My latest acquisitions...

[platinumrock]

I've been hoarding these stones for a while now, but have been too lazy to post them. Ideally, I'd be rich and I'd be able to set all of them at once so I can actually wear them, but alas. Reality sets in, and money has to be rationed. What? You mean we have to pay the bills? What is this thing you call a "savings"?

Thanks for letting me indulge in this "sickness". Or as my husband complains, "Why can't you take up cheaper hobbies like gardening or painting? Like normal people." They will never understand.

I have to start with this dendritic agate. It's so cool, it reminds me of nature. It measures 1x2 inches.

 

[platinumrock]

1.83 lavender spinel from Tan. This is a very unusual stone.

 

[platinumrock]

1) .68 OMC with a large culet.

2) 1.23 Light blue sapphire with tsavorite and peachy spinel at about 1 ct. each. Call me crazy but I'm thinking of making this into a 3-stone.

3) 4.03 green tourmaline.

 

[Upgradable]

Oh, Lordy!!! I'm swooning over the lavendar spinel.

 

[kelpie]

That spinel looks like it's from outerspace! I love them both. Supposing you had the funds now, how would you set them?

ETA- And that OMC! Just look at its adorable belly button.

 

[platinumrock]

Last, but not least, a mixture of colors I've been missing. I know they're not top color, but they will do for now.

1) Top row: 5 ct. tourmaline. 6 ct. citrine, 6 ct. rose quartz
Bottom row: 3 ct. green beryl, 2 ct. light pink spinel, 3 ct. blue zircon (small for its weight)

2) Spinel, zircon and green beryl.

Thanks for looking!

 

[JewelFreak]

They are all gorgeous! The agate reminds me of Cape Cod in winter. Yes -- a 3-stone! Those look fantastic together.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

The lavender spinel is just dreamy - I love it!

I am also very fond of Antigua as well

 

[platinumrock]

Uppy, thank you!! The color really stood to me, and for the price I had to snag it. It even has pink fluoro. But I don't know how it gets its lavender hue.

Kelpie, thank you! That would be so cool if it did come from outer space, and it had superpowers. Like the ability to turn any form of matter into any type of stone you desire. I would definitely set the lavender spinel in an 18K YG halo. I love the color combo, and it would have an ethereal look to it. Aww, an OMC bellybutton. I never thought of it that way! I'm just glad that people don't think it's a window.

Jewelfreak, thank you! Oooh Cape Cod in the winter...that's quite a perspective! Somehow I always see a beach with sand dunes or a foggy meadow. The question is, how would one set this thing? Brooch? Pendant? And where would you wear it to? lol I'm so glad I'm not alone on the 3-stone idea.

Lady Disdain, thank you! The spinel is definitely one of my favorite stones. It's so unusual. The "Antigua" is actually a ceramic souvenir that my mother-in-law brought from Guatemala. It says "Antigua Guatemala", which means "old" or "antique" Guatemala. But now you got me thinking about Antigua. Definitely on my list of places to visit.

 

[LD]

OMG that Agate is just beyond beautiful. I've wanted a good one FOR AGES and now you've reignited my quest!

The spinel is also gorgeous - I bet it has strong fluor doesn't it? The sunlight shot looks very "fluoury". Not a word, I know, but you know what I mean.

Lovely new gemstones - many congratulations.

 

[marcy]

Very pretty.

 

[Indylady]

Love that lavender spinel!!

 

[pregcurious]

The color combination of the spinel, zircon and green beryl is intriguing. The zircon color really stands out!

 

[T L]

PR,
Very nice new acquisitions! I'm glad you're posting again too!

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Your agate looks like a scenic painting! Very Nice! All of your gems are Lovely!!!

 

[platinumrock]

LD, thank you!! Yes it is "floury", a pink one. Flouro, floury, same thing right? The weird thing is that it has pink fluoro with UV light but purplish with direct sunlight. I remember a thread a few years ago with this amazing scenic agate on a brooch. It literally looked like an oil painting. Since then I've been on a search, and when I saw this one, I knew I had to snag it. I wish I knew your email addy, I'd give you the seller's name.

Marcy and Indylady, thank you!

Pregcurious, thank yoU! I'm actually surprised you notice the spinel/zircon/green beryl trio. I thought the zircon looked dead in the pics, I wish I was able to capture the true blue-green color and sparkle. And even though the green beryl has a yellow/gray tone, there's something organic about the color.

TL, thank you!! I'm glad to have your approval. It's nice to be posting again too. I told Chrono that I'll have to teach myself how to post without being tempted by all the "must have" eyecandies.

Zestfullybling, thank you! Wow, a scenic painting?? That's such a huge compliment. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who saw nature in this stone. Hehee..your name reminds me of "Zestfully clean".

 

[bright ice]

Quite a beautiful acquisition you found. Love the spinel and tourmaline!

 

[natsplat]

Gah, what glorious eyecandy! I have an especial love for your cutie OMC - bellybutton is right! SO CUTE

The floury lavender spinel is something else as well: that will be one spectacular piece when you set it! I have a big thing for lavender atm, which is odd coz I'm not so keen on purple *shrug*

Your bright threesome of sapphire/tsav/spinel that you see in a three-stoner: I see them as interchangable stackers that can look like a single three-stone ring, or then mixed up with possibly an optional small diamond round for variety...?!

Please post more more more! It's wonderful to see your collection x

 

[chrono]

The agate has a well defined and beautiful scenic picture. I think that's a fabulous purchase. The OMC is no slouch either, together with the trio of tsav, sapphire and peachy spinel.

 

[stargurl78]

Ooo I love your OMC! And that spinel is soooooo cool!! Can't wait to see what you do with all of them

 

[SB621]

Oh i love pictures pictures pictures!!!!!

Gorgeous OMC!!!! I"m drooling over it! And I love the 3 stone ring idea. Who would you have set it? I can't wait for updates...please say you will post more when they are set!

 

[Kismet]

Wow, you have been holding out on us. I love that 3 stone ring idea, those colors look great together. And the spinel! mmm mmm

 

[NKOTB]

Love the stones, especially the spinel and the minty goodness! The agate is very cool, too. I have a collection of pendants from Indigo Flameworks (on Etsy) - I'm sure they could do something cool with the agate, if you like their style.

p.s. my hubbie says the EXACT same thing

 

[talamasca]

Lovely stones. The lav spinel is just dreamy

 

[platinumrock]

Gah, what glorious eyecandy! I have an especial love for your cutie OMC - bellybutton is right! SO CUTE

The floury lavender spinel is something else as well: that will be one spectacular piece when you set it! I have a big thing for lavender atm, which is odd coz I'm not so keen on purple *shrug*

Your bright threesome of sapphire/tsav/spinel that you see in a three-stoner: I see them as interchangable stackers that can look like a single three-stone ring, or then mixed up with possibly an optional small diamond round for variety...?!

Please post more more more! It's wonderful to see your collection x

Awww, shucks, Natsplat, you're too kind!! Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you are enjoying my collection. Hehee...now all I'm going to see is a bellybutton instead of a culet. Do you think it would look better in a WG or YG halo? The lavender spinel I know for sure I want in an 18K YG halo. When I saw TL's lavender spinel in YG, it looked amazing.

You know, I never thought about stackers. I like the possibility of being able to wear them separately or together. Hmm...decisions, decisions.

I will take more pics when I get my pear tsav pair late on today. If it's a better match for Peachy, then I'll pair the darker tsavs my Namibian pear spess and see what you guys think.

 

[platinumrock]

Brightice, Stargurl and Talamasca, thank you!

Chrono, thank you! I'm glad you like the agate and OMC. Your OMC was actually one of my inspirations to search for one. I love the faceting and warm luster. I will probably have to double halo this one just to get some size out of it. But what color metal? YG? WG?

Sarahbear and Kismet, thank you! I'm glad you both like the 3-stone idea too. I thought some people might think it would look too Sears cataloguish. I will try to have Daniel M. create the setting for me. I'm just not sure what color metal yet. If not, I can try my local jeweler. I just hope their pricing will be reasonable on custom pieces. I promise I will post pics onces it's set.

NKOTB, thank you! Do you have any pics of your pendants? I'd love to see them. Are they similar to Daniel M. or Sally's designs? Your name reminds me of the boy band NKOTB from the 90's. I don't know if you're familiar with them.

 

[NKOTB]

I was a big fan in the '90s, and have seen them in concert at least 4 times (including the last reunion tour - it's just not the same in your 30s as in your teens, I have to say). I figured it was an appropriate name, given I was just joining not only PS, but the world of CS is quite new to me too.

Indigo Flameworks has a totally different and distinctive style from anything else I've seen. You have to like big, bold pieces, generally (though they also do some smaller ones). They do cloisonne to match gems (not always natural) or pearls, cabs, etc. Here are a couple of mine, one with a garnet, and one with turquoise. The one with the turquoise is the only one in my collection that might come close to what I was thinking for your agate. They usually source their own stones, but might be willing to set yours (I just realized I've never asked them to do this - perhaps I posted too hastily).

 

[chrono]

I take it your OMC is warm? Either white or yellow is fine since it is basically "colourless". If it is an antique lacey white colour, a white metal is fine. If it is warmer than that, yellow gold seems more complementary.

 

[natsplat]

Awww, shucks, Natsplat, you're too kind!! Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you are enjoying my collection. Hehee...now all I'm going to see is a bellybutton instead of a culet. Do you think it would look better in a WG or YG halo? The lavender spinel I know for sure I want in an 18K YG halo. When I saw TL's lavender spinel in YG, it looked amazing.

You know, I never thought about stackers. I like the possibility of being able to wear them separately or together. Hmm...decisions, decisions.

I will take more pics when I get my pear tsav pair late on today. If it's a better match for Peachy, then I'll pair the darker tsavs my Namibian pear spess and see what you guys think.

I reckon yellow gold for the OMC (I just wrote OMG - haha!) - I have a lovely yen for classic old stones in very yellow gold, even if the setting itself is more modern. Lavender spinel will look soooo amazing in yg: so many yummy projects!

Looking forward to seeing Peachy's possible new bedfellows...!

 

[platinumrock]

I was a big fan in the '90s, and have seen them in concert at least 4 times (including the last reunion tour - it's just not the same in your 30s as in your teens, I have to say). I figured it was an appropriate name, given I was just joining not only PS, but the world of CS is quite new to me too.

Indigo Flameworks has a totally different and distinctive style from anything else I've seen. You have to like big, bold pieces, generally (though they also do some smaller ones). They do cloisonne to match gems (not always natural) or pearls, cabs, etc. Here are a couple of mine, one with a garnet, and one with turquoise. The one with the turquoise is the only one in my collection that might come close to what I was thinking for your agate. They usually source their own stones, but might be willing to set yours (I just realized I've never asked them to do this - perhaps I posted too hastily).

Gosh, I remember having crush on Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre. I proudly wore my NKOTB t-shirt and stared dreamily at their poster on my wall. Wow, you actually went on their concerts! Man, where did the time go??

Your pendants are stunning, and I love the modern yet organic designs. I think I can definitely come up with something for my agate. I love bold colors too, especially when they go well together. You should create a thread for your pendants, along with other pieces that you have. I would love to see the rest of them.

Chrono, yes, my OMC is warm. Thanks for the suggestions, I am leaning towards an 18K YG double halo if possible.

Natsplat, YES yellow gold for both the OMC and lavender spinel. I love YG on classic cuts too. They just look like they will never go out of style. I can't wait to see your ring finished!