What stones should I put in my new antique setting?

[glitterata]

I just bought a delightful setting from the 1950s on ebay. It''s a traditional platinum fishtail setting with some melee on the sides, the kind of setting you''ve seen a million times--but instead of one center stone, this one has two, in a bypass arrangement. It looks like the conjoined-twins version of a very traditional setting. I''ll attach a picture in my next post.

My question is: What should I put in it?

It needs a pair of 6 mm stones. This is just a fun ring, and I don''t want to spend much money. Retipping the prongs and resizing it will already take much of my budget. I''m considering either a pair of CZs or some pretty, inexpensive colored stones, whether natural or synthetic.

Anyone have any suggestions? Ana? Josh?

Thanks a million!

Glitterata

 

[glitterata]

Here's a picture.

 

[strmrdr]

synthetic sapphire or ruby would be my pick.
or
natural red spinel
or
Next up would be blue zircon

 

[winyan]

Hmm, if it were me, I'd go with, (if you truly don't mind synthetic) a pair of aqua cz's from Wink (interlaps). The Aqua tone of the interlap Cz's are the most true to Aquas real color.

win

 

[winyan]

BTW, Glitterata, I'm drooling over that setting. I have a pair of aqua cz's for which I'm trying to find the perfect setting.

I thought earrings, but I'm bored with studs.

win

 

[glitterata]

Aquas? Hm. That might look really nice, but aqua isn't my color.

I wish I could afford a pair of 8*s.

Where would I go to look for good synthetic sapphires?

 

[winyan]

Best I have seen, is the tried and true...Chatham. I have a pair of synthetic pad sapphire trillion earrings from them, they I've compared to my real pad from Wink. The color is very, very close. I understand their blue sapphires are equally good.

win

 

[valeria101]

Gliterata,

what color would you like best for your ring? Is it blue (since you mention sapphire)? Are the two stones going to be of the same color?

If you want a synthetic, some are better than others. A few blue bastards grown by horizontal crystallization by Tairus got my enthusiasm high (as opposed to what Chatham and it's older growth process does). Perhaps the best 9and surely the most expensive) lab ruby comes from the "Inamori" Japanese brand. Hope someone could tell you (and me) more about where to get these. Cutters should know... All my info and opinion is based on is a long chat with my Bucharest jeweler (he wanted them as accent stones on an outrageous set of small decorative objects & boxes of precious metals) and a glance on two batches of samples stones (pink, red and blues) from these materials. None had the oily, over colored look of cheaper Chatham, neither the typical growth marks and inclusions. Cut right (well I guess this actually means less precisely) these could no doubt pass for the best real thing in the right setting in any conditions, in my opinion.

 

[glitterata]

Interesting! I was hoping you'd answer, Ana--I think of you as the colored-stone connoisseur extraordinaire.

I don't know for sure that I want blue, although I do like blue. I'm not even sure I want two stones the same color. It might be more fun to mix and match. I'm interested in any suggestions. All I know for sure is, it has to be cheap. Amethyst? Garnet of some sort? two different colors of sapphire?

Maybe inspiration will hit when I actually get the setting (it's on its way, but it hasn't arrived yet).

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 1/12/2004 4:22:52 PM glitterata wrote:

Interesting! I was hoping you'd answer, Ana--I think of you as the colored-stone connoisseur extraordinaire.
----------------

Not really.

But sugestions about a colored stone ring which also happens to match closely one of my favorite designs (bypass or 2-stone)? Sure...
I would get two diferent colors, hands down. At best, a white and blue sapphire or white and pink (? ) would probably make my day. And why round? That setting would hold anything squarish beautifully. But you know what? There is a new collection of square cushion cut RED (as in

RED) spinel at AJS and any of those would look stupendous in your ring next to something else of similar cuting (still white saphire, real or not comes to mind).

Of course, white plus color is a rather clasic option.No idea what color combinationa you wear, but pairs of complementary colors make sense too (ex. orange and violet as in spesartite and ametyst; yellow and blue as in sapphires). One combination I am particularly fond of is ametyst with peridot: there are tons of really cheap, really not so interesting jewelry with this combination, but just take a look at the new ametysts at acstones... those colors are by no means run of the mill.

One thing I am rather careful about is matching the looks of the stones: it makes little sense to me to put, say, diamond near tourmaline when these have such different optical properties that they seem to be fighting (at elast to me they do). But a pair of nice tourmalines would probably serve you best: the stones have excellent odds of looking well-matched, and there are practically no restrictions about what colors you may choose. No idea what you intend to spend on this, but I suspect that an e-mail with a question such as "can i have two matched stones, square cushion cut, of XX size cut for a ring? (type and color following) will reaceive the right answer at www.customgemstones.com. I wold surely ask

If you name the color combination, I could probably come up with some suggestion of material and /or stones. I guess choosing color rather than price range makes sense at first, since there are so many options of gem to choose from for almost every hue

Tough job this one !

 

[Hest88]

Oooo! That's really pretty. I'd vote for one diamond and one colored stone. Although I also like the idea of two green stones. Maybe tsavorites. It would give it a leafy look.

 

[winyan]

Hi again glitterata...

One ring I redid a long time ago was an imperial topaz flanked by peridot (three stone ring). I always thought those colors looked lovely together, sort of like a flower between green leaves.

I'm sure one of each would be lovely as well.

win

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 1/12/2004 5:47:25 PM Hest88 wrote:

Oooo! That's really pretty. I'd vote for one diamond and one colored stone. Although I also like the idea of two green stones. Maybe tsavorites. It would give it a leafy look.----------------

He he... yes, I surelt stand by that idea, although it is highly uncommon and did not dare put it down. But, tsavorite comes in so many shades (down to light green grossular), that for a lover of greens the result could be a very spring-like look. Not sure about budget there though: those are going to tip the balance a bit.

 

[fuffi]

It know it's not for everyone, but I love blue and green stones together. I recently saw a ring with alternating tsavorites and iolites that looked amazing.

 

[glitterata]

Okay, it's here. The heads are a bit more chewed up than I hoped, so I'll need to find a really good platinumsmith. My local jeweler does a nice job, but he's a little expensive--I have a hunch he'll charge me more to fix the setting than I paid for it in the first place. (Which really wasn't very much.)

Anyway, just to see how it would look with diamonds, I stuck a pair of 5 mm Signity Star CZ stud earrings in the heads. Not bad, but a bit busy somehow. Because the CZs are colorless like the rest of the ring, it looks like a mass of geometry. I also tried it with a pair of ruby studs: gorgeous! They stand out nicely from the setting. So I definitely want colored stones.

I'm leaning toward one ruby and one blue sapphire (synthetic, of course). But DH doesn't like the color combination of red and blue together. (Of course, he doesn't like any sparkly jewels, just opaque or translucent cabochons, so maybe I shouldn't worry what he thinks.)

No green, since I already have a fabulous tsavorite ring.

Amethyst and sapphire? Amethyst and ruby? A pale blue sapphire and a dark blue?

I wish I could have you guys all over for tea to play with my new setting!

 

[fuffi]

More yummy colors....

 

[winyan]

How about an aqua interlap, and a sapphire interlap...

Or something (interlap?) the color of tanzanite or iolite and alexandrite?

win

 

[glitterata]

Oh, Fuffi, those colors are yummy! Win, I like those suggestions. Maybe I should order a bunch of colored interlaps from Wink to play with.

I asked my beloved husband, A/K/A Mr. Fussypants, and he said, "No colors. Black or gray. Opaque. Nothing sparkly. If you really want to be fancy, maybe moonstones." Which is more or less what I thought he'd say.
"I was thinking of one red and one blue," says I.
"What? Are you trying to kill me?!"
"How about amethyst?"
"What color's amethyst?"
"Purple."
"Purple?! That's it, I want a divorce."

Here's a question: Can I put something warm-colored--like an orange sapphire--in this platinum setting? Or would it look funny in anything but gold?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Fuffi,

Those ARE yummy rings. What web site did you find those on?

Michelle

 

[fuffi]

Aren't those delicious? That pic is from DeNatale here in NY. Here's the direct link. They're using lots of blue topaz and iolite together. I think I'm leaning towards light and dark blues for your ring Glitterata. Blue is so elegant with platinum and diamonds.

But how do you feel about sim. canary diamonds? Or one colorless CZ and one canary? Maybe that too trendy though... This is why I don't do colored stones. It's SO hard to decide.

 

[winyan]

glitterata...

I don't see why you don't try some interlaps, just to play with.

BTW, my pad sapphire and yellow diamond ring is in WG. I see no reason why colors like orange wouldn't look good in platinum.

win

 

[glitterata]

It's got to be both white or both colored--one colorless CZ and one colored stone looks lopsided, because the colorless stone one blends in with the setting and the colored one stands out.

Okay, off to see what I can find on Wink's site...

 

[valeria101]

Orange sapphire in plat: sure it works... I guess two shades of orange-yellow would look very sunny indeed. I am quite disheartened about the poor purple color

As for color + white: I surely understand you - it is a classic choice, this is why I put is forth. Of course, some like it and some don't. Off with it, it sounds.

Do you thing it is a good idea to "try on" some colors and cuts via simulation (i.e. place the image of the stone over the front-view image of setting)?

Surely the red & blue combination ca result in hart failure: look below!

 

[glitterata]

Wow, Ana, that picture is something else!

I just ordered some colored CZs to play with, as per Win's suggestion. I'm thinking I'll probably go for blues or red. But we'll see what they look like in person.

My DH took the digital camera on a business trip. When he gets home next week I'll take some pics and try playing with colors while I wait for the CZs.

 

[glitterata]

Well, I ordered a bunch of stones from Wink and they arrived today. I learned a few things:

First of all, Ana's definitely right about matching the material. When I tried the synthetic sapphire or synthetic ruby with colored CZs, it looked completely wrong. The CZ sparkled so much more than the sapphire or ruby that it looked really weird. I wonder if that would happen with a sapphire (say) and a colorless CZ too. Or a sapphire and a diamond. Ana, what do you think?

On a similar note, I'm not sure I even like the colored CZs at all. The "aquamarine" one sparkles way more than an aquamarine should. The "tanzanite" is pretty, but again, too sparkly.

I'm leaning toward the ruby and sapphire. But although I like each of them separately, and I like the idea of having two different colors, the ring looks a little funny with one of each--as though it was designed to be worn only on the Fourth of July.

I don't know what to do. Two sapphires? Two rubies? Two colorless CZs?

Ana, would a sapphire and an amethyst "fight"?

Advice, anyone?

 

[valeria101]

Oh, wow! I surely awoid any jewelry in my national colors (Romania's yellow, blue and red) but I did not take into account the "Fourth of July" factor

I also find the combination of diamond-and-gem absurd (for the same reason you have pointed out) although it is such a clasic.

How about white sapphires? They would surely match the optical properties of their red or blue brethen and I still have a weekness for the white+color combination. This may be complete exageration given the initial scope of your project, but getting apair of white and blue/red/pink/whatever corrundum with matching faceting would most likely be great. There was a pair of small blue sapphires posted on their way to getting concave faceting lately (this red2 .

Just a thought, of course.


PS: Now I see the sapphire and amethyst note... I don't know. Usually I am rather weary of "matching" two neighboring tones such as purple and blue, and in a classic (as opposed to "modern", as the "yummy colors" rings above) setting this would look awkward tome. Sapphires should be visibly more sparkling than quartz, but with such poor cuts around, one wanders. If you like the blue & purple match, why not. There are no rules in this game, I think.

 

[valeria101]

Nice match !?

 

[glitterata]

Hm, now that I see the two colors together, I kind of agree--not so great.

I guess I need more stones to play with.

Oh, it's so hard to decide!

 

[Kay]

I would be leery of mixing colors when you have just one of each next to each other, and definitely would not combine red & blue (way too Fourth of July for me). I like the ring that Fuffi posted that had light blue in the center and dark blue on the sides, but I'm not sure the combo would work as well for a 2 stone ring. I think 2 deep red garnets would be beautiful in that setting and not too expensive.

 

[glitterata]

I'm now thinking one sapphire or amethyst and one diamond or CZ. Funny, I never thought that's what I'd choose, but it somehow looks better than two colored stones. Go figure.