For his now wife, then girlfriend, K took the plunge by selecting a gemstone which he knew would fit her perfectly. A deep forest green tourmaline.
He came to us looking for a green gemstone, needing suggestions that were not Emeralds and not Tsavorites. As we all know, green tourmalines come in a few shades of green. K wanted green, with no blue modifier and no yellow modifier. It was the sweetest thing as he already had an idea of what designs his then-girlfriend would want for her ring.
While the trend at that time was to go for green tourmalines with a blue modifier (the ‘buzzword’ thrown around was teal tourmaline / peacock tourmaline), K knew she wanted a deep forest green colour.
We narrowed down some options and finally found the colour K was looking for.
There is no other way to describe this beauty. Seeing this piece brings a sense of calm and serenity. Deep forest green against a background of diamonds and 18K Beige Gold.
Did you know that Tourmalines come in a huge variety of dazzling colours? This ranges from colourless, yellow, mustard, raspberry red, fuchsia pink, shades of green and blue, turquoise and lagoon.
Beautiful white opal set in 18K yellow gold, with yellow sapphire and tsavorite garnet. Broadly speaking, opals come in a few different base colours. Mainly, in white, blue, black, fire (ie: red, orange, yellow tones), pink and crystal opals.
What sets the opal apart from other gemstones is that we can immediately notice the rainbow of colours displayed on the surface of the gem as we rock the opal back and forth.
Traditional designs see opals often set with diamonds. As with most of our clients, they wanted something that they know our designers do best. Which is to create a unique, yet aesthetically pleasing and it is to be easy to wear. Often times, in an attempt to create unique, unusual pieces of jewellery, what results is an awkward, mish-mash of colours that look odd and clumsy.
The beautiful white of the opal lends a nice base of which to incorporate other coloured gemstones. This opal also has a nice, soft, almost cashmere-like glow that accentuates the colours of the other gemstones. Elegant, refined, yet unique.
While this opal does not have a distinct colour play, the rainbow of colours can be seen spread evenly across the entire gem, which adds to a premium to the piece.
Also, did you know that Australia is not the only country to product opals? Opal sources include Brazil, Mexico and Ethiopia. All of which produce their fair share of beautiful opals in varying colours and hues.
White opal, yellow sapphire and tsavorite set in 18K Yellow Gold pendant
This pair of grey blue Spinel Sapphire ear studs is just what any woman needs to transition her outfit from day to night. So perfectly neutral, yet not bland.
The beauty of grey spinels lies it its ability to appear youthful, mysterious and elegant all at the same time.
We created a pair of grey blue Spinel Sapphire ear studs that were fancy without the fussy dangle of drop earrings. This pair of grey spinels have a very slight hint of blue, depending on the angle of reflection. Yet, upon another glance, the Spinels now appear to have a hint of lilac? We colour-matched the Spinels with Sapphires in 3 different shades of blue. Look closely and your eye will see the palest blue round Sapphire, a medium-hued tiniest round blue Sapphire, with the large Marquise shape stones in a near-cornflower shade of blue.
The result is a pair of ear studs that look like a bouquet of grey blue flowers floating on her ears. Not only unique, but elegant and pretty. No traditional halo of diamonds as seen on nearly every imaginable pair of diamond ear studs.
Whichever way one prefers to appreciate the beauty of the Grey Spinel, it is obvious that the grey tones have an elegant yet captivating, quiet quality about it. No other shades of Spinel will invoke similar emotions as the grey-hued Spinel.
A custom matched set of Emerald jewellery. The task was to source and handcraft an Emerald ring to match a pair of earrings we had customised awhile ago.
The design brief: to create a design that shared similar design elements to the pair of earrings, but for both ring and earrings to have the possibility of being worn on their own. So that neither looks lonely when worn singly. But when worn together as a set, it does not look overpowering or heavy.
Emeralds are very often oiled and having significant inclusions. Oiling is a process that helps fill out cavities that often appear at the edge of the girdle. By immersing the emeralds in oil, oil enters the gemstone from the tiny cavities that exist at the edge of the girdle. The oil will fill out the cavities within the gem. Once the cavities are filled out with oil, it makes the inclusions and cavities less obvious, thereby improving eye-clarity of the gem.
Since it is common for Emeralds to have significant inclusions, it is easy to assume that prices should be relatively affordable. However, this is not so. Main reason for this is due to scarcity of the rough material. Despite the relatively high premium these green gemstones are commanding, it does not stop prices from climbing. A glance at the tip of the iceberg situation of gemstone availability, sourcing and mining here: https://www.gemresearch.ch/news/2022/02/23/dramatic-rise-in-price-for-fine-gemstones-as-high-end-ruby-emerald-and-sapphire-sales-soar
Emeralds are believed to empower the wearer with intellect and wisdom, and develops a person’s logical thinking and arithmetic skills.
Below is the 3 piece emerald jewellery set. Custom matched set Emerald and coloured stone jewellery requires a fair bit of luck and effort. It was not easy to do a “colour matching” as the pieces were sourced at different times and not from the same lot. Nonetheless, a relatively well-matched set in terms of colour and design.
Below features a nesting ring that stacks a beautiful trillion shaped yellow sapphire alongside diamonds and rubies. A beautiful colour combination of yellow, with flashes of red and that extra sparkle from diamonds. We can see how the yellow sapphire and ruby nesting ring looks like, both together and separately.
Nesting rings allow owners a fun way of expressing their personalities through design and colour. There are very few “don’t”s in ring stacking. Feel free to incorporate coloured gemstones in your upcoming ring stack. You could add your birthstones, or select certain coloured gemstones that have a special meaning to you, for example: an anniversary date or month. If it was an anniversary ring, the gemstones could be a combination of both you and your partner’s birthstone. Or, it could also be a family stacking ring, representing birthstones of your partner alongside your children.
Stacking / nesting rings are a great way of commemorating and honouring a certain special occasion or a significant life event. Or even simply a particular coloured gemstone you identify with, despite not having any special significance.
Some folks select their gemstones based on their children’s birth month and corresponding birthstone.
Nesting rings do not need to all fit perfectly. As long as when all the rings are worn, they should create a fairly cohesive look. For example, nesting ring stacks do not all have to be of the same width. As seen in the photos above, some portions of the ruby and diamond ring are of different widths. But as a whole, when both rings are worn, they look like they belong together as a set.
Nesting and stacking rings help us create keepsakes that tell our moments and our stories we hold close to our hearts.
Unlike the vibrant blue, violet, purple Tanzanites that most jewellery lovers are used to seeing in stores, unheated Tanzanites are not as common. Featured below is a pair of unheated Tanzanite earrings.
These gemstones display flashes of blue, periwinkle, cool grey tones, earthy yellow green tones that sparkle underneath. Unheated Tanzanites are however, not a common sight. Unlike most precious coloured gemstones, Tanzanites are typically and usually loupe clean – which make them so easy to love. Tanzanites in general also have very good dispersion, and strong pleochroism. Pleochroism is a term used by gemologists to describe the myriad colours seen in the same gemstone when viewed from different directions. This makes for a very alluring optical dazzle for any gemstone and jewellery lover.
Tanzanites, as the name suggests are mined predominantly in Tanzania. This limited source renders in Tanzanites being at least 1000x more rare than diamonds. Due to it’s small scale of source location, gemologists believe that in the next 2 to 3 decade to come, there will be no more Tanzanite rough left to mine. After the sour has become depleted, there will be no more first-hand owners of this gem and will become precious heirloom material.
These unheated tanzanite earrings are set in a classic design that never gets old, easy to pair with just about any attire. Dress them up, or dress them down. Wear these ear studs with your hair up or down, it will be sure to impress.
Emeralds are the birthstones of May babies. Featured below is a pair of beautiful Emerald May birthstone earrings with fairly high levels of transparency, lustre and cleanliness, all of which, is rare to find in a certified matching pair of insignificantly oiled Emeralds.
Level of inclusions in Emeralds:
As most gemstone and jewellery lovers are possibly aware, the level of inclusions in an Emerald gem is something every Emerald lover will have to accept. Emeralds are a naturally highly-included gemstone. It is nearly impossible for an Emerald to be loupe-clean. Having said this though, a fairly eye-clean, highly-transparent Emerald is highly prized. The transparency of a gemstone is assessed by the absence of any type of cloudiness, “milkiness”, and inclusions within the gem. An example of a gem that almost always and usually exhibits high levels of transparency is the Tanzanite. One could almost describe the transparency level of a Tanzanite as being “glass-like”.
Practical longevity in design aesthetic:
Seen below is an exquisite pair of May Birthstone Emerald earrings. If you have been following us for awhile, you would have realised that we lean towards; and prefer creating jewellery with designs that have practical longevity. Now, this does not mean boring. It means creating pieces that one could wear with almost anything and for any occasion, day and night. In trying to create designs that do not date quickly – this means designs putting ourselves in the mindframe of our client and hearing their design preference and needs. Practical longevity means different things to different people. For some, it could mean having a design that they could see themselves gifting it to their daughters or sons. For others, it could be setting it in a design that goes well with most of their apparel in the their wardrobe. Often times, our designs transcends time and generations.
We marvel at that soft luminous glow emanating from the emeralds. Photos below are taken in natural daylight, with no photo edits.
The luminous blue-green glow in a pair of insignificant-oiled Emerald earringsStunning Pair of Green Emeralds that has a nice lively appearance to the gemPair of insignificant oiled Emerald Earrings
Rarity:
Set in a petite floral-esque design, a pair of certified insignificant-oiled Emerald earrings is rare and not easy to source. With more focus on diamonds and emeralds and less on gold work, the final piece is a sight for sore-eyes.
Check us out on Instagram @heritagegems for more videos on this pair of Emerald earrings:
The March birthstone, Aquamarine, is highly prized for its vibrant clear blue colour. Reminiscent of the sky’s blue, even though Aquamarine in Latin means “sea water”. Aquamarines make for very attractive fine jewellery pieces due to its vitreous lustre, which means it has a shiny, glass-like appearance. Hues and shades of Aquamarine ranges from pale, sky blue to pastel shades of green blue. Prized Aquamarines have hues leaning towards the vivid blues of Swiss Blue Topaz. However shades like these from current mines are considered extremely rare.
See below a beautiful Aquamarine engagement ring, we recently customised with a French Micropave setting and featuring a princess cut peekaboo diamond. This piece is designed in a modern-vintage style which is elegant and timeless.
Aquamarines may be a March birthstone, but it is celebrated and worn by women, celebrities and royalties the world over. It has a beautiful, shiny lustre that easily wins the hearts of many.
Unknown to many, it is not often heavily included. GIA classifies Aquamarines as a Type 1 Clarity level. This means these gemstones are often eye-clean. Other types of gemstones also classified as Type 1 Clarity level include Tanzanites, Tourmalines, Morganites, and Blue Zircons. So, simply put, an Aquamarine that has visible inclusions will normally result in a price drop.
View more videos for this Aquamarine ring on our Instagram (@heritagegems) here below:
Did you know that fun cocktail earrings and jewellery is not just limited to engagement and wedding jewellery? It was truly a unique and bespoke piece of jewellery for a client whose style and personality is reminiscent of a time past yet ever so modern. A fairly abstract mix of jewellery is what our client loves to match-and-wear.
The gemstones were handed down to our client from her grandmother. Up until the time she met us, she was unable to decide what to do with her coloured stones! That’s when she enlisted our help So we started with the design discussion and consultation stage. Ideas flowed and what resulted was a whimsical, bespoke and bold piece of jewellery that she could wear with all her other jewellery handed down from her grandmother, in one great eclectic mix.
Fun cocktail jewellery hold special meaning to its owner. Who ever said fine jewellery is strictly limited to engagement and wedding occasions only? 🙂
As with every piece of handcrafted jewellery that goes through the hands of our artisans here at Heritage Gems, right from drawing board to the final piece that ends up in our clients hands, great care is taken every step of the way.
Work in Progress Photos
From the jeweller’s bench, artisans delicately handcrafts the pieces that come together to make the complete jewellery.
Before you know it, we’ve handcrafted a stunning, whimsical pair of earrings in a beautiful colourway of gold, black and red.
Voila! A pair of bold, whimsical earrings that our client is very happy with! Customised bespoke jewellery doesn’t have to be overpriced nor overly grandiose in design. It just has to be fitting and paired just right for its owner.
This is the beauty of customised pieces and what sets customised jewellery apart from ready-to-wear pieces. Customise your jewellery with the correct artisans and you will have a stunning piece of jewellery that fits like a glove and accentuates your best features.
Our client review below:
If you are considering to customise a bespoke piece of your own, a piece specially crafted for yourself, contact us at 97716923. It’s an obligation-free consultation.
inspiration on other projects that are also fun cocktail pieces? Click below:
As with commercial grade unheated natural sapphires, commercial grade Spinels are abundant. Below are some examples of regular Spinels most people come across in stores or at their local jeweller.
commercial grade spinel that has heavily dark zones with 80% of gemstone in shadowcommercial grade spinel with inclusions commercial grade spinel with large window
Commercial grade spinels come as cheaply as $200/ct for sizes under 3cts. However, aesthetically beautiful, well-cut and 100% unheated Spinels are difficult to source. Often times, Spinels, like above, that come through our hands do not make through our quality controls. Investment-grade Spinels in shades of pink, blue and red can command a minimum of $4000/ct and upwards. This is assuming the Spinel is eye-clean/loupe-clean, well-cut with no colour zones, no areas of large windows, no areas of dark shadows.
Some examples of fine quality Spinels are as below. Well-cut, aesthetically beautiful & 100% natural Spinels are becoming increasingly difficult to source.
