Pink Spinel in Tiffany Legacy''esque Setting

[jft1215]

Hi everyone. I posted this in another section but was told I should posted here as well. I just stumbled on this site yesterday and I don''t think I''ve left since . I am so impressed with the information here and how everyone seems to help everyone with questions. Well, now I have some questions that I hope someone can help me with.

I''m getting ready to propose to my GF and have been researching the perfect ring (like we all do). I want to have her ring custom made. The thing is I saw the Tiffany Legacy and it''s very similar to my idea. I have always like seeing a colored stone as the center stone surrounded by lots of diamonds. Very timeless in my opinion. Now I have a name for the stone I like (see Subject). My questions are as follows:

1) Does anyone have any pics of a pink Spinel (Cushion Cut) mounted in an e-ring, particularly one similar to the Legacy?

2) I''ve seen the work of Leon Mege and am very impressed. It seems like he gets it! I live in CA and having a ring made long distance seems a little daunting. Does anyone know a comparable craftsman on the West Coast they would recommend or is it safe to assume Leon could do the job even though I''m across the country?

Thanks for all of the information!

JT

 

[Matata]

I responded in your original thread but couldn''t get the pic to load. Mege works with all sizes of diamonds & gemstones. The pic is of a 5 carat spinel that I originally wanted for my e-ring but ultimately decided I didn''t want that much bling. He was willing to make the ring with a 3-carat stone.

 

[jft1215]

Matata, I responded in my original thread but wanted to tell you again how good that ring looks!

 

[MINE!!]

here is some yum yum candy for you to enjoy.. I will look for settings a while later

 

[MINE!!]

This is a long cushion cut

 

[MINE!!]

another from palagems

 

[Matata]

Have mercy.....looky here, also from Pala.

 

[MINE!!]

another

 

[MINE!!]

Gotta feed the kids... I''ll be back!

 

[MINE!!]

pink!

 

[velouriaL]

First off, welcome!
Second, congratulations for decided to go for a colored gemstone for her e-ring! Wise choice (not that I''m biased, or anything...)!

I don''t know that I''ve seen anything *exactly* like what you''ve described, but I''ve seen quite a few pink and other colored gems in halo settings.

Don''t forget Nicole Ritchie''s sapphire, which is the most tasteful thing that girl has ever done in her life! Link

Adwar, a company that sells stock settings to jewelers, makes a legacy reproduction it''s at the bottom of this page. They have a lots of variations on the halo look.

IMHO, go for the Leon Mege! He is a true artist, and I would LOVE to have one of his pieces. Don''t be scared of working with an online vendor... we''ve all done it (or hope to do it soon)!

Since you''re in CA, maybe you can PM Reena, a PSer who got a Leon Mege ring and who currently lives in CA, too. She can share her experience with you.

 

[MINE!!]

and just cause

 

[MINE!!]

Light pink

 

[velouriaL]

MINE, those photos from gemwow are making me week in the knees!

Don''t forget, there''s also this color, which I''m sure fans of pink diamond mights like:

 

[BWise]

gemwow? I am certainly wowed!

After discovering the color stone thread and all the eye candy, my eyes have been spoiled by the color. Sometime I look at my still beautiful diamond ring, and feel, well, a little bored. (shh, I am whispering so my ring can''t hear)

 

[Matata]

Date: 6/23/2005 6:21:01 PM
Author: yingh
gemwow? I am certainly wowed!

After discovering the color stone thread and all the eye candy, my eyes have been spoiled by the color. Sometime I look at my still beautiful diamond ring, and feel, well, a little bored. (shh, I am whispering so my ring can''t hear)

Sooooooooo, get a new right hand ring.

 

[jft1215]

WOW! All of the positive responses are definitely telling me that I''m going down the right track. MY GF loves pink (I mean who doesn''t

) and i want to get something elegant and timeless. Those stones are amazing! I''m going to find the right one and then go from there.

How do I know if a stone is high quality? I don''t want to buy one that looks great in a picture than turns out it looks like dirt in person.

Thanks again for all of the responses. I''m getting excited about this endevour I''m about to partake (and no, I''m not talking about proposing - that goes without saying

)

 

[velouriaL]

Some tips for buying a colored stone online
1. First off, don''t buy from a vendor who doesn''t have a good return policy. A good vendor should also be able to answer questions about the stone.
2. Cut is king! Stones should be at least 60% deep (anyone care to jump in one this?), un-windowed, and have symetrical faceting. Native cuts can look a little blah because they''re usually cut for maximum weight, not beauty, but it is possible to have a gem with a good color recut so to really make the most of it. I know that Michael E. has done this for a lot of people on PS.
3. Let us take a look at anything you''re considering! Ana and others are really good at trouble-shooting a stone.

 

[velouriaL]

Some good places to start looking:
cherrypicked.com
palagems.com
faceters.com
acstones.com
creativegem.com
gemwow.com
multicolour.com
ajsgems.com

This is off the top of my head...

 

[Matata]

You can never tell from a pic what a stone will look like in person. So you have some options for purchasing (1) Buy directly from an internet vendor with a good return policy. If you don''t like the stone, send it back and try again. You''ll pay for shipping & insurance to return the stones you don''t want. (2) work through a local jeweler. The local jeweler will be able to bring in as many stones as it takes for you to find "the one". Jeweler handles all the headaches of shipping & searching.

I''ll try to find the thread that lists some a bunch of gemstone internet vendors and post it later (if someone doesn''t beat me to it) -- I''m heading out for a doctor''s appointment.

There are some vendors who sell over the internet (RW Wise, Richard Homer, Wink Jones, DiamondExpert) who have a particular knack for matching up stones and people so don''t let what I said about option 1 scare you away from buying over the net.

 

[jft1215]

Looks like I have some work ahead of me but that''s the fun part

. Thanks again for giving me all these pointers. I will definitely be chronicling my experience.

 

[jft1215]

Good morning everyone. I just logged in and wanted to write down all of the great info everyone provided yesterday and can''t find one of my posts. I had two posts regarding the same topic but got several different responses on each. Now I can''t find one. Was it deleted since it was a duplicate post? I knew I should''ve got the info transferred yesterday!

 

[valeria101]

Look on the website of Karen Blerifer... there are a couple of rings like that with blue sapphires (this, for example). Not pink, but still ''color''. And there might be pinks with sapphires on the site of Walter Arnstein (thenaturelasapphirecompany.com).

Icestore does a "Legacy" setting (LINK), but they might not be willing to sell it separately or set it with your stone... I just do not know. It may be worth asking about it.

Hope some of this helps

 

[belle]

Date: 6/24/2005 9:39:59 AM
Author: jft1215
Good morning everyone. I just logged in and wanted to write down all of the great info everyone provided yesterday and can''t find one of my posts. I had two posts regarding the same topic but got several different responses on each. Now I can''t find one. Was it deleted since it was a duplicate post? I knew I should''ve got the info transferred yesterday!

looks like that''s what happened......

did you have some particular info in mind that you needed?

 

[velouriaL]

Sorry about your deleted post! Maybe we can help you with the lost info?

Yay! This is going to be a fun project!

 

[jft1215]

Good morning and thanks for all of the feedback. Here''s a little update since yesterday (moving fast, but fun and exciting).

I called and Spoke to Leon Mege this morning. I took some advice and called early this morning so I could get a chance to talk to him personally. I told him what I had envisioned and he was very responsive! In fact, he told me that he thinks Spinel''s are the best stone out there right now (but we knew that right

). He spent quite a bit of time talking me through the process and gave some great pointers that a novice like me wouldn''t necessarily forsee. The whole time he was genuinely friendly and extremely helpful. We talked about a few different things to consider and he asked me to follow it up with an email this morning with a picture or two with some of my ideas. The next step he told me was to get the center stone and contact him from there.

I cannot express how much I appreciate everyone''s help and will be chronicling my adventure for everyone to enjoy

 

[jft1215]

I''ve seen several Spinel''s at sites like gemwow (thanks for pointing me in the right direction). The only problem is I can''t purchase if I''m not in the trade. Anyone know how I go about getting a stone from them? Do I need to go to a local jeweler and have them contact them?

 

[Matata]

Date: 6/24/2005 12:23:05 PM
Author: jft1215
The only problem is I can''t purchase if I''m not in the trade.

Are you sure about that? I looked here and it appears that all you have to do is register, choose your stone and go to checkout. They seem to have 2 sections -- one for "trade buyers" and one for "buyers" whom I presume are consumers like you and me.

 

[jft1215]

Thanks Matata! I must have misread something.

I''ve found a few stones and wanted to run them by everyone for their opinion and expertise.

The first one is: http://www.ajsgems.com/SPI/SPI-00208.htm

It says it''s loupe clean, I''m assuming that means it nearly flawless internally. What about shape/dimensions? I don''t want it to be too deep and wanted to know how this size compares to a cushion cut. Also, the price seems incredibly reasonable (I don''t like to use the word cheap).

I''ll post the second one once I find the link (so many to choose from).....

 

[diamondlil]

I can''t wait to see how this project unfolds!!!

Spinels are fantastic if you can find just the color you are looking for. I have never purchased a colored stone over the net for fear of the color not being as pictured or described. I agree that going with a vendor that will work with you to find just the right color/cut would help tremendously.

DiamondLil