cc garnet from Finewater

[Kim Bruun]

Date: 1/23/2010 3:53:13 PM
Author: crasru

Thank you for your honest opinion! I, for one, am not going to give you hard time because there are some people who are fascinated by color changers, and then there are people who see them for what they are: two alternating colors, now let''s see, would I buy each of them separately? My answer is, no, but then I happen to like color changers.

That is very interesting, and it supports what LD said - the phenomenon itself is the attraction. Granted, it IS an interesting phenomenon - but I tend to be attracted to colours that are clean and intense. Zultanite is another rare gem notable for its colour shift. Depending on the lighting, it can be brown or greenish brown. It is not something that is on my wishlist.

Date: 1/23/2010 4:28:14 PM
Author: crasru
LD had mentioned it, and I also read in in Richard Wise''s book: alexandrites are not beautiful stones.

Indeed they are not - at least I have yet to see one that is. When I first became interested in gems, I was fascinated by alexandrite before I had ever seen one. I imagined a stone shifting from the chrome green of fine emerald to the pigeon blood red that is the ideal for rubies. In reality, I learned, alexandrite tends to go from teal or bottle green to bordeaux - and that kinda kills it for me.

 

[LD]

Date: 1/24/2010 9:06:11 AM
Author: Kim Bruun

Date: 1/23/2010 3:53:13 PM
Author: crasru

Thank you for your honest opinion! I, for one, am not going to give you hard time because there are some people who are fascinated by color changers, and then there are people who see them for what they are: two alternating colors, now let''s see, would I buy each of them separately? My answer is, no, but then I happen to like color changers.

That is very interesting, and it supports what LD said - the phenomenon itself is the attraction. Granted, it IS an interesting phenomenon - but I tend to be attracted to colours that are clean and intense. Zultanite is another rare gem notable for its colour shift. Depending on the lighting, it can be brown or greenish brown. It is not something that is on my wishlist.

Date: 1/23/2010 4:28:14 PM
Author: crasru

LD had mentioned it, and I also read in in Richard Wise''s book: alexandrites are not beautiful stones.

Indeed they are not - at least I have yet to see one that is. When I first became interested in gems, I was fascinated by alexandrite before I had ever seen one. I imagined a stone shifting from the chrome green of fine emerald to the pigeon blood red that is the ideal for rubies. In reality, I learned, alexandrite tends to go from teal or bottle green to bordeaux - and that kinda kills it for me.

I have to just say that there are exceptions!!! I have 2 that blow my mind and I DO consider them to be gorgeous BUT as a rule people hear "emerald by day and ruby by night" and so they have high expectations. The truth is not as glamorous but IF you get an Alex with phenomenal colour change then that makes it special and they are truly a wonderful gemstone to watch! Truly fascinating.

Climbs off soapbox - sorry!

Crasru - a couple of thoughts on your CC Garnet. First, I would keep it IF the daylight colour you''re representing in the photos is accurate. CC gemstones are awful to photograph sooooooooooo, with that in mind ......... if you''re seeing a teal blue in the day (without much grey) then it''s a goodie, not matter what colour it changes to. As mentioned above, blue garnets are difficult to find. However, my one rider to this is that the incandescent colour looks very dark and very grey. If I''m right, will you be happy with that? You have to love both colourways (unless you''re likely to see it/wear it more at one time than another.

Don''t worry about the size ........ you can always big it up with a clever setting!

 

[Arkteia]

Yes, LD, it is very bright and blue in daylight - you have to keep in mind that I was taking a photo late in the day, and I just stood close to the window and pushed the blinders aside - not the best version of daylight, but I can not walk out of my office with a camera and a garnet in my hand! I am still wary of using tweezers on a garnet because I have not mastered them well. I have different of surgical instruments and clamps - if people don''t mind seeing them on the photograph, I''ll try them next time.
Now, it is not bad in incandescent light either. It is very bright and has red specks in it. I agree, it is dark-purple but it has high RI which, again, can not be seen in my photograph. (That is why I am afraid of posting my demantoid - it is exceptionally bright but my photograph skills are such that no one may notice it. What people may notice is that it is light-green and think it is not the best. Really have to organize my "photography lab" but have no time at all - I am working 10-8:30 weekdays, with one day off. The reason I can post so much no is that I took a week off to undergo some medical tests.)
My only problem is the setting - I want a halo to optically enlarge it, but I also like modern settings, so it will take me a while to choose one. The good part is that both yellow and white gold are OK for it.

 

[chrono]

I''m not sure if I''d do a halo for this one; the kicker with colour changers is to allow as much light to go through it as possible from all angles. Being a dark stone to begin with also limits your choices.

 

[Kunzite]

crasru - I have to be honest with you, I have looked at that gem on FW every single day since the day it was posted. And every day I would hand the laptop to DH while it was up on the screen and give my best puppy dog look. As you can see it never worked, but I am thrilled to pieces that it went to a fellow PSer and I will be able to follow its process into a completed piece of beautiful jewelry! A blue garnet has been at the top of my list, so I''m thrilled for you! I, for one, love it and I can''t wait to see what you decide to do with it. Enjoy!!!

 

[Laila619]

I think it''s very pretty!

 

[Arkteia]

Thank you all.
Now I pulled my stone out of the box and looked at it again. One thing my photography will never be able to capture is the amazing brilliance especially in evening light. It is dark, but it sparkles, and sparkles, and sparkles! Lovely! It is also fun to see how readily it changes colors.
Special thanks to LD, of course, for sharing her immence knowledge of color-changers. And Chrono - thank you for advising me against a halo setting. As far as I understand, I have to allow maximum amount of light to enter the stone, so it has to be prongs with the back of the stone open, right?

Thanks to the rest of you. And, Kunzite, do not feel bad - hopefully, Gary will cut some more, maybe a smaller stone, so that DH finally starts looking the right way - on the screen!

 

[tonygemma]

Like all gemstones the CC garnets vary in quality. The best have no brown or grey masks with strong color change. I''ve been buying these since early last year and it has become increasingly harder to find stones with strong color change and pure colors. I''ve heard many of the miners in the area have moved on due to instability and the fact that it has become harder to find quality rough. Rumor has it that GIA is working on an article about CC garnets. It will be interesting to see what kind of press they get in Tucson this year.