Stones for various projects have come in!

[AustenNut]

I went on a gemstone spree and now the loot has come in! I''m happy with most of it, but one will be going back to the vendor. Regardless, I''ve got pictures for everyone.

So here''s what you''ll be seeing:

A 2.35ct 8mm trillion Umbalite garnet from ebay seller best*auctions*
A 1.93ct pair of 6.15mm round tourmalines from Bob Kast
A 4.48ct 9.9mm round blue topaz from Multicolour
A 4.39ct 9.9mm round blue topaz from Multicolour
A 13.84ct 14.8mm round blue topaz from Multicolour
A 1.8ct 6mm pair of round apatite from Multicolour
A 2.03ct 7x12 pear apatite from Multicolour

I''ve also already posted to the vendor comparison thread with shots of all of these.

 

[AustenNut]

Here's the umbalite. It's pretty, but totally different from what I anticipated. And at night it's REALLY dark. Definitely a stone that does better in daylight. This is the one that's going to go back to the vendor, unless a family member falls in love with it over the weekend.

ETA: The stone is actually more burgundy/reddish than this picture is showing. It looks more like some of the garnet cushions Barry Bridgestock's had on his website lately.

 

[AustenNut]

These are the Bob Kast tourmalines. His picture is far better than mine. These are pretty and sparkly and I''m going to love turning them into a pair of earring studs.

 

[AustenNut]

This is Bob Kast''s photo of the tourmalines. (Haven''t his photos improved?!)

 

[AustenNut]

Here are the two 9.9mm topazes that I bought. I bought them individually but I always intended to use them as a set in a pair of earrings. The stones aren''t as green as this picture is indicating, they''re just a light blue. They also have a bit of a window but I''m hoping that it will go away when set. With the size of these I originally though I''d have them as some kind of a dangle or perhaps doing an etsy design, but at the moment I''m thinking I might turn them into a pair of BIG studs. But any ideas on what to do with these?

 

[AustenNut]

This gives an idea of what it would look like if I turned these topaz into studs. They also give a more accurate idea of the color.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s the biggest stone of them all, the 13.84ct 14.8mm topaz. Again, like the smaller topaz, this stone is more of a light blue and has less green than this picture indicates. This is going to be turned into a pendant. Originally I was thinking of a couple of etsy ideas, but now I''m thinking I may just want a simple bezel. I don''t really know, what do y''all think?

 

[AustenNut]

If you ever wanted to know what an almost 15mm rock would look like on your hand, here''s a pict.

 

[AustenNut]

Here are all the topaz together, and showing a bit more of the blue that they have in real life. Again, these were all bought individually, but they will be used as a set (earrings & pendant).

 

[AustenNut]

And here''s a head-on shot of all of the topaz. Again these are MUCH lighter in person. (And obviously any photography skills I thought I had are nonexistent...I need to get better!)

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a shot of the apatite rounds. I LOVE the color on these. They''re going to turn into a pair of earring studs.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s the apatite pear all by its lonesome. I was going to turn this into a pendant solitaire, but now I''m not so sure. The size is a lot smaller than I anticipated (7x12). I might end up haloing it, or perhaps getting more stones and turn it into a longer pendant. I''m not really sure, and I''d love some ideas here.

 

[AustenNut]

Oops, I forgot the picture!

 

[AustenNut]

Here are all of the apatites together.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s the last photo, this time of all of the apatites on the hand.

 

[AustenNut]

So, I''ve got a couple of questions:

1) What do you think I should do with the pair of 9.9mm topazes? Studs or something else? If so, what?

2) How do you think I should set the 14.8mm topaz as a pendant? I need design ideas!

3) What do you think I should do with the 7x12 apatite pear? I want to use it in a pendant, but the (small) size is getting to me.

 

[Stone Hunter]

LOVE the tourmalines they look very sparkly and like they pick up colors in their surroundings. Sorry about the garnet being too dark.

The Blue Topaz stones are just LOVELY. I have small earlobes and would have to use them as dangles but it looks like you could pull off the larger size! I like the idea of a simple bezel for that stone, just to frame it and not add much in size.

Do tell us about the apatites. I thought they were too soft or do you have a jeweler that works with softer stones?

TFS!!!

 

[chrono]

The tourmalines are really sweet and pretty. As for the topazes, I think they look too large for studs. I think they''ll look better as dangles.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Date: 10/31/2009 12:03:32 PM
Author: AustenNut
So, I''ve got a couple of questions:


1) What do you think I should do with the pair of 9.9mm topazes? Studs or something else? If so, what?


2) How do you think I should set the 14.8mm topaz as a pendant? I need design ideas!


3) What do you think I should do with the 7x12 apatite pear? I want to use it in a pendant, but the (small) size is getting to me.

1. I think they''re a great size for studs . . .
2. I''m rather boring as I''d simply put it in a Tripps setting LOL. Like this one. I don''t know if you''d need much more since it is rather large. Of course, I''d totally rock it as a ring too.

3. Hmm, that''s a dilemma -- I think the set of them looks lovely, but unless you go with pendant you''re really facing some durability issues. I think rings are usually not recommended b/c of the softness. Of course there''s always halo-ing, either fine little halo or a bigger Princess Di-style, to help it out as a pendant. Also, I know I''ve written it somewhere in PS recently, but stones have a way of seeming much bigger when made into a pendant, in my limited experience. I wear a 1/3 ct diamond in a double buttercup pendant setting, and that''s a size that would disappear on my finger, yet seems plenty big on a necklace. Of course, that''s the help of the double buttercup, too.

 

[princessplease]

GREAT stones!!! The colors are awesome!

 

[jstarfireb]

Lovely stones! For the apatites, what if instead of earrings and a pendant, you set the 2 round apatites above the pear to make a long dangling pendant?

The topazes are a little big for my tastes in earring studs, but they could work if you aren''t too petite.

Here''s a pic of the basic idea I had for your apatites in a pendant, but of course with apatites instead of diamonds, and the bottom stone as a pear instead of a round.

 

[cellentani]

Really lovely stones, AustenNut! I''m not very familiar with mulitcolor - do you feel their photos are pretty accurate? Obviously, you were a little disappointed with the ebay seller''s pics - sorry to hear that.

I noticed your thread the other day on earring jackets - are you thinking of doing that for any of these stones?

 

[Cind11]

Those are all very pretty stones! I particularly like the blue topazes.

 

[Lovinggems]

Lovely photos and stones!

 

[Arcadian]

Such gorgeous stones! its too bad about the garnet though. it does look like it may not show well after set.


The toumalines will make great earrings. Bob''s pictures ARE much better (about time!)

The topaz are sort of iffy for earrings. I think they look good on your ears but after you add all that metal, will they be kind of heavy as studs? Maybe to keep them from looking floppy a drop would be better? But I think you have enough ear to pull them off if thats what you want.

The apatite color is

I love it! The pear is very petite so a halo sounds like a very good idea.


-A

 

[AustenNut]

StoneHunter, Chrono, Fierypyropixy, Princessplease, Jstarfireb, Cellentani, Cind11, LovingGems, & Arcadian: Thanks for the compliments!

StoneHunter: Someone knowledgeable and careful needs to work with apatites, but I''ve found someone who knows what apatite is (yeah!) and is willing to work with it. While looking at jewelers for my future e-ring I really liked this company but thought they''d be too expensive for some of these projects. But I called them to ask about their setting prices and it was very reasonable ($30), they''ve been around for 80 years or something like that, and they''re the only jeweler in the area who is a member of the AGTA. Not that this guarantees anything, but I think my odds are best with them. But if you want to work with apatite, just know that it needs to be in an area that doesn''t get much physical contact (ie, no rings).

Fierypyropixy: The 14.8mm topaz is going to be set into something very similar to that. Originally I was thinking bezel, but while at the jeweler none of their suppliers carried a sterling silver bezel that large. And to custom make one would not really make sense financially. So it''s going to be in a 4-prong basket.

Jstarfireb: I love your pendant idea. I might use it though for a different pendant...

Cellentani: I feel as though the Multicolour pics were pretty decent. I actually posted collages on the vendor comparison sticky to show my picts versus theirs. I think the MC pictures give an idea of the color, but aren''t 100% accurate. The apatite tends to be a bit more teal than their pictures indicated, and the topaz was a wee bit darker and much brighter. Basically, I feel as though the stones came out looking better than the MC photos were. At the same time though, I was rather irritated with them because I e-mailed them two different times about some of these stones, but they never replied. I was trying to do the topaz all as a set and wanted to make sure they would work, but nobody would reply. Had another vendor had this color of topaz and with similar sizes I would have gone with them, but they didn''t so MC got my business. Their customer service made it less likely that I''d do business with them, but their stones kind of made up for it.

As far as the earring jackets, yep, I''m planning on getting some! I''m putting them on my Christmas wishlist, and I imagine there will be takers for it.

I plan on getting jackets to accomodate around 6mm stones, so they''d work with the apatite and tourmalines, and any other studs I get in the future that are around that size.


As far as setting goes, when I was at the jeweler yesterday they said that if I turned the topaz into studs that they''d probably end up drooping most of the time. So they''re being turned into dangles (prong-set to match the topaz pendant).

While I was at the jeweler I saw a similar sized amethyst pear pendant, haloed, and decided that''s the look I was going to go for with the apatite. And last night there was an LOGR auction for a similar setting, and I won it! It''s for a 7x11mm and mine is 12.2x6.9x4.9mm so I''ll have them customize it to fit. I think that the size of the setting will give me the visual weight that I want around my neck.

And once everything is set I''ll post pictures too.

 

[Stone Hunter]

AN

Glad you went with dangles!! I am just lovin'' that look lately.

And I really like the pendant you won on LOGRs! Very nice.

 

[violet3]

I don''t the the topaz stones are too big for studs, but then i like larger stud earrings myself. I have a similar sized pair of aquamarines and i LOVE them. They have a good presence on the ear, and i get compliments on them all the time. I say go for it with the studs!!!

I''ll attach a pic for you so you can see them on me....

 

[violet3]

Oh shoot! I hadn''t read that you''ve decided against the studs. Nevermind my last post about the studs - i think dangles will be lovely!!!!

FYI, i think mine are 8 mm or so.

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 10/31/2009 11:30:49 AM
Author: AustenNut
This is Bob Kast''s photo of the tourmalines. (Haven''t his photos improved?!)

WOW - his photos HAVE improved. One of my PS friends bought an aqua from him when he was listing on ebay, and I wasn''t expecting much because the pictures on eBay were SO blah. I was pleasantly surprised when she received the stone to see how much better it looked IRL.

Austen, now that you have the stones in hand, how closely do his new photos represent what you see IRL?