Red Trillions for Leon Mege 3 stone ring

[just_looking!]

My boyfriend proposed on Saturday with a wedding band and of course I said YES!!

We now have the fun of designing an engagement ring, but none of the angst of the ''waiting club''.

I really like this LM ring, but with an RB rather than princess. I don''t think we''ll be going for a diamond centre over 6mm (maybe up to 6.5 / 1 carat if we get a good price for the side stones / setting) so do you think trillions of 3 - 4mm would look good?

Does anyone know of a good outlet for red trillions (curved sides rather than straight triangles)? I''d like rubies if possible as they have a higher Moh Index but also like red spinels in similar red - raspberry red shades.

I''d rather have good colour, saturation and transparency in a red stone such as spinel than have milky pale rubies.

Thanks in advance!

 

[just_looking!]

Oops! Here are my inspiration pics

 

[katbadness]

style="WIDTH: 99%; HEIGHT: 70px">Date: 11/25/2004 3:20:56 AM
Author:just_looking!

Does anyone know of a good outlet for red trillions (curved sides rather than straight triangles)? I''d like rubies if possible as they have a higher Moh Index but also like red spinels in similar red - raspberry red shades.

Just a comment..
Don''t overlook fat pears, as they look more like trillions, except with the curved sides as you prefered.

There are several options to getting what you want.
You can get a man-made ruby, or natural.
With natural, do you care if it''s heat treated?
Untreated stones tend to be priced much higher not to mention getting a pair will require some hunt.

The best way to go about doing this is work with a vendor (Wink, Gary of DiamondExpert, Yowahking, etc.).
This way they can help you source the exact quality of stones you''re looking for.. exact color, exact clarity, especially since they need to match.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[just_looking!]

Thanks for the info! Stubby pears would also look nice.

I''m not too bothered by heat treatment and would consider man made if they had a nice colour and were cut well.

I''ve heard that Wink also deals with Leon Mege so perhaps this would be easier too.

Smiles..........

 

[valeria101]

These are big... but the shape looks darn nice, IMO, and there should be more where these come from. (link)

 

[spinel]

Or like these. Spinel

 

[just_looking!]

Hi Ana!
I also spotted those on cherrypicked and had mad thoughts about getting them cut smaller before coming to my senses! They are a lovely colour and a nice shape.......

Thanks Spinel!
The spinel trillion at the right side is a lovely colour too. Do you know if there are any pairs of this material and do you have details on sizes?

I''ve been scouring all the gem sites mentioned in the coloured stones threads, much to the amusement of my other half, but I''ve also contacted Wink as he seems to have good contacts in the trade.

Is it heresy to pick your centre diamond to complement your coloured side stones?!!

 

[Libster]

Date: 11/27/2004 6:27:53 AM
Author: just_looking!
Hi Ana!
I also spotted those on cherrypicked and had mad thoughts about getting them cut smaller before coming to my senses! They are a lovely colour and a nice shape.......

Thanks Spinel!
The spinel trillion at the right side is a lovely colour too. Do you know if there are any pairs of this material and do you have details on sizes?

I''ve been scouring all the gem sites mentioned in the coloured stones threads, much to the amusement of my other half, but I''ve also contacted Wink as he seems to have good contacts in the trade.

Is it heresy to pick your centre diamond to complement your coloured side stones?!!

That is going to be a BEAUTIFUL ring!!

I have two .60 emeralds that I would love to have set as side stones with a diamond center. My husband finally bought a diamond for me for our 15th anniversary, but I thought it was too small for the size of my emeralds, so I had it set in a 3 stone all diamond setting. Also......I had misplaced one of the emeralds...*GASP* One of my emeralds was the center stone of an earlier anniversary ring, and the other we had purchased on a trip, to match that stone. I''d hidden the stone somewhere in the house and hadn''t been able to find it til yesterday!! I''ve been hinting for MORE jewelry for Christmas and he said to me "You can not have any more til you find that lost stone!" I tore this house apart and after 2 hours, stumbled on that green beauty

I scurried down to his "Man Room" and showed him the stone....... I think he was as pleased as I am. He knows my dream ring will be to have what you are doing....a 3 stone Leon Mege using my emeralds and diamond

I don''t know much about the other colored stones, but when looking at emeralds on www.emeraldelegance.com I saw what appeared to be some really nice rubies? You might want to give them a look if you haven''t already. Please keep us posted on your progress. I can''t wait to see your final product

 

[suzannecallison]

Well, these might be worth a try???? It seems there is a 7 day return policy....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=282&item=4945306661&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Suzanne

edited to add:

and maybe here

http://www.gemhut.com/ruby.htm#CRBY

 

[just_looking!]

Thanks for the help!

I think finding good colour matched stones in a particular size is much more difficult than I''d imagined!

 

[just_looking!]

Found these on multicolour.com - worth buying as a pair?

Songea is often referred to as a sapphire area and I haven''t seen rubies from there listed elsewhere, but these looked quite nice on my screen!

0.61 ruby pear

0.64 ruby pear

I noticed that they are slightly different sizes and have a visual difference in faceting but would I notice that at normal size magnification?

Any comments on the colour?

Thanks

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/29/2004 55:18 AM
Author: just_looking!
Songea is often referred to as a sapphire area and I haven''t seen rubies from there listed elsewhere, but these looked quite nice on my screen!

Ruby does come from Songea allright... and what you see is what you get: rather dark, garnet-like stones. This is probably not the best from this locality looks like, but rather typical.

It is not really feasible to match stones on a computer screen. I am pretty sure though that Multicolour will answer your inquiry for a matched pair of rubies. They seemed candide enough about what their merchandise is and ain''t in the past.

How about these:

It is usually safer (and a better deal) to let the maker of the ring source small sidestones. Wasn''t this feasible for you ?

 

[mogok]

Hello,
Few comments on multicolor stones:
Multicolor is a regular customer of AIGS laboratory, they send many stones to AIGS lab to get reports. Many of these stones belongs to this kind of borderline case between ruby, purple or orange sapphire.
It is sure that these rubies from Songea when they are not heated using some beryllium additives comes in muddy or purplish colors. Some stones are red enough under standart light to be called rubies, most are not.

Now this come to an interesting point:
When do we have a purplish red ruby and when do we have a reddish purple sapphire?
I said in the previous sentence "standard light"...
It is not really easy to answer as the color of a given gems depends on the gem, on the light used at the time of the observation and also on the eyes of the observor.
This is one of the main reason why multicolor send these stones to us...
David Weinberg from Multicolor likes the taxi driver test: if standart people call the stone a ruby it should be a ruby...
Thats one opinion, but he prefer anyway to get for these borderline cases a reliable third party opinion. As if the Bangkok taxi driver say the stone is red, may be his London collegue will say that the stone is purple...

We are so checking his stones, after the regular gemological tests, using several tests:
We use a standard daylight using a Macbeth light box, natural Bangkok north-light and in some cases we also use master stones in order to evaluate if the color is red enough to call the stone a ruby or will have to be named sapphire.

AIGS lab is used to all these difficult stones that are color change sapphire or color shift sapphires, color change chrysoberyl or alexandrite, and borderline cases between ruby and sapphire, emerald and green beryl,...
Sometimes it is difficult to take a decision, especially as we know that if the stone is seen under other lighting conditions, then people could give very honestly and correclty that the stone looks like ruby while our lab have given sapphire.

Anyway this light and color problem is one of the may problem that internet buyers (and sellers...) are facing: How to be sure that the stone you plan to buy is the same color as it looks on your computer screen?

If you are interested by the light problem regarding to gemstones, i advise you to read the following articles:
In Ganoksin:
Seeing the light
In Palagems:
buying and selling gems: what light is the best?

Now on multicolor policies:
Regarding light:
Describing Color in Gemstones, Color Communication.
and regarding to trird party opinions:
Buy gems with confidence

All the best,

 

[just_looking!]

I''m starting to think that you get what you pay for! Thanks for the extra info Magok.........

What about this one as a candidate? I just wish it had a twin! Unfortunately there isn''t a good match on the site at the moment, but I''ve contacted AJS for more info.

0.68 ruby

I''m sure that LM could source rubies for me but there''s the thrill of the chase and I want to get a shade of red which is appealing to me (I know everyone has their own favourite shade!).

 

[spinel]

Hello Just_looking,

sorry for not be able to post ealier. I was out for a time. The trillions I posted are corrundum, nice but lack of depth. I almost complete my spinel collection and will share some photos on PS.

 

[just_looking!]

So excited about the project!

Wink has been talking to Richard Homer about cutting some spinel or rubies for my side stones! I''m not sure whether they will be concave faceted or even if you can do that to something only 4mm, but I know they''ll be beautifully cut to maximise sparkle!

My fiance now knows more than he ever wanted to about why concave faceting is so cool!

 

[chantal990]

Wow your ring sounds like it''s really going to be stunning. Can''t wait to see the finished product.

 

[spinel]

Hi Just_looking, I hope that Wink and Richard Homer had found you side stones so you could finish your ring on time. I will be in US after Jan 21th and will see Wink with my material. By that time if you still dont find yours then perhaps Wink can cut your side stones from mines. Best regards, Spinel

 

[valeria101]

There was a somewhat close project resulting in this:

(thread here) You may find some good hints. The ring surely turned out lovely

 

[just_looking!]

Thanks Ana!

It was seeing this ring which gave me a little confidence that LM worked with stones in our price range. I also PMed Neverdone to ask him a few questions. Leon Mege''s site is full of gorgeous HUGE stones and although I wanted a ring with his claw prongs, initially, I was a little intimidated.

Actually he''s been really friendly and I''m enjoying the process. It''s also great to be working with Wink (great to chat to) and having him organise the side stones means I''ll get great colour and fantastic cut! I think I''ll be so spoilt from now on - not much will compare to Richard Homer''s cutting skills and Leon Mege''s design and benchwork skills.

Perhaps I''m a little more realxed as I''m not waiting for ''the Question''?

 

[just_looking!]

Bought these little 4mm trillian songea sapphires on ebay (6.01 USD + 3 USD for international posting) to give me an idea of proportions for my new ring. I''d say they were more orange than they appear in this pic but very sparkly!

The problem with buying gemstones is that you end up with wonderful ideas which will cost 50 times the price of the stones! Was thinking these might look nice in drop earrings with a pear of some other stone at the bottom?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/17/2004 3:522 AM
Author: just_looking!

The problem with buying gemstones is that you end up with wonderful ideas which will cost 50 times the price of the stones! Was thinking these might look nice in drop earrings with a pear of some other stone at the bottom?

I know that type of pain... but then, the end product gets quite spectacular and there is no logic end to matching the price of stones with that of the craft

Just for brainstorming sake: how about a pair of larger blue or green finely cut briolettes ?
Tourmaline or iolite come to mind... I know colored briolettes are pretty fashionable, but nicely cut ones are not common.

Here's a sample:

source: www.briolettes.com

 

[just_looking!]

Ooh - those look really nice!

I can see diamond studs with a drop to my little songea sapphires and then aqua at the bottom. Yum!! Will have to learn how to photoshop my ideas now...........

I''m thinking I could get my studs done in platinum and then the rest (which won''t be in my ear) can be white gold.

 

[belle]

i can''t wait to see how this project turns out!! ........so exciting!!

 

[just_looking!]

Roll on Tucson Show!! Just heard back from Wink that Richard will be looking for rough whilst at the show and that my stones should be ready after that.

So excited!

Fingers crossed that he finds something nice

 

[belle]

keep us posted!!

 

[just_looking!]

Just heard back from Wink that Richard Homer has cut a beautiful pair of burmese rubies.

Just waiting for the photo''s! Rubies are notoriously difficult to photograph so we''ll see how they turn out!

 

[belle]

getting closer!!

i can''t wait to see those rubies.....i''m thinking they''re going to be amazing!!

 

[WinkHPD]

Richard said he could not get any kind of decent photo at all of what are incredible stones. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival here so that I can at least see them and try to get a photo that will at least give you an idea of what they look like.

Spinel, are you still coming?

Wink in Boise, where few come...

 

[spinel]

Hello Wink,
My bag is empty now. Will see you at Boise the next time I come with some nice material for Mr. Homer's cutting.