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What's a good ballpark for a pair of sapphire stud earrings, 1/2 carat total weight? I'm seeing anything from $30 to $500 online. I assume the stuff at the extreme lower end is junk, but about what price am I going to start seeing standard-level craftsmanship?
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Nov 28, 2016 18:34
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Cut a tourmaline over the last week and a bit, picture sucks but the stone turned out great: I like that a lot. I enjoy the more esoteric gemstones; if you still have that I'd love to bid on it.
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Nov 30, 2016 08:29
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Brennanite posted:What's a good ballpark for a pair of sapphire stud earrings, 1/2 carat total weight? I'm seeing anything from $30 to $500 online. I assume the stuff at the extreme lower end is junk, but about what price am I going to start seeing standard-level craftsmanship? This depends on a lot of factors--color and treatment (and even origin) of the sapphires is a big one though. Cornflower blue Yogo sapphires are going to cost you a lot more than dark green Australian ones, for instance. Overseas cutting for small sapphires tends to be quite good and inexpensive so craftsmanship need not be a major factor on the stone. 0.25 carat sapphires can be pretty cheap in the right context, and for studs an inexpensive finding would be appropriate.
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Nov 30, 2016 17:53
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I am currently having an engagement ring custom made. The ring is platinum (can't remember the weight) with 0.84 carats of diamonds down the sides, and the rock is a 0.91 carat round diamond, color G, clarity SI1 or SI2 (can't remember), and I want to say the cut is VG. GIA certified, etc. The guy showed me the price sheet he gets from his suppliers and basically said that literally once you hit 1.0 carat on a round diamond, the price jumps way up per carat, so the best bet is to stay just under 1.0 since you get more bang for your buck and it basically looks like a 1.0. I'm paying ~$2500 for the ring and ~$3400 for the diamond. Did I get a decent price on the diamond? Regardless, it looks pretty awesome and I think she's going to love it. I pick it up in 3 weeks.
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Dec 1, 2016 00:44
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Thursday Next posted:I like that a lot. I enjoy the more esoteric gemstones; if you still have that I'd love to bid on it. Sure! Pm me. All the stones I cut are technically for sale I just don't advertise them...mostly because I feel like a proud gem-dad when I'm done cutting them. Henrik Zetterberg posted:I am currently having an engagement ring custom made. The ring is platinum (can't remember the weight) with 0.84 carats of diamonds down the sides, and the rock is a 0.91 carat round diamond, color G, clarity SI1 or SI2 (can't remember), and I want to say the cut is VG. GIA certified, etc. Ultimately that last sentence is what matters most. My cursory searching shows that if it's a GIA certed 0.91ct G SI2 you did pretty well and if it's an SI1 you did even better. He is absolutely right. I usually tell people that if they don't care about the number but want a 1ct-ish size to go just under, saves money and looks almost exactly the same. Unfortunately some people really care about the number but different strokes etc.
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Dec 1, 2016 02:13
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Had a friend over and we took some cool pictures of minerals with an iphone microscope he had. Cavansite on stilbite? 
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Dec 15, 2016 02:30
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Laser Cut Ametrine anyone?  If anyone is near Denver come check out this show tomorrow 
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Dec 16, 2016 22:06
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goodness posted:Laser Cut Ametrine anyone? I am preeeeetty jealous you get to go. Let me know how it is!
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Dec 17, 2016 19:57
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My partner and I have been thinking about stones other than diamonds for wedding rings, but now I realize hardness is a pretty important factor for everyday wear. What range of hardness should I be limiting my search on? Andalusite has piqued our interest, but it seems it may be somewhat soft for daily wear.
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Dec 18, 2016 08:09
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Far too soft I'm afraid. 8 and up is probably your best bet--save andalusite for less wear-intensive use or be ready to replace periodically. So sapphire, spinel, chrysoberyl (including alexandrite), inclusion-free beryl (to avoid fracturing problems), moissanite (if you don't mind a synthetic) are probably your best options. That kind of red/green pleochroism is hard to match at higher hardness though. Alexandrite or color change sapphire could give a similar look in some lighting but can be hard to find a deal on (though I did manage to hook my cousin up with a nice alexandrite for his proposal at a reasonable price, so the deals do sometimes appear).
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Dec 18, 2016 23:01
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Thanks for the detailed answer. I'll start hunting for stones with earth tone pleiochroism from the categories you suggested, then.
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Dec 20, 2016 17:53
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Sure! Pm me. All the stones I cut are technically for sale I just don't advertise them...mostly because I feel like a proud gem-dad when I'm done cutting them. Just want to say thanks for this. I pick it up tomorrow!
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Dec 20, 2016 17:55
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I have a really heavy bracelet with a box clasp that I can pull apart without depressing the stud. It doesn't slip right apart but I don't have to pull hard on it to get it apart. Should I bother getting it fixed, or should I just rely on the safeties to keep it on?
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Dec 20, 2016 18:26
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Hi jewelry thread! Hoping that I could get some advice about some custom jewelry. My girlfriend and I have been together for 3 years, living together for 6 months. I am planning on proposing, but need a custom ring. Over the years I have picked up that she is not a fan of the traditional gold with big diamond, but nothing specific about what she DOES like. She is a bit of a tomboy, owns more power tools than I do, is interning at a firm to become a licensed architect, and is overall loving awesome. We were at an exhibition for local artists about a year ago, and a really good friend of hers was showing some sculptures, but my girlfriend mentioned that her friend made some amazing jewelry that she loved. I recently tracked down the artist, and she does have some jewelry in her portfolio, and even currently teaches jewelry design at a local art school. My plan: Hit up the artist and work out a commission for a custom ring, using some materials I already have. What I've got: A budget of up to $7K About 3 carats of antique diamonds, ranging from 3/4 carat to tiny (grandmother's big gaudy ring she kept from her first fiance who died in France in WW2, willed to me) About 2 ounces of gold from the same ring, and two others My questions: Would it be normal to ask the artist for a few different options drawn, and propose without a ring? With a custom non-traditional piece, I am terrified that my girlfriend will not actually love what I end up with without her input. If I do propose before having a completed ring, is that going to be weird? It would be totally doable to take some of the stuff I already have, and maybe mix in some other stones/metals? $7K is likely enough to get something great, right? Any advice would be awesome!
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Dec 21, 2016 01:17
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:Just want to say thanks for this. I pick it up tomorrow! Sweet! fps_bill posted:I have a really heavy bracelet with a box clasp that I can pull apart without depressing the stud. It doesn't slip right apart but I don't have to pull hard on it to get it apart. Should I bother getting it fixed, or should I just rely on the safeties to keep it on? Safeties are definitely there for a last resort, if it means something to you or your family I'd look into getting it repaired. Doom Rooster posted:My plan: 1)Totally normal, I do a few designs for people to narrow it down all the time. I have lots of couples come in together to design the ring together, so in my locale it isn't weird at all and tbh I think it's more a per person thing. Chances are if you've gotten this far she isn't the kind of person to have a problem with it. 2)My Dad proposed with a gigantic cracker jacks ring and they went shopping together. Doesn't have to be weird! 3)Metal cannot always be re-used (mostly it cannot). Most people take the metal as scrap towards the final piece or re-use the parts they can, totally depends on what you have. 4) Absolutely! Any other questions, feel free to fire away.
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Dec 23, 2016 02:48
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Thanks Claes! Really helpful advice. No real questions about this anymore, but I am curious why metals cannot be reused. I always figured you could just melt gold down and remold it.
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Dec 23, 2016 21:18
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Doom Rooster posted:Thanks Claes! No worries! I'll give you the pseudo technical answer: It's all about impurities. When I melt gold I get from a refinery it's a specific mix of metals to make it yellow or white or rose or whatever gold. Different refineries have different alloys with different properties and slight colour shade variations. Some roll out really well or draw down into wire nicely, some get really nice and liquid when it's melted and used for casting, but will crack when rolled out into sheet and wire. When rings are put together from pieces, sized, or repairs are done we use solder which has its own mix of metals to help it melt slightly lower than the pieces it's joining and flow nicely. Solder has the added benefit of putting bubbles and pits in castings when melted which sometimes requires the piece to be cast again. It really comes down to a guessing game. I can heat pieces to see solder, but don't know what the alloy mix is or how it would interact when mixed with my own alloys. Newer yellow and rose golds are usually fine, but white golds can be a huge headache. For people who absolutely must have some of their old ring in the new one, I just lay out what could happen and let them know that the issues that could arise are from that source and not poor craftsmanship. 9/10 times I can snag some good-ish gold and it's fine, but every once in a while it causes issues. I'm very pro-information (if you can't tell haha) about the jewellery trade with my clients. All I can do is lay out the facts and let people decide themselves!
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Dec 24, 2016 02:41
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Questions about rubies in general, and two rubies in particular. In general: I'm saving up for a halo ruby ring and would prefer a natural stone to a lab-created one. I stopped by two local jewelers today to get an idea of what I like, what size/shape stone looks good on me, etc. I'd already done some research on rubies and knew I didn't want anything lead- or glass-filled, but from what I read, it seems like heat treatments are pretty common. Obviously untreated rubies command a premium cost. When I asked, the owner of the second shop I visited looked at me like I was crazy and said that heat treatments are for sapphires, not rubies (aren't rubies and sapphires the same mineral?), and "the vast majority of real rubies are untreated." She said that any decent stone in the size range I'm looking for would be a minimum of $3000-5000. So now I'm a little confused. In particular: I'm looking at the site gemsny.com because I have a friend who got her engagement ring at their New York store in person and is happy with it. That was years ago, though, so I don't know how they are now. I've found two stones that I like the look of. This is the first one. They're asking $1047. This is the second one, a little more expensive, but I like the color better. $1433. Both stones are heat treated. How do they look? Is the second jeweler correct, and I need to resize my expectations and look for a smaller stone of greater quality within that price range? E: I saw another goon link to something rom James Allen, and this stone seems like it would work for me too, although I'd want to clarify the dimensions. Don't 100% know what I'm looking at in terms of quality though. Blue Scream fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Dec 30, 2016 |
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Dec 30, 2016 00:30
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I'm not a real expert on this but I can give you a surface-level rundown. Heat treatment in rubies goes back to the classical era, when stones would be put under a large bonfire kept very hot by strong winds. That is a relatively low-temperature treatment, 700-1300c, and it can drive off purplish tones in some stones. I did it once (using a kiln) on a non gem-quality stone and it did yield a much purer pink color from an initially purplish, lower-saturation stone. This low-temp treatment doesn't tend to cause rutile inclusions to break down within the stone and like many lower-temperature heat treatments it doesn't leave a lot of really obvious signs that it's been done. It is even sometimes still done by hand near the mines--you'll have a little room with rubies in a fire and one or two guys with long straws spending hours just blowing on it to keep it hot. See for instance https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-low-temperature-heat-treatment-mozambique-ruby . The GIA describes heat treatment of ruby as essentially ubiquituous: https://www.gia.edu/gia-faq-heat-treatment-ruby Modern heat treatment of sapphires is much hotter, and can go up to about 2kish or so for longer periods of time. That's a very different animal--it causes things like the reabsorption of rutile silk into the lattice of the crystal, which can improve color and clarity. If you're after a delightfully thorough and technical breakdown the GIA put out a nice paper that breaks a lot of it down in a very readable way (WARNING: PDF link) Just in general, don't be too trusting of what a jeweler who you don't know tells you about gem treatments--you don't have to know a lot about gems to become a jeweler and many of them are woefully (or perhaps willfully) uninformed. It takes a fair amount of work to find a jeweler who really knows their stuff. Lots of undisclosed lead glass-filled stones hit the market that way, for instance.
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Dec 30, 2016 01:03
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Blue Scream posted:Questions about rubies in general, and two rubies in particular. I'd go with the James Allen one based on the video, looks way better than the other 2
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Dec 30, 2016 02:16
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goodness posted:I'd go with the James Allen one based on the video, looks way better than the other 2 Thanks! That makes me happy, since it's also much less expensive  Can I ask what makes it better? I am looking at some other rubies on the James Allen site and would like to know what to look for, since the descriptions are pretty vague. The sales rep I talked to said that the ruby in the video was "AA" grade, which from what I understand doesn't mean much in real terms. My price range for the stone is between $800-1100, so if anything I can buy in that price range is going to look crappy I'd like to know, so I can either look at smaller stones, or something less expensive like garnets.
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Dec 30, 2016 02:26
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I'd also like to point out that there is nothing wrong with lab grown gems, especially if you're worried about glass or lead filling  Edit: about the ones you linked all I can offer for sure is that the first one seems to have a pretty low quality cut? The star facets don't meet and I'm suspicious of the outer table facets as well. The second one is too dark for me to see anything, and while the third seems to have pretty good facet meets I can't help but wonder if it's got a window? Can't tell for sure from the video but being able to see through a gem to what's below it is bad, don't tolerate spending 1k+ on a nice stone with a poo poo cut. Edit edit: I'm not a jeweler so take this with a grain of salt, just have advice I remember from my gem professor and the fact that I personally wouldn't buy a gem with a cut worse than ones I've seen done by college sophomores Xun fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Dec 30, 2016 |
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Dec 30, 2016 02:26
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Second stone is definitely windowed, which is not that atypical for valuable stones being cut for weight.
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Dec 30, 2016 03:21
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Blue Scream posted:Questions about rubies in general, and two rubies in particular. Almost all rubies are treated via heat. Unheated gem rubies are a true treasure. Ruby treatments can be broken into five categories. 1) Low heat - A mild treatment that improves color. Rarely seen in modern rubies and sapphire. 2) High heat - An intensive heating that improves color while breaking down internal silk to improve the clarity. This is what the trade considers "heat." 3) Flux Healing - Heating a ruby with borax to melt the surface. This has the effect of "healing" any cracks in the ruby and creating a prettier gem. This can be at "Minor, Medium, or Significant" levels. As "Minor healing" can sometimes be an artifact of the #2 heating process it is accepted by dealers as a non-issue. 4) Diffusion - Using science to change the chemical makeup of a gem to improve the color. Brown becomes blue, purple becomes red, etc. The color is permanent and they are not expensive. 5) Lead filled - Cracks in a ruby are filled with a material with similar optical properties. The most common is lead crystal glass. These are highly undesirable as they can be damaged by something as minor as citrus juice. But, they're cheap, so if you know what you're getting it can be fun. Never pay much for a glass filled ruby. I'll be back tomorrow to post a few photos of Rwandan amethysts that are just entering the market this year. They are amazing.
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Dec 30, 2016 06:36
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JohnnyRnR posted:I'll be back tomorrow to post a few photos of Rwandan amethysts that are just entering the market this year. They are amazing. Expecting to see any at Tucson?
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Dec 30, 2016 06:45
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There should be quite a bit this year. There is talk that the government has restricted exports, but I haven't seen anything official yet. The guy I was buying rough from was able to get one parcel and then no more. I'm more excited about the ruby and jadeite ban being lifted.
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Dec 30, 2016 08:16
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JohnnyRnR posted:
The peripheral effects will be pretty nice as well - I'm already having less issues with customs and I don't even deal with Burmese stones.
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Dec 30, 2016 09:04
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My dad picked up a piece of the Rwandan material at last year's show and I've been hearing a lot about it off and on since. It's definitely very attractive material! Hopefully there will be some available at slightly less than the "curated-for-hobby-faceter" price he had to pay last time.
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Dec 30, 2016 16:37
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I apologize in advance if this isn't the best place to ask. About a decade ago, I was given a ring as a gift from a family member, who passed recently. Unfortunately, the ring was a cheap (~$30) silver wrap ring and broke from heavy wear. I would be so happy if I could replace it. This ring was ubiquitous at various shops at the time I got it, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere now. The ring in question:    I guess I'm looking for advice on where to look, search terms to use, etc. "Dragon Wrap Ring" brings up thousands of results, none of which are the correct one. Am I just hosed? Edit: I have the top half, but not the tail. Dienes fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Dec 30, 2016 |
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Dec 30, 2016 19:14
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It would be fairly easy to cast something like that. If you have the pieces still you could glue them together to make a mold
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Dec 30, 2016 19:57
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Dienes posted:I apologize in advance if this isn't the best place to ask. About a decade ago, I was given a ring as a gift from a family member, who passed recently. Unfortunately, the ring was a cheap (~$30) silver wrap ring and broke from heavy wear. I would be so happy if I could replace it. This ring was ubiquitous at various shops at the time I got it, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere now. Always bet on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/listing/492491...f=sr_gallery_17
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Dec 30, 2016 23:32
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JohnnyRnR posted:I'm more excited about the ruby and jadeite ban being lifted.  Everyone who's been stockpiling burmese rough and cut stones is about to get a lot richer.
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Dec 31, 2016 01:38
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Naerasa posted:Always bet on Etsy That's it! Holy cow, that price tag is a bit more than I expected. 
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Dec 31, 2016 01:54
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Dienes posted:That's it! Holy cow, that price tag is a bit more than I expected. It was less on ebay last year http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-STERLING-SILVER-DRAGON-SERPENT-RING-HOLDING-MYSTICAL-AMETHYST-BALL-UMA/251928943262 (but that one sold) EDIT: another sold one on rubylane: https://www.rubylane.com/item/635099-R-1469/Natural-Amethyst-Dragon-Ring-Sterling-Silver Edit: and another on liveauctioneers for $15 https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/32097238 Mass-produced so probably there are a lot more running around if you can sift through the right search terms. Prolly can expect a new one to show up every year or so as well. That Etsy seller is a low-information person just starting out, so there's a good chance you can negotiate the price down to something far more reasonable. Tunicate fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Dec 31, 2016 |
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Dec 31, 2016 02:18
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Dienes posted:That's it! Holy cow, that price tag is a bit more than I expected. Yeah the listing seems like BS given that they're calling it a unique piece of vintage jade - which, lol - but it was the right ring so I figured I'd link it anyway.
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Jan 1, 2017 20:39
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cut a smoky quartz with lots of little bubbles in it. All the bubbles were kind of on the same plane, so I turned that toward the top and decided it was a feature instead of a bug.  edited to fix image littlebluellama fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Jan 2, 2017 |
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Jan 2, 2017 03:06
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littlebluellama posted:cut a smoky quartz with lots of little bubbles in it. All the bubbles were kind of on the same plane, so I turned that toward the top and decided it was a feature instead of a bug. ~smoky space quartz~ Cool!
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Jan 3, 2017 07:16
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As promised here is the new amethyst from Rwanda. The color is amazing. Prices are about double the cost of fine amethyst from different parts of the world. Pictured here is a 29ct pear and a 23 carat oval. These were freshly cut from rough.  Thanks to Claes Oldenburger for tipping me off that the government is considering restricting exports of the rough gemstones. It's already hard to find this material so any restrictions may dry up the supply.
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Jan 10, 2017 07:59
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JohnnyRnR posted:As promised here is the new amethyst from Rwanda. The color is amazing. Prices are about double the cost of fine amethyst from different parts of the world. Do you have any rough you could post pictures of?
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Jan 10, 2017 09:57
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Sure. I just have two photos handy and they aren't very good. The 5 gram piece was sent to a goon to practice gemcutting and the 50 gram piece was cut into a matched pair of ovals ~30 carats total. 5 grams  50 grams 
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Jan 11, 2017 05:44
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