I Want To Get My Daughter An Opal Ring

[AGBF]

I want to get my daughter an opal ring for her sixteenth birthday and I do not want to spend a fortune. (I will give you particulars on that later.) I found this ring on a website for just over $200, which, in my opinion, is not cheap! I know she would like a larger stone, but I like this look. Can anyone help me find this look with a bigger stone? (This one is 8mm x 6mm and .6 carat. It is being sold on the Jewels for Me website from which I have bought her jewelry before.)




Deb

 

[mercoledi]

How sweet!

This one is way under budget and looks like a nice opal.

Another one, slightly dated setting.

Pretty vintage design

Smidge over-budget set with tanzanite.

 

[mercoledi]

One more, from Art Cut Gems Opal in YG, $200

 

[HeadOverHeels4James]

Date: 7/21/2008 1:08:04 PM
Author: mercoledi
How sweet!


This one is way under budget and looks like a nice opal.


Another one, slightly dated setting.


Pretty vintage design


Smidge over-budget set with tanzanite.

OK.. As a 21 year old I will say I PERSONALLY think that this one Smidge over-budget set with tanzanite. is the most age appropriate. I''m sure she will love any of them, but personally, I would wear this one.

 

[AGBF]

mercoledi,

Thank you so much for your research! I absolutely love the ring set with tanzanite! I was rushing earlier because my husband and I were being picked up to go for lunch by our neighbors, so I didn''t have time to explain properly. I am not strictly tied to a $200.00 budget. I had just been commenting that $200.00 was not "nothing" to me! I have seen some pretty rings for $499.00 that, from a reputable website (or jeweler) would definitely be fine for my purposes. I might even go higher than that...I just am not looking for something that costs thousands of dollars.

I told my daughter that our trip to Charleston, South Carolina was her sixteenth birthday present. She also knows that in the near future I am going to give her the Bellerina pendant that I bought, but have never worn. The only question is whether she will receive it for her sixteenth birthday or not. At the moment it does not look as if she will be receiving it at 16, because she has not been acting quite as responsible as I would want the owner of such a pendant to act. That does not mean that she is being deprived of jewelry, however!

So if you see any other opals (preferably ovals) that can be set in settings similar to the one I found or the one with the tanzanite, please don''t restrict yourself to $200.00! I wish I had a little more time. I might buy a stone and try to set it. I have only a month and I don''t want a custom setting, though!

Deb

 

[AGBF]

Date: 7/21/2008 4:44:05 PM

Author: HeadOverHeels4James

OK.. As a 21 year old I will say I PERSONALLY think that this one Smidge over-budget set with tanzanite. is the most age appropriate. I''m sure she will love any of them, but personally, I would wear this one.

HeadOverHeels, I agree with you and think you have very good taste!




Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Date: 7/21/2008 4:52:28 PM

Author: AGBF

HeadOverHeels, I agree with you and think you have very good taste!

I should elaborate that the reason I am not rushing to buy this is that I am hoping to get a slightly larger opal. I also hope to find a ring with a plainer shank. I still think that that ring is extremely elegant, however.


Deborah

 

[mercoledi]

Ok, I get it. What size/range are you looking for?

Try searching here for opal, there are some nice ovals.

Pretty round though it would have to be reset.

Or email Dan Stair who''s on a cutting blitz and see if he has anything that isn''t listed just now.

Also maybe ask Andrey to move this thread to "Colored Stones", there''s a very active and helpful community there these days.

Good luck! I''m sure your daughter will shape up, the 15/16 transition is a tough one.

 

[purrfectpear]

Just a note in case you weren''t aware, but opals are extremely fragile gems. Do you think she is rough on rings?

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Deb~

This is SUCH a coincidence! When I turned 16, my Mom gave me her opal ring. She bought it for herself before I was born. I had always LOVED that ring, and I asked to try it on every time she wore it! (What can I say . . . my jewelry habit started at a young age! LOL!)

My opal is oval with a diamond halo, and it''s set in white gold. I absolutely love it, but I don''t wear it often for two reasons: white gold irritates my skin, and I''m SO afraid I''ll hurt it! (As PurrfectPear said, opals are very fragile.)

Good luck with your search, and I hope you find a great one!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/21/2008 7:04:57 PM
Author: Irishgrrrl
Deb~

This is SUCH a coincidence! When I turned 16, my Mom gave me her opal ring. She bought it for herself before I was born. I had always LOVED that ring, and I asked to try it on every time she wore it! (What can I say . . . my jewelry habit started at a young age! LOL!)

My opal is oval with a diamond halo, and it''s set in white gold. I absolutely love it, but I don''t wear it often for two reasons: white gold irritates my skin, and I''m SO afraid I''ll hurt it! (As PurrfectPear said, opals are very fragile.)

Good luck with your search, and I hope you find a great one!

Add me to the list. I got an opal ring when I ws 17 (HS graduation). I loved it but didn''t wear it often because it did seem a bit fragile. So it stayed in my jewelry box, where one day my dad must have hit it into the trash and no one noticed. So it''s lost forever, as is my mother''s original e-ring (which was in that box).

 

[AGBF]

Date: 7/21/2008 6:20:07 PM
Author: purrfectpear
Just a note in case you weren''t aware, but opals are extremely fragile gems. Do you think she is rough on rings?

I did know, purrfectpear, but I thank you for the warning. I am less worried about the opal''s fragility than I am about my daughter''s complete mindlessness. She loses everything. That is one reason that I do not want to give her a valuable necklace, although she has had some special pieces of childhood jewelry that we have managed to keep safe by keeping them in a safe deposit box or having me hold them. I do not want to have to be responsible for expensive pieces of jewelry that belong to her. It was enough that I was the guardian of some sentimental but not really expensive pieces of jewelry mentioned above (small emerald pieces bought for her when she was an infant in Colombia, a diamond ring made from a couple of points of diamonds taken from one of my rings when she was an infant, etc.). She also has a couple of strands of Akoya pearls and some freshwater pearls. But she has lost many pieces of jewelry and she leaves her purse everywhere. She is a disaster.

Deborah

 

[Skippy123]

Deb, my mom gave me a diamond ring for my 21st birthday maybe by then she will be ready for the beautiful Belle pendant. Richard Martin might have an opal; you might want to email him and let him know what you are looking for. You are such a sweet mom and kind lady!

 

[AGBF]

Thanks for the advice, Skippy. I had also meant to reply to Irishgrrrl and TravelingGal, but I got enlisted in doing some important research for a family member. I love it when some of you women tell stories of receiving pieces of jewelry on special occasions and that it made you feel remember them. Your two opal stories were music to my ears!

And, Skippy, I do think I will have to contact Richard Martin!

Deb

 

[Elmorton]

My mom''s birthstone is an opal (I''ve always loved them, but she would tell me they were bad luck for me to wear!) but she gave me a ring for my b-day this year - we had our jeweler make some changes to a ring a boyfriend gave her when she was in college - a bit of a recycle project Anyway, I love the opal ring, but if I had to choose an opal for myself, I would have liked one that is less white. My mom''s greenish and blueish opals are TDF in my opinion.

Also, have you looked at any local jewelers'' with estate cases? My mom has found some really great estate opal rings. Another idea - what about an opal set in sterling?

Honestly, though - I really liked the yg split shank ring someone posted from Art Cut Gems. Can also attest that they''re wonderful to work with.

 

[AGBF]

I wanted to update this thread to let everyone who helped me know what has been going on (not that much has been yet!). I e-mailed Rick Martin of Art Cut Gems and he has replied. I am hopeful that we will be able to decide whether we can get my daughter a ring with a pre-existing mounting or whether we have to go to custom work. I thank you all for your help, especially you, mercoledi! You really did a lot of legwork for me and I appreciate it very much!

Skippy and Elmorton, you seem to have sent me to someone good!

Deb

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/24/2008 1:51:24 PM
Author: AGBF



I wanted to update this thread to let everyone who helped me know what has been going on (not that much has been yet!). I e-mailed Rick Martin of Art Cut Gems and he has replied. I am hopeful that we will be able to decide whether we can get my daughter a ring with a pre-existing mounting or whether we have to go to custom work. I thank you all for your help, especially you, mercoledi! You really did a lot of legwork for me and I appreciate it very much!

Skippy and Elmorton, you seem to have sent me to someone good!

Deb

Deb, thanks for the update! Can''t wait to see what you decide on. You are such a sweet mom, bless you!

 

[AGBF]

Right now Rick and I agree that if we stay with an oval we will stay with an 8 mm x 10 mm stone since my daughter has very slender fingers and I want the ring to look ladylike on her. We think that that is the biggest size we can give her without undermining my purposes. I am not sure that a 9 mm x 7 mm would not be better!

I have had another idea though: a wire-wrapped ring! In my travels, looking at opals on the Internet, I saw a gorgeous square cut opal. It made me wonder what an opal would look like wrapped in gold wire, looking like a Christmas present. So I mentioned the idea to Rick by e-mail and I started to look through Google images. Sure enough, people have wire-wrapped opals in the past!

So that is where I am today .

Deborah

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/26/2008 2:51:45 PM
Author: AGBF


Right now Rick and I agree that if we stay with an oval we will stay with an 8 mm x 10 mm stone since my daughter has very slender fingers and I want the ring to look ladylike on her. We think that that is the biggest size we can give her without undermining my purposes. I am not sure that a 9 mm x 7 mm would not be better!

I have had another idea though: a wire-wrapped ring! In my travels, looking at opals on the Internet, I saw a gorgeous square cut opal. It made me wonder what an opal would look like wrapped in gold wire, looking like a Christmas present. So I mentioned the idea to Rick by e-mail and I started to look through Google images. Sure enough, people have wire-wrapped opals in the past!

So that is where I am today .

Deborah

Oooooh, that sounds beautiful you had me looking for fun too! Sounds like a wonderful gift. I wonder how comfortable they are?

 

[AGBF]

I thought it was time to update this thread. I decided to go with an 8 mm x 10 mm stone since that is the size that my daughter wanted. Rick suggested some Stuller settings that would hold that size stone and that he felt might give me a look I liked. I picked one. The one I picked had too absolutely miniscule diamonds in it. (No wire wrapping.)

We discussed the quality of those tiny, uncertified diamonds and I decided to get a slightly better quality although it will probably not show at all! Then we had to choose between two white opals. Although my daughter will not know one from another, I opted for the better quality with more fire...and so the ring was ready to be made.

Delivery was attempted yesterday. I may be able to pick up he package today! We will be going to Maine for a week; when we return, it will be my daughter's birthday. I hope she loves the ring!

Deborah

 

[zoebartlett]

Deb -- I can''t wait to see pics!

Where in Maine will you be? If you need recommendations of places to eat, etc. on the southern coast, let me know.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/15/2008 6:34:24 AM
Author: AGBF


Delivery was attempted yesterday. I may be able to pick up he package today! We will be going to Maine for a week; when we return, it will be my daughter's birthday. I hope she loves the ring!

Deborah

It sounds beautiful!!! I can't wait to hear more; that is wonderful!!

I want to see pictures too pretty please

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Deb, that''s great! I''m sure she''ll love it! Please post pics ASAP!!!

 

[oshinbreez]

What about this?


ETA: Didn't finish reading that you got one.

 

[mercoledi]

Thanks for the update, I hope she loves it!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/15/2008 7:07:47 AM

Author: ZoeBartlett

Where in Maine will you be? If you need recommendations of places to eat, etc. on the southern coast, let me know.

Dear ZoeB, Thank you for the offer. If we venture into new places someday, I will definitely take you up on the offer! There is a huge amount of Maine, and we have not discovered 97% of it!

Although we have not visited in the past six or seven years, we used to go to Maine for our vacation every summer. My husband and I started to do this before our daughter was born. In the beginning we used to go the week after Labor Day weekend when the crowds were gone. We were able to keep this up when our daughter was little, but-as my dentist (a father of five) predicted-we soon joined the hoardes vacationing there during the summer, before Labor Day! Everyone from Connecticut, our home state, seems to relocate there for a week or so in August, thus emptying the streets of our town and crowding all the streets of the Maine resort towns! It isn't that pleasant. September was a lot nicer!!!

At any rate, we used to stay at the same family-owned place in Boothbay Harbor every summer and we had our routine places to go. Then we used to add a few days in Bar Harbor on to the trip, staying in Boothbay Harbor before and after a few days in Bar Harbor. I think that we tired of Boothbay Harbor and went straight to Bar Harbor for a few years. My daughter has the distinction of having had her appendix removed at the Mount Desert Isle Hospital in Bar Harbor (at age 5). I had been sent all over the island, back and forth over huge distances between the hospital and a remote clinic and eventually sent home...by the time the surgeon was called in her appendix was about to burst! The following year my daughter declared that she did not like Maine, and we skipped our Maine vacation!

At any rate, since we plan to stay in Boothbay Harbor and since we will not even be there for a full week, I am afraid that we will not be able to make use of suggestions this year. Unless you know of any new restaurants in Boothbay Harbor! I am sure that the area has changed dramatically in 6-7 years!

Thank you,
Deborah

 

[AGBF]

I am not sure what size this photo will be, but it is the setting I picked to make my daughter's ring. Hers will be in yellow gold, however, and will hold an opal. I misspelled, "two" above, writing, "too". I meant that there will be two miniscule diamonds in the ring; you can see them in this setting. At least I hope that you will be able to see them once the photograph loads! As I have said, this opal will be 8 mm x 10 mm, the size my daughter wanted, and thus larger than the stone in the first photograph I posted. (That ring was more my style than hers! I always liked delicate, classic jewelry.) I am hoping she will love this ring.


Deborah

 

[AGBF]

I have the ring and it is great beyond my wildest expectations! It is going to be a birthday present, so I am keeping it hidden unitl my daughter''s birthday. I am only disappointed that I was able to unpack it secretly (i.e. without my daughter being aware) and photograph it secretly, plus load software onto this computer in Connecticut that would allow me to post a digital photograph and edit a photograph...only to realize I had no cord to connect my camera to the computer. (The only one I have is in Virginia. I leave it permanently plugged into the computer there!)

So the surreptitious photographs I took will have to wait! They were on my hand, too! The ring is supposedly a 5 1/2 and I am a 6, but I think that my ring fnger is permanently slimmed from 31 years of wearing my wedding ring! My daughter plans to wear the 5 1/2 on the largest of her fingers, her ring finger being a 4 or so!

I could borrow that ring! It is gorgeous!!! Thank you for a great job, Rick Martin!!!

Deborah

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/16/2008 12:08:16 PM
Author: AGBF


I have the ring and it is great beyond my wildest expectations! It is going to be a birthday present, so I am keeping it hidden unitl my daughter''s birthday. I am only disappointed that I was able to unpack it secretly (i.e. without my daughter being aware) and photograph it secretly, plus load software onto this computer in Connecticut that would allow me to post a digital photograph and edit a photograph...only to realize I had no cord to connect my camera to the computer. (The only one I have is in Virginia. I leave it permanently plugged into the computer there!)

So the surreptitious photographs I took will have to wait! They were on my hand, too! The ring is supposedly a 5 1/2 and I am a 6, but I think that my ring fnger is permanently slimmed from 31 years of wearing my wedding ring! My daughter plans to wear the 5 1/2 on the largest of her fingers, her ring finger being a 4 or so!

I could borrow that ring! It is gorgeous!!! Thank you for a great job, Rick Martin!!!

Deborah

OH YAY YAY,

I am so happy for both of you! She will love it!!! I love it when my mom and I share jewelry

What a sweet mom you are

 

[AGBF]

Thanks, Skippy and Michelle! It is nice to have people care . My husband, my daughter, and I leave for a few days in Maine without computer access tomorrow so I will be unable to read or contribute to Pricescope as of then. If anyone writes anything here (or in any other thread) I won't see it for a while. So please do not think I am being rude if I seem to ignore your posting on or after August 17!

My best to everyone,
Deborah