New blue tourmaline, help?

[colormyworld]

Date: 9/12/2009 9:32:18 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 9/12/2009 9:24:13 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Thanks TL, I guess I'm just trying to figure out what it physically means (in terms of light optics) to have a 'closed axis'. Like, what is it that causes it to be closed from one axis and not the other? Is it like a polarizing filter affect somehow?

Haha, maybe my science background is not strong enough for this. Anyhow I hope this one is nice and open and pretty I have long admired your cuprian and stepcutnut's lovely nambian blue tourmaline!

THank you again MTG.

I think a picture speaks a thousand words when trying to convey the difference between open and closed color. Take a look at this selection of indicolites. It's easy to see which are 'closed' and which are 'open.' I hope a lapidary chimes in here to give a better explanation than my attempt though. It has to do with the fact that tourmaline is dichroic. Again, my attempt to explain this phenomenon is feeble next to some people I know (who I hope chime in

). I know people that attempt to describe this at the atomic (quantum) level!!

BTW, your stone looks definitely open. I would be shocked, based on the pictures, if it went dark in certain lighting.

The C- axis is down the lenth of the stone. As most of those crystals are laying on thier side with the A or b axis showing how does that show the difference between an open and closed c- axis? I just see some crystals with much lighter tone than others. Can you please explain how that picture shows the differnce between an open and closed c-axis?

 

[ma re]

I have nothing inteligent to say, so I''ll just compliment your beeeaaaautiful stone! I''d set it in white and make sure the setting is as minimalistic as possible, to show off the stone. That one doesen''t need any help, it can easily sit in a standard, four prong setting, but you''ll be the one wearing it so choose what''ll make you happy. If it would have any bit of lilac in it''s color, I''d give rose gold a try, but this way I wouldn''t risk it. It''s really one of those very rare, beautifully blue tourmalines. There are many websites that talk about tourmalines, like THIS ONE. Gemstone.org also has some nice articles about various varieties of tourmalines.

 

[T L]

Date: 9/13/2009 1:32:27 AM
Author: colormyworld

Date: 9/12/2009 9:32:18 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 9/12/2009 9:24:13 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Thanks TL, I guess I''m just trying to figure out what it physically means (in terms of light optics) to have a ''closed axis''. Like, what is it that causes it to be closed from one axis and not the other? Is it like a polarizing filter affect somehow?

Haha, maybe my science background is not strong enough for this. Anyhow I hope this one is nice and open and pretty I have long admired your cuprian and stepcutnut''s lovely nambian blue tourmaline!

THank you again MTG.

I think a picture speaks a thousand words when trying to convey the difference between open and closed color. Take a look at this selection of indicolites. It''s easy to see which are ''closed'' and which are ''open.'' I hope a lapidary chimes in here to give a better explanation than my attempt though. It has to do with the fact that tourmaline is dichroic. Again, my attempt to explain this phenomenon is feeble next to some people I know (who I hope chime in

). I know people that attempt to describe this at the atomic (quantum) level!!

BTW, your stone looks definitely open. I would be shocked, based on the pictures, if it went dark in certain lighting.

The C- axis is down the lenth of the stone. As most of those crystals are laying on thier side with the A or b axis showing how does that show the difference between an open and closed c- axis? I just see some crystals with much lighter tone than others. Can you please explain how that picture shows the differnce between an open and closed c-axis?

CMY,
You''re right, this isn''t a correct visual interpretation. I just couldn''t find a pic on the net that really showed the difference well in regards to the A vs C axis, so I put up a bunch of crystals that look dark and light. I guess it''s not the proper visual explanation, but I thought it was simple and easy to explain.

 

[simplysplendid]

MTG, that is beautiful!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 9/13/2009 10:38:26 AM
Author: ma re
I have nothing inteligent to say, so I''ll just compliment your beeeaaaautiful stone! I''d set it in white and make sure the setting is as minimalistic as possible, to show off the stone. That one doesen''t need any help, it can easily sit in a standard, four prong setting, but you''ll be the one wearing it so choose what''ll make you happy. If it would have any bit of lilac in it''s color, I''d give rose gold a try, but this way I wouldn''t risk it. It''s really one of those very rare, beautifully blue tourmalines. There are many websites that talk about tourmalines, like THIS ONE. Gemstone.org also has some nice articles about various varieties of tourmalines.

Thanks Mr. Ma Re! I bought a light blue sapphire from Michael before that was actually more blue in real life than in the photos, and I''m hoping that holds true for this tourmaline too!

I''m a minimalist myself when it comes to jewelery. I like simple, delicate and clean lines. I think I will be setting this as a birthday present, and might just give Julia artistic license with it since she has a great talent for design! I''m still waffling between wanting yellow or white gold against the stone, but I''ll decide when I see it.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Thanks simplysplendid! You have quite a collection of lovely blue tourmalines yourself!

I was wondering, for those of you who own both blue tourmalines and aquamarines, I've heard the color can be similar (though tourmalines tend to be more saturated from what I've seen), so which one do you prefer and why?

I ask in part because I see that the portuguese aqua is back on Finewater's site, for the same price as the tourmaline but at a larger size (7.6mm), so if you had to pick one, would you go tourmaline or aqua?


FW Aqua

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Pretty stone MTG,

Here is a thread I used when I bought my stone. I found it helpful and fairly easy to understand.

Tourmaline terms

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Thanks Ltl...but that link just links me back to this thread?

 

[jstarfireb]

I prefer the more neon blue of the tourmaline compared to the muted blue of the aqua. The cutting of the aqua is gorgeous, though! But at 7.6 mm, I think it''s probably bigger than what you prefer...right?

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Oops , copied the wrong window.

Attempt #2

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Yeah Jstar, would definitely too big for me at over 7mm, I was just curious what others might choose.

How long till your zircon ring is done?

 

[jstarfireb]

Date: 9/13/2009 2:40:45 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Yeah Jstar, would definitely too big for me at over 7mm, I was just curious what others might choose.

How long till your zircon ring is done?

I'd still choose the tourmaline in that case. I like the color better.

The zircon was just shipped to JKT by priority mail, so it should arrive early in the week. From there I guess it might be 3 weeks or so? I can post design sketches in the SMTR thread if anyone wants to see.

ETA: If you're still interested in an affordable rose gold piece, the pink tourmaline ring I got is still available on Overstock. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the link, but it's Item #11254336. The diamonds certainly aren't up to PS standards and the rose gold is only 10k, but it's still beautiful to me! A bonus is that if you look at the profile, it's set in a way that makes stacking easy.

 

[LD]

MTG your tourmaline is most definitely not an Indicolite. It''s a stunning Tourmaline and if it just had copper would have earned the title "Paraiba". It''s lovely and difficult to find a neon looking blue tourmaline so you have a lovely find. Enjoy.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 9/13/2009 3:14:59 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds
MTG your tourmaline is most definitely not an Indicolite. It''s a stunning Tourmaline and if it just had copper would have earned the title ''Paraiba''. It''s lovely and difficult to find a neon looking blue tourmaline so you have a lovely find. Enjoy.

Ah, well the way some online sources were defining it, Indicolite just = blue tourmaline. So since this is blue...?

 

[LD]

Indicolite (for me) is much darker - indigo. It is a blue or blue/green. Yours is not dark in any way. Hence I wouldn''t call it Indicolite.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Thanks LD!

I remembered Mochi''s indicolite pendant, and I think hers is a smidge darker/more saturated, but the color seemed close so I wasn''t sure if this would be called an indicolite.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/indicolite-tourmaline-pendant.121029/

 

[LD]

As Harriet intimated before, there''s so much "is it" "isn''t it" in the gem world so you''ll find loads of differing opinions! For me, indicolite is darker and is sometimes blue green. Others call all blue tourmalines Indicolite.

Whatever your Tourmaline is, it''s gorgeous and I''d just call it yummy!

This is what I would call Indicolite but this is personal I guess!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Oh, that''s a lovely color blue too! I see what you mean

 

[chrono]

An open C-axis blue tourmaline that isn’t overly dark can be a challenge to find. I have discovered that heating of pink and red tourmalines are now very common. Paraibas are not always heated – if the colour and glow is good, they are usually left au natural for higher pricing. Depending on how the stone looks in person, it could be a toss up between yellow and white metals.

 

[jstarfireb]

Whether yellow or white, it could be your chance to jump on the LOGR bandwagon!

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 9/12/2009 7:22:26 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Haha, so I went to Barry''s site thinking to read up on tourmalines in his ''gem topics'' archive, but there is no entry for Tourmaline!

Kind of funny since he cuts many of them.


I was also wondering if all blue tourmalines are called indicolite? Or just the darker blue ones?

Hi, Barry had written a topic on tourmaline but it was accidentally deleted from the site and he thought he had lost the article forever. Anyway, he found a soft copy of it and will try to get it back on the site.

In the meantime, he has forwarded a soft copy of the writeup in .doc format. Any ideas how I can post this here? It includes both text and pictures.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I don't know any way to paste a doc on this site, it's ok, I can wait until it returns to Barry's site. Thanks for the heads up!

This little guy should be shipping today! I'll be sure to post some pics when it gets here with white and yellow gold.

 

[jstarfireb]

Do you have a program that allows you to save the .doc as a .pdf? Then you could just upload it in the same way as you''d upload a picture. To download it, people would just right click and save.

 

[T L]

Date: 9/13/2009 3:42:28 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Thanks LD!

I remembered Mochi''s indicolite pendant, and I think hers is a smidge darker/more saturated, but the color seemed close so I wasn''t sure if this would be called an indicolite.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/indicolite-tourmaline-pendant.121029/

Technically, all blue tourmaline is called indicolite.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I got bored, did some photoshopping. Here it is in white gold (hope you don't mind me borrowing your gorgeous ring and photo Glitterata!)

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Here it is in YG

 

[MakingTheGrade]

My bad photoshop of a two tone

 

[ma re]

The "problem" with your stone is that it''s very bright, and there''s no bezel that will make it stay so bright as in your photoshops

Seriously, all stones darken a bit once bezeled, so you might think about that too when deciding on the settings.

 

[T L]

That being said, very eloquently by Mr. Ma Rae BTW (who always says everything so well!!), I think it would still look awesome in a bezel.

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 9/15/2009 2:46:44 AM
Author: ma re
Seriously, all stones darken a bit once bezeled, so you might think about that too when deciding on the settings.

This may be, but there''s nothing saying that the bezel has to go all the way around the stone or that the sides have to be solid. If you''re up for custom work you can have your jeweler pierce the sides of the bezel, or cut out scallops from the top down, as far as 1/2 way or so. The attached picture shows a bezel that''s cut out on the sides only, but this could be done on four sides if one wanted to use it with a split shank band. This opens up the bezel and increases the contrast in the stone as it''s tilted, relieving the dark bezel problem a bit.