I figured this would be the best way to present this project, so I have posted pictures of the stones in my arsenal and then following with pics of the stones laid out in different ways. All of the layouts here are within the clients budget, however some much less than others. Should the client not see a layout they like, they can create their own, or we can go through this process until satisfaction is reached. So here goes.
The stones are listed below with their names, level of transparency, and written description of color:
These two stones are both turquoise of a intense robin's egg blue (opaque).
These are the various red stones available: the two larger ovals on the left are orangy-red carnelian: translucent (not quite see-through). The small ovals at the top are rubies, they are translucent and a bright pinky-red or violet red. The three triangles on the right are garnets. They are completely transparent and are a dark true red color.
Lets start with the opaque stone at the top in the middle of the picture. That is sugalite, and a warm red-purple with some black specks (very typical of this stone) and again, opaque. To the right of that are two blue-purple Iolite stones, which are transparent. These are sometimes called water-saphires, because they look like watery saphires. The reset of the stones are all amethyst, which is a transparent true purple color. the marquis shaped one (large stone at bottom center) is rather dark, almost a transparent black- purple.
These are the oranges. The stone on the bottom right is a spessartine garnet also known as spessartite garnet. This type of garnet is a bit more rare and has a great warm orange-honey hue. It is transparent, and this stone has a few visable fractures and inclusions (which is why it fits into the budget). The other stones shown are all carnelian. These are translucent- and the two large ovals are really milky. The four small stones are a red-orange, whereas the two large ones are a true orange color.
Now for the layouts. These are merely images of the stones placed together. My aim was to mix different geometric shapes together. These can be made as one piece, or a top piece with a smaller dangle coming off (a pendant for the pendant, if you will).
My apologies for the pictures being so dark. These are some ideas. If you notice the bottom two are the same, just with a different orange stone in the center (carnelian on the left and garnet on the right). In the picture which the client provided me of a pendant in the style she liked, there was a rope design around the center stone to augment it. I was planning on doing that as well, either on the center stone or the orange stone, since the orange is a requirement to match the clients favorite pair of earrings:) I do have a lot of other stones available in a wide range of colors, but was imagining these colors would suit the client best.
