help with a design - mexican fire opal/diamond

[rparker1998]

I can't decide if I want to make a pendant or a RHR with this mexican fire opal i picked up for a recently going out of business jewelry channel on tv and a diamond that has been passed down from my grandmother. I'm heavily leaning towards the pendant. The diamond is probably 1.5mm stone. It is currently set in a four leaf clover broach that I will never wear to be totally honest. I'd probably melt it down and use it for the ring/pendant. The MFO is 7x5 faceted with an red-orange glow from the stone. The stone is not available at the moment for photo. I was thinking a simple E-W setting of the opal with the diamond above it and a two loop bezel? Sort of like this photo but put the stone E-W with a diamond in the center above the opal.

all feedback welcome and my opal is a more red and semi transparent i guess.

 

[neatfreak]

Just so you know...it''s hard to reuse metal, usually only about half of a new piece can be made using old metal and the other half needs to be new (for budgeting purposes).

Personally I would set that baby in a yellow gold bezel, set e/w and forget the diamond for this project. That yummy orange stone deserves to be on it''s own.

 

[stepcutnut]

Gorgeous stone

 

[rparker1998]

just for clarification, the stone in my OP is NOT my Opal - it''s the type of style i was trying to describe.

ty for the info neat about the gold

 

[T L]

Not to hijack the thread, but just curious, which jewelry channel is going out of business? Is that DSN?

 

[rparker1998]

I bought it from the jewlery channel - channel 226 on direct tv - now the liquidation channel. their web address was www.jtc.tv i think...

 

[ma re]

Opal being quite a fragile stone (not just soft, but actually fragile which makes it hard to even facet) I''d suggest a pendant rather than a ring. And when it comes to combining it with a small diamond, I''d set the diamond in a pendant''s bail and have the opal bezel set in frosted finish white metal - to mimic the look of fire in ice.

 

[rparker1998]

Date: 12/10/2008 3:07:33 AM
Author: ma re
Opal being quite a fragile stone (not just soft, but actually fragile which makes it hard to even facet) I''d suggest a pendant rather than a ring. And when it comes to combining it with a small diamond, I''d set the diamond in a pendant''s bail and have the opal bezel set in frosted finish white metal - to mimic the look of fire in ice.

thanks for the input/suggestion.

can you find an example of what your saying? i''m having a hard time picturing it.

 

[ma re]

Date: 12/10/2008 12:24:02 PM
Author: rparker1998


thanks for the input/suggestion.

can you find an example of what your saying? i''m having a hard time picturing it.

Well, here''s a pendant with the stone flush set in a bail (what I suggest for your diamond):

LINK

and here''s a piece of white metal with a frosted finish (what I suggest for around the opal):

LINK

so the end result would look similar to this, but with a much lower price tag (cause finish will imitate all those diamonds):

LINK

And that''s what I call "fire in ice".

 

[MustangGal]

I have an oval diamond in this stuller mounting http://www.stuller.com/products/product.aspx?gid=41685

I got it all one color, but the 2-tone might look good with the color of your opal. It has 4 little diamonds in the bail, but it comes without them, so the stone you already have could probably be used for one of them. I had it done about a year ago, and it only cost about $250 for the moutning, little diamonds, and setting my stone.