Spessartite Garnet (mandarin)

[becpics]

Hi,
I'm very new to this whole gem thing but I am recently engaged and having a mandarin garnet made into a ring. I'd love your opinions on the stone and settings I have chosen and would love to see some of yours.
My garnet is an oval cut 4.69ct mandarin from Namibia almost eye clean.

 

[becpics]

Oops forgot to mention that the garnet will be bezel set with a miligrain edge instead of the claw set pictured.

 

[Rosebloom]

Wow!!! That will be amazing!

It would look scrumptious in yellow gold too...

 

[chrono]

A 5 ct garnet is fairly large to be worn EW, especially with a halo added. Do you have the finger real estate for it? Not sure if you are aware that you'll need to baby this ring, meaning removing it once home, not sleeping in it and such as spessartite is not durable enough as an everyday wear ring. MZ has one for an e-ring and takes very good precautions.

 

[becpics]

Yep I definitely have the finger real estate for it I think I'm an S1/2 in Australian sizing on my ring finger (I think that's about a 10 in US sizes?) I'm a big girl so big is better I think in my case
I'm very careful with my jewellery also and already own a few rather fragile coloured stones and always remove them if there is any risk of them being damaged.
Thanks however for your advice I much appreciate it.

 

[movie zombie]

as noted above, I have a spess e-ring. and as noted above, precautions are a definite must with a spess. admittedly, mine is only a semi-bezel and your desired setting will give a full diamond bezel. however, over time the facet edges and points will wear down. the short version: spess is not a 24/7 ring. I put mine on when I leave the house and take it off first thing when I get home. while I do wear it to the garden center, the farmers market, etc. I do not "work" and if I did i'd be concerned about bumping it and causing damage.

now, given all I've written I will tell you I have never regretted my spess e-ring! I love the thing! but I've had to learn to live with the fact that at times its going to get bumped and that over time its not going to look "like new". in fact, i'm considering having the facets polished .....

not trying to talk you out of it but just trying to provide realistic info. enjoy your spess and enjoy it as an e-ring. just understand that even diamonds can be cracked/chipped and the same can happen to a spess.

 

[becpics]

All duly noted and taken on board
I'm a wedding/portrait photographer so my ring is highly unlikely to be damaged at work and I have never worn my jewellery at home or to bed.
I have looked high and low for something I love (I'm not a diamond girl and being marriage number 2 I thought non traditional was more for me) but I just can't stop coming back to this. I think like with my new hubby to be I need to go with my heart on this one

 

[Rosebloom]

It's really going to be stunning. Fantastic design. And since you're well prepared for the precautions you'll need to take, I'm sure it will make you very happy! Please post hand shots when it's ready.

 

[movie zombie]

All duly noted and taken on board
I'm a wedding/portrait photographer so my ring is highly unlikely to be damaged at work and I have never worn my jewellery at home or to bed.
I have looked high and low for something I love (I'm not a diamond girl and being marriage number 2 I thought non traditional was more for me) but I just can't stop coming back to this. I think like with my new hubby to be I need to go with my heart on this one

you have demonstrated that you are a true spess person!
go for it and enjoy!

 

[chrono]

I hope we did not come off sounding unwelcoming to you. Obviously you are well aware of the care required and made an informed decision. Most posters new to Pricescope are not always aware of the care needed for each gem type. I hope you'll continue to update us with progress pictures and comments of your new ring. A good start will be more of the lovely spessartite.

 

[becpics]

No not all unwelcoming just willing to share your knowledge which is what I was hoping for when I posted
I don't go into anything without thoroughly researching. This stone however has been very hard to find genuine info on and many people seem to know very little about it. I have overwhelmed myself with info over past weeks but have found posts on here to be of the most help.
Can I ask your opinion on the stone colour ? It is as mentioned ment to be a mandarin from Namibia. Colour is great in all lighting conditions and was bought from a reputable gem dealer in Melbourne Australia. Not cheap however !!
I will definitely post some images of the finished product. I am beyond excited to actually have it on my finger. Like a kid on Xmas eve

 

[becpics]

This is the only other picture I have as the stone is with my Jeweler.

 

[movie zombie]

reputable gem dealer in Melbourne? I think he may have participated here........and if its who I think, he has "the eye". you do pay for that eye which means that really good spess is never inexpensive. and spess is almost impossible to photograph. and you are so right re many not knowing anything about it.

I originally came to pricescope re diamonds....and found it is the world of color for me. I tripped onto spess through here but by accident. it was love at first sight. however, it took me many months to decide how I wanted it set and then to commit to a setting.

I've never regretted my spess e-ring despite it not being a 24/7 ring.

if you do a search for a poster by the name of "Mine" you will find a halo concave cut spess.

and if you want to see a really big hunk of spess, check this out: http://rwwise.com/products/id|2015

my 8.18 spess came from Richard...........

and, of course, pictures of your completed project are mandatory! we love our color stone ****!!!!!!!!!

 

[chrono]

Because I have no clue who the vendor is, the following questions below are what I would ask of anyone:
1. How do you (or the vendor) know it really is Namibian? I see just about every vendor claim their stone is from Namibia, even very reputable vendors, which I question for the sake of knowing only. I buy the colour, not origin. If the origin happens to be good, that it's a bonus.
2. The Namibian mines have not produced anything for the last several years
3. Most Namibian spessartites tend to be included (silky or has black Manganese spots)
4. Most Namibian spessartites tend to be on the smaller side

I would not determine the colour from one picture alone. Price of spessartites have gone up significantly. If you have seen the stone in person, you can make your colour / pricing comparison here:
http://www.gemfix.com/garnet_spessartite.html

 

[becpics]

There are some awesome specimens in this links. Thanks for sharing
My ring is now quiet close to completion I'm now stuck on whether or not to choose white gold or platinum. Leaning towards white gold for the reason that I don't like the brushed patina platinum ends up having. Would love your opinions on that however ?
I want my ring to be as Shiny as possible.
Here is a pic or the setting in wax I saw today. Slightly different to the pic of the design above to suit my chosen stones.

 

[becpics]

One more

 

[chrono]

I prefer platinum for the heft, purity and durability.

 

[ilovegemstones]

It is so great that you are going with what you love! Doesn't white gold need to be rhodium plated often and wouldn't that be hard on the garnet?

 

[becpics]

The research I have done suggests that rhodium plating is safe for garnets (my jeweller has said the same)
Other research also suggests its hard to keep platinum highly polished over time and it ends up with a more brushed finish and is hard to bring back to high shine.
I may be wrong but a must for me it to have my ring maintain that as new shine over the years.
I'm loving this process of designing my perfect e ring but I'm finding making all these little very important decisions rather overwhelming !
It doesn't help that I'm prone to over researching

 

[T L]

There are some awesome specimens in this links. Thanks for sharing
My ring is now quiet close to completion I'm now stuck on whether or not to choose white gold or platinum. Leaning towards white gold for the reason that I don't like the brushed patina platinum ends up having. Would love your opinions on that however ?
I want my ring to be as Shiny as possible.
Here is a pic or the setting in wax I saw today. Slightly different to the pic of the design above to suit my chosen stones.

The only issue I have with platinum and colored stones is that it's a very hard metal. Therefore, whomever is setting it should be very expert at setting colored stones. Many setters treat colored stones like diamonds, which are very hard, and therefore easier to set. A colored stone can easily get chipped if the setter isn't familiar with setting a colored stone softer than corundum.

Good luck.

 

[becpics]

Getting closer !
Went with a white gold / palladium mix in the end.
Stones getting set tomorrow all going to plan

 

[minousbijoux]

Wow, it looks great. It will look gorgeous with your spess! And great pic, as I thought your partner was levitating horizontally for a second there.

 

[becpics]

It's Done!!! and I love it even more than i thought I would So very hard to get a photo that shows just how amazingly orange it is. It just literally glows!........I will make it my misson to get that pefect photo haha

 

[becpics]

Hand shot from my iPhone.

 

[Trill]

Orangey goodness! Beautiful ring, and congrats on your engagement!

 

[pregcurious]

The ring looks stunning, and your fingernails and hands look beautiful too ! The spess's color looks more "ideal" in the photos without your hand. Congratulations!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

How beautiful it looks. I'm glad you are so happy with it,


Annette

 

[Rosebloom]

Fantastic!!! I seriously love this ring. It's one I would proudly wear. Congrats!

 

[VRBeauty]

Your ring is nothing short of stunning! Congratulations!

 

[becpics]

Thanks everyone It's safe to say I'm in love haha
I will endeavour to put up some more photos when I get a chance to take some !