Mara dear....

[Gypsy]

I just talked to Erik at Joe Escobar. We have an appointment with him at 11:45 on Friday.

AND he''s got a baguette halo ring in the store he will how us!!! Plus a couple of pave halo ones too of course. THANK YOU for the recommendation! If nothing else I''ll be able to see the two styles side by side and see how I feel.

Will I see you there, then?

 

[Mara]

YAY!!! Of course you will chickadee. If you have time after we get out of there, we can grab a quick bite and chat! See ya Fri...I''m JAZZED about seeing the baguette halo!

 

[widget]

Hey Gypsy.... I''m not dear Mara, but I just wanted to say that I think it''s GREAT that you''ll be able to see the bag halo and regular pave, too!!! What fun!

Being able to see these in real life...on your hand...has GOT to be a huge help in figuring out what works best for you.

Have a ball, TAKE PICTURES, and come back with a full report...

widget

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yeah, Mara..please take your camera!!!

 

[Mara]

Date: 10/10/2006 6:11:46 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Yeah, Mara..please take your camera!!!

Oh I will!

 

[pricescope]

Please take one from the side Mara, i would be very interested to see the angle of baguettes halo, pretty please.

 

[Mara]

Date: 10/10/2006 6:38:37 PM
Author: Pricescope
Please take one from the side Mara, i would be very interested to see the angle of baguettes halo, pretty please.

OK!

 

[isaku5]

I''m "jazzed up" about your visit too Gypsy and Mara and I won''t even be there. Yes, by all means, take lots and lots of pictures!!!!

 

[Gypsy]

Oh Yeah! Mara''s photography will be a great help! Thanks Mara! Oh I''m so EXCITED! We''ll definitely grab some lunch. I told Eric about a half hour or so for the meeting. I have an hour and half. If it take me about 15 minutes to get there and 15 to get back that leaves us with some time for food!

Widget-- you''re always welcome to join, as you well know.


YAY!!!

 

[widget]

Have fun tomorrow you guys!

Can''t wait to hear all about it!

widget

 

[Mara]

see ya tomorrow Gyp!

 

[Gypsy]

1 hour and 45 minutes to BLING!!!

I can't wait!! Thanks Widget! See you there Mara!

 

[Mara]

just a quickie update...i''m at work right now, but gyp and i saw a ton of things at JE earlier today. i''m sure she will fill everyone in on the whole baguette halo thang, but it seems like that style is out of the running for her after seeing it in person. it was very well made and beautiful, but it''s just such a subtle look. she tried on a bunch of other settings and we may have a potential winner.

erik at JE was exceptional, just fabulous. he spent about an hour and a half with us (1/2 hour yeah right!) and showed us whatever our fast fingers could point to. we took a ton of pictures (thanks for letting us erik!!) which i will download and post later...the crowning glory for today was a 4c rectangular cushion which was just amazing, in a handmade JE setting with the most beautiful scooped basket holding the diamond. it was just divine. DIVINE i tell you. yours for only $90k.

 

[Julian]

PICS!

PICS!

PICS!

And it has been too long since Mara''s last pics of her wedding set! (tapping foot!) LOL.

 

[Mara]

HAH it''s funny you say that Julian because they cleaned our rings and polished up Gypsy''s and my rings looked absolutely amazing! i mean i dont know what those jeweler cleaners do that my $40 US doesnt (hee hee) but whatever it is, it surely works!!! i was speechless at how bright and white everything looked. so of course i had to take some pictures of my set after it was so clean and i had my camera out!! so i''ll post those too. haha.

 

[Julian]

THANKS! Hahahaha. I love it when you update the folder with new pics of the sparklies. It''s like looking at artwork!

You should make a CALENDAR -- of your sparklies! January-December 2007.

I''d buy it!!!!!!!!!!

Or -- a 2007 Pricescope calendar like pinups, but of RINGS!

Cover "girls":
January: Mara''s dazzling set
February: KristyDarling''s Leon
March: Kaleigh''s Tiffany set
April: Matadora''s Superbcert set
May: Wallermama''s asscher
June: PrEcIouSjEwel''s honker
July: DiaDiamond''s emerald cut stunner
August: Fire Princess''s Pear
September: Divergrrl''s bling
October: Researcher''s (princess?)
.... can''t go on because now my head is filled with 100 gorgeous rings and I can''t narrow them down anymore!!!

 

[Scintillating]

Date: 10/13/2006 6:33:25 PM
Author: Julian
THANKS! Hahahaha. I love it when you update the folder with new pics of the sparklies. It''s like looking at artwork!


You should make a CALENDAR -- of your sparklies! January-December 2007.


I''d buy it!!!!!!!!!!


Or -- a 2007 Pricescope calendar like pinups, but of RINGS!


Cover ''girls'':

January: Mara''s dazzling set

February: KristyDarling''s Leon

March: Kaleigh''s Tiffany set

April: Matadora''s Superbcert set

May: Wallermama''s asscher

June: PrEcIouSjEwel''s honker

July: DiaDiamond''s emerald cut stunner

August: Fire Princess''s Pear

September: Divergrrl''s bling

October: Researcher''s (princess?)

.... can''t go on because now my head is filled with 100 gorgeous rings and I can''t narrow them down anymore!!!

Widget''s 3 Stone Asscher/EC - Needs to be added too!

Scintillating...

 

[Julian]

Oh my.... gotta add yours, too.

You can be December!

See why I abandoned this project? Too many gorgeous rings!!!!!

 

[Art Nouveau]

Gypsy and Mara,

Sounds like you two had a great time at JE. I was there once some time ago, but haven''t been there recently. Can''t wait to see Mara''s pics. I am curious to hear Gypsy''s opinion of the baguette halo after having seen one in person. At the last San Mateo gem show, I saw a very nice one made by a LA manufacturer. It was a 3-4 carat fancy yellow radiant wth the baguette halo invisable setting. Just my two cents, I really like this setting for a center stone with color. The baguette halo has unstated elegance, and enhances the color center stone. But with a white Asscher cut diamond, it seems like too much of the same style and instead of enhancing the center stone, it sort of blends in. For an Asscher, I like the classic 1920s Cartier for stones 5 carats or bigger. For smaller stones, I like the usual pave with round diamonds, with or without trap sides. I think Lovey''s Asscher is one of the nicest Leon rings that I have seen on this site.

AN

 

[widget]

Author: Art Nouveau
Just my two cents, I really like this setting for a center stone with color. The baguette halo has unstated elegance, and enhances the color center stone.

Me too, AN! In fact I think it was Gypsy''s then avatar, with a blue sapphire in a baguette halo, that got me so in love with the concept in the first place...

OK, girls....where are those pictures?! Do we have to wait til tomorrow to see them? Chop chop!

widget

 

[Mara]

SORRY i just got home and showered from the gym and then i had to paint my nails in the new WICKED goth color for fall...hahaha. also i used up my entire memory card which means my computer is going to HATE ME when i upload 500 pictures to review them. i will try to get a few up though...!

 

[Mara]

okay i''ve got some photos, i will slowly be uploading...stay tuned!

the baguette halo they had in the store. the amazing part is that this asscher was TINY...like 1/2c maybe? or even smaller who knows. then they built it out with the baguettes. very interesting. this is not the one on their website, that was done for another client.

 

[Mara]

side view..

 

[Gypsy]

WOW. I had a great time.

First off... thank you to Mara and her amazing eye and enthusiasm for bling! It was SUCH a help to have such a knowledgable shopping buddy.

We spent so much time there I was late going back to work... AND we didn''t even eat or get a chance to talk about anyting other jewelry really. We''ll have to meet again, and this time limit it to lunch. Thank you Mara!

Second, Erik was WONDERFUL. We just kept pulling settings and he''d just leave them out for us to play with. we had about ten settings out at one point ... and Mara was wearing THREE! That''s a pic I can''t wait for!

Third, the baguette halo. Art Nouveau and widget hit the nail on the head. The baguette halo... while VERY VERY nicely executed was well... bland. I CLEARLY need a 3 carat ceylon saphire or canary diamond in order to execute that design. So I''ve bidden it goodbye.

NOW to other the settings we saw for my asscher. We got to see MANY different types of pave, or halos, of milgrain. it was FABULOUS. And I had very reactions to things. I knew what I didn''t like right away. Oh... and Mara asked about the difference in the pave brightness of one setting versus another and we were told the channel where the diamonds were set was polished before the diamonds were placed in it... and in another that channel wasn''t. It was a noticable difference in brightness. Such a sharp eye our Mara has.

The Michael B Trois collection-- VERY NICE. And this one BEAUTIFUL split shank setting they had a 5 carat CZ asscher set in.

The Micheal B trois gave me a custom idea I am having Eric qoute me for (Mara that design occured to me while I was mulling things over at work. What a PITA work was this afternoon. I was AT a computer and couldn''t POST! TORTURE!). Basically I am thinking of a 1.5 mm pave halo around my asscher that has pave both on the top and on the sides of the halo. The head would sit on the shank like the Richard Landi Setting I fell in LOVE with so many months ago shown below. The ring would be single shank and it would allow for a flush fit band. The idea is just percollating for me... so I''m going to wait to see what eric proposes. I just gave him a rough outline of what I was thinking and asked for a couple design proposals.

The second setting Mara has pictures of. Its a split shank halo. So lovely. My only concerns are that I didn''t adore the side view... it wasn''t delicate enough for me... but it was made for a 5 carat stone so... it''s not going to be delicate. Also the shank might be too wide for my 6mm stone. BUT it''s a stock setting so I wouldn''t have to worry about the headaches of custom and as a result it SHOULD cost less than a custom setting. But when Erik called to see if they could bring in a a sample of the setting for a 1 carat.. they didn''t have ANY or even any close to the size. AND they hassled him about the cost of it (I wanted the diamonds to stop farther up the shank) so he gave them a stern talking to and they said they''d get back to him early next week. So we''ll have to see. If it''s not cheaper to get that as stock... then what''s the point? I''ll customize it and then at least I''ll be sure about the shank width and the side view.

Eric had my setting polished for me. SO nice of him. AND guess what? I don''t know if you all recall but there was this little ripple in the basket of my setting that drove me INSANE for the last four years... they polished it all ... and the bloody ripple is a memory! The setting looks NEW and so nice!

MAN do I need to get an Ultra sonic cleaner though. Let me tell you. Night and day difference with my grubby asscher. It''s sparkling like mad... and it''s been 8 freaking hours!

OH and we tried on bangles (YUMMY) and tennis bracelets. AND saw some branded cut (Mara can you recall the name of that) that frankly had underwhelming results. The stones were dark and yellow. Ick. it was a step cut variation... but I gotta say I would take a generic step cut over that branded cut any day.

And the radiant... or cushion with corners... or whatever it was with the custom halo was BEAUTIFUL. Huge, cause Mara snagged it, but stunning. SO much fire.

Whew. That''s my re-cap. And I can''t wait till Mara posts pics!

 

[Mara]

last shot of the baguette halo. it didn''t get too much air time unfortunately since it was out of the running almost immediately.

 

[snlee]

Date: 10/13/2006 11:39:06 PM
Author: Gypsy

Eric had my setting polished for me. SO nice of him. AND guess what? I don''t know if you all recall but there was this little ripple in the basket of my setting that drove me INSANE for the last four years... they polished it all ... and the bloody ripple is a memory! The setting looks NEW and so nice!

Oh yay, Gypsy! That''s awesome!

Sounds like you guys had lots of fun! Can''t wait to see all of the pictures.

 

[Mara]

lol gypsy, we saw so much so fast, i am amazed i remember any of it. but i have a ton of pictures, i am only 1/3 of the way through.

by the way i wanted to also say that these pictures of the baguette halo are being KIND to it. it is not this SPARKLY in person. it is VERY sedate with relatively little sparkle. part of it could be that the asscher itself is so small and the baguettes are not doing justice to it, with a bigger asscher and only a tiny bit of baguettes, it might be a totally different piece.

 

[Mara]

here is gypsy''s top contender after our visit today, but with some modifications or customizing...this is a 5c asscher so obviously hers is a little smaller. JE does lots of custom work so they didn''t blink an eye on going custom for the setting and doing elements of this one and others as well. erik was so helpful.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 10/13/2006 11:48:35 PM
Author: Mara
lol gypsy, we saw so much so fast, i am amazed i remember any of it. but i have a ton of pictures, i am only 1/3 of the way through.

by the way i wanted to also say that these pictures of the baguette halo are being KIND to it. it is not this SPARKLY in person. it is VERY sedate with relatively little sparkle. part of it could be that the asscher itself is so small and the baguettes are not doing justice to it, with a bigger asscher and only a tiny bit of baguettes, it might be a totally different piece.

That was EXACTLY how I felt about it. Completely.

 

[Mara]

ok so i cant keep track of these things, i am just going to post. here we go!

this one is a side view of this ring...it was a 3c center and i liked the split crown aspect of it. the side view was breathtaking...it didn't look busy in person amazingly. so well done. this was a JE design. i have a top down shot of it coming up at some point..hehee.