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I have a question about a setting. About seven years ago when I purchased my class ring, it came in a setting I really liked, but haven't seen anywhere else. It has four prongs and two 'straps' over a marquise-cut sapphire that is probably artificial. Are there any similar settings for engagement rings? I know they traditionally show off the stones and it would probably be a waste to put a diamond in the same setting, but there might be something I haven't seen yet that looks similar. Here's the ring: Also younger dumber me made a spelling error. 
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Mar 7, 2013 20:40
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My mom just got back from Tanzania and took these pictures for me of some tanzanites. The one by itself was worth $365,000 (She didn't ask about carats or heat treatments, unfortunately). Apparently there was one priced at 11 million but he wouldn't let her take a picture. 
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Mar 9, 2013 23:33
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Grrl Anachronism posted:I have a question about a setting. About seven years ago when I purchased my class ring, it came in a setting I really liked, but haven't seen anywhere else. It has four prongs and two 'straps' over a marquise-cut sapphire that is probably artificial. Are there any similar settings for engagement rings? I know they traditionally show off the stones and it would probably be a waste to put a diamond in the same setting, but there might be something I haven't seen yet that looks similar. Here's the ring: Missed this! I have never seen a setting like this before, but I think it's really cool! Zratha posted:My mom just got back from Tanzania and took these pictures for me of some tanzanites. The one by itself was worth $365,000 (She didn't ask about carats or heat treatments, unfortunately). Apparently there was one priced at 11 million but he wouldn't let her take a picture.  Those are beautiful! I love the deep blue/purple colour. Fun fact, all tanzanites are heat treated! When they mine them they come out as this brownish/blue colour, and are heat treated to the lovely blue everyone knows them as.  In the early days of mining tanzanite they found some minerals that were gem quality and that lovely blue, but I'm fairly sure that no longer happens.
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Mar 10, 2013 01:15
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I'm looking at getting in to cutting some stones to use as inlays. I need to grind thin, flat, circular discs. http://youtu.be/D7rUeVk9iaA This is what I am trying to do. I have been doing a bunch of research, and was wondering if it was possible to save a bit of money by removing the blade on the trim saw I get, and putting a flat lap wheel on it when I get to the flat lap stage of cutting.
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Mar 10, 2013 07:04
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Missed this! I have never seen a setting like this before, but I think it's really cool! There are still some on the market that are untreated by people, but they would be quite rare and expensive. It's really neat to check if they have been treated because they look really different under the dichroscope. She brought me back a heat treated piece of rough on a necklace, and a little chunk of untreated rough and the reactions were really distinct. It was a great example to use in class.
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Mar 10, 2013 14:01
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Zratha posted:There are still some on the market that are untreated by people, but they would be quite rare and expensive. It's really neat to check if they have been treated because they look really different under the dichroscope. She brought me back a heat treated piece of rough on a necklace, and a little chunk of untreated rough and the reactions were really distinct. It was a great example to use in class. Oh cool! That's good to know  I only briefly did some gemmological testing in class, but would love to get some of the less expensive tools for my own use. Can you recommend good ones to start with? I don't know how expensive polariscopes or refractometers are but I assume they're pretty pricey.
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Mar 10, 2013 14:28
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The basics would be a 10X loupe, a gem cloth, gem tweezers, and a zelco light. You can get little 60X microscopes for about $30 which can be useful for looking closely at surface inclusions, but aren't great for anything requiring transmitted light. A lot of the tools are really expensive, but if it is just for personal use I would choose what tools to buy based on the stones you buy a lot of. For example, if you are buying a lot of rubies, a spectroscope is a very handy and portable tool to carry with you on the field that can distinguish from spinel. You can probably find one for about $70. If you are buying a lot of tanzanites, a dichroscope is a good buy and also isn't too expensive (Especially if you get a London dichroscope) There are little portable polariscopes, though I don't know the price. As for the little auto refractometers, don't bother. They are not super accurate and IIRC they can't calculate birefringence which makes them nearly useless from a gemmological standpoint.
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Mar 10, 2013 15:51
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Brekelefuw posted:I'm looking at getting in to cutting some stones to use as inlays. I'm not a lapidary, but I think that you'll encounter problems with that setup. Difference being the RPMs of the trim saw being much too high for good results.
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Mar 10, 2013 17:54
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Zratha posted:As for the little auto refractometers, don't bother. They are not super accurate and IIRC they can't calculate birefringence which makes them nearly useless from a gemmological standpoint. Hear, hear. I bought an expensive electronic refractometer and returned it the next day. Worthless piece of junk.
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Mar 10, 2013 17:55
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JohnnyRnR posted:I'm not a lapidary, but I think that you'll encounter problems with that setup. Difference being the RPMs of the trim saw being much too high for good results. I am decent with electronics. What if I tossed a rheostat on my motor so it turned in to a variable speed motor? I am considering buying an Inland All-In-Wonder Trim Saw/Grinder/Lap Wheel, but the cost of my homemade one would be 1/3 the cost of that premade model.
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Mar 10, 2013 18:06
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GrAviTy84 posted:hand engraved platinum with diamonds and sapphires, that goes with the engagement ring (posted earlier): This is pretty much the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. (I'll be honest, I have it saved on my hard drive from the first time you posted pics of it). Can anyone recommend a jeweler in the NY (especially Brooklyn/Manhattan) area which might either carry this or help me get something similar? I already have a stone. Clean Bitch fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Mar 10, 2013 |
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Mar 10, 2013 19:27
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Brekelefuw posted:I am decent with electronics. What if I tossed a rheostat on my motor so it turned in to a variable speed motor? I really couldn't say, but it sounds like it might take some trial and error to get it working well. The Inland would be the fastest way to cutting. Marold Koseman posted:Can anyone recommend a jeweler in the NY area which might either carry this or help me get something similar? I already have a stone. Most jewelers will have a hand engraver they work with that can do that type of detail work. I have an A Jaffe mount in stock that's very similar and I believe that Verragio also had a line of hand engraved rings.
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Mar 10, 2013 19:58
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Long time lurker, first time poster, but I have a piece of family jewelry that I know nothing about. My parents can't even agree whose mother it belonged to but I think it's from the side that lived in Chicago before they moved to Florida, if that helps. It's stamped 14K, but I can't make out the other stamp. Any thoughts? EDIT -Figured out embedding images.   Hungry Squirrel fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Mar 10, 2013 |
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Mar 10, 2013 21:33
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I would like to have my wedding band stretched ~1/2 size so I can wear it again. However, there is an engraved message on the inside. Would stretching affect the engraving much? Fake edit: I forgot to mention the band is white gold.
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Mar 12, 2013 03:00
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I just found out from my boyfriend we're going to look at engagement rings and I'm super excited, but have some questions. Are there any particular stores/chains I should avoid? We'd like to finance a ring if at all possible so my boyfriend can help improve his credit. Our budget is between 3 and 5k. I've read lots of places that chains and mall jewelry stores have huge markups and not always great quality, so I'd like to avoid that. Personally, I would like a custom ring, or barring that, a solitaire (not necessarily a diamond) in a very simple setting (maybe with some filigree?) but the boy seems pretty set on doing something that will help improve his credit. I've seen some designer collection rings that I rather like, but I'm lost when it comes to estimating value over cost. Johnny, I suppose it's too much to hope that you do financing? I love the simplistic elegance of a lot of your designs. If not, could you recommend someone similar that does? My favourites are the wren's foot, the nest, and the dotted vines. edit: I've seen some really pretty rings on Amazon, and they offer financing, but I don't feel like there's any way to verify what I'd be getting.
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Mar 13, 2013 00:32
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Grrl Anachronism posted:I just found out from my boyfriend we're going to look at engagement rings and I'm super excited, but have some questions. Are there any particular stores/chains I should avoid? We'd like to finance a ring if at all possible so my boyfriend can help improve his credit. Our budget is between 3 and 5k. I've read lots of places that chains and mall jewelry stores have huge markups and not always great quality, so I'd like to avoid that. You have two separate issues here. Most places are going to give you one of two options. Layaway is not going to report on your credit. Financing is going to report on your credit but also be a store credit card in most cases. A store credit card isn't a good way to improve credit for the most part. Tell your boyfriend to deal with his credit problems with a financial planner and not with your engagement.
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Mar 13, 2013 00:51
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john mayer posted:You have two separate issues here. Most places are going to give you one of two options. Layaway is not going to report on your credit. Financing is going to report on your credit but also be a store credit card in most cases. A store credit card isn't a good way to improve credit for the most part. Tell your boyfriend to deal with his credit problems with a financial planner and not with your engagement. His credit is pretty good already; we're just looking at different ways to improve it further in a number of different ways (using our credit cards instead of cash with the cash set aside to pay the balance at the end of the month, etc), which is why we wanted to finance rather than layaway. Thanks for the advice though!
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Mar 13, 2013 01:53
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I don't offer financing and I encourage customers to steer well clear of it. Unless you're an ultra high net worth individual making a large purchase you will not get good terms. Jewelry store credit is almost always at 25% interest or at some low introductory rate that skyrockets (and applies retroactively) if you don't pay it off in a certain amount of time. There are plenty of other tricks that make it appear that you're getting much better finance terms, but they're all behind the scenes slight of hand with the banks.
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Mar 13, 2013 02:47
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JohnnyRnR posted:I don't offer financing and I encourage customers to steer well clear of it. Unless you're an ultra high net worth individual making a large purchase you will not get good terms. All right, thanks for the advice. The boy seems pretty set on it but I'll show him this information and hopefully change his mind.
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Mar 13, 2013 02:56
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Marold Koseman posted:This is pretty much the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. (I'll be honest, I have it saved on my hard drive from the first time you posted pics of it). thanks!  Here is the designer's website. http://varna.com/
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Mar 13, 2013 18:55
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Could you tell me which type of chain I should get so that it won't pull out the little hairs on the back of my neck? drat that hurts.
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Mar 15, 2013 02:09
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newteech posted:Could you tell me which type of chain I should get so that it won't pull out the little hairs on the back of my neck? Here's a good option. The chain links are large enough that they probably won't pull on your neck hairs, and it comes with a pacifier to suck on, just in case you do get a neck ouchie. 
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Mar 15, 2013 02:36
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Actually, I'd like to know that too. I have really curly long hair, and it's always wrapping around clasps and getting ripped out.
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Mar 15, 2013 19:00
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Can anybody give me any information on this thing? I found it while cleaning out my room at my parents' house but I have no idea where it came from, and neither does my mom. Maybe my grandmother? It's very small--it barely fits around my wrist and I have tiny hands. The "toggle" isn't actually the clasp, it's a completely separate piece that's just clipped on. The bar is free to spin like an axle. I don't see any hallmarks anywhere. I'm never going to wear it as a bracelet because I think it's ugly, so I'll probably sell it to my local family owned jewelry store for recycling, but it would be cool to learn about it first.
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Mar 16, 2013 16:58
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Could it perhaps be a sweater clip? I don't think it's supposed to go around your wrist; the long toggle looks like it's supposed to fit through something like a button hole.
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Mar 16, 2013 17:13
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Closures like that aren't too unusual. Since that's an add-on, and so big, I think it's made for elderly people who want to wear their old jewelry but have a hard time dealing with small clasps. Between that and its look (which is definite Grandma Costume Jewelry territory), I would guess it was your grandmother's.
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Mar 16, 2013 21:04
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i like nice words
Figure I could also do the "pretty stuff in my inventory" post  Tanzanites! One massive one and two paired "smaller" ones. I'm still trying to get the nice-photo-taking-apparatus working. 
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Mar 16, 2013 23:32
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How big are those? You would think the coin would help with scale, but I can't seem to get a solid mental image of their carat size.
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Mar 18, 2013 04:02
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Th big one is ~9 or so, the smaller I don't actually know. I don't keep them with me so I can't weigh them.
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Mar 18, 2013 04:11
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Sorry to bump, but I don't know if Johnny or one of you other knowledgeable goons missed this. Does this type of setting have a name? Would there be something similar that would be more appropriate for setting an engagement ring? Also, I'm almost certain I've decided on moissanite for my engagement ring. If I can't get something similar to above made, would it be better to buy a separate stone and setting, or all in one? Are there any online dealers you all particularly recommend for moissanite in engagement stones? What should I expect to pay for one vs. a diamond of comparable size? uranium grass fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Mar 20, 2013 |
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Mar 20, 2013 03:37
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Grrl Anachronism posted:Sorry to bump, but I don't know if Johnny or one of you other knowledgeable goons missed this. Does this type of setting have a name? Would there be something similar that would be more appropriate for setting an engagement ring? Ah, no. The setting doesn't really have a name. But anyone should be able to make something in a similar vein. Moissanite prices are all pretty much the same these days. It's supposed to all be made in the same factory, but sometimes you'll find different qualities as the rough gets sorted and graded differently. I don't really have any recommendations for you on it, but maybe someone in the engagement megathread might. There are several people there that have purchased it.
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Mar 20, 2013 05:11
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Grrl Anachronism posted:Also, I'm almost certain I've decided on moissanite for my engagement ring. If I can't get something similar to above made, would it be better to buy a separate stone and setting, or all in one? Are there any online dealers you all particularly recommend for moissanite in engagement stones? What should I expect to pay for one vs. a diamond of comparable size? Well, how we started the process was deciding on a size of stone and a ring setting. Diamonds are generally sized by their carat weight, whereas because moissanites are a standardized man-made stone, they're generally sorted by their actual face dimensions. Moissanites aren't as heavy as a diamond of the exact same dimensions, so you're better off looking at the actual size of stone you want. From a quick search on Pricescope, the price range for a ~0.8 to ~1.2 carat diamond can be anywhere from ~$1300 to ~$5k and beyond, depending on the other aspects of the diamond...All the incredibly exhaustive minutiae of trying to select a diamond wore me out before I even half got into it--if the price alone wasn't enough to put me off (it was) that certainly would. Some people enjoy that sort of thing though. If I were going to purchase a diamond, I'd probably go for a coloured one with some kind of cool phosphorescence property, just for the science value (see a video of the Hope diamond doing this to blow your mind). If I ever become so wealthy that money is no object, that is. Other cool colour-changing stones I was looking into were lab-made Alexandrites. My man's engagement ring features a 5x7mm Chatham lab made ruby, and they make Alexandrites too which look purple in one light, and green in another. We got my engagement ring made by the awesome guys at https://www.boonerings.com and got a loose standard 6.5mm round moissanite stone sight unseen from https://www.moissaniteco.com shipped to them to have set. As Johnny said, these stones are supposedly all from the one source, Charles and Colvard, who own the patent rights to manufacture and sell moissanite as a gemstone, so they're meant to have set prices. From Moissanite Co's website, a '1 ct' 6.5mm round is $275. I believe betterthandiamond.com offer 10% off their standard moissanites that they get off C&C, probably as a loss leader to try to get people to buy into their 'enhanced'/modified moissanite stuff. I'm personally not convinced any of the so-called enhanced moissanite is worth the extra cash, they purport to heat treat stock moissanite from C&C somehow to better its colour, but this is after screening a batch for the whiter coloured stones in the first place. Arguably you could do that bit yourself if you bought sight unseen and were unsatisfied--just return the stone and ask for a whiter one--Moissanite Co are usually good with that from the forum posts I've read. I haven't looked into the moissanite community news in the last few months though, so I don't know if there have been any updates regarding the new "Amora Gem" which is apparently a different whiter type of moissanite that betterthandiamond are trying to get a patent for to make themselves and sell to compete with C&C. The problem with moissanite, I believe, is mostly due to the fact that it seems to marketed most heavily to a consumer who actually in truth wants a diamond, but either doesn't want or can't afford to pay the hefty price tag for one. Sadly this ends up detracting from moissanite's intrinsic talking points, the fact that the compound was initially first discovered in a meteorite, the fact that its entirely fashioned by man (which is a feat of engineering and science in itself if you think about it). It's got high dispersion and a high refractive index, so it throws off fire like mad, and it's a pretty hard stone so it's good for daily-worn jewelry. That tends to get lost in the scramble to try to force it to replace the diamond's place in the engagement ring industry, which to me seems like the wrong way to go about valuing the stone(or perhaps engagement jewelry in general?).
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Mar 20, 2013 16:24
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nyerf posted:The problem with moissanite, I believe, is mostly due to the fact that it seems to marketed most heavily to a consumer who actually in truth wants a diamond, but either doesn't want or can't afford to pay the hefty price tag for one. Sadly this ends up detracting from moissanite's intrinsic talking points, the fact that the compound was initially first discovered in a meteorite, the fact that its entirely fashioned by man (which is a feat of engineering and science in itself if you think about it). It's got high dispersion and a high refractive index, so it throws off fire like mad, and it's a pretty hard stone so it's good for daily-worn jewelry. That tends to get lost in the scramble to try to force it to replace the diamond's place in the engagement ring industry, which to me seems like the wrong way to go about valuing the stone(or perhaps engagement jewelry in general?). Oh hi! My engagement ring was (is) moissanite, not enhanced, and I LOVE it. I constantly get compliments on how lovely and sparkly it is. I didn't get it as a diamond replacement/ fill it, so I love it for exactly what it is. At the time my husband worked for a jewelry manufacturer and his boss knew "The Moissainite Guy" apparently. He says "Charles and colvard is the company that makes them. I think they have a retail website at moissanite.com." Can't resist plugging my ring: (photo'd using fancy equipment for jewelry pics from the shop) Tension set in titanium with a platinum band, from https://www.boonerings.com (excellent customer service too).  
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Mar 20, 2013 20:05
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Ok maybe I'm completely juvenile (or blind) but that's two posts in a row that I thought were linking to boner rings.com
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Mar 20, 2013 20:10
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Any goons currently selling loose gemstones? I'm going to order my moissanite from the site recommended earlier, and I think I think I've finally picked out how I want my ring to look, but am having an issue finding something pre-made so will be looking into a custom piece. Johnny or anyone else, can you be on the lookout for a couple of close to matching pear (or even trillion cut) sapphires? They wouldn't have to necessarily be super high quality. This is the kind of ring I want- relatively simple, but I want a round center stone and the stones swapped (moissanite in the middle, the sapphires as the pears). I'm going to start hunting for a local jeweler that does custom work, and convinced the boy out of financing. So, two hopefully final questions- since almost all moissanite is lab-created, do you no longer see the green tinge in a lot of it? I personally find it really pretty and it is not something I would mind having at all in my ring, but I am not sure of its prevalence these days. Secondly, I know it was mentioned earlier that moissanite weighs differently than diamond and is usually measured by face- if I wanted to get an 8mm moissanite, about what size sapphires would I need for the side stones? I have fat little sausage fingers and while I don't want to be blinging out, I don't want something that looks little and sad because of vienna sausage digits. If I purchased all my stones individually, would a jeweler be willing to just custom-make the setting or will they want to sell me their own stones? edit: Sorry for all the questions I know I've been asking in the past few days guys, I've read through the thread before but not in a while and am just super excited about getting new jewelry! (oh, and I guess about getting engaged too) uranium grass fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Mar 21, 2013 |
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Mar 21, 2013 05:06
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Grrl Anachronism posted:
Nice! Looks very much like the ring I got my wife. She's got a Round Diamond in the center and on the pear sides are purple sapphires. Looks awesome and so will yours! It's kind-of like a cats eye from the top down when you've got a round center stone.
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Mar 21, 2013 18:06
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What do you think about this Biotech-Jewelry concept from New Zealand? http://www.formed.co.nz/ Reminded me of this chicks art except with an actual organism that grows inside a locket: http://www.klarireis.com/ 
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Mar 23, 2013 15:12
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EVG posted:Oh hi! Looks great, that's essentially the same style setting on my fiancee's ring and she gets complimented on it constantly from everyone, strangers included.
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Mar 24, 2013 05:39
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EVG posted:Oh hi! This is super beautiful, congrats. I actually have a question about moissanite that maybe Johnny could answer. From what I've read moissanite is lighter than diamond, and carat goes by weight, so a diamond and moissanite cut in the same way, the moissanite would have a larger table? Is there some sort of standard equation for determining this? I know about the carat weight of the stone I would want were it a diamond, but I'm afraid the same thing in moissanite could end up looking ridiculously huge, even on my sausage fingers. I finally picked out my setting today- the last thing we need is the center moissanite.
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Mar 25, 2013 02:19
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When we got my wife's moissanite, the jeweler told us the gem size in equivalent diamond ct. Just make sure you tell them that you want x ctw in diamond size and they should be able to accommodate.
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Mar 25, 2013 02:43
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