ChunkyCushionLover
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2009
- Messages
- 2,463
Dear Colored Stone Experts,
I have very little experience with colored stones especially Tanzanite and Sapphire and really nowhere to view many stones locally. My limited experience came from having Kauffman Suisse call in a pair of cushions to see what high quality tanzanite would look like but wasn't impressed. Mr. Kauffman himself (he resides in Montreal) was a very nice man, he explained that the pair he called in (7X7 cushion pair) in were a top color for tanzanite, they were almost completely purple/violet in incadescent light and purplish blue in overcast outside lighting, just not what we were looking for though. They were medium tone and deeply saturated but had little brilliance and were cut like a modified princess cut just not what we were looking for in terms of cut for brilliance.
My wife's preferences are as follows:
Color
1) Tone should be Lightish Medium or just Medium
2) Hue should be violetish blue. (Hopefully still keep at least 50/50 violet/blue even in incadescent light but if mostly violet in this light not a problem)
3) Saturation not too light or washed out, but doesn't have to be really vivid.
We prefer stones to be a slight shade on the lighter side of medium to favour brilliance over the most saturated color , as an ancillary benefit this may keep the cost down I hope.
Cut
1) Cushion or Asscher but leaning towards brilliant cut with sufficient pavillion mains for more brightness and a minnimized window.
2) Not opposed to a concave cut but wouldn't pay a big premium for it.
Size
7X6 8X6 or 7X7mm would all be in the prefect range for size.
Here are the pair I was considering:
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-55ct-Finest-Matched-Cushion-Top-VIOLET-BLUE-TANZANITE_W0QQitemZ250501159626QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLoose_Gemstones_1?hash=item3a53085aca
They seem to fit the criteria above, however I am concerned that the colors in the video and pictures may be more saturated than they really are, and the strong spot lightiing in the video may exaggerate the brilliance. When looking at them from the side you can see the light saturation but I can't tell if this would only be from that angle and they would still be a lot darker faceup as shown in the video.
I have no idea what terms "Finest Matched" (Above)
or "HiEnd" http://cgi.ebay.com/1-90ct-HiEnd-Cushion-Strong-Vivid-Violet-Blue-Tanzanite_W0QQitemZ250566633812QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLoose_Gemstones_1?hash=item3a56ef6954
or "Top Notch D Block"
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-98ct-Top-Notch-D-Block-Strong-Bluish-Purple-Tanzanite_W0QQitemZ250566633725QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLoose_Gemstones_1?hash=item3a56ef68fd
refer to in terms of hue, saturation, and tone so I hope someone might be able to make an educated guess based on their experience(s).
Your thoughts on this dealer and their photographs would be appreciated. I have read one thread where the color was quite accurate for an asscher cut, in contrast a friend said the color was a lot more washed out than in the video in a very cheap stone she bought.
For reference VVSGEM, GemburiOnline, OddesseyGem are all the same vendor, they choose to split up their inventory based on clarity and cut.
I have very little experience with colored stones especially Tanzanite and Sapphire and really nowhere to view many stones locally. My limited experience came from having Kauffman Suisse call in a pair of cushions to see what high quality tanzanite would look like but wasn't impressed. Mr. Kauffman himself (he resides in Montreal) was a very nice man, he explained that the pair he called in (7X7 cushion pair) in were a top color for tanzanite, they were almost completely purple/violet in incadescent light and purplish blue in overcast outside lighting, just not what we were looking for though. They were medium tone and deeply saturated but had little brilliance and were cut like a modified princess cut just not what we were looking for in terms of cut for brilliance.
My wife's preferences are as follows:
Color
1) Tone should be Lightish Medium or just Medium
2) Hue should be violetish blue. (Hopefully still keep at least 50/50 violet/blue even in incadescent light but if mostly violet in this light not a problem)
3) Saturation not too light or washed out, but doesn't have to be really vivid.
We prefer stones to be a slight shade on the lighter side of medium to favour brilliance over the most saturated color , as an ancillary benefit this may keep the cost down I hope.
Cut
1) Cushion or Asscher but leaning towards brilliant cut with sufficient pavillion mains for more brightness and a minnimized window.
2) Not opposed to a concave cut but wouldn't pay a big premium for it.
Size
7X6 8X6 or 7X7mm would all be in the prefect range for size.
Here are the pair I was considering:
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-55ct-Finest-Matched-Cushion-Top-VIOLET-BLUE-TANZANITE_W0QQitemZ250501159626QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLoose_Gemstones_1?hash=item3a53085aca
They seem to fit the criteria above, however I am concerned that the colors in the video and pictures may be more saturated than they really are, and the strong spot lightiing in the video may exaggerate the brilliance. When looking at them from the side you can see the light saturation but I can't tell if this would only be from that angle and they would still be a lot darker faceup as shown in the video.
I have no idea what terms "Finest Matched" (Above)
or "HiEnd" http://cgi.ebay.com/1-90ct-HiEnd-Cushion-Strong-Vivid-Violet-Blue-Tanzanite_W0QQitemZ250566633812QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLoose_Gemstones_1?hash=item3a56ef6954
or "Top Notch D Block"
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-98ct-Top-Notch-D-Block-Strong-Bluish-Purple-Tanzanite_W0QQitemZ250566633725QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLoose_Gemstones_1?hash=item3a56ef68fd
refer to in terms of hue, saturation, and tone so I hope someone might be able to make an educated guess based on their experience(s).
Your thoughts on this dealer and their photographs would be appreciated. I have read one thread where the color was quite accurate for an asscher cut, in contrast a friend said the color was a lot more washed out than in the video in a very cheap stone she bought.
For reference VVSGEM, GemburiOnline, OddesseyGem are all the same vendor, they choose to split up their inventory based on clarity and cut.