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Voce's Gemstone Ramblings...

polarisfire

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 27, 2019
Messages
75
Whoaaa where did you source those stones? (Those Emeralds!)
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Whoaaa where did you source those stones? (Those Emeralds!)

The spess is from Gran Gem in Etsy, and the emeralds, I had Inken (Enhoerning Jewelry) source.
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
I don't know if anyone else runs into this problem. Every time I go to LoupeTroop and see the letters RED my heart skips a beat, not at the prospect of a hot sale, but at the prospect of a red stone. When I then realize it's not a red stone, I'm disappointed. :'(
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Bad news and good news this month. GIA chipped my emerald pair, so I'm back to square one with my mandarin duck project.

Three new rings were completed. I got some vibrant gems from Yvonne for some further projects.

IMG_20200228_111644.jpg IMG_20200228_111434.jpg IMG_20200228_111053.jpg IMG_20200220_105021.jpg
 

Polabowla

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 15, 2019
Messages
1,866
Bad news and good news this month. GIA chipped my emerald pair, so I'm back to square one with my mandarin duck project.

Three new rings were completed. I got some vibrant gems from Yvonne for some further projects.

IMG_20200228_111644.jpg IMG_20200228_111434.jpg IMG_20200228_111053.jpg IMG_20200220_105021.jpg

Oh no what happens in such a case, do they reimburse you?
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Oh no what happens in such a case, do they reimburse you?

They reimbursed my jeweler the wholesale price. The jeweler offered a full refund, and I decided to have her do a custom project for me using the refund.
 

Niffler75

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Messages
1,112
@voce Aaargh no, sorry about your emeralds! :eek2: Hope you get reimbursed.
 

deorwine

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
348
Bad news and good news this month. GIA chipped my emerald pair, so I'm back to square one with my mandarin duck project.

Three new rings were completed. I got some vibrant gems from Yvonne for some further projects.

IMG_20200228_111644.jpg IMG_20200228_111434.jpg IMG_20200228_111053.jpg IMG_20200220_105021.jpg

Ooh, very pretty! Where is the sapphire from, and the right-hand red spinel?
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Ooh, very pretty! Where is the sapphire from, and the right-hand red spinel?

LOL deorwine you jump straight to asking about the blue sapphire.

The blue sapphire is an 8x6 oval I bought from Inken off LT last year. It is unheated, Burmese, around 2 cts, but had color zoning and inclusions. However, the inclusions aren't bothersome to me, and the color saturation is such that I don't notice the inclusions in my office setting. The stone, including the GIA report, was just under $1k, which I thought was fantastic value. It's in a classic Stuller setting. Here's some more pictures.
730224 725769
IMG_20191119_095913863.jpg

Which red spinel are you asking about? There's a faceted cushion and a roval cab in that post I believe you are referring to.
 

deorwine

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
348
LOL deorwine you jump straight to asking about the blue sapphire.

The blue sapphire is an 8x6 oval I bought from Inken off LT last year. It is unheated, Burmese, around 2 cts, but had color zoning and inclusions. However, the inclusions aren't bothersome to me, and the color saturation is such that I don't notice the inclusions in my office setting. The stone, including the GIA report, was just under $1k, which I thought was fantastic value. It's in a classic Stuller setting. Here's some more pictures.
IMG_20200111_195611.jpg IMG_20191211_110446.jpg
IMG_20191119_095913863.jpg

Which red spinel are you asking about? There's a faceted cushion and a roval cab in that post I believe you are referring to.

LOLOLOL it's like you know me or something? :D I feel the way about blue sapphires the way you do about red rubies/spinels, hee. Anyway it's very beautiful and that ring sets it off so well! Nice job getting that value and that lovely ring!

I was asking about the spinel cushion, the one to the right of the cab? Is that the one you got off Etsy? (I swear I'm not stalking your purchases, but that particular one was the One That Got Away for me and so I am interested to see the eye candy for it, then I can console myself by realizing it has a beautiful home :) )
 

Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
5,485
!Ugh! about the chip, but at least GIA was forthcoming about the situation and it resolved.
I love seeing all your pretties @voce
That 8x6 blue sapphire is fantastic and your two spinel florals are my faves :love:
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
LOLOLOL it's like you know me or something? :D I feel the way about blue sapphires the way you do about red rubies/spinels, hee. Anyway it's very beautiful and that ring sets it off so well! Nice job getting that value and that lovely ring!

I was asking about the spinel cushion, the one to the right of the cab? Is that the one you got off Etsy? (I swear I'm not stalking your purchases, but that particular one was the One That Got Away for me and so I am interested to see the eye candy for it, then I can console myself by realizing it has a beautiful home :) )

I do remember in a previous post you said you just collect sapphires, without having a lot of different gem types like tourmalines, zircons, garnets and etc. Because if you sink all your money on beautiful sapphires, what's left for the other types of gems? Thank you for the compliments.

I don't remember if you had mentioned the cushion spinel as the One that Got Away before; I thought there was one other member who mentioned to me they were going to pull the trigger on it; this is my Jedi spinel from thegemcollector back when she was more active on Etsy. Now it's been a long time since she posted any new stones on Etsy. The setting was originally an alternate design for Bron357's ruby that she had considered selling to me but then decided to keep for herself apparently, at least for now. I found a Mozambique ruby to fit the original design (my avatar with the super secret original gallery I've never shared) Dawn (Bron's unheated Burmese ruby) inspired, and this Jedi spinel got set in the second design Dawn had inspired. Both of these designs were executed with the help of Inken (Enhoerning Jewelry), and I'm happy to share the resulting eye candy. It's the least I can do when you gals graciously let ME have the Jedi spinel.

@Rfisher thank you! I love your current avatar picture; it's perfect as a beautiful gem RGB photo!
 

deorwine

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
348
Haha, yes, I do some collecting of other stones -- red spinel and garnet are my second and third choices -- but I usually end up either taking the money I was going to use for them and buying blue sapphires, or buy those other stones and then resell them later on LT because a blue sapphire caught my eye and I need funds for it. It's rather silly :)

The cushion spinel: Yep, that was me unless there were two of us -- I was waffling because of thegemcollector not being in the US, and then I made up my mind to buy it but you already had :) So I'm glad that you were the one to buy it and that you posted pics of it!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Less sunlight coming through the windows now. I've decided I like this combination.
IMG_20200228_143247.jpg
 

2Neezers

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,874
Beautiful new rings @voce ! I loooove the pinky ring :love:. The cabochon ring is so gorgeous too!!
 

leslie1956

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2017
Messages
974
Less sunlight coming through the windows now. I've decided I like this combination.
IMG_20200228_143247.jpg

Beautiful new rings from CRD! I like cabs, so I really love that spinel cab in your Camellia ring :)
 

PinkAndBlueBling

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
1,640
Dang, girl! Those are some beauties! :kiss2: I don't know which one I love more! I think you need more fingers, though.
 

YC

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Messages
609
LOL deorwine you jump straight to asking about the blue sapphire.

The blue sapphire is an 8x6 oval I bought from Inken off LT last year. It is unheated, Burmese, around 2 cts, but had color zoning and inclusions. However, the inclusions aren't bothersome to me, and the color saturation is such that I don't notice the inclusions in my office setting. The stone, including the GIA report, was just under $1k, which I thought was fantastic value. It's in a classic Stuller setting. Here's some more pictures.
IMG_20200111_195611.jpg IMG_20191211_110446.jpg
IMG_20191119_095913863.jpg

Which red spinel are you asking about? There's a faceted cushion and a roval cab in that post I believe you are referring to.

I have to say that this stone is a good deal, with its colour and origin! And the intense colour masks the colour zoning and inclusions
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
My hands are dry from all the hand washing and sanitizing. Look at the rings, not the hand! I've got 2 more gems set! Pink spinel from Burma and California spess. Worn, of course, with rings you've seen before. IMG_20200415_181127.jpg IMG_20200415_180856.jpg
Bonus: here's my jewelry box atm. Took rings off for housework.
IMG_20200415_182615.jpg
 

MissyBeaucoup

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
1,124
Ooh...I absolutely love that pink spinel and the gorgeous setting! You have an amazing and unique collection, Voce. Congratulations!!
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
My hands are dry from all the hand washing and sanitizing. Look at the rings, not the hand! I've got 2 more gems set! Pink spinel from Burma and California spess. Worn, of course, with rings you've seen before. IMG_20200415_181127.jpg IMG_20200415_180856.jpg
Bonus: here's my jewelry box atm. Took rings off for housework.
IMG_20200415_182615.jpg




Ooh...I absolutely love that pink spinel and the gorgeous setting! You have an amazing and unique collection, Voce. Congratulations!!

Yes. Agree with @MissyBeaucoup. Gorgeous
collection! ❤️
 

natasha-cupcake

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
Messages
1,217
Your collection is gorgeous! I've had my eye on a few of those Ivy and Rose settings and I'm so happy to see them "in person". They look beautiful and sturdy. How do they compare to some of your other settings? I have some Yvonne Raley stones, that I want to have set in one of her designs, but I have a few others for which I might use an I&R setting. The I&R settings are reasonably priced, in my opinion.
 

2Neezers

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,874
Your new rings are beautiful and perfect for your gorgeous stones :love: . I love all of the pieces in your jewelry box!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Thanks @MissyBeaucoup @missy @natasha-cupcake @2Neezers.

I had some ups and downs today.

Up: Daniel M is finished with some projects that he handmade for me. These were the sketches and stones I sent him. 743257
Here are the final pictures he took. I think he did a great job again with my rings.
1587061208262.png
1587061259328.png
This is a stacking ring using a 5.5mm vanadium beryl Asscher(?) cut I received as a gift from Dana during Rocktober sale 2018. It doesn't look perfectly symmetric, and I wonder if it's the gem that isn't symmetric (it should be as I remember it) or Dan's camera angle.
1587061414369.png
1587061431636.png
This is a heart-shaped lavender spinel @2Neezers posted on the Somebody's Gotta Buy This Stone page. I bought it from MultiColour. Set in silver silver with burnished diamonds and rose gold bezel.
1587061545480.png
The peridot was from Mastercut Gems in 2018, 8.8mm or so, Burma origin. The tourmalines are both 8x6, and I bought them from Litnon at different times, but since they were both calibrated sizes I decided to use them as a mismatched pair of "bunny ears" for my peridot. The pink tourmaline is from Brazil, and the teal from Afghanistan.

Down: I was sorting my gems today during a break, but I forgot to bring my tweezers. I tried moving a Mahenge spinel (not the one I had gotten from deorwine) around the gel layout box, and it popped over my shoulder. I thought I would've heard a sound when it hit the floor, but nothing. I gingerly stood up, agitated my clothes, and nothing came down. Then I thought it had somehow gotten into the inside of my clothes or was stuck in a tangle of my hair, so I went to the bathroom, tried to shake a gem from my hair like a crazy person, took off my clothes just to be sure it wasn't somehow in there. I looked all around the umpteen things on my desk where I was playing with my gems, I checked the perimeters of the room, every nook and cranny of my rolling office chair, even the path I took between my desk and the bathroom, and it was all very perplexingly unfruitful. I felt terrible for an hour or an hour and a half, wondering how it was that I couldn't see a 7x5 VIVID RED gem.

Up: found my gem where I didn't expect it, in the opposite direction from the direction it popped out of the box. It must've hit my clothing and rolled down my leg in the opposite direction from where I had seen it fly and expected to land.

Down: my phone is hot and dead because I left it in the car, and I had realized it earlier than I went to go get it, but because I was terrified the gem was somehow still in my hair, I thought it was too much of a risk for the gem if I traveled to my car in the parking lot. I had resolved to find my gem first before going to the car, and after I found the gem I made it to the car to find the phone hot to the touch and definitely turned off.

Up: phone is working again. Whew.

In other news, Daniel M told me he's going to work on my cat ring CAD. I am really looking forward to wearing my CS bunny ring set and seeing how he renders my cat design!
 

elle_71125

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,194
Thanks @MissyBeaucoup @missy @natasha-cupcake @2Neezers.

I had some ups and downs today.

Up: Daniel M is finished with some projects that he handmade for me. These were the sketches and stones I sent him. IMG_20200323_143053.jpg
Here are the final pictures he took. I think he did a great job again with my rings.
1587061208262.png
1587061259328.png
This is a stacking ring using a 5.5mm vanadium beryl Asscher(?) cut I received as a gift from Dana during Rocktober sale 2018. It doesn't look perfectly symmetric, and I wonder if it's the gem that isn't symmetric (it should be as I remember it) or Dan's camera angle.
1587061414369.png
1587061431636.png
This is a heart-shaped lavender spinel @2Neezers posted on the Somebody's Gotta Buy This Stone page. I bought it from MultiColour. Set in silver silver with burnished diamonds and rose gold bezel.
1587061545480.png
The peridot was from Mastercut Gems in 2018, 8.8mm or so, Burma origin. The tourmalines are both 8x6, and I bought them from Litnon at different times, but since they were both calibrated sizes I decided to use them as a mismatched pair of "bunny ears" for my peridot. The pink tourmaline is from Brazil, and the teal from Afghanistan.

Down: I was sorting my gems today during a break, but I forgot to bring my tweezers. I tried moving a Mahenge spinel (not the one I had gotten from deorwine) around the gel layout box, and it popped over my shoulder. I thought I would've heard a sound when it hit the floor, but nothing. I gingerly stood up, agitated my clothes, and nothing came down. Then I thought it had somehow gotten into the inside of my clothes or was stuck in a tangle of my hair, so I went to the bathroom, tried to shake a gem from my hair like a crazy person, took off my clothes just to be sure it wasn't somehow in there. I looked all around the umpteen things on my desk where I was playing with my gems, I checked the perimeters of the room, every nook and cranny of my rolling office chair, even the path I took between my desk and the bathroom, and it was all very perplexingly unfruitful. I felt terrible for an hour or an hour and a half, wondering how it was that I couldn't see a 7x5 VIVID RED gem.

Up: found my gem where I didn't expect it, in the opposite direction from the direction it popped out of the box. It must've hit my clothing and rolled down my leg in the opposite direction from where I had seen it fly and expected to land.

Down: my phone is hot and dead because I left it in the car, and I had realized it earlier than I went to go get it, but because I was terrified the gem was somehow still in my hair, I thought it was too much of a risk for the gem if I traveled to my car in the parking lot. I had resolved to find my gem first before going to the car, and after I found the gem I made it to the car to find the phone hot to the touch and definitely turned off.

Up: phone is working again. Whew.

In other news, Daniel M told me he's going to work on my cat ring CAD. I am really looking forward to wearing my CS bunny ring set and seeing how he renders my cat design!

Those were some serious highs and lows. I was worried that spinel was lost forever! :errrr:
I love how your rings turned out. The spess and emerald pairing is gorgeous and you know I love me a good pink spinel.

What is the kitty ring? Did I miss that info somewhere?
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Those were some serious highs and lows. I was worried that spinel was lost forever! :errrr:
I love how your rings turned out. The spess and emerald pairing is gorgeous and you know I love me a good pink spinel.

What is the kitty ring? Did I miss that info somewhere?
This is a design I created when mellowyellowgirl was looking for ideas on how to set a 5mm pad and a 7mm diamond. She didn't go with it because she didn't have custom jewellers where she is, but she encouraged me to use my own design. At the time I didn't have stones that fit the proportions, but then in fall 2019, before the online drama happened, I bought a 5.2mm and a 7.2mm demantoid garnet from Dan Stair, Jr. I asked Inken to source yellow diamonds, and she said she's ok passing on this project since it wasn't her style. Since Daniel M had done a "bee" ring for me before, I figured another cute animal ring would be something that he'd do well. He hasn't disappointed me so far.

IMG_20200320_134338.jpg
IMG_20200323_103321.jpg
 

elle_71125

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,194
This is a design I created when mellowyellowgirl was looking for ideas on how to set a 5mm pad and a 7mm diamond. She didn't go with it because she didn't have custom jewellers where she is, but she encouraged me to use my own design. At the time I didn't have stones that fit the proportions, but then in fall 2019, before the online drama happened, I bought a 5.2mm and a 7.2mm demantoid garnet from Dan Stair, Jr. I asked Inken to source yellow diamonds, and she said she's ok passing on this project since it wasn't her style. Since Daniel M had done a "bee" ring for me before, I figured another cute animal ring would be something that he'd do well. He hasn't disappointed me so far.

IMG_20200320_134338.jpg
IMG_20200323_103321.jpg

I love it!!! Now this is a project I can get behind. I’ll be eagerly waiting to see how this one turns out.

BTW, I adore your bee ring. It’s super cute.
 

2Neezers

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
1,874
The bezel rings look amazing! I absolutely adore the spinel heart ring :love:. The rose gold bezel compliments the stones color perfectly!
 

Kitten35

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 18, 2011
Messages
343
@voce Those are cool, I saw them on his sold page yesterday!
 
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