A Diamond Story

The Request

Some people have a firm idea about the sort of ring they want, others, not so much. It is always nice to be able to find gemstones and design jewelry to match request, but it is just as pleasing to be given the trust to ‘make something beautiful, but I don’t want to spend too much’. So that what the brief – something truly beautiful and unique, for less than 7,500 Euro.

Mission accepted!

Finding the Diamond

It took three weeks, but it was worth it. We considered a number of round brilliants, from VS to VVS1 and G to I colour, all beautiful stones, and any one of them would have looked great in the right setting. And then we found this:

Emerald cut diamond 1.01ct angle view Emerald cut diamond 1.01ct front view

A 1.01 carat emerald cut, F colour, and, amazingly IF – internally flawless. We could hardly believe it, but the certificate doesn’t lie.

Emerald diamond cut IF GIA certificate

There really is something special about an IF stone that separates it from mere VVS1 and VVS2 diamonds. There shouldn’t be, right? VVS1 inclusion can barely be seen at 10x magnification, let alone with the naked eye, let alone from a few feet distance. Yet, when you see this stone, it immediately stands out out something very special. And the more you look at it, the more special it becomes.

Designing the Setting

The next question is what setting would best grace such a gorgeous diamond. A gemstone like this really speaks for itself, it doesn’t need any embellishment. Several designs were considered, and. like us, the customer prefered a simpler setting with an elegant, thin band.

Diamond ring custom design emerald cut

After the wax was made, there were a couple of small adjustments. We reduced the number of side stones by four, and thickened the width slightly for better durability.

The Result

And this is how it turned out:

Yes, we said ‘wow’ too.

Did we succeed?  Let’s see:

  • Beautiful – customer says a resounding “YES!”
  • Unique – A very rare IF emerald cut diamond in a one-off designed ring, that is also a “yes”
  • Less than €7,500 – after shipping and insurance, there was change of €130.

Most importantly though, the customer absolutely loved it.  A very satisfying result.

Mission accomplished!

Exquisite Sapphire Ring

Making beautiful jewelry from top grade gemstones is always a great pleasure.  We recently had a long time customer request for a sapphire ring from a stone that had previously been set in a pendant.

Sapphire Pendant 3.5ct
Original sapphire in pendant.

This is a 3.54ct Ceylon sapphire that I bought in Sri Lanka a few years ago.  The customer requested if it could be made into a ring.  Originally it was set with white sapphire, but the customer request was to use diamond.

After a couple of design drafts, this is the design that was settled on, option ‘B’:

Sapphire ring design options.
Sapphire ring design options.

 

Consequently, this was the finished product:

Absolutely gorgeous.

And from the customer: “It is a perfect fit and I am the envy of the office. It is absolutely beautiful. Thank you!!”

Thank you Yin, thrilled that you love it and it was a pleasure to make it for you.

Gold Sheen Sapphire and Ruby in Mens Jewelry

Gold sheen sapphire and dark, vivid ruby is ideal for men’s jewelry.

Typical design styles for men’s jewelry use flat mountings with large(er) size gemstones.  This requires a faceted gem with a larger table size, or flatter cabochon that presents well, which favors opaque over transparent stones.

For example, this gold sheen sapphire ring has a 45ct stone with a 22mm x 16mm table. The faceting picks up brass, copper and gold tones as light plays across the surface.

45ct Gold Sheen Sapphire Men's Ring
45ct Gold Sheen Sapphire Men’s Ring

The rubies in these rings are cabbed from the same piece of rough ruby. In larger sizes, the dark tone with strong saturation is great for men’s rings, yet still beautifully feminine in smaller sizes.

20ct and 10ct Mens and Womens Ruby Cabochon Rings
20ct and 10ct Men’s and Women’s Ruby Cabochon Rings

UMB Shenzhen Show

We took Gold Sheen Sapphire to the China International Gold, Jewellery & Gem Fair at Shenzhen in April.  This was the first time Gold Sheen Sapphire had been shown in the PRC.

SJW Gems booth at Shenzhen Jewelry Show
SJW Gems booth at Shenzhen Jewelry Show
Presentation from Professor Wang Hui Shu
Presentation from Professor Wang Hui Shu
Gold Sheen Sapphire DIsplay
Gold Sheen Sapphire DIsplay

David Yurman Feature Gold Sheen Sapphire in 2017 Lunar New Year Collection

Top ranked jewelry designer David Yurman today released their 2017 Lunar New Year Collection featuring Gold Sheen Sapphire.

“The Men’s DY Fortune collection includes designs crafted with octagonal cut stones – a reference to the lucky number 8. Evoke good karma with these extraordinary pieces.”

– David Yurman announcement newsletter

 

As for the octagonal cut, the raised facets presented quite a challenge for the cutting factory. Making that design in garnet is one thing, but quite a lot harder when cutting sapphire. Nevertheless, the skilled artisans rose to the challenge and filled the order ahead of time while achieving a remarkable consistency of 0.1mm tolerance.

I am very proud to have been able to meet the high quality demanded by David Yurman – which required a concerted team effort over three months. It simply would not have been possible without the dedication of Tanzim Khan and his exceptional team.

Amulet with Golden Sheen Sapphire
DY Fortune Faceted Amulet with Golden Sheen Sapphire in 18K Gold

 

The designs on the DY website are:

DY Fortune Faceted Amulet with Golden Sheen Sapphire in 18K Gold

DY Fortune Woven Station Bracelet with Golden Sheen Sapphire and 18K Gold, 11mm

 

If you would like more information on amazing Gold Sheen Sapphire, please see the information pages on my website – https://sjwgems.com/gold-sheen-sapphire/

If you are a jewelry designer and would like to make a trade enquiry, please contact me directly – steve@sjwgems.com

For other beautiful Gold Sheen Sapphire jewelry and rare and unique collectors pieces, look here – https://sjwgems.com/product-category/gemstones/gold-sheen-sapphire/

 

 

Anniversary Gemstones

The traditional list of anniversary gemstones has a big problem – you have to wait a long time before you get to the good stuff.

These are the traditional gifts that Wikipedia lists:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_anniversary#Gemstone_gifts

As you can see, the first really decent gift comes at 12 years with jade.  Not that there is anything wrong with garnet and topaz, but to wait 40 years for ruby, and 65 for sapphire is just unreasonable.

j-ear-eme-001001druby ring 2ctSapphire Pendant
Emerald, ruby and sapphire make exquisite anniversary gifts.  But why wait for decades before you give them to the one you love?

 

Here is my alternative list.  Sure, not for everyone, in fact, it should be exclusive to those only who really love their chosen partner.

Year

Traditional 

Gemstone

Alternative, 

If you really love them

Why?

1st Mother of Pearl Moissanite Better than diamond in every way. You can show your friends and family the success of your first year with a much larger and more beautiful gemstone
2nd Garnet   Warm garnet remembers the good times and is a promise of better things yet to come
3rd Moonstone   A more subtle beauty, as your love matures
4th Blue Topaz   Four years, some tears, but still strong together
5th Rose Quartz Ruby No one should have to wait longer than five years for a ruby
6th Amethyst   Things have worked out, cherish and protect
7th Onyx Gold Sheen Sapphire Deep, complex and endlessly fascinating. Just like your relationship, with the longevity of sapphire.
8th Tourmaline Sapphire Doubling down on topaz, see, you really mean it.
9th Lapis Lazuli Spinel Underrated and not many people get it. But you both do, spinel exemplifies this.
10th Crystal or green Tourmaline Emerald A decade, and you have to top Ruby and sapphire somehow, only an Emerald will do.
11th Turquoise Aquamarine An extra blue cherry on the emerald cake of last year
12th Jade   Can’t beat jade for year 12
13th Citrine   The best colour citrine can hold its own, bring in the sun and prosperity
14th Opal   So many wonderful memories
15th Rhodolite Morganite Celebrate with something different and unique, just like the both of you
20th Emerald Alexandrite The best properties of ruby and emerald. 20 Years deserves this exclusivity.
25th Tsavorite   Rare and beautiful, nothing else needs to be said
30th Pearl   No problem to stick with tradition at this stage.
40th Ruby   Of course ruby again.
50th Gold   24 karat, only
60th Diamond Moissanite, but a set Remember your first anniversary?
65th Sapphire A very big one You have earned the best of the best

Yes, it is a little bit tongue-in-cheek.  But why not?  No one should wait for years for the beauty of a gift of a wonderful gemstone.

Gold Sheen Sapphire in Jewelry

I had a number of pieces of my gold sheen sapphire collection made into jewelry.  This was partly on the recommendation of a friend, and partly for my own curiosity.

I am not by any means a jewelry designer, so i just gave some basic instructions to the goldsmith and let him come up with the settings he thought best.  I didn’t want to spend a lot on the manufacture, so I used silver with either yellow gold or rhodium plate.  The results turned out better than I expected:

Gold Sheen Sapphire Pendant
48 carat gold sheen sapphire pendant
Gold Sheen Sapphire Pendant
40 carat gold sheen sapphire pendant
Gold Sheen Sapphire Mens Ring
45 carat gold sheen sapphire mens ring. Not for sale – this one is mine!
Gold Sheen Sapphire Pendant
29 carat gold sheen sapphire. What better to enhance the beauty of the décolletage than a Gold Sheen Sapphire pendant?

Then, while sorting through my collection, I pulled out some of the larger cabs, and started to idly arrange them into a necklace pattern.  Hmm, I thought, that would make a pretty nice necklace. And so I ended up with this stunningly gorgeous necklace with over 300 carats of star gold sheen sapphire.

Gold Sheen Sapphire Necklace
300ct+ gold sheen sapphire necklace

Beautiful, isn’t it? But even more beautiful on a beautiful neckline:

Gold Sheen Sapphire Necklace
Star Gold Sheen Sapphire necklace – every stone will show a star with the light at the right angle, so the effect is stars appear as the wearer moves and light plays across the necklace.

Singles Day!

11/11 is singles’ day in China.  But why should the Chinese have all the fun?

Perhaps, buying your crush some beautiful jewelry might make this the last singles day for you?  Who knows.  But single or ‘an item’, everyone deserves to own some fine gemstones and jewelry, whether for yourself or someone else.

In honour of this ancient (from way, way back in the 1990’s) Chinese tradition, use the coupon code ‘1111’ to get 25% off any purchase from sjwgems.com, for 11/11/16 only.

This natural ruby ring in 18K gold makes an excellent gift of love an admiration – http://sjwgems.com/product/1ct-natural-ruby-ring-18k-gold/

Natural zircon, as blue as a clear summer sky – http://sjwgems.com/product/zircon-pendant-7-8ct/

Multi colour sapphire bracelet, 32 carats of sapphires, and exquisite gift http://sjwgems.com/product/multi-colour-sapphire-bracelet/

Tanzanite earrings, only for someone very special – http://sjwgems.com/product/tanzanite-earrings-4-52ct/