Show me your most unusual & unique gems and settings!

[ieatbugs]

Hi everyone,

New here and looking to learn everything that I can in order to have a custom piece made for me sometime soon as my first real piece of "adult" jewelry. So far I have learned to love indicolite and paraiba tourmalines and violet cuprians. I'm a big fan of really unusual, unique pieces and would like to see some of yours: please share pictures with me, I think I've seen more beautiful pieces here than all the jewelry stores I've been to in my life combined. I am sure I will find lots of inspiration!

Oh yeah, the inspiration for my quest was this ring that I came across a few years ago but couldn't afford:



I was thinking of getting this recreated but I'm concerned about setting a stone that large in prongs, and the hardness of the topaz with such a large exposed surface area

Thanks in Advance,

Kristy

 

[GliderPoss]

Kristy, that is a lovely ring and I hope yours looks just as nice!

There are lots of unusual rings here on PS.

To save reposting them all I'd try looking at the "Eyecandy" thread stickied at the top of this forum.

 

[chrono]

What is your definition of unusual and unique? To some, it just means uncommon gems other than sapphire, ruby and emerald. To others, it means stones not seen in B&M stores like spinels, zircons and garnets. To another group, it might mean sphene, benitoite, taaffeite, hackmanite and such. The same goes with settings - do you mean "one of a kind" bespoke or just something you won't see often in the streets and stores?

How big is the stone you plan on using?
Will this be worn 24/7 or just occasionally?

 

[ieatbugs]

Chrono: I am looking for stones not found in brick and mortar stores: benitoite and sphene and hackmanite are welcome too! and truly bespoke OOAK settings.

I'm not sure what size stone I'll plan on using, something wearable for every day on a petite hand (I'm about a size 6.25) and within my price range. I'd rather have a really great quality stone than a larger one of lower quality.

I plan on wearing it 24/7


HotPozzum:

I have gone through about 40 pages but I notice many of the settings and gems tend to repeat themselves...so I was hoping to start a thread that really showcases only one of a kind pieces.

 

[chrono]

Very few gemstones will hold up well to 24/7 wear. The only ones I would safely recommend are corundum (sapphire), chrysoberyl (and its alexandrite kin) and spinel. Your other option is to wear an inexpensive gemstone that you can replace every few years.

 

[ieatbugs]

Chrono: how does size factor into durability for gemstones? Are some cuts/sizes better than others? Perhaps a larger center stone of something more durable with accents of tourmaline?

 

[chrono]

Cabochon holds up better to everyday wear than a faceted stone. In terms of cut design, obviously rounded shapes are safer to wear than pointy shapes but not by much. Size plays a role but not by much either. Even if you bezel the accent stones, the crown facets are still exposed to damage. The other difficulty sometimes is finding well coloured accent stones. Up to a certain size (or rather down to a certain size), coloured gemstones become not cost effective to cut and many are unable to maintain the rich colouration of their larger kin. I don't what size you are thinking of but stones around 0.4 ct to 1.0 ct tourmalines are not difficult to find but even so, it is not recommended to wear that 24/7 unless you are willing to replace them a few years later.

If you are willing to wear the ring less often, your options open up greatly. By less often, you can still wear it every day but remove it when you step through the doors at home (no showering and doing housework like washing dishes) and when doing "hard" work like working out or other hand intense activities.

 

[ieatbugs]

Thanks for this information, it's good to consider: I probably would take my rings off at the gym and when doing dishes and showering, so I guess that expands my options a bit. I work at a video game company so I don't do too much hard labor, mostly just cooking and typing and drawing during the week

Given this information, what types of gemstones does that open my options to?

 

[chrono]

I would leave out wearing the ring when doing any cooking too. Typing and drawing are fine. That being the case, the following are your options:

Corundum (sapphire and ruby) but only those that are untreated or heated only. Glass filled ruby does not fall into this category of durability.
Chrysoberyl and Alexandrite
Spinel
Topaz
Beryl (aquamarine, morganite, heliodore, etc): Somewhat brittle or prone to chipping so more care is required. Although emerald is a beryl, it is usually clarity enhanced and requires special care. Also, some resins also hold up better than other types. Low R.I. so it sometimes looks glassy, depending on the cut.
Andalusite: A little brittle and has a distinct clevage. I've not seen any nice examples though.
Iolite: Has distinct cleavage and there are more poor examples rather than good examples of Iolite.
Garnet: Facet junction wear is commonly seen after a few years of wear. Demantoid is the least durable in the garnet family.
Tourmaline: Somewhat brittle and prone to chipping. Also has low R.I. so it's less flashy than garnets.
Zircon: Brittle and prone to chipping. Not recommended but I've seen some people wear zircon in rings.
Quartz: Chipping and facet abrasion is common but it is inexpensive and easy to replace.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lowest-mohs-hardness-for-rings-other-decisive-factors.176872/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lowest-mohs-hardness-for-rings-other-decisive-factors.176872/[/URL]

 

[LD]

A ring of that size is really a "no no" for everyday wear. It's not the cooking, washing up etc., it's the fact that you WILL knock it accidentally. Some gems will fracture even if you look at them! Some take a bit of a whack to demolish them. Others are reasonably knock resistant and may just chip BUT with any gem, including diamonds, you only have to hit it in the wrong place where there's a weakness (that you may/may not be able to see) and you're suddenly left picking up the pieces. The design of the ring you love also exposes lots of edges.

So, if you want size and an everyday ring then you should look for a relatively cheap gemstone that you can replace easily every so often.

OR

You decide it's an occasional ring and then buy a large stone (one that you really want) and baby it like it's made of glass.

 

[ieatbugs]

LD,


Thanks for the reply. I've not got a huge budget and I'm more concerned with the color/quality of the stone, PLUS I have a fairly dainty hand so I'm thinking something much smaller than the 4 carat monster I posted above. Just something about that setting and color combo I found incredibly elegant and really beautiful!