My Peter Torraca Masterpiece

[Gailey]

I''ve been on a long journey in the world of gems for a little over a year now. My husband promised me a new ER for our 15th WA. He''s not terribly keen on buying me jewellery and in 18 years and in addition to my original ER I''ve received a couple of watches (far more practical!) and some beautiful diamond studs (last Christmas). I wasn''t about to let this opportunity slip through my fingers!

So him making this offer to me is a huge deal and not to be entered into lightly. So on this journey I''ve learnt an awful lot, discovered this forum and the wonderful people who post and share. I''ve bought a few stones which didn''t turn out to be the "one", but I kept them anyway because they were lovely.

I''ve come to know the incredible Mr Peter Torraca (take a bow Peter!). I say incredible, not only because of the lovely stones he cuts, but he''s patiently put up with me deluging him with e-mails for many, many months. Originally I had my heart set on something peachy. Pink tones, orange tones and definitely plenty of sparkle. I think I was on the quest for the holy grail. My husband felt strongly about pink so I gravitated to pinker shades.

So without further ado let me introduce my first picture (more in a while):

 

[Gailey]

I should add that I have also bought stones from other vendors:

http://www.thegemtrader.com/
http://www.stevesstones.com/
http://www.gemrite.com/cubecart/index.php

I''ll post my collection in separate thread as I improve my photography skills!

Meanwhile here''s the next image and this comes from Peter

 

[T L]

Beautiful stone, what color would you call that, like a rose pink? How big is it?

 

[Gailey]

Here''s another of Peter''s shots.

Oh, I should mention, it''s a tourmaline, 2.34ct, 8.07x8.08x5.48mm in a mixed style -- a step crown with a brilliant bottom

These first two photos look a little grey to me, although they do show just how beautiful the cut is.

Did I mention that I do have the stone. It''s taken me a couple of weeks and literally hundreds of photos before I got a few that I felt did the stone justice

 

[Gailey]

Not sure what colour to call it TL, it seems a slightly different colour every time I look at it, as you will see when I get to my shots. Meanwhile here is the last of Peter''s shots.

I''m glad it''s piqued your interest TL!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

That is a beautiful stone! Does the cutter have a website?

 

[Gailey]

Here''s an interesting picture TL. Notice how the culet appears white on my stone like yours does. I wonder if this is just a coincidence or something particular to tourmalines?

 

[Gailey]

Date: 11/29/2008 10:29:42 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
That is a beautiful stone! Does the cutter have a website?

Most certainly he does: http://torraca.net/gems/ Follow the link to his Flickr photo stream to see other examples of his work.

Here''s the next of my shots. I''m told that tourmalines are notoriously difficult to photograph, so that coupled with my limited skill really doesn''t do this stone justice.

 

[Gailey]

Here''s my one and only handshot, so please don''t ask me for more. I''ve deleted loads of other hand shots because they make the stone look washed out and my old gardener''s hands have had a long hard summer.

I wanted to include this shot though because I wanted everyone to see how it looks in proportion to my fingers. I''m hoping to garner some ideas for setting the stone from everyone.

It concerns me a bit that all my hand shots made the stone look washed out. I would love some advice on how to set it so as to maximise it''s colour, which as you will see in the rest of my shots is truly a warm shade of pink.

 

[T L]

ROSE GOLD!!!

 

[Gailey]

Moving quickly on to a shot that displays it''s colour much better, here''s my first sparkly shot.

Part of Peter''s brief was = "It''s gotta sparkle".

 

[FrekeChild]

Rose gold rose gold rose gold!!!!!!!

(And did you respond to the shoe/cake thread?)

 

[marcy]

Gorgeous and I agree rose gold.

 

[Gailey]

Date: 11/29/2008 10:46:46 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
ROSE GOLD!!!

Great minds think alike!

I''ve collected pictures of lots of rings that I admire and the more I see rose gold, the more I like it, but I have a question about the components that go into rose gold; I''ve seen some really gaudy rose gold coloured rings - they might as well have been copper. Frankly they look cheap and nasty. I love these next couple of rings that I am going to post. Am I looking for a higher ct in rose gold?

 

[Gailey]

Date: 11/29/2008 10:51:13 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Rose gold rose gold rose gold!!!!!!!

(And did you respond to the shoe/cake thread?)

Hey shoe queen!

I''ve had the week from hell, but I''ll get back to the cake thread as soon as I can. I''m going to clean my oven tomorrow and do another test run. Watch this space .....

Here''s another ring I admired for the colour of the gold:

 

[Gailey]

Here''s another rose gold I admired, Mark Morrell I think.

Don''t worry, I''m working my way back to some more shots of my beauty!

 

[Gailey]

Here''s my next fire shot.

 

[mochi]

Date: 11/29/2008 11:02:25 PM
Author: Gailey

Date: 11/29/2008 10:51:13 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Rose gold rose gold rose gold!!!!!!!

(And did you respond to the shoe/cake thread?)

Hey shoe queen!

I''ve had the week from hell, but I''ll get back to the cake thread as soon as I can. I''m going to clean my oven tomorrow and do another test run. Watch this space .....

Here''s another ring I admired for the colour of the gold:

I love this setting! And your stone is stunning...

 

[Gailey]

And another blast of flame!

 

[Gailey]

I love this picture. I''m fairly confident that the top left hand corner is a fingerprint and not a flaw.

Note to self: buy tweezers!

 

[Gailey]

Everything my heart desires: pink orange and gold!

 

[T L]

If you don''t like very coppery looking rose gold, you might want to do 18K rose gold which is more subtle. The tourmaline looks like a salmon color if I''m not mistaken. Wow, some of those shots are blinding. Really gorgeous stone and it seems like it takes on several personalities with its color.

 

[Gailey]

So this new ER will have a lot to live up to. Here''s a shot from my wedding day 15 and a half years ago. I adore this ring.

Question is, do I put this new baby in a halo?

What do you all think a bezel will do to the stone? I don''t want to run the risk of over darkening the stone.

Does anyone know how tourmalines look/change once they go into a bezel? Anyone got any pre-set and set photos of bezel set tourmalines?

I just adore bezel set rings.

 

[Gailey]

Here''s one of my earlier attempts, it''s a bit over exposed, but it picks up the pink quite well. It looks pinkest on a white background, but that''s the most difficult to photograph for me.

 

[T L]

This is a bright and lively tourmaline without extinction, so I think a bezel would be nice. I would do a halo in an octagon shape, to match the stone. I think the rose gold would be perfect for it. Perhaps a rose gold bezel an a white gold shank. Did you check out the huge selection of rose gold mountings at TheNaturalSapphireCompany.com. They sell their mounts without stones, and they can do all their settings in 14 or 18K rose gold. Your stone reminds me of a padparadscha. Padparadschas look incredible in rose gold.

Another idea would be to set the stone on it's side so that it accentuates a diamond shape. That would be lovely as well.

 

[Gailey]

Date: 11/29/2008 11:38:23 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
This is a bright and lively tourmaline without extinction, so I think a bezel would be nice. I would do a halo in an octagon shape, to match the stone. I think the rose gold would be perfect for it. Perhaps a rose gold bezel an a white gold shank. Did you check out the huge selection of rose gold mountings at TheNaturalSapphireCompany.com. They sell their mounts without stones, and they can do all their settings in 14 or 18K rose gold. Your stone reminds me of a padparadscha. Padparadschas look incredible in rose gold.

Another idea would be to set the stone on it''s side so that it accentuates a diamond shape. That would be lovely as well.

Thanks TL!

I have another question. Given that this is not a calibrated size, if I opt for a bezel will this preclude me from using a stock setting?

Some rings that inspire me the most in photos are those that set alone, no side stones or halo''s etc. I can''t help thinking that this stone is probably not quite large enough for a solitaire. I''m also worried about the colour washing out on my hand without some contrasting diamonds, what do you think. Tomorrow I''ll post some of my favourite style wise.

Thanks for staying up with me TL. I really value your opinions.

 

[loriken214]

WOW, Gailey, you have an AWESOME BEAUTY there....can''t wait to see what you do with her!!!!

Lori

 

[Gailey]

Date: 11/30/2008 12:19:09 AM
Author: loriken214
WOW, Gailey, you have an AWESOME BEAUTY there....can''t wait to see what you do with her!!!!

Lori

Thank you Lori, yes she''s very pretty. Mr T sure cuts a lovely tourmaline, and garnet, and spinel, and, and, and .....

Here''s my last and best picture of her for tonight. If I don''t stop now, I''ll never sleep!

 

[LD]

Gailey, I love your story and you've finally ended up with "the one". Your tourmaline looks stunning and from the hand shot a great size too! My only suggestion is that you live with the gemstone for as long as you can bear before deciding on a setting. I can't wait to see the finished result!

ETA I haven't visited Peter's site before - how do you know if a gemstone has sold and how much it is?

 

[dancingflame]

Your stone is soooo beautiful! Can''t wait to see what you decide.