Obsessive compulsive disorder

[suzannecallison]

This is how bad I''ve become. I''m at Walmart for whatever reason and I drift to the jewelry counter. I have an excuse, since I am looking to find the right setting for my beautiful little sapphire from cherrypicked....Anyway, there is a distinguished older woman standing next to me and I look at her hand and almost drop to my knees. She is wearing a ruby cabachon about 3/4" square set in a very plain antique setting.This sucker is HUGE, and the color is breathtaking. I''m thinking, is it really a ruby? a spinel? How can I get it off of her hand for a closer look? Sooo, I casually mention that her ring is lovely and may I have a closer look? At first she is delighted, telling me it came from Russia in the late 1800''s and yes it''s a ruby. As time passes and I keep staring, she edges away. Unfortunately the next ring I wanted to look at next was right under her hand, and then the next...She flees the store, poor woman, thinking I am going to rob her.

I''ve never owned a gun, but this IS Texas, and can''t you just see me pulling it on her just so I can loupe it?

Suzanne

Still waiting for my Richard Hughes book...

 

[i_like_tiffany_please_dont_hate_me]

lol!!!

I know what you are talking about, I work in a clothes store, and I always volunteer to go on the checkout so I can look at customers'' rings!!! so many are horribly dull though! but it is wonderful when you see one that is ultra-white, with so much fire! I saw one that was huge, I would say around or over 10mm! first time I saw it, I thought it must be a CZ cos it was so huge! and this is a discount clothes store! but I saw the same ring yesterday, and I think it might be diamond, it didn''t look like any CZ I''ve seen and there was so much fire and brilliance! I have certainly been infected by PS!!!

 

[belle]

............but, you did follow her out and get a better look right?
............snap a picture?

 

[suzannecallison]

Date: 12/18/2004 9:21

9 PM
Author: belle
............but, you did follow her out and get a better look right?
............snap a picture?

The poor woman was running. What''s up with that?

 

[belle]

that''s prolee how she got the ring in the first place!!

 

[Camellia]

Date: 12/18/2004 10:16:22 PM
Author: belle
that''s prolee how she got the ring in the first place!!

Very cheeky but funny!

I am so addicted to jewellery it''s not funny. I just can''t get enough eye candy. I too like to check out other people''s jewellery and watches but don''t want to appear like a sticky-beak. How do you subtly oggle someone''s jewellery? My wish list is so long now I''m getting confused. I pick up my current projects tomorrow and I''m already planning what I want next! I''m addicted real bad!

 

[diamondlil]

LMAO! I know for a fact there are plenty of us here who "stalk" ladies in store and pretend to be interested in items they are looking at just so we can get an up-close visual on their ring!!!! Uh, what do you think, Sevens One?

DiamondLil

 

[sevens one]

Date: 12/19/2004 8:26:15 AM
Author: diamondlil
LMAO! I know for a fact there are plenty of us here who ''stalk'' ladies in store and pretend to be interested in items they are looking at just so we can get an up-close visual on their ring!!!! Uh, what do you think, Sevens One?

DiamondLil

LMAO-- Geez DiamondLil I feel like I''m a kid playing the card game "hearts" with my father again. He would always force my hand- and I''d end up with the Queen of Spaids! (if any of you know this game you''ll get it) He would ALWAYS lead with SPAIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YA POP

OK- enough ramble.

I''M GUILTY AS CHARGED. I''m throwing myself at the mercy of PS!

Hello, I''m Sevens One and I''m a stalker. I''ve been a diamond stalker for as long as I can remember. It all started with my mother''s beautiful 1 plus carat diamond ering in a Cartier style platinum setting. I would sit and stare at it, try it on and stare some more. I loved to watch the light reflections dance from the sparkle. Sometimes when I held her left hand I would twirl the ring around on her finger.

Then I got hooked further when I worked with a women who had an exquisite 3 plus carat Pear. It was beautiful.
So now it''s just your basic down right stalking; in stores, malls, grocery stores; anywhere.

DL is referring to my recent stalking at our local Nursery. We were there for the Christmas decorations and I caught a glimpse of a 3ct (had to be) RB with baguette sides stones and an eternity band. (see I told you I stalked)

Well I got so bad that my daughter finally said to me "Hey MOM, I think that lady is following us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
POOR KID

Boy, that felt good to admit. HAaaaa

 

[valeria101]

This must be the first time I see the word "cabochon" in a post here

Keep''em comming

 

[suzannecallison]

style="WIDTH: 99.7%; HEIGHT: 390px">Date: 12/19/2004 11

9:37 AM
Author: valeria101
This must be the first time I see the word ''cabochon'' in a post here

Keep''em comming

What criteria do they use to determine if a stone is cut in a cabochon or a facet? I know many stones are only cut cabachon, but those that go both ways, is it the milkyness? I''m assuming that if a cabachon like this ruby were cut in a faceted style, then it would be of less quality. Am I on the wrong track? Or is it just that personal taste determines the value of cabachon vs facet?

I said "cabachon" as many times as I could

Hi my name is Suzanne and I am a colored jemstone stalker.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/19/2004 10:13:57 PM
Author: suzanne1
What criteria do they use to determine if a stone is cut in a cabochon or a facet?
I'm assuming that if a cabachon like this ruby were cut in a faceted style, then it would be of less quality. Am I on the wrong track? Or is it just that personal taste determines the value of cabachon vs facet?

He, he

Now, I should probably say, yeah... cabs are made of lesser material. But that would go against my deepest convictions !

Anyway, that's that. Cabs are usually made when the piece would not do for faceting. By intuition, clarity makes the decisive factor: translucent to opaque material would not be brilliant no matter how many facets there might be.



There are so many good, bad and ugly exceptions to any such cab/versus facet rule of thumb though, that I am not sure there is any rule.

Sadly enough, I get to see nearly opaque material faceted for no reason at all aside the puzzling appeal of "faceted" versus "cab". Too bad larger pieces of good color get treated this way - there is lots of waste for no good reason, those are just perfectly good cabs and beads put to inapropriate use, as far as my taste goes.

And then, there are cabs made of facet-proof material. Rather glamorous and rare stuff, like this . The cab shape wastes less weight than faceting does, so per carat these stones might be somewhat less expensive.



I don't know of any online presentation of cabochon grading, aside the notes on cherrypicked.com (click on the "><" sign next to the cabochon grading category on this PAGE). Wish there was one

If I were to make a cab grading checklist, it would include color, texture and shape in this order. As far as I am concerned, color makes 80% of the total: facets may mask color zoning or compensate for tone and saturation somewhat, but there is virtually no excuse on cabs - everything shows just like it would once you turn faceted stones bottom up. Grayish and brownish tint (low saturation) screams on translucent material worse than through the glitter of faceted gems, IMO.
There's definitely not a huge amount of material that's worse than facet grade but great for cabs - great color is rare anyway. This is why I would not say in two straight words that cabs are a worse breed than faceteds.

Those modern stones with serious bulk under the girdle look "faceted half way" to me - not trimmed enough to make them brilliant, yet shaved down more than a decent double cab would have allowed. Matter of fashion ?

 

[chantal990]

I am completely obsessed. I perve on all the jewellery I can it''s really bad. People who I see I have to check out their jewellery and I have started up conversations with complete strangers over how pretty their jewellery is.

When we get the advertising stuff in the post I have to check that out as well. And for a bit more obsessiveness I also have quite a few coffee table books on you guessed it jewels and jewellery especially the stuff by the the big names.

As for cab. cut and faceted I thought that the general rule of thumb is cabs are made out of material that is not suited to faceting for whatever reson. I also heard they are coming back into fashion in a big way with all the antique jewellery (although Australia tends to get everything 6 months after the rest of the world so I could be way off the mark).

 

[suzannecallison]

Thanks, Ana! I knew you would have an answer for me.

Is a double cab a round bead?

I believe that you and Emeraldgirl are right that it''s a matter of fashion. Until recently, I considered a cabochon an "old lady" stone. GASP! Or something that old style hippies would wear, because it''s "natural".

Now that I am interested in actual tone and saturation, a whole new world is opening up. And I find myself trying to rip the ring off an old lady''s finger in Walmart...

I started out here trying to upgrade my wedding set. I have the diamond and I love it...but it will be the last one I buy. I have a bag of inexpensive gems that intrigue me. One is an absolutely awful moonstone.

I''m still waiting to buy my sunstone, but I prefer the ones that aren''t faceted, with the streaks and cool stuff. The lapidary sites that AJO sent me to were incredible.

Wondering if I could buy a huge ugly opaque faceted ruby off ebay and have it cut to a cabchon????

Suzanne

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/20/2004 7:27:30 AM
Author: suzanne1
Thanks, Ana! I knew you would have an answer for me.

Is a double cab a round bead?
....
Wondering if I could buy a huge ugly opaque faceted ruby off ebay and have it cut to a cabchon ?

Double cab... no, not really, that''s one with a rounded bottom - flatter than the "top" but still smooth. It is often the case that the bottom of cabs be left unpolished and flawed to avoid waste, so when the stone is worked all the way it carryes a bit of extra glamour, or so they say.

Here''s one such thing set: if turned upside down, it would still look like a cab (not flat) - link to star cab

Ebay material... well, I do not know. It is probably not worth the trouble compared to asking a jeweler or cutter to provide. For once, good material would be expensive no matter what so wasting weight to obtain a certain shape may not be the most appealing route. Less expensive stuff can be obtained as cabs too, I would think, although it may take a bit of looking. Sapphire is way easier to locate.

You may want to look down this link

and not just for ruby cabs.

 

[Nicrez]

I laughed at this thread, because I have the SAME compulsions...But mine are worse. I actually feel the need to grade the diamonds I see on color and clarity, just to test my newfound skills... Now imagine being not only stalked, but having your diamond graded silently... I must be headed to some big warm party down in Hades for that, but it''s fun!

Actually these cabs are SO lovely, that I am now recently I became a big fan, like Suzanne1! i personally like Sugarloaf cabuchons... There are some stunners in the Christie''s and Sotheby''s catalogues, so I stare at them for HOURS....