Setting Help

[kimpnoth]

I am in the process of having 2 stones set. The round reddish purple spinel I think will go in a rose gold, updated, slightly modernized pseudo illusion setting. The dark pink (magenta) tourmaline is a hmmmmmmm. . . . . . . .

Below is a bad picture of the tourmaline and ideas for two different settings.

1) is sort of a belcher and I think might provide really good protection for a tourmaline or amethyst -- which is its great virtue. Plus, I am having a love/hate relationship with the setting. I'm drawn, but not sure how I'd feel about the finished setting. The jeweler I use could modify it for a square stone.
2) would be a variation of the spinel setting, and I don't know if I want 2 stones in similar settings. The modified setting would probably be a combination of JewelFreak's tourmaline split shank, but with honking big 3 claw prongs.

I am wondering

1) if the sort-of-belcher setting would provide enough light to the stone and what modifications might make it better.
2) gold color: warm white gold, no rhodium, or rose (I would do everything in rose gold, but that gets boring, and I am liking red stones in white gold)

Thoughts, advice, cautions, and education welcome

 

[kimpnoth]

Hmmmm, 5th picture didn't make it . Here's the 5th picture with the prongs I like

 

[Starzin]

I may not be of much help because I have to confess a bit of a weakness for belcher settings But then again I like daisy settings and some belchers remind me of that.

Did you have a look at Google images?

It will be absolutely fine with letting light in and I should think it will afford a little more protection from bumps simply because a bump will slide up the prongs rather than allowing the stone to be hit. These settings also have the advantage of being able to set the stone as high or low as you wish (depending on the height of the prongs).

 

[chrono]

How large is the stone? Belchers seem best for small stones so if the stone is too large, the stone will end up sitting high above the finger and use more gold for the setting (bulkier). I think yellow gold will look best for this stone.

 

[kimpnoth]

The stone is 9 x 9 x 6 mm. Indeed, it would be a gold intensive ring if done belcher. I am OK with substantial rings. I'm not sure it's appropriate for this stone. I think I like it because it would provide good protection for the stone. And, there is just something about this particular belcher that keeps calling me.

 

[LD]

I'm not a fan of belcher settings because (to me) they look very manly. With a 9x9 ring it's going to be a whopper as well! Also, the shape of your tourmaline would (again, to me) look strange in a belcher which typically use rounds.

I love your inspiration photo of JewelFreak's shank. In fact I like her ring and I think it would make a gorgeous setting for your tourmaline. One thing's for sure, you must go with what you know you'll wear and love (and won't date)!

 

[MrsCornishWed]

That inspo pic of jewel freaks ring..*dribble*

I agree I think the belcher isn't best suited to a big stone but equally they are not my cup of tea either so unsure if that's clouding my judgement.

that stone looks very pretty.

 

[JewelFreak]

Given the size of that stone, I think it would look better in a setting similar to mine than in a belcher. (P.S. Thanks! I HAVE to get good photos of it -- the stone is peach, not brown -- that's Caren's photo after they finished the setting. Good old days when jobs got done by them.)

Do you plan this to be an everyday ring? If so, I see your concern about protection, but if it's for occasional wear & you're not real hard on jewelry, a prong setting like that shouldn't be a problem. It's a tourmaline in that ring, which I wear sometimes but not every day, and I haven't had any issues.

I also agree with Chrono -- yellow gold would be good for that stone -- very nice color, btw.

--- Laurie

 

[pregcurious]

I also have to vote for the 2nd setting.

 

[Marlow]

Who offers the black gem box??? I like it.

 

[kimpnoth]

Who offers the black gem box??? I like it.

(chuckle) Steve Wallner at Westview Gems.

 

[Starzin]

Who offers the black gem box??? I like it.

(chuckle) Steve Wallner at Westview Gems.

They're around on the internet Marlow - try ebay

Actually I prefer JF's setting for a stone of this size and shape too - and it is a lovely ring.

 

[kimpnoth]

Thank you all, for pointing me away from the belcher-type. There is something about the prongs in the bigger picture that is very attractive to me -- but perhaps for another stone, another time. Sometimes I try to smash together 2 things that just don't belong together. Sometimes it works, but most times it bombs. A major do-over on a custom ring is not really an option.

JewelFreak: I have to laugh because every time you mention that tourmaline "it's peach, not brown". I think you should just name it that. (This is my peach, NOT brown tourmaline.) Yes, I have read a bunch of threads on tourmaline, the vender I purchased this from, and looked at all pretty picture threads. I do think that ring turned out great and it is very much to my taste.

Gold color: those of you who think yellow gold, why? I really prefer rose or a soft white (unplated). I have really moved away from yellow, as rose or white is better with my skin tone, but I'm interested in what you see that I may not.

Thank you, again
Best

Kim

 

[Starzin]

Belchers are lovely rings - just not for this stone. However, often the devil's advocate, I had to show how protective they are of the stone and as others said, ideal for a smaller gem.

Do you have white (or silver for the purpose) yellow and rose chains? Make a neat circle of them and pop the stone in the middle and see how you feel about it with the different colours. My feeling is that WG always washes out the colour of a warmer hued stone and focuses more on the setting, while the yellow or rose seem to somehow support the gem and bring focus to it rather than the setting.

As always, you are the one who has to be happy with your choice.

You can always do the two tone - rose or yellow head and wg shank. It doesn't have to be either/or.

 

[chrono]

My concern is that a white metal (even if it is unplated white gold) will bring out the brown in the tourmaline. The opposite is true for rose gold - that it is too strong of a colour for the tourmaline. Perhaps a softer rose gold such as 18K RG might be a good compromise. I am looking at it from the perspective of the stone but of course, the wearer's skin tone should also be considered. As Starzin advised, have you tried to nest the stone in an empty setting or other coloured metal jewellery to see the effect of the metal colour?

 

[kimpnoth]

Chrono,

You see brown in the stone? I am so bad at identifying modifiers.

 

[chrono]

Most red/pink tourmaline will shift under indoor lighting, becoming orangish or brownish. I have not seen your stone, so it is a generic advice. Red is considered a warm hue, hence look better with a warm coloured metal like yellow or rose. Only a strongly saturated red can hold its own in a cool white metal.

 

[petit_bijou]

Hmmmm, 5th picture didn't make it . Here's the 5th picture with the prongs I like

I like this setting for your stone! Given the way JewelFreak's setting uses the gallery wire to form the claw prongs, I think modifying it to have 3 might be tricky. I also think your stone has enough size and substance to stand alone very nicely, without the shoulder diamond wraps.

 

[kimpnoth]

Chrono, this stone doesn't really go orange or brown. Under real incandescent lights there is a very slight shift, at certain angles , to a sort of salmon color (is this part of the axis thing?), but one has to hold the stone right under the bulb to get this effect. In a dark room, a foot or two away from the light source, this doesn't happen. Under LED & CFL the stone holds it's color. Maybe salmon is orange. It's a hard color to describe -- it's not pink, but it's not orange, sort of perfect combination of the two.

Petit_bijou, I do love the whole concept of JewelFreak's ring, the design is quite graceful and amazing. I was using it as an example of how I would like the split shank to taper from the mounting. I want shoulders that taper from the width of the mounting to the wrap, and this is the best example of a split shank that I like that I could find. I see your point -- 'twill have to be a completely different design, but I hope with the same effect. I agree -- no diamonds. Just stone and gold.

 

[chrono]

Salmon is orange/pink so I would consider yellow gold. Please do not take this as my dissing your Tourmaline or such; this shift is common and some people love this colour.

 

[T L]

I think yellow gold will look best for this stone.

+1

Although I love rose gold, I do not like it at all with warm stones. It tends to bring out the brown in them, or make them less noticeable.

I would not go with a belcher setting for a medium to medium dark toned stone. They're best for lighter toned stones. For example, I think a belcher would look great with the tourmaline in this thread, which is a pale gem.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opinion-of-a-mint-tourmaline.206422/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opinion-of-a-mint-tourmaline.206422/[/URL]

 

[kimpnoth]

Nah, no dissing taken. My taste runs a tad different from the market high value standards. I like interesting stones with depth. Although learning about what makes an optimum stone is interesting and enlightening. Every stone deserves to be optimized even if it's not a market favorite. I was actually looking for peach colored tourmaline, and in the vendor pictures it looked like it might be that. But it's not. The vendor called it magenta. I think it's sort of a bing cherry red -- the medium red bing cherry. The shift is very illusive, but I'm good with both colors.

JewelFreak, on durability, I talked to the jeweler I use and he said, just pick a setting you love, wear it and love it. It'll take about 10-12 years for the wear to become visible. I think he's right. I have a very inexpensive ($7) silver ring with what we think is an irradiated quartz in it. I've been wearing it (not every day, but frequently) for 10-12 years without any care for smacking it against things and while doing heavier activities with my hands. I just noticed that if I look very closely in strong sunlight at certain angles, that there is some facet abrasion on one corner.