OK, colored stone fans... what do you LOVE about them? Here''s your chance to SELL ME on them!

[Lynn B]

TGal''s new ring has me swooning, and I am surprised because I have never really been much of a colored stone kind of a girl.

But obviously a lot of you are... and can you tell me why?

I love diamonds because of their sparkle and their rainbow colors. To me, colored stones don''t seem to have that. Or do they???!

Diamonds also "match" everything!

Admittedly, I am a colored stone neophyte... (and I probably shouldn''t even be posting this question because I need another jewelry obsession like I need another hole in my head!) -- but I''d love it if you guys could help and educate me to understand the appeal of colored stones!

THANK YOU!

Lynn

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Colored stones come in so many beautiful colors, and many can throw off crazy rainbows too! Browsing the Eyecandy thread in this forum makes the argument better than I can!

And they come in a wide variety of unique cuts, that you rarely see (and probably couldn't afford) in diamonds, like Gene's star60 cut, or fancy cushion cuts, etc. So you can get them in sizes and cuts otherwise impractical in diamonds, to make very unique statement pieces.

And I personally think colored stones have more personality given the nuances of the types, color, clarity, origin, cut, etc. I also have a healthy enjoyment of diamonds, but colored stones strike me as more unique in my opinion. Many girls have diamonds, and if you have the money you can find and buy it in a day. But few have padparadsha sapphires or tsavorite garnets, and those aren't stones that are widely available in every mall, and the supply can be unpredictable unlike diamonds. Which makes the hunt very fun!

 

[Selkie]

Their individuality. No two are alike, and they aren''t all judged on a strict set of characteristics like a diamond. Sure, there are important things: clarity, good color, and a cut that showcases the particular optical qualities of that stone are important, but there is something out there for every one. Just the range of colors that a single group or species can come in, like garnet or sapphire, is enough to keep me endlessly fascinated for days, deciding which is my favorite. And some can indeed show the dispersion or fire that a diamond does: demantoid garnet, sphene, zircon; so that you have this lovely color of the stone topped with prismatic fire. Yum.

 

[Selkie]

Whatever you do Lynn, don''t buy that FIRST colored stone! It''s all downhill from there!

 

[Harriet]

Lynn, they take your mind off DSS.

 

[T L]

If you love diamonds that much, and you want to infuse color, try colored diamonds. You can get them in various colors, yellow, pink, blue, etc. . . and when treated in color, they''re much more affordable.

As for colorless diamonds, I find them to be too common for the pricepoints, and I personally do not like clear white stones. Colored stones are more unique and some species/colors are far more rare than a white diamond will ever be.

 

[D&T]

they are like potato chips... you can't have just one

and the cutting style of some of them is just sooo mesmerizing!!!!

ETA: like Elmorton's mom's ring

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-moms-tdf-new-ring.109862/

 

[Fly Girl]

I love diamonds for their sparkle, and colored stones for their color. But some colored stones have a lot of sparkle, too, which grabs my eye and holds my interest. Lynn, is your favorite color really white? If not, come over and get some colored stones in your favorite colors. You can get great size at a better price point than diamonds if you are a careful shopper.

 

[Catmom]

Ooooo Lynne''s coming over to the dark side.................

 

[packrat]

What I''ve come to enjoy about colored stones is the colors. I''ve had such incredibly limited experience with them. Seeing the colors in person makes a difference too. There is so much beauty in color, and color does wondrous things...it creates mood and emotion and can make you feel a certain way.

You could go on a trip, say to the Caribbean, and fall in love with the music and food and the sand and ohhh the laaaazy naps in a hammock under the palm trees..just the touch of a breeze and look out at the ocean. You can find the color of the ocean in a gem, and you can wear it, (or even just keep it loose) and every time you look at it, it will remind you of that time. You might not actually say, every single time, "This reminds me of the time.." but in your mind and your heart, you''ll feel it and you''ll remember it, and it will make you smile.

You can find a stone to match your babies eyes. That is enough to make any mommy swoon.

Color makes people "see" things in their minds..certain shades of yellow make me think of my daughter London. In my mind, I think of her beautiful smile.

It might take a while to find the perfect color, but that''s part of the beauty of wanting color in your life. It takes time. Rarely do you go to the paint swatch area and walk up and point to one color and say "That''s it" in the span of 5 seconds. It has to be just right, and that takes time and effort. Not everybody wants to put in that time and effort, so they do a shade of white. It''s easy and you really can''t go wrong.

Some just like to have lots of colors in their paintbox.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I look at it this way.

You could go to your local mall, which will have maybe 3 or 4 jewelry stores (Reeds, Zales etc.) and a few department stores selling jewelry. Ask to see 1 ct round diamonds, and I would think between these store you may be shown 100 stones.

Now around the same price point, ask to see 3+ ct round tsavorite garnet. You won''t see any! Hunt all around town at all your higher end stores, and you may see 1 if you are lucky. Look at the stones shown here by members, many are a one of kind, that you will never see anywhere else. People have sometimes spent months searching for a particular stone, and that''s half the fun of it. Easily in a few hours, you should be able to locate a 1/2 to 2 ct diamond.

 

[TravelingGal]

Lynn, my first love is still diamonds. I get lost in them. I love seeing the stones here on CS, but I doubt I will ever be the person who waits for new drops from CS vendors and snatch up half a dozen. I prefer to live vicariously through them!

Thanks for your nice words on the Amelia ring. Tacori''s ring for her daughter is what got me started on the idea of pink, and I probably went overboard. Thing is I really don''t like pink. So I thought maybe a pad color would be better. I was also on the hunt for something a bit unique/special, pure and delicate - while still being tough. All things to represent my girl, and a pad sapphire fit the bill.

I''m the type that would go on the hunt for what I am looking for no matter how long it took. Others see what''s out there and buy what strikes them. Both are fun ways to tackle colored stones, IMHO.

CS can tell a lot about the wearers personality - and the stones have a lot of personality themselves. There are just SO many variables with colored stones, it''s crazy.

At the end of the day, it''s fun. If you love a project, CS will keep you entertained and engrossed for a long time. First it''s finding a stone, then it''s all the many possibilities with settings to showcase the stone to its best potential. Check out some of the big CS wearers on here...I''m always amazed with what they envision and come up with!

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 10/9/2009 8:55:49 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
If you love diamonds that much, and you want to infuse color, try colored diamonds. You can get them in various colors, yellow, pink, blue, etc. . . and when treated in color, they''re much more affordable.

As for colorless diamonds, I find them to be too common for the pricepoints, and I personally do not like clear white stones. Colored stones are more unique and some species/colors are far more rare than a white diamond will ever be.

ditto to everything she said....especially the highlighted part......

mz

 

[Allison D.]

Lynn, I'm gonna tell you the one thing that really matters to you anyway......

Colored stones allow you to ROCK your inner size wh**e!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was bitten by the colored stone bug after seeing some of Kismet's delicious collection at a Boston GTG this year, and I thought "hmmm - gee, those look MUCH nicer than what I'm used to seeing in the stores!" It's definitely addictive, but it did take me a bit of time to get used to the different presence that CS have from diamonds.

My last two purchases were incredibly nice stones that actually ran quite a bit (for colored stones), but they GLOW like no tomorrow. I'm as fascinated with them as I am with some of my diamonds. Diamonds are still my first love, but I've learned there's enough love to go around for all of them! LOL

Dive in, my dear...the water's warm.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 10/10/2009 1:17:54 AM
Author: Allison D.
Lynn, I''m gonna tell you the one thing that really matters to you anyway......

Colored stones allow you to ROCK your inner size wh**e!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was bitten by the colored stone bug after seeing some of Kismet''s delicious collection at a Boston GTG this year, and I thought ''hmmm - gee, those look MUCH nicer than what I''m used to seeing in the stores!'' It''s definitely addictive, but it did take me a bit of time to get used to the different presence that CS have from diamonds.

My last two purchases were incredibly nice stones that actually ran quite a bit (for colored stones), but they GLOW like no tomorrow. I''m as fascinated with them as I am with some of my diamonds. Diamonds are still my first love, but I''ve learned there''s enough love to go around for all of them! LOL

Dive in, my dear...the water''s warm.

Oh YEAH. I mean really, do we need to say anything more about THAT?

 

[Indylady]

I love the idea that the stone you have is unique, especially once you start getting into stones that are more rare and especially amongst those that are precision cut as well. Two ideal cut diamonds with the same color and clarity and size will most likely be virtually indistinguishable...but the colored gems the members of this board have are nearly always distinguishable from one another''s.

 

[FrekeChild]

Well...what don''t I love about colored stones?

No really, can''t come up with anything. I think what I love most about them is the variety. No stone is ever going to be easily mistaken for another, the way diamonds can be.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/10/2009 12:27:49 AM
Author: PrecisionGem
I look at it this way.


You could go to your local mall, which will have maybe 3 or 4 jewelry stores (Reeds, Zales etc.) and a few department stores selling jewelry. Ask to see 1 ct round diamonds, and I would think between these store you may be shown 100 stones.


Now around the same price point, ask to see 3+ ct round tsavorite garnet. You won''t see any! Hunt all around town at all your higher end stores, and you may see 1 if you are lucky. Look at the stones shown here by members, many are a one of kind, that you will never see anywhere else. People have sometimes spent months searching for a particular stone, and that''s half the fun of it. Easily in a few hours, you should be able to locate a 1/2 to 2 ct diamond.

This couldn''t be more true!

I didn''t just go to my local mall yesterday - I went around each jewellery shop in the whole CBD - and could not find one nice sapphire between them.
Everything was either very small, average colour and of course all native cut (even the ones set into very expensive diamond encrusted rings at high end boutiques).

Once I have my high quality, precision faceted sapphire, I can be safe in the knowledge I will likely be one of *very few* (if any) in my city to own such a stone.
Once it''s set in a custom made ring..I very much doubt there will be one like it at all in my state.
Sure, it sounds a bit elitist, but to me the idea of having something unique is appealing when it comes to gems and jewellery.


Also, to add to Allison''s size wh**e comment - I''m also a project wh**e!
For both cost and creativity reasons, I could never do a project every couple months in diamonds.

 

[ma re]

It''s a whole other world! You have to be somewhat of a romantic to really understand gemstones. Their diversity is one good reason. It''s not just color, but also various optical effects like those in star sapphires, cat''s eye chrysoberyls, moonstones, opals, pearls, alexandrites...there''s so many different "tricks" gems can do. And let''s not even start with the color. As I said, if you''re a romantic, you can see a sunny day in the forest when looking into an emerald, depths of the sea in a nice sapphire, and exhotic sunsets in imperial topaz. But hey, people say that picture is worth a thousand words and I say a video is worth a million words, so take a look at THIS opal and THIS emerald. Still don''t get the magic?

 

[coati]

Date: 10/10/2009 3:54:11 AM
Author: arjunajane

Also, to add to Allison's size wh**e comment - I'm also a project wh**e!

You-got-that-right Missy

--I can relate

Lynn,
It's not a diamonds vs. colored stones thing--for me. I like gems for their intrinsic properties. Diamonds have properties that I enjoy, and colored stones--particularly garnets--will always fascinate me because of their diversity. I like high dispersion and higher RI gems--andradite garnets are among my favorites. If you like yellowish green/greenish yellow--pick up a Mali garnet. If you want to see some mad dispersion, pick up a sphene--there are some vivid acid/grass green pieces out there right now--very cool indeed.

 

[mastercutgems]

I totally agree with the group as it is basic; you can get a colored gem ; say something like a bi-colored tourmaline or tri-colored and if it were cut into a brilliant cut; you would have a gem that virtually no one else would have one like; in any state, or maybe the entire country. So this makes your jewelry personal as no one else will have one like it...

That can also work with many of the other mineral families also... just one example of many...

It also makes your jewelry as unique as you are; as there is no one else like you also. I know many of the custom cutters feel the same way as with their unique cuts; many are so different they will not ever be in any or say 90 percent of the jewelry stores as it is unique and part of them also. So when buying a colored gem think of it no less terms that the mighty diamond: color,clarity, cut, and carat weight all their place even with colored gems as it does make a difference in cost and especially to your own eye.

So when you have a unique gem mineral or piece of rough you want to accentuate on all it''s properties so not only is it unique in color; it also was thought enough of; to give it the extra 2 hours in extra facets and polishing.

I guess that is why I love colored gems so much; as so many have their own personality that really makes you appreciate them as just a rare natural beauty; much like the ladies on this forum

Just my humble opinion though...

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/10/2009 11:21:53 AM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/10/2009 3:54:11 AM

Author: arjunajane


Also, to add to Allison''s size wh**e comment - I''m also a project wh**e!

You-got-that-right Missy

--I can relate

Lynn,

It''s not a diamonds vs. colored stones thing--for me. I like gems for their intrinsic properties. Diamonds have properties that I enjoy, and colored stones--particularly garnets--will always fascinate me because of their diversity. I like high dispersion and higher RI gems--andradite garnets are among my favorites. If you like yellowish green/greenish yellow--pick up a Mali garnet. If you want to see some mad dispersion, pick up a sphene--there are some vivid acid/grass green pieces out there right now--very cool indeed.

he he, yes you know all too well!

I agree on the garnet front too - garnet and spinels are likely my faves, with tourmalines coming in close.
My first precision cut stone of any size was my umbalite garnet - it was all downhill from there!

I also agree it doesn''t need to be Diamonds vs CS at all - I would say I have an equal love of/interest in both - but there sure is alot more choice/variety with CS.
The possibilities are really endless on what one may create!

 

[jstarfireb]

I totally identify with what everyone has said! I love that colored stones are generally cheaper than diamonds, have a wider range of cutting styles and faceting patterns, and can show some great optical effects like opalescence or color changes/shifts (alexandrite is one of my favorites). While it''s true that most don''t sparkle like a diamond, there are some that have very high RI and dispersion (demantoid garnets can look like green diamonds), and in others, the color is the wow factor.

 

[coati]

Date: 10/10/2009 11:29:15 AM
Author: arjunajane

The possibilities are really endless on what one may create!

Yup! ..and I am loving your 3 stone idea--combining lush colors mmmm I want one too heh heh

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/10/2009 11:37:39 AM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/10/2009 11:29:15 AM

Author: arjunajane


The possibilities are really endless on what one may create!

Yup! ..and I am loving your 3 stone idea--combining lush colors mmmm I want one too heh heh

.....

 

[Arcadian]

I''d never convince someone they had to like colored gemstones (because that means more for me

) I feel that if there''s a curiousity, pull up a chair and get to reading because there''s a lot of info out there!

I don''t mind diamonds...as side stones. if its a center stone I prefer deeper colors (bright white really dosen''t do anything for me)


-A

 

[fierypyropixy]

Let's see . . . for me, it's size, personality, and that "different" factor.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE diamonds, I love asscher diamonds especially, and love their sparkle.

BUT in regards to my three components:

Size: I will v.safely say that I will never have a 14mm diamond.

Personality: Diamonds to me are like . . . a truly vapid trophy wife. She may be great arm-candy and look good in her dress and heels, but she can't provide much to a conversation. Line your diamonds up and sure, they sparkle and that's arresting and such, but rather chilly. Line all the fun different cuts of your colored stones, and it's a fantastic cast of characters . . . think Dorothy Parker and her Round Table.

Difference: Everyone (married) I know has the diamond wedding rings. The diamond studs. The diamond pendant, even. But . . . rarely does anyone go out of the "safety" of the diamond sector. And someone said it well above me -- you can find diamonds in any maul store, any jewelry counter, but it's really difficult to find a great selection of quality colored gems even in some of the best jewelry stores.

I hope that doesn't come off as snobbish. Well, I admit I am a little. Hehe.

It's not for everyone though, as I see a lot of the same "safe" diamond people turn their nose up to the colors b/c they find it garish or gaudy, or have only been exposed to tiny non-quality "blah" chips of color in their jewelry stores. Based on the little I've seen in about 90% of jewelry stores, I'd probably fall under that last reason had it not been for Pricescope.

 

[chrono]

Date: 10/9/2009 8:30:57 PM
Author: Harriet
Lynn, they take your mind off DSS.

I''m not too sure about that, Harriet. I get coloured stone shrinkage syndrome too. Initially, 1 ct was perfect. After a while, 2 ct became my sweet spot. Then 3 ct...and it goes on.

 

[StonieGrl]

Hi Lynn:

Diamonds: Ubiquitous.

''Nuff said!!!

But they DO make wonderful accents to colored gemstones, LOL

It''s what makes your squirrels run! When I was much younger, I only ''knew'' diamonds and my birthstone. Met my husband, a geologist, who (rightly) stated "Diamonds are common" when it came time for us to become engaged. There was no way he was going to fork over diamond-type money for a diamond.

But for a tsavorite garnet? The man could get on board with that!!!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 10/10/2009 1:43:40 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 10/9/2009 8:30:57 PM

Author: Harriet

Lynn, they take your mind off DSS.

I''m not too sure about that, Harriet. I get coloured stone shrinkage syndrome too. Initially, 1 ct was perfect. After a while, 2 ct became my sweet spot. Then 3 ct...and it goes on.

Haha, I''m starting to get some CSSS too...My pad ring is looking smaller and smaller as the days go by... Sigh.