Show me some Van Craeynest!

[kimikocat]

Hi girls!

My visit yesterday was rather rushed, because I got out of work too late to catch the "good train" to town. So I have some pix but not enough. My apologies! This first one is for AnitaT. I think these are the 911 wedding rings in Plat and YG.

 

[kimikocat]

Here''s a profile shot of the 971 with princess cut emeralds. I had trouble getting this one to stay on my hand, as the sample was a bit larger than my finger.

 

[kimikocat]

All the pix are a bit "soft" because the light was dying! Here''s a stack (I put all 3 styles on my middle finger.) They are (top to bottom):

917 (still in progress, the melee stones will slot into the open holes)
911
971 w/ emeralds

We couldn''t find a 558 in a white metal for photos.

 

[kimikocat]

didn''t like the resolution on that last photo, trying it again:

 

[kimikocat]

I guess they are all about the same, once you reduce the file size to be web friendly. Anyone have an idea how to delete a double post?

As for me, I tried on my rings - they are in the middle of production, and are just darling! They are the matched 912/812 set. Larry is currently working on a rose finish to darken the gold and bring out the detail. They are a beautiful rich yellow right now, but will look a bit darker once he''s finished. The melee stones are not in yet. We are going to use an old-cut stone for the center, around 0.50 carats. I''m just in love. It''ll be a lovely set and I''ll be proud to pass it on.

Larry called in 5 stones for me: 4 OMCs and an OEC. They were lovely and very affordable. We were both pleasantly surprised by the quality and cut of the diamonds. We are keeping 2 - the OEC and a smaller (0.40 or so carat) OMC, and sending the others back because they weren''t as stunning as these two. We may pull some more, if the dealers have some on hand, for comparison. Larry is apparently just as slow to make up his mind as I am. I can''t imagine going to dinner in a restaurant. We''d never get past the appetizer.

kimi

 

[kimikocat]

3 more photos - these are professional photos, not mine. I mentioned to Larry - after we realized that time was running out and the light was getting pretty dim - that I wanted to have some pix of colored stone rings.

Here''s a fun one - a photo of a "navette" style dinner ring with a little emerald. The design is platinum top, with a YG body.

 

[AnitaT]

Kimi,
Thank you for taking these pictures. The pieces are just beautiful. My pictures of 911 did not capture the detail in your shots. The leaf detailing is just breath-taking. The 971 looks more delicate in your picture than the one that is online. The 917 in progress really impressed me. It looks brighter than the sample from April. Larry did tell me then that they make the 917 better now, "lighter" is how he described it. Hmmm...I think I like 917 and 971 the best. I might have to give more thought to using colored stones. The emeralds in 971 really accentuate the chased flowers. Kimi, did 971 feel any heavier or thicker than the other bands?

Your set sounds beautiful. I can''t wait to see the rings. I just love how detailed-oriented Larry is. You can tell he and the VC jewelers care about the quality of their pieces.

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 9/11/2009 2:32:15 PM
Author: kimikocat
Hi girls!

My visit yesterday was rather rushed, because I got out of work too late to catch the ''good train'' to town. So I have some pix but not enough. My apologies! This first one is for AnitaT. I think these are the 911 wedding rings in Plat and YG.

These bands are actually versions of the 971, not 911. Larry showed me these when I visited too - they''re called 971-3 because the diamond-centered flower design repeats 3x''s around the band. If you take a look at the foliate designs to the side of each flower on these, they match the shoulders of the 971 with emeralds.

Cool pix, Kimikocat, and congrats on your rings.

 

[AnitaT]

Date: 9/11/2009 9:23:28 PM
Author: Love in Bloom

Hi LIB,
You know, I thought they looked different. How lovely. Hmm...my curiosity is piqued. I want to know more about 971-3. The chasing in the middle of the band is pretty, sort of a modified dots and dashes. How extraordinary!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 9/12/2009 12:14:49 AM
Author: AnitaT

Hi LIB,
You know, I thought they looked different. How lovely. Hmm...my curiosity is piqued. I want to know more about 971-3. The chasing in the middle of the band is pretty, sort of a modified dots and dashes. How extraordinary!

Isn't that ornamental design just dreamy? The 971 with emeralds has the same dots and dashes desing on the shank; I don't think it's possible to see from the pics. Where else have we seen those...ah yes, the 969-15 has dots and dashes too. Your pic of the 969 band was the first time I saw those!

Here are some more pics of the 971-3's (kind of grainy and def. not as good as Kimiko's pics, though they do show different views):

 

[Love in Bloom]

Another of the 971-3 in both white and yellow metals:

 

[Love in Bloom]

This is a group shot, but you can see the profile of these continuous 971 bands in the upper left corner. They're the ones with the 3 sections of sculpture visible from the sides.

ETA - clockwise from the 971's:

A platinum D61 pendant (in-the-making)
Lg and Sm versions of the D32 pendant in YG
812 and 912 in YG
A prototype for a contemporary topographical scroll ring in copper (yes, copper! more on that below...)
Setting 817 along with the 969-15 band, both in YG

I flipped the 817 around to hide the prongs in pics...so it looked like the 917 band. Sneaky, sneaky!

 

[Love in Bloom]

About the topographical scroll ring: My husband liked this one a lot. We struck up a conversation about it and Larry mentioned he realized lots of rings nowadays are labeled "carved" when they're actually cast, or laser-etched and machined. If you ever have a conversation with Larry, you'll understand he holds good-old-fashioned skill in regard over all else, and also that he's not keen on technology. Thus the modern methods of manufacture are probably unthinkable for him! This band is a result of those ideals. I inspected the continuous hand-carved scroll pattern many times over and it's flawless from all angles.

The simplicity of this design - it is quite deceiving to me.

 

[Love in Bloom]

When Larry showed me some of his sketches, this one really stood out:

 

[Love in Bloom]

...but what struck me more about his sketch was this:

ETA - not sure if it's Larry's sense of humor shining through, or a sign that he is in much need of a vacation

...
"So the flower said to the pendant, 'and where do I go!' "

 

[kimikocat]

Date: 9/11/2009 9:13:32 PM
Author: AnitaT
Kimi,

Thank you for taking these pictures. The pieces are just beautiful. My pictures of 911 did not capture the detail in your shots. The leaf detailing is just breath-taking. The 971 looks more delicate in your picture than the one that is online. The 917 in progress really impressed me. It looks brighter than the sample from April. Larry did tell me then that they make the 917 better now, ''lighter'' is how he described it. Hmmm...I think I like 917 and 971 the best. I might have to give more thought to using colored stones. The emeralds in 971 really accentuate the chased flowers. Kimi, did 971 feel any heavier or thicker than the other bands?


Your set sounds beautiful. I can''t wait to see the rings. I just love how detailed-oriented Larry is. You can tell he and the VC jewelers care about the quality of their pieces.

For capturing detail on small objects, I really like the "macro" mode on my camera. We improvised a tripod so we could get the photos using natural light w/o flash (flash kills the detail) w/o camera shake. We literally stuck my camera on a piece of metal that was sticking up out of a jeweler''s bench. Go figure. Larry is good at problem solving.

Thanks, LIB, for clarifying the style number on the wedding bands. I guess we couldn''t find the 917 for you, either. Or the 558. The leaf detailing on the 971 series is lovely, it''s one of my favorite aspects of these 2 designs. The leaf is very subtle, you might think it''s a scroll, or just a decorative pattern.

I LOVE the 971 with emeralds. The colored stones really help the flowers "pop" and the design is very graphic. I think LIB posted a YG design with sapphires a few pages back. You should look at that one, too. If you''re still thinking of using aquamarines, they would provide a softer look.

The 971 didn''t feel any heavier or thicker to me than the "bangle" types. That stack of 3 actually felt really good!

The key is to get the size just right. Any ring that''s too large will poke and chafe (I learned this the hard way...trying to wear a size 7 ring with a ring guard on a size 3.75 finger!).

The 911 is still one of my favorites. The detailing is subtle - esp in the plat. In YG you can make the design stand out a bit more with antiquing. I''ve seen it with melee--maybe when I go back to pick up my rings they''ll have one with the stones already in--and it''s a lovely look. The tiny diamonds sparkle here and there, like fairy dust. This one makes me think of Shakespeare''s Fairy Queen.

kimi

 

[angeline]

Thanks for the pics kimi. I haven''t ever seen that band with the dots dashes - me likey a lot! I think the 969 has dots and dashes that''s the only one I have seen.

LiB - what a laugh. Larry certainly has an individual sense of humor. I love those sketches.

Did you notice I avoided your reset question?

I have found myself wishing my diamond was on a thinner setting. Can you suggest a colored stone that would look good in the 1032? in yg? I do hesitate to reset because I LOVE my ring as is. Just, you know....

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 9/12/2009 11:00:45 AM
Author: kimikocat

Thanks, LIB, for clarifying the style number on the wedding bands. I guess we couldn't find the 917 for you, either. Or the 558. The leaf detailing on the 971 series is lovely, it's one of my favorite aspects of these 2 designs. The leaf is very subtle, you might think it's a scroll, or just a decorative pattern.

Your'e welcome for the clarification. These tiny details can be very subtle to the eye!

Date: 9/12/2009 12:03:12 PM
Author: angeline

LiB - what a laugh. Larry certainly has an individual sense of humor. I love those sketches.

Did you notice I avoided your reset question?

I have found myself wishing my diamond was on a thinner setting. Can you suggest a colored stone that would look good in the 1032? in yg? I do hesitate to reset because I LOVE my ring as is. Just, you know....

That Larry is rare breed. You should hear him make fun of the flowery descriptions on his website; I thought I was going to die. I Laughed so hard I cried!! He, on the other hand, didn't flinch. A dry sense of humor, perhaps.

Hey Angeline, I DID notice you dodged the big Q. I totally thought you were thinking 812/912. So it's 1032...

Hmmm...was the 1032 really that much thinner than your amazing 1034? I would say sapphire (there are lots of color choices for corundum) although tsavorite would look amazing. Just thinking that rich green would be a striking combo with all 18K yellow. Both options can be pricey...what's your budget? Will you ask Larry to source a gemstone for you? If you would rather find your own stone, I'm sure the fantastic peeps over in Colored Stone could give you some pointers. You may have to have one custom-cut. I would be sure to ask Larry and his diamondsetter first about replacing your diamond with a gemstone. Gems tend to be cut far deeper than diamonds, and I would hate to see your yummy yellow fleur-de-lis head ruined!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 9/3/2009 2:51:35 PM
Author: AnitaT
Kimi,
Oh, you lucky, lucky person! Larry has great taste. I can't wait to see your pictures.

If you are taking requests... Would you mind taking pictures of 917 with melee, 911, 558 and 971 in platinum (if possible) for me? When I visited in April, I didn't think to ask to see a 917 with stones. Looking back at my pictures, I wish I had taken more pictures of 911 in platinum. I just learned about 558 and 971 so don't know anything about them. And, if you see anything interesting or in the works, snap away

.

I had such fun visiting the VC factory. Alas, the west coast is too far away for me to visit Larry as often as I would like. That might be a good thing though...LOL.

AnitaT - In case you're really interested in the 558, here's a tidbit I learned when I asked about this ornamental shank we're seeing a lot of:

The knife edge band with flowers and square sapphires (from my visit) is sytle 558. The pic of 558 on the VC site is correct. To see it, just click on collections, then wedding rings, then jewel rings - 558 with diamonds is on the upper right corner.

In the PDF catalogue, however, there's a photograph of a YG band with square rubies that's incorrectly labeled as 558. The band pictured is similar, having 3 square stones, 4 chased flowers, but this one has an ornamental shank with those dots and dashes. This band is actually a version of 969. It's called 969-3-4.

I can see how these two were confused for one another as they are similar, both styles having 3 square stones and 4 flowers. Just thought I would clarify where I could as I my husband's wedding band has a similar mix-up going on with the style numbers too. Larry explained when I ordered (it's just the opposite situation with his band- the 1918 is lableled incorrectly on the site (91, and corrrectly in the catalogue). Can you imagine ordering one thing, and possibly receiving another? Eeek!!

 

[Love in Bloom]

This is the 558. I'm guessing it's called 558-3-4:

 

[Love in Bloom]

This is the 969-3-4:

 

[angeline]

Date: 9/12/2009 2:05:02 PM
Author: Love in Bloom

Date: 9/12/2009 11:00:45 AM

Author: kimikocat


Thanks, LIB, for clarifying the style number on the wedding bands. I guess we couldn''t find the 917 for you, either. Or the 558. The leaf detailing on the 971 series is lovely, it''s one of my favorite aspects of these 2 designs. The leaf is very subtle, you might think it''s a scroll, or just a decorative pattern.

Your''e welcome for the clarification. These tiny details can be very subtle to the eye!

Date: 9/12/2009 12:03:12 PM

Author: angeline


LiB - what a laugh. Larry certainly has an individual sense of humor. I love those sketches.


Did you notice I avoided your reset question?

I have found myself wishing my diamond was on a thinner setting. Can you suggest a colored stone that would look good in the 1032? in yg? I do hesitate to reset because I LOVE my ring as is. Just, you know....

That Larry is rare breed. You should hear him make fun of the flowery descriptions on his website; I thought I was going to die. I Laughed so hard I cried!! He, on the other hand, didn''t flinch. A dry sense of humor, perhaps.


Hey Angeline, I DID notice you dodged the big Q. I totally thought you were thinking 812/912. So it''s 1032...


Hmmm...was the 1032 really that much thinner than your amazing 1034? I would say sapphire (there are lots of color choices for corundum) although tsavorite would look amazing. Just thinking that rich green would be a striking combo with all 18K yellow. Both options can be pricey...what''s your budget? Will you ask Larry to source a gemstone for you? If you would rather find your own stone, I''m sure the fantastic peeps over in Colored Stone could give you some pointers. You may have to have one custom-cut. I would be sure to ask Larry and his diamondsetter first about replacing your diamond with a gemstone. Gems tend to be cut far deeper than diamonds, and I would hate to see your yummy yellow fleur-de-lis head ruined!

ha ha ha, I have heard Larry going on about the descriptions. The funny thing is that I love descriptions like that and like on the Cross website, it''s what draws me in. To hear Larry, you should just have a completely factual description.

Sorry for the confusion I thought i had the 1032 not the 1034, but you are (as always) completely right, I do have the 1034. So I was asking what would be good to put in the 1034 as a colored stone. I also don''t want to ruin the setting, it is just so pretty.

 

[sunseeker101]

For the gallery (finally)!

Van Craeynest no. 1019..bright yellow gold finish, 0.49 ct diamond.

 

[sunseeker101]

(..)

 

[sunseeker101]

(..)

 

[sunseeker101]

On sz 7.5 finger..

 

[sunseeker101]

Finger shot of bright yellow + plat 457 w/ 0.61 ct diamond and 1019..

 

[sunseeker101]

457 again..

 

[sunseeker101]

(..)

 

[kimikocat]

Sunseeker, I love the pierced flowers. They are so delicate! And the yellow really accentuates the diamond, makes it really POP and sparkle.

Does your wife wear her new ring every day? I''ve always loved the look of the "big rings" but worry that they are too dramatic for everyday. My daily life just isn''t that glam (dog walks, working at my desk, running... no black tie affairs and no evening gowns).


kimi