Need a source to purchase a loose aquamarine and have it set

[prettyinpave]

I have a six-prong platinum setting sitting in my jewelry box from when I re-set my engagement ring. I''m looking for a round aquamarine of excellent quality that is roughly equivalent to a one carat diamond and amd hoping that the seller of the loose stone would also be able to set it for me.

Any suggestions? The setting held a .90 carat diamond -- I wonder how big I could go without changing the head of the setting? Could I go to the equivalent of a 1.25 carat diamond?

Thanks!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Hi Pretty in Pave:

There are many colored stone vendors who have access to fine aquamarine. Because of the way the gem rough is oriented, aquamarine is not usually cut in round brilliant. I have seen some beautiful emerald cuts and cushion cuts which are stunning. Due to color depth being a important factor, cutters often facet this stone using various barion or emerald cuts which can add depth and bring out a richer blue color to this gem being they are deeper cuts.

Brazil produces great gem quality aquamarine along with Africa, Pakistan, China,Afghanistan.
I think if you were to talk with Richard M. on the board or Michael_E. Great guys and both cut gems. Michael_E cut a stunning aqua pendant for a client on the board awhile back.

Hope this helps...

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

here''s a shot of the piece Michael_E did for a client a while back. The top left is the original rough he used to cut the stone.

 

[widget]

.......Here''s a great job MichaelE did for me: He found the rough, and cut it into a "modified barion" cut to fit into an old mounting I had....

widget

 

[valeria101]

Most aquamarine achieves some depth of color due to sheer volume - the smaller the gems the rarer deep color is. So you would need to find just the right piece and it may prove tricky. Also, these illusive pieces are quite a bit more expensive than the nearly white material used in mall fare. Now, those are cents per carat - the expensive kind go into the hundreds. Since you are looking for a farely small one, it can't be that bad.

It is possible that the head of the ring will take squares (with the diamgonal about 6.5-6.6mm) rounds and cushions of about that size.

Until some aqua turns up, how about something pink:

5mm fancy cut spinel
at ACstones


Or aqua color (slightly greenish blue), but Montana Saphire instead of beryl...

5 x 5.8mm sapphire
at Customgemstones

 

[Kamuelamom]

Prettyinpave, Josh (ColoredGemstoneNut) is right, you couldn't go wrong with either Richard or Michael. I happen to have experiece working with Michael and think he's fantastic. That pendant CGN posted belongs to Bagpuss and she is very pleased with it. It is a superb pendant and looks fantastic on her.

Good luck!

Ana, that pink spinel looks good enough to eat! How pretty!!

Widget, that piece from Michael, is that a ring, or a pendant? It looks sooo pretty. Thanks for showing the transformation sequence. How awesome.

 

[prettyinpave]

Wow, thanks everyone for the vendor recs and beautiful inspiration pics! I will definitely follow up with them.

Widget, LOVE your ring! The combination of blues is just out of this world!

 

[prettyinpave]

Just to to answer Valeria''s question, I''m pretty certain that I want an aquamarine specifically. It''s my birthstone, and I read that wearing it bodes well for happiness in marriage, which is a perfect match considering that this is my original e-ring setting!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Date: 8/16/2005 5:13:38 PM
Author: widget
.......Here''s a great job MichaelE did for me: He found the rough, and cut it into a ''modified barion'' cut to fit into an old mounting I had....

widget

Widget: I love the pieces from the "art deco" era and your piece reminds me why. Stunning..

 

[widget]

Thanks, everybody! It was a really fun project..

Kmom....It''s a ring....and a small one at that! I wear it on my pinky.

Prettyinpave: Be sure to keep us posted on how YOUR project...with plenty of pictures, of course!

I''ll be curious to hear what a cutter would suggest regarding what shape to cut an aqua to fit into a "round hole". I wonder if there''s such a thing as a step-cut cushion...hmmmmm

BTW....Aqua is my birthstone two!

widget

 

[valeria101]

Date: 8/16/2005 9:53:22 PM
Author: prettyinpave
Just to to answer Valeria''s question, I''m pretty certain that I want an aquamarine specifically.

ATG keeps listing small aquas with better than usual color. The current webpage shows some ovals, but they had other shapes too - mostly small which is unusual. Probably worth an e-mail.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 8/16/2005 11:53:27 PM
Author: widget

I wonder if there's such a thing as a step-cut cushion...hmmmmm

Now, that's quite a Q... I wonder if some non-step facets would be needed to turn those roundish corners like the Criss Cushion and the Legacy have. Some other fancy cuts with scissor facets have sort of that look, but I am not sure what you have in mind.

For example:

this is definitely step cut all the way, but does it look anything like a cushion ?

The closest seems this, but the facets appear to be scissor not step:

Legacy gets the square reflections in the centre and looks more 'step' cut for that matter.
Since cushions and asschers got attention, this one mixes them - quite an idea, no ?

There is no shortage of designs to try out on relatively large pieces: a few doyen reside down this link including several with step facets in the mix. The pictures are not all that great because the site uses GemCad with it's limited graphics... A few finished pieces help the cause, but the majority look like this:

In theory, this looks like a cushion and has some steps, but why does Jeff Graham hate tables so much? Allot of designs do not have one at all. The wireframe needs allot of imagination to compete with the polished designers' display - sure that.