Jewelry

[Jersey Born]

@Sammycat1 - I like opaques with phenomena you mentioned, as well as labradorite, sunstone, tiger's eye, rainbow obsidian, and star diopside and sapphire cabochons. 

I hope you love your TSV bracelet in lapis and the very pretty, OTO dangly, turquoise and lapis lever back earrings. 

I ordered the large pear shaped Kingman turquoise ring and the Kingman turquoise enhancer with oval stone in the center, also, as I could not resist the color in them after seeing the enhancer on Carolyn. I am very much drawn to turquoise with brighter, deeper blue hues.  I hope they look as good in person. We shall see.   

[Sammycat1]

@Jersey Born 

Your choices are lovely. I hope they meet your expectations.

For years I ignored opaques. Then DH purchased an exceptional moonstone ring for me. And a friend was a self-confessed pearl queen sent me in that direction a bit.  Then on a whim, I bought a pair of turquoise earrings and could not believed how they lit up my face.

So my toe is in the water but I have a long way to go. I'm interested to see the lapis in what I ordered, as I look good in clothing if that color. I fear it might have a dullness to it, but we'll see.

Please post your reviews when you receive your items!

[Jersey Born]

Good evening, @Sammycat1. I hope that latest round of storms did not affect you today.

As soon as I receive my items, I will review them, here.

I agree with you on the opaques. I always used to avoid them, too. Then, I started liking chalcedony stones with their mysterious, glowing, inner translucence, in spite of their lack of sparkle. But, truthfully, all brightly colored stones are beautiful in their own right, and blue stones have always been among my favorites. Turquoise is such a happy color. I do have a few lapis pieces, as that is also a great color for me to wear. I'll bet you will love your lapis bracelet, as Carolyn's jewelry tends to have highly polished opaque stones.

Please post your review of your bracelet, too! 

[Jersey Born]

@Sammycat1 - I just received all items in a box today. 

I'll start with the two necklaces, J450383 (17") and J450384 (20"): These are unique silver necklaces that are delicate in appearance, but not the least bit insignificant. The longer stations are unexpectedly "different", elegant, and highly and brightly polished. I like them worn together without any enhancer, but either could be worn separately, preferrably with an enhancer, IMHO, also.

Next up is the Kingman turquoise pear shaped ring, J450389: Although not as deep a turquoise as the Kingman enhancer reviewed below, it is a beautiful blue with a lighter blue mist throughout the stone, It also reminds me of a cloudy sky. There is a barely perceptible, tiny dot of beigey-brown matrix very near the point of the pear shaped stone that makes no diminishment of the stone's beauty. I like the shiny silver detail work, with lines of oxidation, around the stone. 

Last, but certainly not least, is my favorite piece, J450374, the Kingman turquoise enhancer. It reminds me of a Georgia O'Keefe painting entitled Sky Above The Clouds II (below), even though there is no "white" in the stone, merely a slighly ligher shade of gorgeous, intensely deep turquoise blue forming the many oval, cloudlike shapes in the even darker turquoise blue sky surrounding them. The stones in the enhancer I received are all considerably darker in hue than the stones in the lovely on-air enhancer that Rick presented, and my enhancer has no black or brown matrix in it. What a beautiful enhancer!:

I hope everyone enjoys whatever they ordered from Carolyn's recent shows.

[Sammycat1]

@Jersey Born 

You must have paid for what DH calls " jewelry super dooper shipping," lol.

Your pieces sound lovely...I can see them in my minds eye from the descriptions, especially the color.

wear them all in good health. Mine are still in "preparing your order" status.

[Jersey Born]

@Sammycat1 - Believe it or not, I did not pay anything extra for shipping. I have found that, over the years, regular shipping outperformed expedited shipping every single time, so I stopped considering paying for "faster" shiping many years ago, and mind you, I only did that one time, because I was leaving on vacation in four days. Ironically, I did not receive the orders before I left on vacation, in spite of paying more money for the shipping. I guess it is the luck of the draw, the precise timing for placement of the order, or something else entirely. Who knows?

I hope you receive your order very soon! 

[Sammycat1]

@Jersey Born 

I finally received my earrings (the turquoise and lapis leverbacks) and wanted to post my review as promised. 

They're light and balanced on the ear, and not too heavily oxidized. The stones are well polished, which I like, and their vibrancy very nice. The blue of the lapis is more intense than I expected, but I would have liked a little more pyrite.

Given the price point, I'm pleased. Still a sparkle girl, but I'm enjoying these!

[Jersey Born]

So glad you received and like the earrings That is the pair I would have selected for myself, if I had pierced earlobes, that is.

Did you receive the bracelet in lapis yet? 

I also like to see lapis with a decent amount (or to be truthful-- any amount) of pyrite in it. The best piece of lapis I have is in my mother's ring from many decades ago. I have never liked the freeform, rectangular-shaped, open-backed, silver setting of that ring, but I sure do love the large, elongated oval lapis and in one corner, turquoise-colored stone sprinkled with pyrite throughout the stone. I have never seen another stone like it. Anyway, it reminds me of my mom the way it is, so I have never considered having the stone re-set into a ring or pendant backing more attractive to my eyes. Also, I wouldn't want to risk destroying the stone in the process. Other than that particular stone, I typically do not see much pyrite in the lapis stones I have purchased in necklaces over the years, yet it is such an attractive feature of lapis..I do appreciate vibrance in the color of lapis, though, as the primary feature of importance to me.

Enjoy your earrings, and thank you for posting your review! 

[Sammycat1]

@Jersey Born 

The bracelet was as advanced order, so it doesn't ship out until 7/28. I think I waited too long to place my order so I'm in the second wave of bracelets they offered.

I enjoyed the story of your mother's lapis ring. I don't blame you for not wanting to reset that stone. I, too, appreciate the vivid blue of lapis, but seeing that bit of pyrite makes me think of the twinkle of stars in the night sky.

Are you ready for Gem Week?

[Jersey Born]

@Sammycat1 - I am kind of psyched for gem week, I must say. Not that I need anything in particular, or at all, mind you. I just love to look at gemstones.

I guess I will have to wait for your bracelet review, but I will look forward to reading it.

I actually located that old lapis ring and took a new look at it. Yes, the setting is still "trash", but the stone is a bit darker than I remembered and the turquoise coloring I thought it had in one corner of the stone (from old memories of it) is actually more of a denim lapis colored sliver of an area.

There is one stone I would definitely like to see more of, and it is sparkly and deep pink. Can you guess which one? I actually missed a spectacular Judith Ripka enhancer in that gemstone, because I was hesistant to order it due to the price. It is the one Ripka piece I regret not having purchased, here, many years ago. 

Is there a particular gemstone that you covet and would like to see more of in jewelry?