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I just got engaged this weekend and I'm so excited to finally be able to share my ring! It's a custom from Greenlake Jewelry Works, and I cannot recommend them enough. Great customer service, and they spent a ton of time getting every little detail right and advising me about each choice in the design process. If you all are interested, I can share photos from each step in the design process. It's a 1 carat (or just over, I can't remember) moissanite, surrounded by blue diamonds and a couple sapphires to make the "waves". I have to thank this thread for introducing me to moissanite - I love the fire and sparkle this thing throws! We also chose it because of its origin as a meteorite stone, as the first time we said I love you was during a meteor shower. I love the way everything turned out!  
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Oct 25, 2017 18:26
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 08:37 |
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How hard is it to make babby gem settings that wont lose the stone asap? I'm starting to realize that trying to do anything with the gems I cut is ending up extremely expensive and I just want pretty pendants or something 
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Oct 25, 2017 19:32
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somebeachsomewhere posted:I just got engaged this weekend and I'm so excited to finally be able to share my ring! It's a custom from Greenlake Jewelry Works, and I cannot recommend them enough. Great customer service, and they spent a ton of time getting every little detail right and advising me about each choice in the design process. If you all are interested, I can share photos from each step in the design process. Love it!
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Oct 25, 2017 19:42
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somebeachsomewhere posted:I just got engaged this weekend and I'm so excited to finally be able to share my ring! It's a custom from Greenlake Jewelry Works, and I cannot recommend them enough. Great customer service, and they spent a ton of time getting every little detail right and advising me about each choice in the design process. If you all are interested, I can share photos from each step in the design process. I have heard nothing but good things about Greenlake. Looks awesome! Xun posted:How hard is it to make babby gem settings that wont lose the stone asap? I'm starting to realize that trying to do anything with the gems I cut is ending up extremely expensive and I just want pretty pendants or something Like actually make them? Not sure what your jewellery skills are like, best idea is to find a custom goldsmith to get it done. I know what you mean though, I uhhh...went on a Montana Sapphire buying frenzy because I got really great prices on them and now my wallet hurts. I'm going to have to start selling these things to further fund my purchases.
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Oct 25, 2017 23:48
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Like actually make them? Not sure what your jewellery skills are like, best idea is to find a custom goldsmith to get it done. My jeweler skills are "I am actually a CS student" so its not looking good lol. I've been talking to some custom goldsmiths around here and quotes have been like 300$ for a setting because my stone was 6.1mm wide instead of 6.0. I bet the stone isn't even worth 300$
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Oct 26, 2017 14:10
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Xun posted:My jeweler skills are "I am actually a CS student" so its not looking good lol. I've been talking to some custom goldsmiths around here and quotes have been like 300$ for a setting because my stone was 6.1mm wide instead of 6.0. I bet the stone isn't even worth 300$ Yeah, that's the tough part with custom stuff. The labour adds up pretty quick so in sterling pieces it quickly turns to "I hope this gem has sentimental value". My advice would be to sell the loose gems themselves first to fund further gems/settings for gems.
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Oct 26, 2017 21:32
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Xun posted:My jeweler skills are "I am actually a CS student" so its not looking good lol. I've been talking to some custom goldsmiths around here and quotes have been like 300$ for a setting because my stone was 6.1mm wide instead of 6.0. I bet the stone isn't even worth 300$ If you're interested, I've got a silversmith friend who casts sterling settings. They aren't gonna be custom for the stone, but he should have ones that take 6ish mm gems - silver's a lot more flexible than gold. Dunno how valuable that is to you since he's in the US but I can give you contact info.
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Oct 26, 2017 21:43
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Xun posted:because my stone was 6.1mm wide instead of 6.0. You're a lapidary artist. Make it 6.0mm! 
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Oct 31, 2017 03:50
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JohnnyRnR posted:You're a lapidary artist. Make it 6.0mm! Im bad at caliphers 
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Oct 31, 2017 18:11
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Digital calipers are cheap and good. I never use analog ones anymore.
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Oct 31, 2017 18:48
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Cut a Montana sapphire last week, 1.855ct and definitely one of the nicest pears I've done! I'm also through the roof at material return...got 47% out. I don't think I'll be beating that for a while haha
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Nov 1, 2017 20:50
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Cut a Montana sapphire last week, 1.855ct and definitely one of the nicest pears I've done! I'm also through the roof at material return...got 47% out. I don't think I'll be beating that for a while haha That's a great color for a Montana sapphire. The ones I usually see tend to be darker/more grey, but that almost looks like an unheated aqua. Very pretty!
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Nov 2, 2017 05:50
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Cut a Montana sapphire last week, 1.855ct and definitely one of the nicest pears I've done! I'm also through the roof at material return...got 47% out. I don't think I'll be beating that for a while haha Edit: Also, I got a new (to me) gem microscope! I've been having fun taking photos through the ocular and using helicon for focus stacking. Image dump:  Canadian hypersthene up close (70x). It appears it gets its trademark silvery sheen from platy metallic/irridescent inclusions, maybe exsolved hematite or ferrosilite.  Hard to photograph but kinda cool, dumortierine crystals in quartz. In person it is an intense blue but the microscope light is fairly yellow.  Hematite needles in rough amethyst from Nigeria with a classic nail-like crystal form. This one turned out a lot cooler than it should have. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSvCWI9HXUA And a video of a mobile methane bubble inside fluorescent petroleum in a negative crystal inside a Pakistani quartz crystal (the herkimer-like ones). Scarodactyl fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Nov 3, 2017 |
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Nov 3, 2017 02:45
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Scarodactyl posted:Well done! It's good to see a cut stone from you. That yield is phenomenal, all without looking cut for weigh at all. Have you been having fun with the stuff you picked up at Tucson? WOW! That video is super cool.
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Nov 3, 2017 03:48
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Scarodactyl posted:Well done! It's good to see a cut stone from you. That yield is phenomenal, all without looking cut for weigh at all. Have you been having fun with the stuff you picked up at Tucson? Thank you! Yeah...I really lucked out. There were 4 or 5 times where I thought a pit wasn't going to cut out but it juuuust did, so I like to think this is the maximum potential the rough had (it was also perfectly pear shaped). I have! I've been getting a ton of requests and opportunities to sell Montana/Umba/Ceylon sapphires though, and the markup from rough is really nice if I'm selling them retail. Gotta pay the bills! EDIT: Your pictures are really cool! Claes Oldenburger fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Nov 3, 2017 |
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Nov 3, 2017 16:44
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huh looks like the forums unposted my praise for those pics, very nice work. Post more if you have any, I love supermacro photography and this is a cool variation on that
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Nov 10, 2017 16:29
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 Found another 70's/80's ring over the weekend. Lost about 80 pounds, and the ring on my pinky in that pic is loose as poo poo but still can't get it sized up enough to fit my ring finger. Luckily my right pinky is a little bigger than my left.
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Nov 22, 2017 21:24
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Hey noob question here - my fiancee has this necklace that I got her a couple years ago that she loves and wears all the time, but the chain it's on is starting to wear out and needs to be replaced. I wanted to get her a new chain to put it on as part of her Christmas gift but here is my question: How do you actually transfer a pendant from one chain to another if it can't fit over either end of the clasp? Do you just bend open one of the links, slide the pendant on, and then close it with pliers? If I take her necklace to the store to get the chain switched out she'll immediately notice it's missing so if there was some way to do this myself that would be preferable.
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Nov 28, 2017 05:30
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Claes Oldenburger posted:Setting emeralds in any metal comes with risk, but white gold slightly more so. It's tougher to move and requires more force to get it to do things compared to setting in yellow/rose golds and platinum group metals. It's possible, and gets done often, the designer is just being extra careful because of the risk associated with the design. Just as a followup, the designer found a different setter who had experience in doing emeralds in white gold, and the ring came out amazingly and we're both very happy with it. lovely cell phone pic, doesn't properly show the level of engraved detail on the sides.
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Nov 29, 2017 22:26
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unknown posted:Just as a followup, the designer found a different setter who had experience in doing emeralds in white gold, and the ring came out amazingly and we're both very happy with it. That's awesome!! I'm glad you found someone to set your emerald and do a great job. Class Warcraft posted:Hey noob question here - my fiancee has this necklace that I got her a couple years ago that she loves and wears all the time, but the chain it's on is starting to wear out and needs to be replaced. I wanted to get her a new chain to put it on as part of her Christmas gift but here is my question: Depends on the chain. Some can open, some need to be sawn open and then re closed by laser or soldering. If you can't figure it out take it to a jeweller, should be a quick fix.
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Dec 1, 2017 19:36
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Im looking to land a nice lab ruby, 1/3 of a carat, round cut. What are the preferred purveyors of lab gem stones?
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Dec 21, 2017 05:52
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Goodpancakes posted:Im looking to land a nice lab ruby, 1/3 of a carat, round cut. What are the preferred purveyors of lab gem stones? That's what, 4 mm? I dunno, but you can probably get one on ebay for fifty cents. I mean, it's a synthetic corundum, they're pretty interchangeable aside from color. Is there anything in particular that you care about? EDIT: If you just want a random link, you can get 10 4 mm rubies for 3 dollars + shipping from these guys Tunicate fucked around with this message at 10:21 on Dec 21, 2017 |
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Dec 21, 2017 10:16
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Tunicate posted:That's what, 4 mm? I dunno, but you can probably get one on ebay for fifty cents. Oh hey thanks! I just didn't know where to look and I sort of forget about Ebay. Just some nice Reds to pick up. My better half has her mothers old engagement ring where the diamond was re purposed. Would be a nice fit to get a cool colored gem to replace it.
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Dec 22, 2017 06:26
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Goodpancakes posted:Oh hey thanks! I just didn't know where to look and I sort of forget about Ebay. Just some nice Reds to pick up. My better half has her mothers old engagement ring where the diamond was re purposed. Would be a nice fit to get a cool colored gem to replace it. Just remember that half a carat of diamond is not the same size as half a carat of sapphire! You probably already know but I've seen some ppl gently caress that up
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Dec 22, 2017 06:43
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Xun posted:Just remember that half a carat of diamond is not the same size as half a carat of sapphire! You probably already know but I've seen some ppl gently caress that up It's a fair thing to gently caress up, since it's not intuitive to people who don't have a reason to think about things like specific gravity on a regular basis. It doesn't help that corundum is probably one of the densest commonly-used gems.
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Dec 24, 2017 15:17
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Naerasa posted:It's a fair thing to gently caress up, since it's not intuitive to people who don't have a reason to think about things like specific gravity on a regular basis. It doesn't help that corundum is probably one of the densest commonly-used gems. Not only that but most sapphires are cut for weight to maximize value, not cut. Deeper stones means less length and width on the face!
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Dec 25, 2017 02:08
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