H2B’s Blue Sapphire

[talamasca]

Paul’s stone for his wedding ring arrived today from Jerry at Gemart. Firstly, I have to say that Jerry was an absolute pleasure to work with, he was so helpful and accommodating – I can’t recommend him highly enough!

He cut 2 stones for us to choose from; one was a 5mm dark blue cushion square and the other a medium blue 6.7 x 5.4 x 5mm deep cut corner rectangle and we chose the latter. It’s a really lovely stone, with lots of flash even on a day like to day where it’s overcast and raining!

We had planned to bezel/flush set it in a white gold band with a bark finish, however as the stone is quite deep this design requires quite a bit of gold and therefore the cost is a bit more than we anticipated so we’re trying to find a different design. preferably where we won’t lose to much of it’s flashiness, i.e. an open setting, but one that still looks manly. We’ve struggled to find different designs of men’s rings!!! I found the design we like, a few half bezel designs and then some tension set designs and that was about it!!!!

Does anyone have any other ring designs that would work for his stone?

Oooo, I did a search of PS and showed this link of Rhino’s ring to Paul and he really loves this design. Do you think something similar would work for this stone??? And which way should we set it? Paul likes it horizontal, but I think it would look better vertical, especially if we go with a design similar to Rhino's.

http://www.vimeo.com/9432287

And now for pic overload!!!! (sorry!)

 

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More pics

 

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And more

 

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Last couple

 

[JewelFreak]

Wow, that is really gorgeous! Its flash is obvious even in pics. What a great choice. Too bad it's so expensive to bezel it, it's light enough, but you do get more brilliance from a setting that allows more light in. However it's set, it will be a stunner!

--- Laurie

 

[Coco914]

That's a beautiful sapphire! Looks even better in your photos than in the vendor's IMHO. I was actually going to suggest a semi-bezel, but the link you posted to the other ring is really nice too. I think the blue sapphire would look gorgeous set in something similar to that. I bet you could find something in that style that could even accomodate the stone set horizontally.

 

[icekid]

Nice! I wish I could get my hubby to wear a CS, so I could admire it

 

[minousbijoux]

I have no brilliant thoughts but wanted to give you kudos for sure knowing how to pick gorgeous stones! And please don't do a full bezel on that stone because it is just begging to show off its sparks

 

[Novel]

Wow, that is stunning! I love that sapphire !

 

[pregcurious]

Congratulations! I love the shots outside with the sapphire on its table.

 

[Arkteia]

Your two stones look so well side-by-side, they just call for two hands shots! Congratulations on getting the sapphire, it looks beautiful and is a very good stone for a man's ring. I do not have ideas at this moment except for a couple of rings that I saw online. Are you absolutely set on gold? Silver, Argentum - are they all out of question?
I shall have to browse a collection of men's rings I saw online, maybe get some ideas.

 

[Treenbean]

Hi what a beautiful stone! I love your pink spinel as well. I can understand about not wanting the sapphire to go dark. Have you considered a prong setting that sits a little higher on the ring shank to accommodate the height of the crown (which is higher) and then burry the pavilion into the rest of the setting which can be slightly domed to accommodate the depth of the ring. In addition this can be done, in my opinion, without putting a ton more gold into the piece.
Another option would be to use some open work on the shank under the stone which uses less gold but but can still be beautiful and still be really durable. In a mans ring something like the trusses of a bridge would be cool or a buttress from a cathedral. You could still finish it with tree bark like exterior.
Sorry if I rambled

 

[Mayk]

Beautiful! Love the color!

 

[SapphireLover]

Have you thought about a tension set ring? I know you mentioned gold, but when I first read this post I thought about Bruce Boone's titanium rings. He does tension set rings with mokume (?spelling!) which sound perfect.

I got DH's wedding ring from him (he is an über geek and wanted titanium inlaid with meteorite!) and am in the UK and Bruce was a dream to deal with. Plus, somehow I never paid import tax on it, which was a fab miracle!

http://www.boonerings.com/stone.htm

 

[Aerix]

I second SapphireLover's idea of setting it in a titanium tension setting. I'm not sure about your DH, but mine loves to work with his hands and as a result, he's scratched up his 14kt white gold wedding band quite a bit.

 

[centralsquare]

What a beautiful stone! Can't wait to see it set!

 

[natsplat]

What a great stone! love the treebark thought: I hope you can keep that texture with the rest of your ideas, pickle

 

[Laila619]

What a beautiful shade of blue!

 

[Arkteia]

OK re titanium and other settings. This ring may be too expensive for your budget but the designer is pretty innovative, uses a lot of tension settings, all materials, gold, silver, titanium, argentum, works with Damascus steel, meteorites, what not. Does mokume gane, inlay, etc... The ring I love is a tad expensive but perhaps he can do a project that would be more pocket-friendly?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57258487/damascus-ring-tension-set-band-and-ruby

And this designer you could use for inspiration because he is expensive. If I ever get an inheritance I shall buy his ring

But I like his tourmaline ring and wonder if the gold "backing" can be "removed" and the stone tension set (imagine the same stone, tension set between the upper and the lower rims, without the gold bezel part).

http://www.jewelrydesignsformen.com/gemstones.html

 

[kas baby]

I love the color of that sapphire, and lucky you to both have beautiful gemstone rings!

I think it would look nice n/s, and those tension rings look like they'd fit the bill. If you haven't seen it already, there's a "men's rings eyecandy" thread over in SMTB, maybe you could find some inspiration there

 

[talamasca]

Thanks everyone. We're really happy to have picked this one

crasru We aren't sure about the durability of silver for everyday/forever wear, but titanium might be a good idea. Thanks for the links - I'll show them to Paul and see what he thinks.

Treenbean Oooo I love the detailing on that ring!!! Paul's not keen on having the stone raised, but we'll look into open work on the shank as a means of using less gold.

SapphireLover We aren't sure about tension set. Would it work for a stone as deep as his as I imagine the metal would need to be very thick in order for it to be set safely?

kas baby thanks, I'll have a nosey

 

[T L]

Gorgeous sapphire (and I love your pink stone ring too).

 

[chrono]

I like the idea of a semi-bezel-like tension setting in titanium for a man's ring. I've seen it done for men's diamond rings and sapphires are strong enough to handle the stress (plus allow maximum light from the open sides).

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Very beautiful stone!

 

[movie zombie]

great setting, Treebean!

re setting the stone: it has a large pavillion which is contributing a lot to the stone. it would be a pity to cover that up. a tension setting would allow it to "perform".....