Hello esb
I'm recently engaged and looking for a ring. I went through your whole "rings" tag and love your style so I thought I'd ask you: are there any cool opal rings? That aren't itty bitty stacking rings, but also don't look like they arrived this morning from 1985? I don't know if I just have bad luck, but I didn't think it would be this hard to find an opal ring I liked. The only parameters I have are that it be yellow or rose gold and that it be pretty and modern and not tiny or surrounded by 10000 diamonds (or, really, any diamonds at all). And that it not be a weird cluster of opals.
I didn't think this would be some kind of unicorn hunt. Is it just the nature of the opal to be used in really cheesy settings?
Please don't say "don't get an opal it will break."
(also, if I can piggyback a question for your readers - I liked your Chicago travel guide, but do you or your readers know of anyplace in the Chicago area to look for cool rings, à la Catbird, Erie Basin, etc? not necessarily opals :) )
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Does it have to be OPAL? Opals are fugg.
What about moonstone?
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Moonstone is awesome. Opals being fug is my problem! I have what must be the ONLY pretty opal ring in the world, and it makes me want another, but I am having NO LUCK. Something about opals just makes them want to be in ugly shapes, settings...
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I included this rainbow moonstone (pictured above) in a roundup I just did for Barneys.
In light of recent events, you may or may not want to patronize them.*
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*Should we be boycotting Barneys AND Macy's? I honestly don't know how to respond. But I will be spending that $200 gift card the Barneys PR team sent me as a thank you.
In light of recent events, you may or may not want to patronize them.*
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*Should we be boycotting Barneys AND Macy's? I honestly don't know how to respond. But I will be spending that $200 gift card the Barneys PR team sent me as a thank you.
opal is my birthstone, and it's always killed me that it's so awkward-looking. i think they're like the preteens of the gem world: most of them are weird and clunky, and then every once in a while there's a tavi opal and everyone loses their shit and it's like $40K. get better at life, opals.
ReplyDeleteI suggest finding a design you like (with any old stone) and going to Bryn Mawr Jewelers (in Chicago, obvs) and having Scott custom make you something with opal. He is incredible and very reasonable.
ReplyDeleteAsrai Garden has some cool rings.
ReplyDeleteSteve Quick (which has locations in Lincoln Park and Lincoln Square) has some really great rings. Their website makes it seem like their inventory is really generic, but seriously, they have way more interesting stuff in the stores. After having an awful time on jewelers row and at a few other jewelers, they were like a breath of fresh air. They were totally receptive when I said I didn't want anything with diamonds. Don't know if they have any opals, but at least in my experience they really listen and try to accommodate. Worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteWe went to several places on Jewelers Row and they all had a completely generic selection. The only place that had any vintage rings worth looking was New York Jewelers. Actually the guy was really nice and helpful and seriously had to be Jack Nicholsons' son. The facial expressions and voice were exact. It was freaky.
DeleteMy sister raves about Scott at Bryn Mawr Jewelers in the Edgewater neighborhood. He made her wedding ring and fixed her vintage engagement ring. They look amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I wouldn't mind a ring shopping guide either. Other than BMJ I have no idea where to go and me and my guy are in the ring finding phase as well. It's good to have options.
My engagement ring (and wedding band) are custom from Joel Singer in the loop. He's amazing and really friendly. He can get his hands on super high quality stones, whatever you want.
ReplyDeleteWhat about this one from the always-amazing Catbird? Not usually a fan of teardrops, but it's quite pretty.
ReplyDeleteI bought my engagement ring from Roseark, and they apparently don't carry this anymore (sad?) but I was thisclose to having this as my wedding ring.
ReplyDeleteBE WARNED: It's HUGE. Like, I would have needed a very slim band to wear another ring with it comfortably. But it is totally lovely. And it's a little soft for wearing everyday - the stones do go all the way around. BUT LOOK AT IT. Purhtty.
Another totally awesome option (I went with this in laboradorite, in the end) is this beauty in moonstone. Smaller, no stones on the back (read, not scratched / ruined as fast) and very other-ring-compatible.
Let us see what you picked! I'll be so curious.
Ohmygawd so excited I did fancy links right. weeeeeeee!
DeleteGiven your parameters, this is perfectly acceptable.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty good stuff.
This designer would probably make this without the diamonds.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know you said no diamonds, but I love this.
I second going with moonstone (what you WANT an opal to look like).
ReplyDeleteDawes Design has some amazing, totally non cheesy opal styles:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dawes-design.com/product/stacking-emerald-10x8-fire-opal-band/
http://www.dawes-design.com/product/new-stacking-oval-8x6-fire-opal/
This ring might fit your bill.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you might want to contact Anna Sheffield about custom work. She has some pretty cool moonstone rings in her collection, and I bet you could get one right up your alley.
Pretty etsy ring?
ReplyDeleteEveryone here is a liar and opals are the best ever. I have no suggestions as far as actual rings, but a word of warning: I too wanted an opal engagement ring, but thought better of it when I realized that opals are super soft stones that break easily. If you, like me, have a penchant for running into things or smacking your hand into the wall when you gesticulate wildly during a conversation, then an opal ring might not be the best idea for something that's supposed to last you forever.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted an opal ring, but then my mom told me she had one and it shattered after she hit her hand on the counter. My grandma told me her opal ring shattered after she reached into the freezer. They are very sensitive stones :( It took me a while to get over opal, but it can be done.
DeleteOops, I'm totally the asshole who didn't read the part that says "please don't say don't get an opal it will break." My bad!
DeleteMy dad and my boyfriend made my engagement ring. I've got an oval shaped blue-green opal set in silver on a flat band, and I *love* it. I'm clumsy too, and worried it would be a liability having a softer, more brittle stone, but it's a flat stone with a bezel setting and is doing fine so far, even though I regularly forget to take it off for teaching pottery/washing up/moving logs/other non-ladylike jobs. I'd recommend it.
ReplyDeleteThere is a picture of it here.
Moonstone is awesome. It's what opals should look like (and look like in my head). I have a gorgeous moonstone ring with twisted yellow gold around it.
ReplyDeleteA bit like this.
well, i don't know how non-traditional you want to get but this opal ring by WWAKE is amazing.
ReplyDeletei don't see them up on her site but it seems like she has some other opal rings as well. might be worth sending an email?
i also second that Catbird opal ring.
I like opals (depending on the opal--my DAD had an opal ring when I was growing up) but agree that moonstone is more consistent and likely what you want the opal to look like.
ReplyDeleteI have this awesome opal/moonstone ring from Erie Basin.
I really don't know of any stores like Catbird or Erie Basin here in Chicago and I've lived here for 11 years. There are lots of vintage and antique places that could have good rings, but nothing super curated like those two. You could try to look at the brands Catbird sells and see where in Chicago they are sold...?
This lovely lady did my engagement ring and both of our wedding rings and just came out with a range called Mystic Opal Princess. She also does commissions. http://www.kimvictoriajewels.com/opal-princess-gallery
ReplyDeleteHere are two opal options from Love, Adorned:
ReplyDeletethis nest of opal
or this one that seems the most like what OP is looking for
That 2nd link seems to have failed. Try: http://loveadorned.com/index.php?product=RGG170562023OP*&c=9
DeleteOVAL CABOCHON FIRE OPAL RING
By STEVEN BATTELLE
Perhaps above your price point but this Jacquie Aiche moonstone is beautiful. The diamonds are done tastefully I think.
ReplyDeleteI read this post yesterday and am still totally baffled by this idea that moonstones are better than opals and "what you wish opals looked like." Are you guys nuts?
ReplyDeleteThat second Love Adorned ring and the "Pretty Etsy Ring" linked above are both awesome. There are actually several really beautiful, elegant gold/opal rings on Etsy.
I liked these (sorry they're not hotlinked, but I tinyed them):
http://tinyurl.com/mt7lt7h
http://tinyurl.com/l9g4lhc
http://tinyurl.com/lssdfz9
http://tinyurl.com/krex7dj
http://tinyurl.com/kgslxql
http://tinyurl.com/n494ksc This one is square, which is cool
I love opals. It's just that they are not set right these days.
ReplyDeleteSome are faceted and are awesome. Faceted opal information
I can't send you to the ones I saw which are available as I suddenly thought I might want to purchase one of them myself. There was a really pretty emerald cut one from Australia I want.
Erica Weiner often has cool opal and moonstone rings (like this one
ReplyDeleteDefinitely look at WWAKE! I'm obsessed!!
ReplyDeleteTheir new opal collection is SO modern and tasteful - you can get them with or without diamonds depending on how fancy you want to feel. They have a bunch of opals on their online shop: shop.wwake.com.