shape
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Thoughts on this aquamarine?

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
It's 14.66 carats by measurement. The live auction house UI is confusing and I am honestly not sure whether or not I won it, but if I did, I think I would be paying less than $100/ct after subtracting gold scrap and conservative diamond value. It's impossible for me to know whether the light smudges are inclusions or grease until I get it (IF I got it.)

Is this a good value, assuming it is what the (reputable) auction house says it is?

Should I consider recutting it to reduce the window? I am somewhat unlikely to keep it in this mounting, although it looks well made and I suspect hand forged.



116097-01 (1).jpg
116097-02.jpg

116097-07 (1).jpg
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116097-06 (1).jpg
 

Arcadian

Ideal_Rock
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9,086
Oh wow....
You find some really interesting stuff!!

I love it, the color is really nice! If you do a recut take into account the color change might not be what you want. I've seen some serious miracles done before so, as long as the person who does it is experienced and you have a discussion about size and what you really want, they should be able to give you some answers back.

The setting I also like but it does look kinda rough though. (gold or plat??)
 

petit_bijou

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
279
What an interesting ring!! Lots of options with the components if you choose to take it apart.

It’s tough to advise on what to do without knowing your goals.. do you have a specific shape or colour you are hoping to achieve? Do you have a setting in mind where you could close in the back? Would a window make you crazy? How much are you willing to spend on a recut?

Without a straight profile shot it’s also hard to say how much size you may lose to get a precision cut from it, but if you aren’t in it for the size then I think it’s worth investigating! You’d also need to decide what style of cut you’d like to achieve. I’ve had a few spinels recut by Jerry Newman that I’m happy with, butif you wanted broader more “antique” type facets I might choose someone else.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!!
 

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
Update, I did win it and the kind lady who is packing it for me was kind enough to take cellphone hand photos, and I think they are even better than the studio photos! I'm excited!!

aqua.jpg
aqua3.jpg
aqua2.jpg

Oh wow....
You find some really interesting stuff!!

I love it, the color is really nice! If you do a recut take into account the color change might not be what you want. I've seen some serious miracles done before so, as long as the person who does it is experienced and you have a discussion about size and what you really want, they should be able to give you some answers back.

The setting I also like but it does look kinda rough though. (gold or plat??)

Thank you! I feel that traditional live auctions published online are what eBay was 15 years ago. Much better bargains and unusual pieces but also much higher risk with limited recourse.

That's good advice, I will definitely have a discussion with a few different cutters, probably Jerry at Gemart and the Gem Doctor, and always interested in hearing more suggestions! I have been very happy with Dan Stair but he has a large backlog of work and told me he won't be taking customer recuts for a number of months.

The setting is 14k white gold.

What an interesting ring!! Lots of options with the components if you choose to take it apart.

It’s tough to advise on what to do without knowing your goals.. do you have a specific shape or colour you are hoping to achieve? Do you have a setting in mind where you could close in the back? Would a window make you crazy? How much are you willing to spend on a recut?

Without a straight profile shot it’s also hard to say how much size you may lose to get a precision cut from it, but if you aren’t in it for the size then I think it’s worth investigating! You’d also need to decide what style of cut you’d like to achieve. I’ve had a few spinels recut by Jerry Newman that I’m happy with, butif you wanted broader more “antique” type facets I might choose someone else.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!!

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I think I am pretty sure I will take the setting apart and the diamonds are a very useful size. That is a great idea to look into setting designs that would be more closed.

I think that if I recut it, my goal would be to #1 reduce the window, #2 get more of the stone to look like the tips, #3 preserve size, and #4 chunky antique facets in that order of preference.

I think we can partially see the depth of the stone here, it's neither super deep nor shallow.

1604103297348.png

This is the ring that I would love to get remade with this stone. It was posted on Instagram about a year ago but the aqua is 6.51ct and the ring was super expensive at "under $8k." It was discussed here and a bunch of people pointed out it would be less expensive to get it made from scratch, so that's what I hope to do (but bigger!)

1604103521935.png
Instagram post with videos:
 

JPie

Ideal_Rock
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Messages
3,897
Update, I did win it and the kind lady who is packing it for me was kind enough to take cellphone hand photos, and I think they are even better than the studio photos! I'm excited!!

aqua.jpg
aqua3.jpg
aqua2.jpg



Thank you! I feel that traditional live auctions published online are what eBay was 15 years ago. Much better bargains and unusual pieces but also much higher risk with limited recourse.

That's good advice, I will definitely have a discussion with a few different cutters, probably Jerry at Gemart and the Gem Doctor, and always interested in hearing more suggestions! I have been very happy with Dan Stair but he has a large backlog of work and told me he won't be taking customer recuts for a number of months.

The setting is 14k white gold.



Thank you so much for your thoughts. I think I am pretty sure I will take the setting apart and the diamonds are a very useful size. That is a great idea to look into setting designs that would be more closed.

I think that if I recut it, my goal would be to #1 reduce the window, #2 get more of the stone to look like the tips, #3 preserve size, and #4 chunky antique facets in that order of preference.

I think we can partially see the depth of the stone here, it's neither super deep nor shallow.

1604103297348.png

This is the ring that I would love to get remade with this stone. It was posted on Instagram about a year ago but the aqua is 6.51ct and the ring was super expensive at "under $8k." It was discussed here and a bunch of people pointed out it would be less expensive to get it made from scratch, so that's what I hope to do (but bigger!)

1604103521935.png
Instagram post with videos:

I was one of the people debating on whether to get this ring, and I still think about it a lot. I’m excited to see how your project turns out!
 

Big Fat Facets

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 7, 2019
Messages
1,468
wow @Polyhex another fabulous find!! it is a beautiful rich hue. there is something rather glamorous about a huge gemmy ring. that elongated pear will look fantastic on your hand. thanks for sharing. dare i say, i find a pear cluster even more feminine, flattering and unique than an oval cluster
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Apr 30, 2019
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Congradulations
I'd wear it like it is for a couple of weeks while you make final descions
i do love the colour
 
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2,914
Wow that is very pretty! I probably would not mess around with a recut because I don’t like taking the risk. You can probably set the aquamarine with a bit more of a closed back and that will help close the window a bit. I really like the idea of a halo around this big aqua! It’s going to look spectacular :)
 

LIGemzGal

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 19, 2020
Messages
202
I do think the ring in the instagram is pretty and a stunning inspiration for your project. I'd go for the recut and get to making your ring the way you want it. That window is unsettling to me. This is an excellent project. So lucky of you to find that aqua at a bargain. I was thinking it could also be made into a pendant, but why not a big bold ring! Love it
 

LilAlex

Ideal_Rock
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Mar 3, 2018
Messages
3,589
Beware of cellphone photos so temper your expectations vis-a-vis color. Sorry.

It's huge and seems like a good value. Not perfect, of course (what is?), but very pretty! Well done!
 

MMtwo

Ideal_Rock
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Sep 20, 2009
Messages
4,445
I love the cell phone color - what a lovely big gem! I'm happy for you!
 

bright&shiny

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 11, 2009
Messages
1,259
What a great find! I’m sure you’ll have a better idea what direction to take after you receive it and wear it for a bit. Enjoy getting to know your new beauty!
 

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
I was one of the people debating on whether to get this ring, and I still think about it a lot. I’m excited to see how your project turns out!

I never stopped thinking about it either. It was such a spectacular ring but priced way higher than what it could be made for. One thing I have noticed about it is that the stones are different sizes to manipulate the shape of the ring. Like the south-most diamond is smaller than it's neighbors and they graduate once past the halfway mark of the pear. I think this is part of the reason the ring is so appealing and I haven't measured it yet but I bet the graduating stones are creating golden ratios in different parts of the ring design.

1604249866820.png


wow @Polyhex another fabulous find!! it is a beautiful rich hue. there is something rather glamorous about a huge gemmy ring. that elongated pear will look fantastic on your hand. thanks for sharing. dare i say, i find a pear cluster even more feminine, flattering and unique than an oval cluster

Me too! I feel like a pear cluster has a lot more visual interest.

Congradulations
I'd wear it like it is for a couple of weeks while you make final descions
i do love the colour

Great advice, totally will!

Wow that is very pretty! I probably would not mess around with a recut because I don’t like taking the risk. You can probably set the aquamarine with a bit more of a closed back and that will help close the window a bit. I really like the idea of a halo around this big aqua! It’s going to look spectacular :)

I will definitely live with the pear for a bit before I decide. I am adventurous when it comes to recuts, I have already recut the most stressful thing I ever will -- a 5.7ct diamond. :eek2:

I do think the ring in the instagram is pretty and a stunning inspiration for your project. I'd go for the recut and get to making your ring the way you want it. That window is unsettling to me. This is an excellent project. So lucky of you to find that aqua at a bargain. I was thinking it could also be made into a pendant, but why not a big bold ring! Love it

Thank you!! I agree with you a pendant would be amazing. I may explore whether this ring could be made as a ringdant!

Beware of cellphone photos so temper your expectations vis-a-vis color. Sorry.

It's huge and seems like a good value. Not perfect, of course (what is?), but very pretty! Well done!

Thank you! Its good advice to be suspicious even of innocently taken photos. My personal experience so far is that studio photos are running at 0% accuracy and cellphone photos have been accurate 50-70% of the time. Fingers crossed, I think I will get it next week.

I love the cell phone color - what a lovely big gem! I'm happy for you!

Thank you!!

What a great find! I’m sure you’ll have a better idea what direction to take after you receive it and wear it for a bit. Enjoy getting to know your new beauty!

Thank you, that is great advice and I sure will!
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Messages
25,159
That’s a beautiful aqua, and I agree with others that you shouldn’t cut it. Aquas and other pastel gems can substantially lose saturation with recuts from what I’ve seen.
 

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
It's here! The color is in between the studio photos and the auctioneer's cellphone photos. It shifts a bit between greenish blue and steely blue.

20201107_202404296_iOS (2).jpg
20201107_202432388_iOS (2).jpg
20201106_232804139_iOS.jpg
20201107_202315871_iOS (2).jpg

The stone is 22 x 12.5 x 9.5. I think it's deep enough for a recut to close the window and I am going to explore getting that done. I like looking into the internal geometry of my stones and I find the window a bit disorienting, like swimming in a beautiful ocean and then suddenly being sucked into a black hole. I will make sure I talk to multiple lapidary artists and consider it carefully as I don't want to desaturate the stone.
 

dk168

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Messages
12,492
It's gorgeous, thanks for sharing!

I believe this stone is a prime example where a small window and being non precision cut is acceptable.

Thanks for sharing!

DK :kiss2:
 

MMtwo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
4,445
It's here! The color is in between the studio photos and the auctioneer's cellphone photos. It shifts a bit between greenish blue and steely blue.

20201107_202404296_iOS (2).jpg
20201107_202432388_iOS (2).jpg
20201106_232804139_iOS.jpg
20201107_202315871_iOS (2).jpg

The stone is 22 x 12.5 x 9.5. I think it's deep enough for a recut to close the window and I am going to explore getting that done. I like looking into the internal geometry of my stones and I find the window a bit disorienting, like swimming in a beautiful ocean and then suddenly being sucked into a black hole. I will make sure I talk to multiple lapidary artists and consider it carefully as I don't want to desaturate the stone.

I agree with @dk168, it's wonderful as it is and has some charm in it's imperfection. You have to be happy, but if it were mine, I might reset it, but not recut it. The color is so lovely.
 

dk168

Super_Ideal_Rock
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12,492
I agree with @dk168, it's wonderful as it is and has some charm in it's imperfection. You have to be happy, but if it were mine, I might reset it, but not recut it. The color is so lovely.

Yup, re-set without re-cut for me too.

The current setting does not do it justice IMHO.

DK :))
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Messages
10,261
Absolutely stunning and an Aqua at that carat weight with that colour - well, basically, swoon! The variation in colour makes it look so so so interesting. Please don't recut it. It could lose all the wonderful saturation at both ends. I think you're considering re-setting it? If so, I can't wait to see how it turns out. Have you shared your ideas for settings anywhere?
 

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
That’s a beautiful aqua, and I agree with others that you shouldn’t cut it. Aquas and other pastel gems can substantially lose saturation with recuts from what I’ve seen.


I agree with @dk168, it's wonderful as it is and has some charm in it's imperfection. You have to be happy, but if it were mine, I might reset it, but not recut it. The color is so lovely.

Yup, re-set without re-cut for me too.

The current setting does not do it justice IMHO.

DK :))

Absolutely stunning and an Aqua at that carat weight with that colour - well, basically, swoon! The variation in colour makes it look so so so interesting. Please don't recut it. It could lose all the wonderful saturation at both ends. I think you're considering re-setting it? If so, I can't wait to see how it turns out. Have you shared your ideas for settings anywhere?

Thank you soooo much everyone. I agree it is gorgeous as-is and I will think long and hard and proceed carefully if I decide to recut it. I don't want to lose the saturation at either ends of the pear which make the stone so visually interesting, I would be more likely to recut if the lapidary artist believes they can get even more saturation in the tips by bouncing the light around more. That saturation in a pear cut is usually coming from the light reflecting multiple times at each tip before it returns to the eye. I recently bought some antique sapphires reclaimed from broken jewelry which display the phenomena even more, they are peach in the middle but ultra hot pink at the ends.

reclaimedsapphires.PNG

I agree the setting while well made is underwhelming. This is the setting I am going to remake with big diamonds. I have a ring I bought for scrap which has 10 3.8-4mm diamonds, I am hoping to get a design which incorporates them but I will probably need some more small diamonds for each tip.

16ad07cd6a7ce01df29b5937fd178fab.jpg

I really enjoy "the hunt" aspect of collecting colored stones via old rings!
 

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
So I did opt to recut with the sole goal of closing the window, not making it perfect. I was optimistic that with its generous depth, it could be done without a large size reduction or loss of saturation. Jerry Newman had to spend some time pondering it, as it was a 1.77 length to width ratio and it didn't match any existing cut pattern he had. He came up with two options for me...

Make it perfect, going from 22.3 x 12.6 to 18.5 x 12.5, the pro here was that it would be truly perfect and he could use one of his facet diagrams. This would have been a full pavilion and crown recut.

Attempt to make up a cut modification on the fly, recutting the central part of the pavilion only with chevron facets from girdle to keel. He called this a gamble, which of course made it way more desirable to my adventurous heart. :lol-2: If it did not have a good outcome we could proceed to the full recut. I did not need the aquamarine to be perfect and I did not want it to desaturate, so this was the option I went for.

So here it is, exact same face up dimensions at 22.3 x 12.6 and it lost only 13.26% weight going from 14.66 to 12.84 cts. I am very pleased.

Natural light, rainy day. It's just resting in this mounting, which I am about to scrap to work on a new mounting:

20210116_205941506_iOS (2).jpg

Darker natural lighting, rainy day:

20210116_205911925_iOS (2).jpg

Cool-tinted artificial lighting:

20210116_205715785_iOS (2).jpg

On my hand, natural rainy lighting:

20210116_210114001_iOS (2).jpg

I like how moody and changing the cut is now as it tilts in different angles:

20210116_210219399_iOS (2).jpg

Bright yellow artificial lighting:
20210116_205737951_iOS (2).jpg

The stone looks even more like a larger version of my inspiration ring now:

16ad07cd6a7ce01df29b5937fd178fab.jpg

I am really happy with this outcome!
 

dk168

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Good result indeed!

DK :kiss2:
 

stepcutnut

Ideal_Rock
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It turned out beautifully!
 

bright&shiny

Brilliant_Rock
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Your story just keeps getting better! What are your plans for the new mounting?
 

Polyhex

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
550
Good result indeed!

DK :kiss2:

I am definitely feeling this stone! Thank you!

It turned out beautifully!

I think so too! Thank you!

Your story just keeps getting better! What are your plans for the new mounting?

Thank you! I am hoping to remake the inspiration ring appropriately sized up for the stone. Possibly as a ringdant. I have been collecting 0.10 - 0.25 ct diamonds, I need to spend some time in powerpoint seeing whether I have enough and what different diamond options look like. Hoping to achieve this same graduated halo effect:

1610900457710.png

My aqua has a similar L to W ratio as this stone, it's just a bit chubbier through the middle, and twice as heavy.
 
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