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Posted 7 years ago
Kjane79
(69 items)
Found this with some sterling g silver rings. It's marked 375 on the outside of the band. My jeweler thinks star quartz with a halo of single cut diamonds /9k. Has anyone else seen anything similar to this? Or have a better idea on when it was made? Thanks!
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Looks victorian or Edwardian to me,very nice ring.
Beautiful ring! Are you sure your jeweller said star quartz? Might it be a star sapphire?
Originally she thought star sapphire. I don't know why she changed it to leaning more towards star quartz. She currently has the ring because they were gonna test the stones at her gemologists, so we'll see!
Oh good KJane, will be interested to know:-)
If you google "star sapphire and diamond gold halo ring" you might find one like yours, if you haven't already done so of course:-)
Thanks, TassieDevil! I can't wait to hear exactly what it is either. I thought for sure star sapphire until she mentioned star quartz. I didn't even know there was a star quartz. Also, it's marked on the outside of the band. I have never personally seen that before. It's definitely exciting, though. I love a good mystery. And thanks steptoe1! You're probably right with that time period. It definitely looks like something a Victorian woman might wear.
Hi Kjane, Are there any other numbers or letters on the band inside or out?
I am thinking it could possibly be Italian as they use 375 (for 9ct/9k) and also European countries mark their ring bands on the outside as far as I know:-)
Great looking ring, must be fabulous on :-)
Never heard of star quartz too! Can't see well the texture of the stone's back...
What I can say is the high prongs and setting isn't victorian or edwardian! Rings then sat much lower on the finger :-)
I'm too really impatient to have your update after the gemmologist opinion!
It appears star quartz are manmade...
Is the texture under like this:
http://www.stonemangems.com/index.php?route=gemstone/gemstone&product_id=54137
When I Googled 'quartz asterism' I got some highly technical information on how the effect is created & 'star stones' are best cut. The images of natural star quartz seem all to be of rose quartz; all the blue stones turn out to be sapphires. Then I followed the link provided by kyratango & Aha! a blue star quartz. The back of this stone is not white, but does appear to have sort of a rippled texture, not the flat smooth surface one would expect on a cabochon of natural stone.
Not sure what to make of this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/141169833564
Thanks, guys! So far I don't have an update. My jeweler had to go out of town, so she brought the ring back to me for now. When she returns she's promised to make a special trip to see her gemologist and has already been in contact with him. He's seen pictures and supposedly is curious too. There is a blue coating on the back of the stone. I was told that they used to do that to quartz jewelry... Maybe to fake the look of sapphire? It kind of boggles my mind because I think it'd be a beautiful stone without it. I appreciate everything everyone has found out for me so much! I had no clue about this setting. It sits out there quite a ways on my finger. It's tiny also. I wear it on my pinky finger which is typically a size 4 (American). And I've got a pretty decent triplet loupe and can't find any other markings on it anywhere. I promise I'll update as soon as I get answers! Please keep suggestions coming! I really appreciate you all and much love to you!
(And kyratango, the back is more like the one cameosleuth posted. It's blue and sort of ripply)
I am going to guess, because they have now found so many ways to doctor natural stones to look more intense or another color altogether, that these could have started life as very pale star rose quartz & have been made into basically a doublet by the addition of a bright blue backing of some type. If it is something applied as a viscous liquid, that would account for ripples on the back. In the photo showing it from the side it is much lighter in color. Is this what you see in person? The stone is as wide at the base as it is tall; would expect it to look equally dark at that level as it does from the top if the color were all through the stone. A gemologist will be able to tell you.
I agree with you, cameosleuth, that it looks like a viscous fluid was applied to give it the blue color. I tried to take a picture at the right angle under the right light so you can see it. (It's actually a super thin layer, but I had to tilt it so you could actually see the difference which in turn makes it appear much more doublet-like) It's getting dropped off at the jeweler's tomorrow to FINALLY go to the gemologist. I bet it more than likely is a pale rose quartz, but it'll drive me crazy until i get a definitive answer. Thanks for all your help and I'll update soon!
It's driving us all crazy & hope the final professional verdict will be instructive. May turn out to be something the gemologist has not seen before either. As far as I can tell, places like the GIA do not teach their students much about man made or man altered stones apart from ones that can mimic the most expensive natural stones.
In this case, think the technique will be obvious to anyone with basic testing equipment. Waiting with you. :)
I FINALLY got my ring back! According to the gemologist, it is a completely clear white star sapphire surrounded by 13 single cut diamonds. He says it's European and guessed it was made between 1880-1900. He also said the reason for the weird blue backing was to highlight the star because the stone was so clear. He said in his opinion it was easily worth over $1000 (US dollars) and thought the $24 I spent on it was well worth it. It took a lot longer than I had hoped it would, but good things come to those that wait, apparently!