Though a dragonfly rarely stays in one place for long, this brooch invites you to allow the dragonfly to perch on you for as long as you'd like.
A live dragonfly is constantly on the move, never staying in one place for long. The producer of this brooch has created a dragonfly out of gemstones, one that can be made to stay in one place for as long as one desires. Some animals can have an unpleasant effect if they are represented too accurately. No doubt the conception of this piece was though out under the premise of creating something that emphasizes beauty over realism, while still being instantly recognizable as a dragonfly.
By using a combination of cabochon-cut emeralds and loop setting to represent the body, this brooch succeeds in capturing the essence of a dragonfly, evidence of the magnificent conception behind this effective use of small gemstones. The emeralds used here are very transparent, high-quality cabochons that were recut from faceted emeralds. This fact communicates the producer’s intent, which is not to make jewelry as cheaply as possible, but no make jewelry that is beautiful and comfortable to wear.
The dome-style ring shown below has eleven emerald cabochons set among pavé-set diamonds. When simply displayed, the emeralds in this ring appear somewhat light with a tone of 3; when worn on a finger, their color deepens and they exhibit a beautiful green with a pleasing tone of 4 1/2. As light enters from the back of the ring, the wide-open metalwork on the inside passes light through the stones and makes them appear lighter. Whether gemstones are faceted or cabochon cut, the brightness and the source of light-such as sunlight, incandescent light, or fluorescent light-will change their appearance. When choosing jewelry, it is important to make your decision under lighting conditions that are similar to those in which you will be wearing the jewelry. Pieces that look beautiful under the bright lights of a jewelry stone, but become dark and lose their beauty under weak lighting, are best avoided.
Ring
Gimel
18K Yellow Gold
Emerald
Diamond
Size (mm): L 20 x W 8.0 x H 22
Loop-Set Dragonfly Brooch
Gimel
Metal : 18K Yellow Gold / 950
PlatinumTotal weight : 2.7 grams
Size (mm) : L 28 x W 19 x H 13
Emerald
Untreated
Gem Quality
Diamond
CABOCHONS AND TONE OF COLOR
Cabochons are enjoyed for their color and shape, and are used primarily to bring out the beauty of translucent materials. Unlike the beauty of the mosaic pattern seen in the more transparent faceted materials, the beauty of the actual color itself is the key to a cabochon’s quality. Though only about ten percent of modern jewelry incorporates cabochon-cut gemstones, at one time the majority of gemstones were cabochons. The main reasons for this were insufficient quantities of highly transparent gemstones and the limitations of faceting technology at the time.
To the right is a chart with ruby, emerald, and aquamarine cabochons, each showing different levels of tone. The tone 2 emerald and tone 1 aquamarine are accessory quality, while the other stones are the jewelry-quality cabochons that are encountered most often. Keep in mind that oil treatment is fairly common in cabochons of this quality level.
The three quality zones as shown on the quality scale.
STONE SETTING,
PART TWO
The six photographs to the right show examples of different stone setting methods. A and B are loop settings, C and D are channel settings, and E and F are prong settings. Differences in the width and thickness of the bars, or in the size of the prongs, are the result of an overall consideration of the style, durability, and wearability of the jewelry. The loop setting is an effective method of setting several gemstones in a row. A is set with ruby cabochons, and B is set with diamonds. The loops hold the gemstones securely in a characteristically neat fashion. Channel setting is a variation of bar setting, one that is especially elegant when the rails are made slightly high and the inner edges are smoothly finished. Prongs that are especially large, as in F, can help prevent jewelry from catching on clothing, and also serve to harmonize the strongly brilliant round diamonds with the somewhat less brilliant marquise diamonds. In this way, prongs can bring balance to an arrangement of diamonds with different personalities, and may serve as the focal point in the creation of a unique style.
