"UT" gemstones question

#1
DD4ME

DD4ME

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#1
Looking at going in with my siblings and having some custom "UT" jewelry made for my Mom. I'm not looking at the costume stuff but something semi precious and wondered if anyone had experience with gems and or companies that hit the UT orange sweet spot. Right now I'm leaning towards some Mexican Fire Opals which is a double win since October is her birth month and opal is her stone. Anyone used this, is it fragile? Anyone got any gemstone sites they recommend or other stones? I've seen mandarin garnet but it seems harder to get the right color.
 
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#2
#2
DD4ME said:
Looking at going in with my siblings and having some custom "UT" jewelry made for my Mom. I'm not looking at the costume stuff but something semi precious and wondered if anyone had experience with gems and or companies that hit the UT orange sweet spot. Right now I'm leaning towards some Mexican Fire Opals which is a double win since October is her birth month and opal is her stone. Anyone used this, is it fragile? Anyone got any gemstone sites they recommend or other stones? I've seen mandarin garnet but it seems harder to get the right color.
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My mom picked up something with the Fire Opals in it while in Washington. I really like how they look, good quality.
 
#4
#4
NewToVolCountry said:
My mom picked up something with the Fire Opals in it while in Washington. I really like how they look, good quality.
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Does she wear it all the time and has it been fragile. I do know opals require more cautious wear but I know squat about these. Most of the ones I have seen look like standard gems and less opalescent that what you'd typically think of.
 
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#5
#5
I wear a ring with 3 white opals and 2 stones daily. Never had a problem, have worried when I've hit my finger/hand against something, but all is well.
 
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#6
#6
DD4ME said:
Does she wear it all the time and has it been fragile. I do know opals require more cautious wear but I know squat about these. Most of the ones I have seen look like standard gems and less opalescent that what you'd typically think of.
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She doesn't wear them that often, but I still would have no idea if it was fragile or not.
 
#7
#7
Maybe when I'm done I'll be able to offer up a Volnation jewelry line complete with correct shade. Then buying stuff lower quality than diamonds will be justified and preferred
 
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#8
#8
DD4ME said:
Looking at going in with my siblings and having some custom "UT" jewelry made for my Mom. I'm not looking at the costume stuff but something semi precious and wondered if anyone had experience with gems and or companies that hit the UT orange sweet spot. Right now I'm leaning towards some Mexican Fire Opals which is a double win since October is her birth month and opal is her stone. Anyone used this, is it fragile? Anyone got any gemstone sites they recommend or other stones? I've seen mandarin garnet but it seems harder to get the right color.
Click to expand...

I've always liked the Mexican Fire Opal. It's around a 6-6.5 on the Mohs scale, so it's not a hard/durable stone. If you're thinking about putting it or them in a ring, I would choose a casting where the prongs not only give good support but, also, protection for the stone. Not implying that it will crack or shatter, but I would surround it with some protection.

I would suggest this site for help or more info as to color, pricing. They have a chat now feature where you can chat with an expert. I'm familiar with them and they're good. Also, located in Knoxville.

http://www.jtv.com/
 
#9
#9
Slydell said:
I've always liked the Mexican Fire Opal. It's around a 6-6.5 on the Mohs scale, so it's not a hard/durable stone. If you're thinking about putting it or them in a ring, I would choose a casting where the prongs not only give good support but, also, protection for the stone. Not implying that it will crack or shatter, but I would surround it with some protection.

I would suggest this site for help or more info as to color, pricing. They have a chat now feature where you can chat with an expert. I'm familiar with them and they're good. Also, located in Knoxville.

Jewelry Television: Fine Jewelry, Diamonds, Colored Gemstones and More
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Thanks Sly that was actually really helpful. I have checked on jtv but since I am always on my phone looking I didn't see the chat option. She has cracked a large boulder opal and I believe it was flat backed and table mounted. (not sure table mounted is correct but basically laying flat on gold) So I wasn't sure with these fire opals looking more like gems if they'd be similarly easy to fracture. I'm looking at a portugese cut which has a lot of depth do you know a mount type that would give the support your describing or are you just saying have 6 vs 4 prongs? Anyway thanks to all for the 411.


Ps. If anyone has loads of cash and likes all things orange you have to check out the Melo Melo pearls. Talk about some awesome orange blinh and valuable.
 
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#10
#10
DD4ME said:
Thanks Sly that was actually really helpful. I have checked on jtv but since I am always on my phone looking I didn't see the chat option. She has cracked a large boulder opal and I believe it was flat backed and table mounted. (not sure table mounted is correct but basically laying flat on gold) So I wasn't sure with these fire opals looking more like gems if they'd be similarly easy to fracture. I'm looking at a portugese cut which has a lot of depth do you know a mount type that would give the support your describing or are you just saying have 6 vs 4 prongs? Anyway thanks to all for the 411.


Ps. If anyone has loads of cash and likes all things orange you have to check out the Melo Melo pearls. Talk about some awesome orange blinh and valuable.
Click to expand...

I'd go with 6 on any stone as much for security as anything else. And, 6 will give you more protection. Bezel setting offers a good degree of protection. Depends if you like the stone high or low. You'll get all the free help you would need through their chat feature. If you chat with someone, I'd be curious to know their name. I'll probably know them.

Meant to add, if you click on their Learning Library link, you might find some info there.
 
#12
#12
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This is the stone I went with it's a 10x8mm loupe clean Mexican fire opal. I got it from AJS gems out of Thailand, very good wholesale prices on gems.

Funny enough they accidentally shipped me a mandarin garnet (spessartite?) that was meant for a customer in TX. That stone was also a beautiful UT orange. I'll post it too. Difference was the garnet was $1000 more than the opal! That guy was freaking out, lol so hopefully he was a longhorn fan.
Anyway thanks for the help and advice. I'll post other pics when it's mounted.
 
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#13
#13
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Spessartite (mandarin) garnet
Much higher cost much more brilliance vs the fire opal. This one was I believe an 8x6mm they shipped me in error. From the side this one was spot on UT orange despite the color differences up top due to sparkle.
 
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#17
#17
Nothing that nice but Kohls.com has some UT earrings and necklaces on there in sterling silver and orange.
 
#20
#20
If anyone is interested I can get another made up for a great value. Much much better than retail for whopping stones.
 
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#22
#22
I took your advice sly and had it dropped into the actual basket instead of sitting way up. And the 4 prongs are beefier than 6 slender ones. Anyway I was happy how it turned out thanks for the info.
 
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#23
#23
No prob, DD. You made good choices. It's beautiful. I would have been torn on the color of the setting. Those stones look good in any thing, though. Is that 18K for the setting? Hard to tell from a pic but it looks like it has more gold in it than 14K.
 
#24
#24
I like the white and so does my wife but my mom strictly wears yellow. It's 14k but my jeweler did a good job polishing it.
 
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