Clairitek
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2008
- Messages
- 4,881
For many years I have had a little family stone kicking around my jewelry box. I never had it graded but an appraiser estimate it to be about .45-.5 carats, H/I in color and an "SI3" (is that even a clarity grade? I thought 1 and 2 were the only SIs??). Anyhow, I didn''t really care about the grade because its a family stone and my grandmother gave it to me. Its "eye clean" to me, I have to get that sucker really close to my eyes to see the stuff inside of it. Now that I have a handy little scope from BGD (more on that in a minute) I can see where all of the inclusions are.
Around Christmas time I decided to find a "matching" stone and make a pair of studs. I kept waffling on what kind of setting I would put the family stone in had I decided to set it. I went out looking for a similar stone for studs and decided to make something happen with BGD. The stones in my price range for a matching size were all lower in color but I figured A) I am not color sensitive and B) my face will be in between the stones so a few grades in difference would be fine. Plus, with a stone cut to perfection I knew it would hide some of the body color. Also, we are talking about a 0.4 carat stone so I didn''t think color would make a huge show.
When my BGD stone arrived it knocked my socks off! I sent off a rave email to Lesley along the lines of "Holy fireball Batman!" I never knew that a stone so small could pack such a PUNCH!
Then DH and I decided to renovate our bathroom. Like, take it down to the studs and leave nothing behind but the pipes and bathtub. I decided to put off setting my babies because I wanted to leave more cash for the reno.
When searching for a quote on setting my stones I immediately turned to an Etst jeweler that made my colorful sliding bezel pendant bridesmaid gifts (in my avatar right now). I saw some other examples of their work including some intricate detailed pieces. I knew I wanted delicate little prong tips and felt totally confident that this jeweler could pull it off. Plus, the cost for me to set my stones with them vs a more traditional vendor was about half.
So without further delay, here are my (approximately) 0.8 carat total weight, platinum 3-prong martini studs.
The stone I bought is a 0.39 carat K/VS 1 BGD signature round brilliant. I will work on some better pictures when I have sun. The darkness in the stones is the reflection of the camera. They are both very bright and sparkley, even in boring ole indoor lighting.
Around Christmas time I decided to find a "matching" stone and make a pair of studs. I kept waffling on what kind of setting I would put the family stone in had I decided to set it. I went out looking for a similar stone for studs and decided to make something happen with BGD. The stones in my price range for a matching size were all lower in color but I figured A) I am not color sensitive and B) my face will be in between the stones so a few grades in difference would be fine. Plus, with a stone cut to perfection I knew it would hide some of the body color. Also, we are talking about a 0.4 carat stone so I didn''t think color would make a huge show.
When my BGD stone arrived it knocked my socks off! I sent off a rave email to Lesley along the lines of "Holy fireball Batman!" I never knew that a stone so small could pack such a PUNCH!
Then DH and I decided to renovate our bathroom. Like, take it down to the studs and leave nothing behind but the pipes and bathtub. I decided to put off setting my babies because I wanted to leave more cash for the reno.
When searching for a quote on setting my stones I immediately turned to an Etst jeweler that made my colorful sliding bezel pendant bridesmaid gifts (in my avatar right now). I saw some other examples of their work including some intricate detailed pieces. I knew I wanted delicate little prong tips and felt totally confident that this jeweler could pull it off. Plus, the cost for me to set my stones with them vs a more traditional vendor was about half.
So without further delay, here are my (approximately) 0.8 carat total weight, platinum 3-prong martini studs.
The stone I bought is a 0.39 carat K/VS 1 BGD signature round brilliant. I will work on some better pictures when I have sun. The darkness in the stones is the reflection of the camera. They are both very bright and sparkley, even in boring ole indoor lighting.