Help me, help me (mounting ideas needed)

[ECUTwinMama]

I found this garnet in a small jewelry shop near our vacation home and fell in love with it. After extensive emailing (I should have gone with my gut and bought it that day), the seller has agreed to take the garnet out of the mounting and sell it to me. I won't have it in hand for another 2.5 weeks, so for now I only have this one image.

It's a concave cut and he calls it a soleil garnet. My sister and I both thought it was a spessartite that day, but now I'm not sure. It has some orange in it, but mostly a deep pink (almost fuchsia?) that shows on the hand. No clue and he's not offering up any leads. I don't care, I love the color.

Anyhow, I need to mount it! I think the inner part of the sunburst is 4mm and I know I want it in yellow or rose gold, but I'm pretty ADHD with my hunt right now. It will be a right hand ring and I have two kiddos, so I usually like lower mountings (but that's not a rule). The mounting can have diamonds, but doesn't have to. I really just need some great inspiration!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Beautiful! I don't know what size it is, but I can't help but see diamonds set in a halo around it, one in each curve of the garnet.

 

[JewelFreak]

If it were mine, I'd set it with side diamonds, maybe baguettes or traps, if I used other stones at all. I would want that really neat cut to stand out on its own. Do you like more modern sleek settings or vintage, etc.? I'm not sure what you mean by "the inner part of the sunburst" -- do you mean the table or where the girdle curves inmost?

From the photo it doesn't look like a spess. Could be pyrope but it's hard to tell from one pic. If you like it, I don't blame you for not caring what it's called! I love the cut a lot.

--- Laurie

 

[chrono]

It would help a lot to know the measurements of the garnet. Settings are generally suited to a specific sized stone and can overpower a stone and vice-versa. It doesn't look like a spessartite to me either but I don't know how accurate the picture is. With the cut being unique, something that outlines the shape will help it stand out more, such as a delicate 8 prong setting or a halo that follows the curved shape (but this will cost a lot more since it is 100% custom).

 

[ECUTwinMama]

If it were mine, I'd set it with side diamonds, maybe baguettes or traps, if I used other stones at all. I would want that really neat cut to stand out on its own. Do you like more modern sleek settings or vintage, etc.? I'm not sure what you mean by "the inner part of the sunburst" -- do you mean the table or where the girdle curves inmost?


--- Laurie

Where the girdle curves in. I wish I'd realized how obsessed I would become with it that day so that I could have had him measure while I was there and to have gotten better info from him. Or even taken some of my own pictures (this one is far from ideal. Since I've been corresponding with the jeweler he has been away from the store with a sick family member and there have been huge delays in correspondence. I'll have it in hand soon, though!

I have no idea what I want to do with it, really. I wondered if I wanted to accent it (like a halo, as suggested) or to accent with side stones. I have a few halo rings now that I love and I like how they enhance the finger presence of a gem, but was worried I was getting predictable? I'm very open to suggestions!

 

[chrono]

Bring the unset stone to your local jeweller and they will measure it with calipers for an accurate measurement at no cost to you. It would be good to take 2 measurements - the curved (smaller) and the outer (widest) parts.

 

[ECUTwinMama]

8mm at the prongs! Good thing I wasn't moving on memory! Ha!

And my local jeweler will take over once I have it and I'll have better info then. Just wanted to start daydreaming now to have better ideas to share with him in a few weeks!

 

[ECUTwinMama]

I finally picked up my garnet last weekend! These shots are so much better than the one the jeweler took.

I'm getting excited to create something beautiful with it!

 

[digdeep]

That is a truly beautiful one of a kind gem and cut........ENJOY!!

 

[the_mother_thing]

That garnet is BEYOND gorgeous! Can't wait to see how you set it.

 

[JewelFreak]

Love the flashes in it. The shape is super too. It will make a ring you'll be in love with!

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Very beautiful. I can't wait to see it set.

 

[chrono]

It's going to be a beautiful ring.

 

[ECUTwinMama]

Would a round halo look strange? I found two mountings (on eBay) that I like enough to consider in rose gold. It's that or have my jeweler custom make something ($$).

 

[chrono]

I think a round halo will look strange to me. I would do my best to play up the unusual outline of the stone.

 

[JewelFreak]

I'm with Chrono. Use a round halo with something else. This stone has nice color but the real stunner is the cut, which makes the whole impression wonderful & unique. A round halo would not do it any justice. How about a shank w/melee & let the garnet take center stage? Or a split shank would be good.

--- Laurie

 

[ECUTwinMama]

I do think y'all are right. I'm not sure when I can get into my jeweler, so I think my anxiousness to get this project going might be affecting my design sensibilities.

 

[ECUTwinMama]

What do you think of something like this? I really should invest in photoshop for as often as I need it.

I'd like to go to my jeweler with ideas. He's been so accommodating over the years, I would hate to waste his time with a lack of direction. Sigh.

 

[chrono]

My preference is to go with an octagonal shaped basket setting (with diamond melees, of course ).

 

[kavnadoo]

How about having a round halo which is just smaller in diameter than the widest measurement of the stone. Set the halo slightly lower, i.e. stone is set a bit higher. This way the shape of the stone is still showcased. Not sure if that made sense... it does in my head :S

 

[LD]

It's an absolutely beautiful stone and a fantastic cut.

It may be the photo but near to the 12 o'clock point - just to the left of it in your photos, there appears to be a little dent. It may be the photo but it could also be the result of the prong. Just run your finger over it to check because you don't want anything to happen to that beauty.

What I would suggest (unfortunately due to cost!) is to have a custom made setting in exactly the same shape as the stone but with tiny diamonds. The thing about the stone at the moment is that you need to protect the corners. If you mimic the shape with a diamond halo and have tiny V prongs to hold each point of the star, you'll protect the stone but still showcase its unique cut.

If you wanted it as a pendant, I have two Wobito snowflake shaped cut gems and a photo of the Tanzanite one is below. Because this is a pendant they set it for me around the inner prongs, leaving the points exposed BUT I'd never have this design for a ring!!!!! Hope this gives you some ideas.