Help with Setting for Pink Spinels

[distracts]

So I had this emerald cut spinel that I thought I knew how I wanted to set. But then I got my big pear spinel in pretty much the exact same color and abandoned thoughts of this to think of how to set that (I don't know. I THOUGHT I knew but I keep changing my mind.) UNTIL Yvonne Raley had these delightful little matching emerald cut spinels for sale. How could I resist these little mini-mes of my stone!??!?!? I couldn't. Obviously. They're almost exact matches colorwise - there is a little bit of difference but nothing anyone would notice without looking closely in multiple kinds of light.

main stone: 1.06 cts, 7.5x4.5mm
minis: .15 carats each, approx 3.5 x 2.5 (? maybe?)


(The scratches aren't on the stones, but on the lid of the thingy. Sorry they aren't all aligned, but there's enough room between the foam and the lid for the babies to wobble around.)

I would like to have them bezeled in a five-stone, ideally with emerald cut diamonds in between. But emerald cut diamonds of sufficient size are going to really raise the cost so I'll have to get quotes on that. While poking around online I found this style of ring at Lang's, which is very similar to what I want except with little rounds in between the colored stones instead of emerald cuts, so if emerald cuts are too expensive I could do this, I guess. It looks fine, anyway.



I like that it is set very low.




I made some really subpar mockups in photoshop. The proportions are all off since I didn't bother correcting to the proportions of my stones, even though I'm really concerned about the proportions of whatever goes in the middle there. Like, 5.5x3.5 is right halfway between the two sizes, but a) that's gonna be expensive for two of those, and b) is a size that is exactly halfway in between going to look best? Is it better for the diamonds to be a little smaller to give the center stone more prominence?

So, the mockups:


or with emeralds?


originally I wanted it in yellow gold but I think that only works with the emerald cuts, not with the rounds. But idk it looks so sleek with the white metal, whereas the yellow gold gives it a luxe look. BUT if I set my pear spinel in platinum, as I'm planning to, maybe I do want this in yellow gold?


Thoughts?????????

 

[Acinom]

Swoon Your spinels are so beautiful!!
I personally prefer your version with the emerald cuts in YG: it gives such a rich look overall and it makes the spinels shine.
Happy decision making

 

[distracts]

Yeah, that's definitely my favorite option.

I think I'll contact David Klass. I've seen some of his bezeled emerald cuts with milgrain and they are crisply done (very unlike this Lang's example, where the bezels seem kind of mushy around the corners), and that and sourcing the emerald cuts are my main concerns. I haven't seen very good pictures of rings where DK sourced the step cuts but I assume he'd be fine at it?

This was my inspiration in terms of the colors though, uh, I may have veered just a tad brighter with the pink. I'm sure I'll be able to make up for it with a pale pink stone in a yellow gold setting some other time.


Meekness, Eustache Le Sueur, 1650
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/47159

 

[distracts]

Corrected, with apologies to M. Le Sueur, who I'm sure tried very hard on the original.

 

[dk168]

I like the five-stone look in WG with white EC stones in between.

In order to minimise the cost of the setting with EC diamonds, how about using less expensive colourless stones such as white sapphire, zircon and topaz instead?

Looking forward to seeing the finished ring and thanks for sharing!

DK

 

[Lovinggems]

I prefer white gold as well, but it's a personal preference.

 

[arkieb1]

I like all the versions I think it depends if you want to contrast more which yellow gold will do or blend more which the white gold seems to do.

 

[Niel]

My vote would be emeralds or french cut diamonds, white bezel, yellow shank. I think having square or rectangular diamonds will flatter the sharp bezel edges you're after. I wonder how expensive , say, 4 french cut or carre cut diamonds would be instead of four rounds.

 

[minousbijoux]

Another vote for the white gold and emerald cuts. But really, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[packrat]

I like it w/the ec's between and in wg. Unplated maybe? That seems to be my go-to response ever since I got mine. I like how it looks-to me anyway-to be a combo of white and yellow.

 

[katharath]

I'm sorry distracts, I'm horrible with setting ideas. But that is one gorgeous trio of spinels!! Is the larger center gem also Burmese? I think it looks like a really nicely matched suite. It's hard to find a spinel trio like that in that cut and with such nice color quality (at least from what I've seen).

(I've been meaning to start my own thread about those little guys bc I have some too and really need some setting ideas - I got a parcel of 7 of them from Yvonne, I was at the JCK show when she bought them and was dying over them! I hope it won't be too annoying when I start my thread and ask for setting help - but it will be a completely different type of ring. I've been procrastinating and meant to post them sooner).

Anyway - I just wanted to say how much I love your gems, and I think your idea for a five stone with diamonds is absolutely fabulous. I love warmer gold colors when setting pink and red spinels, so I guess I'd have to vote for the YG, and I think it looks amazing with the emerald cuts - but I have no doubt that this will be a beautiful ring no matter which direction you take it.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Marvellous trio--fun project!

cheers--Sharon

 

[distracts]

The more I read replies for white metal, the more it makes up my mind that I like the yellow gold! (And at any rate, it likely wouldn't be white gold, since I'm allergic to nickel and very few people work in nickel-free alloys, so platinum is the white metal option.)

In order to minimise the cost of the setting with EC diamonds, how about using less expensive colourless stones such as white sapphire, zircon and topaz instead?

Because I don't like the sparkle, lol. My budget is $2k - if it's over that, I'd either do the rounds or wait another few months to save up, depending on how much more it would be.

My vote would be emeralds or french cut diamonds, white bezel, yellow shank. I think having square or rectangular diamonds will flatter the sharp bezel edges you're after. I wonder how expensive , say, 4 french cut or carre cut diamonds would be instead of four rounds.

hahah, how have you never come up against my hatred for white setting/color shank before!!??!?! It's WRONG. It's an AFFRONT TO THE VERY CONCEPT OF GRACE. Like. There are WAYS to do mixed-metal settings, and putting the stone in one metal and the shank in another IS NOT ONE OF THEM. My god, I have FEELINGS about this. It always looks like two different rings just stuck together after the fact, like the jeweler ran out of parts in the right color, like when you see an unpainted door on a car and you're like "that person needs to get some work done on that thing." So, uh, not for me.

I did briefly think about having two carre cuts if they were less expensive than one emerald cut, but ultimately I think it would just look sloppy and like it was obviously a filler for larger stones, whereas I think the rounds, with their much different appearance, would look intentionally chosen for contrast. While I adore french cuts, they're not something I'm interested in for this particular project.

 

[distracts]

I'm sorry distracts, I'm horrible with setting ideas. But that is one gorgeous trio of spinels!! Is the larger center gem also Burmese? I think it looks like a really nicely matched suite. It's hard to find a spinel trio like that in that cut and with such nice color quality (at least from what I've seen).

(I've been meaning to start my own thread about those little guys bc I have some too and really need some setting ideas - I got a parcel of 7 of them from Yvonne, I was at the JCK show when she bought them and was dying over them! I hope it won't be too annoying when I start my thread and ask for setting help - but it will be a completely different type of ring. I've been procrastinating and meant to post them sooner).

Anyway - I just wanted to say how much I love your gems, and I think your idea for a five stone with diamonds is absolutely fabulous. I love warmer gold colors when setting pink and red spinels, so I guess I'd have to vote for the YG, and I think it looks amazing with the emerald cuts - but I have no doubt that this will be a beautiful ring no matter which direction you take it.

The bigger one is from Morogoro, Tanzania, I gather not Mahenge but somewhere else in the region.

All my hot pink spinels are pretty much the exact same color... I guess I have a type. And also some amount of luck on stumbling upon ones that match. And that I can afford. (I also have a few more that I didn't own at the time of this pic. And they all actually ARE the same color, even if the gem box lids are obscuring them. Some of them react a little differently in sunlight than others, but for things bought at different times, often mined in different locations, they're pretty close.) The ovals are slated for earrings, if I can ever decide on a design, the little pear + diamond for a pendant, and the big pear for a platinum halo (I reaaaaalllly want a handforged one but at current rates of saving for bling I'll have to save up for well over a year for it, so we'll see. I've been eyeing some alternative options but - we'll see. The Bright Ice and Chrono spinel halos are my favorites so I'm having trouble pulling myself away from anything that doesn't look like them.). The other misc pinks are going to go in a bracelet, probably, maybe a necklace, but I'm not done collecting them yet. Not sure when I will be - I assume one day I'll look in the gem tray and go "yep, that's enough," but who knows?


Can't wait for your thread about your stones! SEVEN of them!?!? What are you going to do? A channel set ring? A DBTY? Something like this???

 

[katharath]

The bigger one is from Morogoro, Tanzania, I gather not Mahenge but somewhere else in the region.

All my hot pink spinels are pretty much the exact same color... I guess I have a type. And also some amount of luck on stumbling upon ones that match. And that I can afford. (I also have a few more that I didn't own at the time of this pic. And they all actually ARE the same color, even if the gem box lids are obscuring them. Some of them react a little differently in sunlight than others, but for things bought at different times, often mined in different locations, they're pretty close.) The ovals are slated for earrings, if I can ever decide on a design, the little pear + diamond for a pendant, and the big pear for a platinum halo (I reaaaaalllly want a handforged one but at current rates of saving for bling I'll have to save up for well over a year for it, so we'll see. I've been eyeing some alternative options but - we'll see. The Bright Ice and Chrono spinel halos are my favorites so I'm having trouble pulling myself away from anything that doesn't look like them.). The other misc pinks are going to go in a bracelet, probably, maybe a necklace, but I'm not done collecting them yet. Not sure when I will be - I assume one day I'll look in the gem tray and go "yep, that's enough," but who knows?


Can't wait for your thread about your stones! SEVEN of them!?!? What are you going to do? A channel set ring? A DBTY? Something like this???

LOVE your spinel collection (spinels are my favorite gems, but particularly the pinks/reds). Yours are fabulous! And you did a great job of keeping the color consistent, especially with them coming from various locations. It will be so much fun setting them all, and then you'll have a complete array of jewelry in hot pink spinels, I love it!!

I totally get the compulsion to keep buying that color because I do the exact same thing. I've been buying pink and pinkish red spinels for a little while now (although mine don't have a consistent color match like yours). The latest 7 stone suite wasn't supposed to be that large, lol - long story, but I ended up buying way more than I intended bc I just couldn't turn them down.

For the suite - I was thinking a channel set band, but I am open to ideas at this point. I love the style of the bezel eternity ring in your link - I'd love to do something similar to that! I don't have enough for a full eternity though. I won't post pics in your thread bc I've already taken away from your topic too much, but thank you for the setting suggestion!! I'll start my own thread soon, and I'd love to get your ideas over there

 

[NKOTB]

I like the white metal with Emerald cuts, but it sounds like you're leaning yg, which will also look lovely. Lol at your reaction to mixed metal. Tell us how you REALLY feel! (don't hate me when I use them in an upcoming project, though, haha)

I like your whole suite of pinks. Hope you have better luck being fully satisfied than I have. For every one I bring myself to purge, I find another to love!

 

[chrono]

I would get warm coloured matching ECs or baguettes, then set all 5 stones in 18K yellow gold.

 

[distracts]

I like the white metal with Emerald cuts, but it sounds like you're leaning yg, which will also look lovely. Lol at your reaction to mixed metal. Tell us how you REALLY feel! (don't hate me when I use them in an upcoming project, though, haha)

Mixed metals are fine... it's the head specifically being a different color that I object vociferously to! And it's fine for other people, I mean, you do you, and all. I think for something like a white halo with a yellow center stone, having the center stone in yellow with yellow prongs makes sense, but for this, well, it's not quite the same thing.

I like your whole suite of pinks. Hope you have better luck being fully satisfied than I have. For every one I bring myself to purge, I find another to love!

"purge"? What is "purge"????? (I have a whole drawer of gems and jewelry to sell. It's just so troublesome to actually bother with doing, and I have "seller's remorse" often enough that I have to not wear something for like two years before I will even consider selling it.)

 

[distracts]

I would get warm coloured matching ECs or baguettes, then set all 5 stones in 18K yellow gold.

I was waiting for your input! I was actually wondering about warmer ECs earlier. I think I'm probably more concerned with proportions and the steps matching than color or inclusions except insofar as they affect price. What do you think of the right inbetween 5.5x3.5 for the ECs? I should probably do a correctly-proportioned mockup, huh.

 

[digdeep]

Hi Distracts, These are all gorgeous gems and I'm coming from a different design angle...........what if you went horizontal with your large EC and then had the mini-me's on the ends? They look like they would fit those dimensions and leave room for the metal to create your look. You wouldn't need any other stones in that lay out. Have you tried that configuration? Best of luck to you!!!

 

[chrono]

I think 5.5 mm in height would be good. It looks like the width of the diamonds is a bit skinnier than the width of the outer sidestones in the inspiration picture.