Never enough time!

Okay,so we've all said it and really meant it at the time but even though it seems like there is not enough of  that precious commodity called 'time',most of us can make time to work out,see friends and family and all the other things we should do,okay maybe not all of them."Where is this leading?" you say!Well I really didn't keep my last promise to be better about updating this blog and I again have no real excuse except that 'I have been real busy' so I'll try to redeem myself by posting a couple images of this weeks stones.
A light blue very bright 1.8ct 8.5x6.3mm,vs  Nigerian aquamarine cut in the one of the late great Jeff Grahams Barion rectangle cushion's called signature #3,the gem is super bright and no light return is wasted,almost no extinction at all,small veil and a few spots hidden away in one place under the girdle not visible with the naked eye but visible under 10x,the blue is prominent enough but light,so it would be good for all day wear but great under any lighting at night which is one of the reasons why aquamarine is know as an evening gemstone.

The second picture is a killer set of  natural Nigerian champagne zircons 3.4ct,7mm,flawless!
they are extremely bright with a light champagne,even color which doesn't quite show in the pictures because of the facets darkened by the reflection of the lens.The cut is one of my personal favorites because of the great light dispersion,for a rectangle this is uncommon as most designs have areas of extinction.The standard size and thinner girdle will make setting easier.

It has been a while since I have had a stone make it to the website,these will probably lot be listed but are available,please inquire for prices.

Paraiba not so much!

Well the so called Paraiba in the last post was sent to one of the best testing facilities in the U.S.A and came back with such a small percentage of copper that it could not reasonably be called copper bearing material.
Oh well,the rough material was a reasonable price and the tourmaline is a gorgeous blue so no harm no foul.

I just finished this very fine set of Nigerian pink tourmalines today,they are cut in a very bright cushion design that really pops.Specs;2.13ct,6mm,clarity (IF).They will be posted on the website soon so if you are on the look out for some super earring stones email me ahead of time and they could be yours.
Custom Cut Gems

Wow time flies by so fast,I can't believe it's been so long since I posted to the blog.I have been busy cutting orders and not had much time to write anything on the blog at all.I recently had a bit of time away from orders to cut some Nigerian Paraiba type copper bearing tourmaline which came out absolutely stunning.
This beautiful stone looks far better than the picture shows but it was extremely difficult to photograph,the stone is very bright,with excellent light return and the color is a much more intense blue and more saturated than the image shows,it has a few small inclusions which are invisible to the naked eye except for a small veil hidden under the girdle which is just visible when turned sideways.It has been sent to be tested for copper just as a formality to reassure potential buyers and will be up for sale as soon as the results are in.

Stone specs;2.2carat,7mm barion cut,clarity(I)

A high quality aqua I finished for a client recently,dimensions 10.5x7.5 3 carats.

Lastly an engagement ring with stones cut and set for another client,the three stones are two 5mm Nigerian aqua's and the middle gem is a 6.2mm mint green/yellow tourmaline.The pictures definitely do the ring and stones no justice,especially the center piece which is a much more vibrant green in person.
Custom Cut Gems

Projects

It's been a while since the last post on this blog but I promise to do a better job of keeping it current.
My excuse is that my busy schedule and custom orders have taken the majority of my time..okay I know not a good enough one.

One of my more recent ones is the stones for an overseas client,these four pink tourmalines are cut in a barion cushion and one of my favorite designs.Barion's are deep to enhance color but very bright because of the extra kite shaped facets at radically different angles on the pavilion of the gem.Specs are one pendant stone at 9mm,one ring stone at 7mm and two earring gems at 5mm each.These are already set and I will post a pic if and when I get an image.Look out for another project pic soon.

Current rough stones available

Here is some of the rough inventory available to be cut to your specs.
First up is a nice chunky light pink tourmaline from Nigeria which would cut a beautiful 8 -9mm round or square,the picture really does this material no justice.

Next is two very special juicy bubblegum pink med/light Nigerian tourmalines which would cut a set of rectangles or squares in the 6 - 7mm range.Top material!

This is a beautiful blocky mint green similar in color to the mint green round fancy cut on the website,it will cut around 8mm square or round,the color was hard to reproduce in this photo but it is top quality clean material.

Some very nice mint green Nigerian tourmaline,again the color is much more light mint except for the more neon darker green piece in the foreground,these will cut elongated sets to smaller rectangles and squares.

 Some nice fairly clean light/medium blue Aquamarine from Nigeria which will cut elongated rectangles,squares and regular rectangles,some of these will cut vvs and some flawless while others will be slightly included.