Cat’s Eye Cabochon Green Tourmaline and Diamond Cocktail Ring

Unique Elements
This cocktail ring has a lot going for it. First, the large cat’s eye tourmaline exhibits a band of light across the stone that looks like the narrowed eye of a cat. Second, the deep green of the stone against the white diamonds creates a sparkle to brighten any cocktail look. This ring is fun to wear and fun to talk about.

Green Tourmaline Tourmalines come in a wide range of colors, from red, pinks and peach to green, yellow and blues. Emerald Green tourmaline is rare and was mistaken for emerald as recently as the 18th century. Unlike natural emeralds, which typically feature many inclusions, green tourmalines can be found with few natural flaws. Tourmaline is an October birthstone, as well as the 8th wedding anniversary stone.

Cabochon A cabochon is a gem which has been shaped and polished but not faceted, typically with a domed top and flat bottom. Cabochons are often cut for opaque stones, for softer translucent gems as well as to highlight phenomenon such as asterism “star” and chatoyancy “cat’s eye”, as these would not show in faceted stones. The 'sugarloaf' cabochon cut features a 4-sided pyramid shape.

Round Brilliant-Cut The Round Brilliant Cut dates back to 1919, when Marcel Tolkowsky calculated a formula for proportional diamond design to maximize fire, brilliance and wearability, published as “Diamond Design: A Study of the Reflection and Refraction of Light in Diamond.” A round brilliant diamond can also be called a full cut diamond if it features the cutting standard of 57 or 58 facets.

White Gold White Gold use in jewelry is first associated with Art Deco, as yellow gold was out of fashion and it is an alternative to platinum, which had become increasingly more expensive after 1915. 18K gold is softer than platinum but has more than enough strength for everyday wear in fine jewelry, particularly in earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

Chatoyancy The phenomena of chatoyancy, or the appearance of a band of light across the stone that looks like the narrowed eye of a cat, is caused by the fibrous structure of certain varieties of gems including quartz, tourmaline, garnet, chrysoberyl and corundum. Very fine inclusions like rutile and hematite cause the appearance of these bands, most commonly in tiger's eye. Cat's eye stones are typically cut in a cabochon to highlight the effect.

Cocktail Ring A large ring worn on any finger other than the left ring finger can be called a cocktail ring. The history of the cocktail ring goes back to the American prohibition era of the 1920s. During this time, alcoholic beverages were banned, leading to the rise of illegal drinking establishments called speakeasies where for the first time, women were also in attendance. These art deco era women would drink glamorous cocktails in their best outfits which included oversized gemstone rings to flash while raising their glasses. Cocktail rings can feature any large stone, from diamond, sapphire, pearl and emerald to tourmaline, aquamarine or citrine. Others feature smaller stones set together to form flowers or animals such as panthers or tigers.