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Hidden gems: your top 5 loose CS stones

PXL_20201209_182414597.jpg
Wow, I've been gone from PS for long enough that I just now notice a new interface for writing posts. I have a gorgeous spess that deserves to be featured here, but as I haven't figured out how to set it yet and it's sitting in my safe, these are it for now. A silver spinel sparkler, nice chrysoberyl, two paraibas, and a rare Russian emerald that's the most saturated I've seen from that source. Still not as vivid as Columbian, but so bright and neon!
 
PXL_20201209_182414597.jpg
Wow, I've been gone from PS for long enough that I just now notice a new interface for writing posts. I have a gorgeous spess that deserves to be featured here, but as I haven't figured out how to set it yet and it's sitting in my safe, these are it for now. A silver spinel sparkler, nice chrysoberyl, two paraibas, and a rare Russian emerald that's the most saturated I've seen from that source. Still not as vivid as Columbian, but so bright and neon!

That emerald is delicious!
(You know me and my blue-greens ❤️ )

I love the peacock colored layout that you have going for her!
I could eat them up!
 
Gorgeous @voce !!! I love the blue green pairing with the amazingly saturated emerald
 
PXL_20201209_182414597.jpg
Wow, I've been gone from PS for long enough that I just now notice a new interface for writing posts. I have a gorgeous spess that deserves to be featured here, but as I haven't figured out how to set it yet and it's sitting in my safe, these are it for now. A silver spinel sparkler, nice chrysoberyl, two paraibas, and a rare Russian emerald that's the most saturated I've seen from that source. Still not as vivid as Columbian, but so bright and neon!

What fun projects! I adore your Russian Emerald. I inherited one (a Siberian Emerald) but I've never seen any others! Mine is more a classic Colombian colour but yours can be seen from the moon. It's stunning!
 
PXL_20201209_182414597.jpg
Wow, I've been gone from PS for long enough that I just now notice a new interface for writing posts. I have a gorgeous spess that deserves to be featured here, but as I haven't figured out how to set it yet and it's sitting in my safe, these are it for now. A silver spinel sparkler, nice chrysoberyl, two paraibas, and a rare Russian emerald that's the most saturated I've seen from that source. Still not as vivid as Columbian, but so bright and neon!

Is that emerald, hauyne, and paraiba I see? That's going to make a killer piece!
 
PXL_20201209_182414597.jpg
Wow, I've been gone from PS for long enough that I just now notice a new interface for writing posts. I have a gorgeous spess that deserves to be featured here, but as I haven't figured out how to set it yet and it's sitting in my safe, these are it for now. A silver spinel sparkler, nice chrysoberyl, two paraibas, and a rare Russian emerald that's the most saturated I've seen from that source. Still not as vivid as Columbian, but so bright and neon!

These are incredible!! I love your color sense.

May I ask what are the white boxes holding the arrangements? I am always trying to figure out how to properly see arrangements before I have them set.
 
I see a number of awesome upcoming projects, voce :-)
 
It’s hard for me to say which are my top five loose gems overall, since I love them all..which is why I probably have too many! Here are 5 I have set aside and hope to set in the new year. I’m using mostly vendor photos, since the lighting where I live this time of year is gloomy and bad for gemstone photography.

I really want to set this unheated sapphire I purchased from @arkieb1 , but am still trying to figure out exactly how I should set it.
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A chrysoberyl from Gem Rite
AC99438C-E3E9-4E92-82E9-D364958429DF.jpeg
A spessartite garnet from Gene, shown in the center of this photo
CB1DC839-63AE-4287-8E22-92570B3AE44D.jpeg
This trio of indicolite tourmalines cut by Jeff White that I bought on Loupe Troop
2F1270D8-4097-4E1D-B0A7-7727C43DA84B.jpeg
A chunky Mozambique purple garnet from Rioux Rocks
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That emerald is delicious!
(You know me and my blue-greens ❤️ )

I love the peacock colored layout that you have going for her!
I could eat them up!
Well...Yvonne showed me a layout of a new ring design she made, and told me she had a couple of sets of paraiba trillions to use. It's her idea to set this emerald (also sourced by her) with the paraiba. My mind filled in a vivid saturated neon blue for the third color, to make it pop. I'm lucky she had these hauynes in the shop and in the right size!

Gorgeous @voce !!! I love the blue green pairing with the amazingly saturated emerald
Thanks, I love it, too. Maybe some of the saturation is due to my phone? It also doesn't look this saturated under artificial light or yellowish lights.


What fun projects! I adore your Russian Emerald. I inherited one (a Siberian Emerald) but I've never seen any others! Mine is more a classic Colombian colour but yours can be seen from the moon. It's stunning!
Oh, I haven't even heard of a Siberian emerald; I think yours is rarer. My emerald is a special one, but it looks its best in natural lighting and not at dusk, but at noon. I also think the saturation is a tad better in the photo than in real life; all the gems in the layout with the emerald have blue in them, and we know how cell phone cameras tend to oversaturate the blue...

Is that emerald, hauyne, and paraiba I see? That's going to make a killer piece!
Yes, yes, and yes! I'm hoping so!

These are incredible!! I love your color sense.

May I ask what are the white boxes holding the arrangements? I am always trying to figure out how to properly see arrangements before I have them set.
Thanks. I'm pasting the link for the product here. They are little boxes with sticky gel on the lids, so place the gems table side against the gel, close the lid and view face up. I use tweezers to arrange the gems. https://www.stuller.com/products/62-4001/10429508/?groupId=120476&recommendationSource=SiteSearch

I see a number of awesome upcoming projects, voce :)
Yeah. Each of them is going to cost $$$ to set, though, and I have to pace myself accordingly, because I still haven't finished paying for the emerald, or for the paraiba trillions. And metal prices are up...
 
Every single one of your stones is amazing @2Neezers
Thanks for sharing them. Do you already have setting ideas?
 
3625D562-3EFB-47CA-B644-8776E516D52C.jpegECB56E6C-3BD9-4B2D-9923-46BC7BF8F9CF.jpeg20066FDF-86DB-4103-BC1A-FCF1B92C1EFD.jpeg8A9E898A-D60F-469D-98DC-3F0F14D7184B.jpeg
7CBB465A-A292-4D01-BAC5-DB823DDF415E.jpegIn my top 5 belong ruby and sapphire, spinel (especially lavender, colorchange and cobalt), Vanadium chrysoberyl and neon Orissa chrysos
 
3625D562-3EFB-47CA-B644-8776E516D52C.jpegECB56E6C-3BD9-4B2D-9923-46BC7BF8F9CF.jpeg20066FDF-86DB-4103-BC1A-FCF1B92C1EFD.jpeg8A9E898A-D60F-469D-98DC-3F0F14D7184B.jpeg
7CBB465A-A292-4D01-BAC5-DB823DDF415E.jpegIn my top 5 belong ruby and sapphire, spinel (especially lavender, colorchange and cobalt), Vanadium chrysoberyl and neon Orissa chrysos
Gorgeous!!! Beautiful spring colours
 
3625D562-3EFB-47CA-B644-8776E516D52C.jpegECB56E6C-3BD9-4B2D-9923-46BC7BF8F9CF.jpeg20066FDF-86DB-4103-BC1A-FCF1B92C1EFD.jpeg8A9E898A-D60F-469D-98DC-3F0F14D7184B.jpeg
7CBB465A-A292-4D01-BAC5-DB823DDF415E.jpegIn my top 5 belong ruby and sapphire, spinel (especially lavender, colorchange and cobalt), Vanadium chrysoberyl and neon Orissa chrysos

They’re all beautiful but I just love the pear shaped one! Do you plan to set it?
 
They’re all beautiful but I just love the pear shaped one! Do you plan to set it?

No Im a collector. Would be also bit to feminin in case of the shape for me as a man. The very few Ive set are all cushions.
 
No Im a collector. Would be also bit to feminin in case of the shape for me as a man. The very few Ive set are all cushions.

Oh got ya. If you ever post a thread for it or something please @ me. I’d love to see more.
 
Oh got ya. If you ever post a thread for it or something please @ me. I’d love to see more.

In that thread are more pics and infos about that sapphire.

 
In that thread are more pics and infos about that sapphire.


Thank you! I love that pear even more. PS is so dangerous... I’m always seeing new things and thinking, “I need one too.”
 
Thank you! I love that pear even more. PS is so dangerous... I’m always seeing new things and thinking, “I need one too.”

know that to well!! Gems can be catchy if your once infected. Over the years quite a few stones came together in my collection:saint: Its nature, there are so often new surprises are coming up and you never learning out
 
Every single one of your stones is amazing @2Neezers
Thanks for sharing them. Do you already have setting ideas?

Thank you @Acinom ! I do have an idea for the blue sapphire, but am not sure if it’s what I’ll go with yet. I bought an OEC cluster pin and am thinking of using the diamonds to make a cluster ring like this one.
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For the indicolites suite, I was thinking of a three stone halo ring and always have liked this on from Joe Escobar, but I’m not sure how it would look with the shapes of the tourmalines.
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Purchasing stones is the easy part for me, but choosing the right setting is so hard because I don’t want to get it wrong ::)
 
I must confess that these stones are on the loose again, since I did not wear the rings. And I want to wear and enjoy jewelry and not regard them as museum pieces. The Iolite and Rhodolite garnet will be set before Christmas (the Rhodolite has never been set by the way).

06FB0B49-E3BC-465D-B4B6-C2448AF26DFE.jpegA45DD1C3-EEA3-4CAB-9FF8-4D24DDF4E426.jpegBAF6FC06-877C-41B2-8E50-255383E4F40B.gifEE8411B5-8E81-4E50-A946-A3FD53A6B247.jpeg9817ABCE-4A0E-4CC1-AF66-D721985C2BCC.jpeg
 
I must confess that these stones are on the loose again, since I did not wear the rings. And I want to wear and enjoy jewelry and not regard them as museum pieces. The Iolite and Rhodolite garnet will be set before Christmas (the Rhodolite has never been set by the way).

06FB0B49-E3BC-465D-B4B6-C2448AF26DFE.jpegA45DD1C3-EEA3-4CAB-9FF8-4D24DDF4E426.jpegBAF6FC06-877C-41B2-8E50-255383E4F40B.gifEE8411B5-8E81-4E50-A946-A3FD53A6B247.jpeg9817ABCE-4A0E-4CC1-AF66-D721985C2BCC.jpeg

Sorry to hear your settings didn’t work out for you! I’m looking forward to seeing the new settings for your lovely gems!
 
Any (new) top 5 favourites lying around fellow PSers?
@dk168 @arkieb1 and others?
 
I love that you thought to include me in this thread @Snowbebe, thank you! :mrgreen2: So when I'm ready to fill a void in my collection, I tend to wait for a splurge. Thus, I don't have many "hidden gems." Those guys are up close and center! hee hee BUT, I do have a little project in mind. I'm going to take pix and be right back!!
 
I had the hardest time figuring out how to add a video. I'm giving up and including a link. :lol-2:


They are too large rainbow ammolites (natural, not triplets!). The ends are much redder in person... my camera kills warmth. Not sure which I'll use. I sort of like the "dragon skin" one on the left because it glitters in the light. Anyway, my plan is to make an 18kyg pendant using one of these stones and the rainbow faceted gems below. I will halo them and add a diamond at the top.

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There are red, green, and orange garnets in there, rubellite, pink, and paraiba tourmaline, blue and pad sapphires, ruby, chrysoberyl, emerald and aqua, spinels, tanzanite, citrine and amethyst, and more! They're 4 or 5mm, I believe. Took me forever to source all of the colors without treatment (except the tanzie, of course, which is heated) in the same sizes and with decent cutting! They're a bit dulled by the lid of the gem box, but they're really vibrant in person.

Sorry for the small book... I'm just excited! heeeee
 
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