn't allowed to see it. The wait was even worse because I knew it was in the house!! LOL!!
Here are some of the shots Yvonne sent me of the finished ring:
And here are some pictures of her on my hand!!! Sorry for my dry winter hands.
In the grocery store....yes I'm the dork in the aisle taking pix of my ring. LOL!!
In the car
I'll post a few more as i've been told I've reached my photo limit....
Some of you may remember this past fall I posted asking for help to find an "OMG blue sapphire" for a ring. I want to thank all of you for your generous feedback, honesty, and support as I proceeded through the process. Special thanks to @lovedogs @Bron357 @qubitasaurus @icy_jade @whitewave @Rfisher @MainSequence @Lilith112 @2Neezers @Rad_Fan for teaching me so much about how to best photograph stones, how colored stones look in different lighting, and so much more!
I think the thing that held me back the most in selecting a stone was my own inability to envision the setting I wanted with any other cut except round. I definitely learned if you fall in love with a setting first, you need to make sure you understand all the possibilities that setting has. I fell in love with Yvonne's tourbillion design as soon as I saw it:
It had a round cut stone and I just could not imagine any other cut working. I am sure I frustrated dear Inken to death because she had many gorgeous stones to show me but not as many rounds.
My lightbulb moment came when I took a picture of the stone I really loved (even though it was a cushion) and photoshopped it onto the setting. OMG! Game changer!
I also learned that I loved the pictures of velvety, silky sapphires, but in real life, I preferred a stone with sparkle. It's absolutely imperative that you see the stone in person. I would have never realized how I truly felt if I had not had the chance to see the stones and admire them in different settings and lights.
After my epiphany regarding cut and brilliance, everything fell into place.
I chose a gorgeous unheated cushion 1.71 ct, 6.60 mm, 4.15 mm depth. Inken's description was, "Here you are entering territory of what I sometimes informally call “Cartier” quality. The color is superb, vivid saturation, medium tone (= not dark). Perfectly clean, and the cutting is excellent...neither deep, nor shallow. Great compromise between color and sparkle. This one was recut in New Y ork from a larger gem, so the polish is very fine, too."
This is the video Inken sent me for my review:
Here are some shots of the stone:
Here she is in her presentation box:
Here she is in the kitchen:
Here she is outside:
I was so fortunate that Inken and Yvonne are trusted colleagues and Yvonne agreed to use the stone I found with Inken for her design. Inken passed the stone to Yvonne and the design phase began. Yvonne had to rework the design for the size and shape of the stone. The waiting was difficult but she kept me informed with updates throughout.
There was some concern that the ring might not arrive before Christmas. While the project had not started as a Christmas gift, it sort of became one during the process. The concern about delivery was that Yvonne's engraver is highly in demand and at the holiday season, there can be long wait times. The finished ring actually arrived about two weeks before Christmas but I wasn't allowed to see it. The wait was even worse because I knew it was in the house!! LOL!!
Here are some of the shots Yvonne sent me of the finished ring:
And here are some pictures of her on my hand!!! Sorry for my dry winter hands.
In the grocery store....yes I'm the dork in the aisle taking pix of my ring. LOL!!
In the car
I'll post a few more as i've been told I've reached my photo limit....
Sheesh! Most definitely worth the effort. Congrats.
It’s a gorgeous stone and it looks amazing in the setting and beautiful on your hand!
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