Is this T&Co. stone well cut? Not that I can afford it . . .

[RockHuntin]

Greetings,

I''m pretty new to PS and have been trying to absorb as much as I can about diamonds and gemstones. I was browsing the T&Co. website the other day to get some design inspiration for an engagement ring and wandered into the necklaces and pendants section. I noticed something that seemed slightly peculiar to me.

There is an awesome green tourmaline necklace on Tiffany & Co.''s website.

It really is quite nice. I was just wondering if anyone could give me insight on the cut of the tourmaline. The light return, depth, and pavilion just seem different from what I''m used to in a traditional emerald cut. It seems to have a very tall window that even shows through the north and south crown facets. Was the tourmaline deliberately cut this way to give it a very "vertical" appearance?

I was trying to justify it by telling myself it draws the eye up to the art deco scalloping. But in my head, I just keep imagining that if some lucky lady were wearing the necklace around her neck, anyone who looked at her would see a vertical strip of green tinted skin through the window.

Can you give me your feedback on it? I may be thrown off because its atypical to what I am used to seeing in an emerald cut gemstone, and because its Tiffany & Co.

 

[FrekeChild]

Looks like a window to me too. I''d guess that it was cut for weight. I have two indicolites that are cut very similarly, and they are both very heavy for their face up dimensions. Also, I don''t think that is a traditional emerald cut, with weird facets on the north-south sides of the pavilion of the stone.

What a crap picture to use to sell it though. And they only have ONE PICTURE?!

 

[FrekeChild]

Check them out--Top left stone, and second one down, far right:

You can kind of see the pavilion of one in this picture (top right, upside down, blue-ish stone):

Terrible up close pic:

Another (that dark line down the middle is a window):

 

[RockHuntin]

I see what you mean; by the way, you have quite a collection!

The green tourmaline for sale at T&Co. is 17.29 carats. I think it could have been cut for weight. Its still lovely and I like the art deco styling. The picture doesn''t seem to do much for it though.

By the way, the second stone from the bottom in your third picture is exactly the color, proportion, and cut my gf always gravitates toward. May I ask what that stone is?

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 12/17/2009 2:13:15 AM
Author: RockHuntin
I see what you mean; by the way, you have quite a collection!

The green tourmaline for sale at T&Co. is 17.29 carats. I think it could have been cut for weight. Its still lovely and I like the art deco styling. The picture doesn't seem to do much for it though.

By the way, the second stone from the bottom in your third picture is exactly the color, proportion, and cut my gf always gravitates toward. May I ask what that stone is?

Why thanks! That was all one parcel--38 stones--it was very overwhelming at first because I didn't have any specs on any of them. Unfortunately many of them are gone now--many set, and many have found good homes.

I think it's gorgeous as well--I love the color. Lets just say I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers.

That stone (the silvery blue-green baguette?) is a tourmaline. It has been set in the necklace I'll be wearing at my wedding--it's the middle stone (quite obviously!):

Your girlfriend has fabulous taste! Are you looking for an ering with that color/cut/proportion of stone? I'm quite partial to the color myself, because it's very close to the color of my eyes.

ETA: a bigger picture--the tourmaline picks up on whatever the colors are around it--it is not this dark/black in real life!

 

[chrono]

Tourmalines aren’t very sparkly due to their lower refractive index as compared to garnets, spinels and corundum, hence they usually benefit from having a fancier cut whenever possible. It also serves to minimize window tilt. Also, due to the shape of the rough and how the crystal grows, many blue/green tourmalines are best cut this way, both in order to maximize rough and to work around any closed C-axis issues. With that one picture, I cannot tell with any definitive answer that it is a window. It could well be glare off the stone due to the angle of the lighting.

 

[T L]

Date: 12/17/2009 1:36:10 AM
Author:RockHuntin
Greetings,

I'm pretty new to PS and have been trying to absorb as much as I can about diamonds and gemstones. I was browsing the T&Co. website the other day to get some design inspiration for an engagement ring and wandered into the necklaces and pendants section. I noticed something that seemed slightly peculiar to me.

There is an awesome green tourmaline necklace on Tiffany & Co.'s website.

It really is quite nice. I was just wondering if anyone could give me insight on the cut of the tourmaline. The light return, depth, and pavilion just seem different from what I'm used to in a traditional emerald cut. It seems to have a very tall window that even shows through the north and south crown facets. Was the tourmaline deliberately cut this way to give it a very 'vertical' appearance?

I was trying to justify it by telling myself it draws the eye up to the art deco scalloping. But in my head, I just keep imagining that if some lucky lady were wearing the necklace around her neck, anyone who looked at her would see a vertical strip of green tinted skin through the window.

Can you give me your feedback on it? I may be thrown off because its atypical to what I am used to seeing in an emerald cut gemstone, and because its Tiffany & Co.

That's really not a traditional emerald cut, but a rectangular step cut. A lapidary might chime in to give more details on it. I don't trust the color in that photo either, looks enhanced. Also, I didn't see any carat size. The design is lovely, but the stone does appear to have a window there. I think Tiffany gets some of their colored gems pre-cut, and they have them cut themselves (the Legacy collection patented Legacy cut is an example).

ETA: I found the carat weight - 17.29 carats. If it's that color, it's actually a $500/ct stone retail. For Tiffany, the price isn't that bad for that, if that's the true color.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Hey Freke,

Can you tell me what the round blue stone is in the top left box?

 

[klewis]

I think it''s glare that we''re seeing. I see there''s an 0800 number on the site, maybe someone in the vicinity could phone them, ask a few questions and report back? It would be interesting to know what they say about it. The colour does look enhanced so I wonder what they would say about that?

It''s a beautiful setting.

 

[T L]

Date: 12/17/2009 12:16:17 PM
Author: klewis
I think it''s glare that we''re seeing. I see there''s an 0800 number on the site, maybe someone in the vicinity could phone them, ask a few questions and report back? It would be interesting to know what they say about it. The colour does look enhanced so I wonder what they would say about that?

It''s a beautiful setting.

Actually, the SA''s do not seem to know much from what I hear from others (I could be wrong). They might not even know what a window is. You could try asking though. Your best bet would be to go to see it in person at one of the stores that has it in stock. That photo seems enhanced in color, but that color, in tourmaline, is not treated to my knowledge. The rubellite necklace for $50K on the bottom of that linked page might be nuked/heated, but Tiffany might not disclose it''s treatement to you. That one also appears to have a significant window from what I can see too. Tiffany does sell treated stones, they do disclose the range of treatments, but I do not know if they disclose the treatment on any particulr piece.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 12/17/2009 12:08:33 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Hey Freke,

Can you tell me what the round blue stone is in the top left box?

London Blue topaz.

 

[Gailey]

Nice pendant Liz. Is it for a special occasion?????

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 12/17/2009 5:25:20 PM
Author: Gailey
Nice pendant Liz. Is it for a special occasion?????

Wedding.