My latest project with Yvonne (with questions)

[lilmosun]

I'm trying to get disciplined about finishing some projects and wanted get some opinions on my latest one with Yvonne:

I am not a pastel person by nature but loved the brilliance of this 6.7mm malaya garnet. And while soft pinks/peaches don't look good on my skin tone, I thought the soft kornerupine color would be the perfect offset.



My original plan was a double halo - 2.0 mm interior and 2.5 mm exterior...but since it required a CAD, decided to go for a more custom look. After surging the net a bit, I came up with this which I sent to Yvonne as a concept photo (knowing it would need to be modified quite a bit because of the melee size)



So working with Yvonne and the talented Brandy (who does her CAD work), we quickly agreed on this design (with smaller 1mm stones being diamonds).



And here is the CAD which I just approved:



So while this moves onto casting, there are some decisions to be made:

Question 1: Rose gold or white gold? Originally I was going to do this in rose gold and I am thinking white gold would be better. I tend not to wear rose gold unless I want the metal disappears in the background and there is more metal in this style.

Question 2: Pink diamonds? We are short one 2mm kornerupine, so need to use more diamonds. Keeping in mind the actual color of the stones (top picture), should I consider pink diamonds (left) or all white? Other suggestions on the color pattern (admittedly, I am not very creative).



Question 3: Tiny Diamonds or Mini-Engraving? How would you fill in the metal spaces - with tiny diamonds or mini-engraving?

 

[GLbluegreen]

Re: My latest project with Yvonne

Looks really nice lilmosun. I'm really excited to see how this turns out for you. I am in a learning process myself and like you would need a great deal of help in design and stone placement. Keep us informed on all developments.

 

[lilmosun]

Thank you GLbluegreen... I assume by your screenname that you are a fellow lover of blue green stones...so would welcome any opinions you might have

Like many here, I started with Yvonne's stock designs (or variations of). But while I love her work, I like having a variety of styles so the need to go custom has evolved. I was a nervous wreck for the first couple of projects and pretty much went with her suggestions. They came out great and gave me more confidence/experience in working with her - understanding of her tastes and trusting/inserting my own more (while still relying on her judgement in the end). I don't have the design sense that many here do to totally figure things out on my own. So it's collaborative and fun seeing things evolve. Even if you are just learning, there are folks here who can help guide you towards a successful project (but always trust your own taste/judgement too).

This project has me nervous...love the design but the colors are much softer than I am used (although I picked out the combination )...why I need opinions.

 

[chroman]

Oh, what a neat color combination!

Would gray diamond melee be another possible color option? Or maybe that get lost next to the kornerupine.

 

[GLbluegreen]

Ahh, yes indeed lilmosun. I am drawn to blues and greens. The GL in my avatar stands for Great Lakes, which is my home state and as you can see they are a beautiful aqua to deep blue. My dream project when I obtain all the supplies will be a Paraiba ring with hauyne melee I got from Yvonne. But I don't think I will be using her to design it. I'm thinking David Klass. But that's a ways off for me. So until then I will wait and observe your process with this project and learn from it. Have fun and enjoy !

 

[theredspinel]

Hi lilmosun!

I would suggest you go for the white gold because you said you prefer it. Even if Yvonne suggests rose gold (she loves it haha) I think you should stick to your preference because a) lots of metal and b) you're already using stone colours that are new/different/you know you don't like on your skin, so you do need to make sure at least the metal (which is actually against your skin) is one you're totally comfortable/happy about.

I prefer the image with the pink diamonds however, big however, if you go this route you have to be clear on how pink they would actually look. I think Yvonne would probably locate really light/pale baby pink which would probably have a pink tint rather then all out pink.

Don't worry about not being creative, I'm really like that too. I also need guidance from whoever is creating the piece. However I found the projects that I really have my heart into (ones that's mean a lot to me emotionally) I just pick up pen and paper and doodle.... and keep doodling and in the end I figure out what bits I like and dont like for that specific project; then speak to whoever the vendor is.

So far I've only done custom work with Sally (actually 1 other person too) but I've mostly been involved with Sally and I find I spend ages telling her my wants my fears etc etc; I just don't stop talking and she extracts from my rambles what I want.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Hi, lilmosun. Fun ring! Here's my two cents:

1. White gold. I feel the rose might overwhelm or blend with the stones since they are a bit more pastel in nature.
2. White diamonds. I feel these would help your garnet pop. I'm not sure I'd want another pink-ish color in there anywhere.
ETA 3. Sorry, missed it! I'd do tiny diamonds, but that's coming from someone who isn't big on engraving.

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

[lilmosun]

chroman - Thank you! I didn't think of grey diamonds...I think they might go well but my eye tends to pick out any grey modifiers so I'd have to think about that

GLBlueGreen - for some reason, I thought you were from the West Coast I was actually born in Great Lakes IL and my parents family are all from the Chicago area (although we moved to the East Coast and the rest of their families are mostly in Cali). I LOVE hauynites...in fact, my first project with Yvonne ended up being a small paraiba cab with hauynites/diamonds (before the combination became popular here). I love looking at David's work...someday, I will find the right project to work with him on...but I feel like it would have to be a piece where I really had a good idea of what I wanted going into it.

theredspinel - Actually, Yvonne knows I don't do rose gold so I was the one who originally suggested it and now questioning it. I do know she loves rose gold and it saves me a lot of money when perusing her store I actually have my first small project with Sally on its way. We're still learning to work together but she's been wonderful so far. It was hard at first because I had become comfortable working with vendors who I understand and vice versa. But now things finally moved along once and I'm very excited to see the outcome. I think the hardest part in working with any new vendor on custom work is trying to interpret back/forth and it's hard. I especially have a hard time pushing my opinion on or questioning others who don't know me well (especially in areas where others make it their business).

Sparkliesluver - I agree with your choices as they are what I lean towards...just wondering if white diamonds would be too white and harsh in the middle of the other more muted colors.

 

[chrono]

Such SUCH a fun project, reminding me of the very same decisions I had to do with my trilliant ring, and ended up with something quite different from the original.

Question 1:
14K rosier gold or 18K blush gold?
14K white gold or softer unplated 14K white gold?

Question 2:
The pink colouration in your CAD is much too pink, and thus could skew one's perspective (and decision). Pink diamonds are blush or barely pink(tinted white). If going with pink diamond, I would use rose gold, otherwise it'll look like white diamonds. The rose gold would also make the kornerupine, rose gold would also make them stand out, rather than blend in into the setting.

Question 3:
My preference in this case are stones, rather than engraving.

 

[GLbluegreen]

lilmosun- You have a good memory. I probably mentioned in a previous post somewhere about looking for a trusted jeweler here in So Cal. I do in fact live here on the west coast, however my heart lies in the Midwest and in fact I will be moving back to Michigan in the future. How cool that you too are originally from that area This post is becoming quite fun with all the knowledgeable PS community chiming in !

 

[theredspinel]

Just a quick thought. Is there any particular reason the leaf shape (with a small stone set inside) on the east and west sides are not also present north & south?

I feel it would make it a less block shape into a more flower shape but maybe that's what you wanted to avoid on purpose?

 

[chroman]

Michigan! I grew up there

And now.. Back to the topic at hand

 

[lilmosun]

Michigan! I grew up there

And now.. Back to the topic at hand

Wait..before we go back to the topic at hand, I went to college for a year in Michigan

theredspinel - I skipped a few of the versions between my inspiration photo and what I ultimately decided. The leaves started looking more like leaves on a flower stem - in an earlier design where there were shoulders wrapped around the front - there were 3 leaves on each side that adorned the front of the shoulders asymmetrically. But as soon as I saw the final design, it spoke to. The one change I did consider was whether I wanted the N-S edges match the E-W like you suggested. But in the end decided that I prefer E-W style rings and unlike you, thought it had more of a flowing flower look as is (and a change would make it look more geometric). Finally, wasn't sure how I would like points sticking out on the top/bottom so dropped the idea. But you weren't alone in thinking about it.

Chrono - This has been a fun one so far and if it ends up being half as successful as your trilliant ring (to-die for cuprians aside, lol), I will be thrilled.

And a big thanks to all for your opinions. Reflecting on your input, I am thinking my decision will depend on the cost of the pink diamonds (after all this started as a project to set my inexpensive garnet that I loved but wasn't a color that looks good on me ).

So far:
- Rose gold if I do pink diamonds
- White gold if I use white diamonds
- Diamonds instead of metal engraving

I have some time if others have thoughts to add.

 

[GLbluegreen]

Not to hijack the thread, but chroman I grew up in the once great automobile city of Flint. Moved around and later ended up in Traverse City. Made a big mistake and moved to the west coast of CA. Going back to MI when I can.

lilmosun- where did you go to college ? And you should really consider getting a larger hauynite like I did. Once I got the melee from Yvonne I fell in love with the uniqueness of the color and the story of the origin. They are not found in very large sizes but I got a really pretty 0.23ct oval from John at Coast to Coast Rarestones. This will be for a pendant project down the road.

 

[lilmosun]

I went to General Motors Institute in Flint Michigan right out of high school. (If you do well in math/science in high school, everyone thinks you should be an engineer...not knowing what I wanted, I tried it and HATED it, lol).

I love love hauynites so much so that I've used the melee with a paraiba, with a moonstone and have one in the works with yellow diamonds. I often think it would be nice to have a hauyne center stone. But I don't wear small dainty pieces. I have a Luc Yen cobalt blue spinel about the size of your larger hauynite and keep telling myself that needs to be my small expensive killer blue stone.

 

[mochiko42]

I concur with the others' comments on the pink diamonds. I did pale pink sapphires in rose gold once and tbh they were a bit washed out by the deeper pink of the metal. It really depends on the saturation of the diamonds. (Does it have to be diamond
For this piece I would suggest rose gold for the prongs/basket of the center stone and then white gold for the halo and shank.

Can't wait to see how this turns out. the color combination of the garnet and kornerupine look very pretty together!

So far I've only done custom work with Sally (actually 1 other person too) but I've mostly been involved with Sally and I find I spend ages telling her my wants my fears etc etc; I just don't stop talking and she extracts from my rambles what I want.

Haha I feel like that when I talk to Sally too...I love how she makes the effort to understand the meaning and spirit of each project I do with her.

 

[GLbluegreen]

lilmosun- Oh for pete's sake ! That is wild that you went to school at GMI. I graduated in 76 but unlike you didn't have the smarts for the likes of GMI . And by the way, a Luc Yen cobalt blue spinel is nothing to sneeze at. I found it difficult to decide between the two but the hauyne melee from Yvonne just blew me away and I decided I had to have a larger one. I too cannot wear small, dainty stones. The pendant I plan to have created with it will be for my only granddaughter who is 10 years old right now so I figure I've got some time to think about the design.

 

[lilmosun]

I only got into GMI because they needed females Going from the party crowd in a large urban high school to a small college of kids who actually studied was a huge shock Wow...your granddaughter is one lucky girl!

mochiko- Good to know about your experience setting pale pink stones in rose gold. I always thought rose gold intensified the hue on pale pink diamonds (and no particular reason for diamonds other than I like sparkles and want a color that wouldn't overwhelm the other stones). I love idea of mixed metals but I need to see if its too far along.

 

[Sungura]

lilmosun. I'm so excited by this project. I love your plan of using the kornerupine melee. I have a bunch of it myself that I purchased from various sources. I'm surprised that it seems to pair well with many colors. I guess that's the pleochroism in action. Im happy to donate some melee to the cause should you break any during setting. I think most of mine is 2mm. Anyway you know how to find me

 

[Acinom]

I cannot advice you on the stone but I am just chiming in to say that I love your stones and the design you chose.

 

[lilmosun]

Thanks Acinom!! Always appreciate your kind words!

Sungura- Thanks for your offer, I will keep it in mind. The blue-green pleochroism of the kornerupines make them one of my favorites. Sounds like you have a small collection of them? I would love to know your plans. Are you planning another amazing series of pieces like you did with the purple garnets?

 

[theredspinel]

Both, can you photograph the pleochorism at all...?

I've been in two minds over these kornerupine melee for so long

 

[GLbluegreen]

Sungura- I would just like to tell you that was the nicest gesture to offer up some spare melee to lilmosun for her project. Very nice of you.

 

[lilmosun]

Sungura- I would just like to tell you that was the nicest gesture to offer up some spare melee to lilmosun for her project. Very nice of you.

EXTREMELY wonderful offer and in coming back to this thread, I just realize my response didn't reflect how much I appreciated it (why I usually don't try to post from my phone during the day ). Thanks so much again Sungura!

theredspinel -

You might already know this but the pleochroism can be dichroic, trichroic, etc..depending on the number of colors..and not unique to kornerupines (Tanzis are naturally trichroic but typically heated to get rid of yellow, leaving them a dichroic purple/blue).

I think Yvonne's pictures show the dichroic nature best as they are not set - The stones look greener from some angles, bluer from others.




Here is a ring I have with larger kornerupine sidestones. At an uneven angle, the left stone shows more green and the right shows more blue...you can't see it on the PS image, but on my phone I can even see what looks to a bit of lilac on the right stone in the top photo.





It really isn't noticeable when set- the stones are small and you tend to look at the stones at one angle. But you know it's there and for a green/blue junkie like me who likes stones with interesting properties, these kornerupines fascinate me. What makes these rare (or at least hard to find) is that most kornerupines I've seen on-line and at gem shows are a muddy brownish/yellowish green. While my search was on/off - I've only come across 1 available that was the pretty blue/green/lilac and someone bought it before I could pull the trigger. So when Yvonne posted these, I immediately bought the pair. Like you, I went back/forth on the melee (which are lighter btw)..but they were always in the back of my mind and as soon as I saw the malaya garnet, I pulled the trigger.

 

[GLbluegreen]

That's a gorgeous ring lilmosun. I love the combo. Can you tell me what the center stone is ?

 

[Lovinggems]

Beautiful design, I too like the white gold and white diamonds version.

 

[dk168]

Nothing to contribute except to say I look forward to seeing the finished ring with anticipation.

DK

 

[lilmosun]

Thanks dk and lovinggems...I am leaning more towards white gold and white diamonds now, but I have some time to think about it.

GLBlueGreen - It's an untreated violet blue Ceylon sapphire cut by Peter Torraca that I got from a friend. I had originally purchased another kornerupine for a 3 or 5 stone ring but it didn't really match the pair well, so I returned it. I had the sapphire and the setting already so used them to put together the ring.

Side story - I once kept a box of inexpensive settings (from a retired jeweler, bought preloved or found in my jeweler's scrap pile) and would just collect gemstones impulsively without thinking about setting. I would sit at the table and just play with combinations to come up with rings. I'd also take the settings to gem shows and the stones to my jewelers when going through his scrap pile. While it was a great way to quickly put together inexpensive rings, I now have too many and need to wrap it up with a few custom projects for those things I really wanted to set but didn't have settings for.

 

[lilmosun]

Another detour..this one inspired by GLBlueGreen's asking if I liked hauynites...as I hijack my own thread

I mentioned earlier that my first project with Yvonne was a small paraiba cab with hauynites. It was actually supposed to be a bright yellow center stone surrounded by hauynites. But Yvonne and I looked for months and couldn't find a 6mm yellow center that would stand up to the bright color/saturation of the hauynites (within my budget that is). So we finally went with a paraiba. Finally, inspired by her two flower ring and the canary diamond/hauynite band in her store, I saw the chance to finally make a ring in the colors that started it all. Just got the picture from Yvonne (It's been sized to fit my index or middle finger).

 

[Sungura]

Oh lilmosum what a beautiful combination of these rare and vibrant gems in bright yellow gold. I love the idea of using the ring on middle finger. Congrats.


Eta: I just realized this is not her standard 2 flower ring. I do like this one better.

glbluegreen: thanks for the nice comment you made about my melee offer. I have a lot of little gems I may never use and I would happily donate them when someone has a project. I'm just never sure how to do it

Back to lilmosun. I'm glad you posted your kornerupine 3 stone ring. It's a lovely combination! Happy to see it again