Spess or Indicolite: Which one has a better value? (color, sparkle, durability, etc)

[blithesome71]

If you were to own one between a Rich Mandarin Orange Spessartite and a Rich Blue Oyo Tourmaline (both are certified, native cut & good candidate for a recut) which one will you going to pick & why? You could also site some positive & negative points for each gem. Everyone''s invited. Just badly need some advise. Thanks a lot.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I guess the first question is wether you want a blue or an orange! I think this is sucha a huge point that the others kind of pale in comparision. If you want orange, then a fantastic blue gem just won''t make you happy.

 

[Largosmom]

Oooh tough and a very personal type of question...I want a spess right now, so my pick would be first Orange, then blue...but I would probably try to look at both and see which one sings to me.

Laura

 

[chrono]

If both were top stones or at least equal in quality, then doesn’t it boil down to a personal preference of whether one likes orange or blue over the other? If you really can’t decide, the collector in me then asks, which one is rarer? How large are both? If planning to recut, which one is a better candidate (aka safer choice) to make it through with less risk?

 

[blithesome71]

I personally like orange, however, I also love the vibrant color of sky/royal blue. Garnets have high R.I. as far as I know & they''re durable. But this indicolite that I''m considering has an unusual rich color. I also like to quote gemstone.org; accdg to them: "There are often areas of tension on the inside of a tourmaline, which can easily cause the stone to crack when it is being worked on. The cutter merely has to hold a critical tourmaline the wrong way against his cutting-wheel once to end up with a completely ruined, valueless stone." <<-- is this true? Both these spess & indicolite are VVS in clarity. Here''s some vendor pics for comparison and to give you an idea of their color:

Spess with the oranges (5ct. 9.09 x 10.42 x 6.34mm)

 

[Harriet]

If the spessartite is as pictured, I''d grab it. If the indicolite is mostly blue, I''d grab it too. That said, they''re as different as, er, oranges and apples.

 

[blithesome71]

& the indicolite in the royal/sky blue...

 

[chrono]

If the indicolite is as clean as you say clean and worked on by an experience lapidarist, it isn't that risky as the quote you shared. If it's that risky, why would GemLine has oodles of indicolites? Why would cutters continue cutting them?

ETA
The cutting on the spess looks decent and probably should not be recut in order to preserve that 5 carat mark. What is the ct weight of the indicolite?

 

[blithesome71]

The indicolite is smaller though (but still quite big for its kind) 3ct, (10.07mm X 8.44 mm X 5.76 mm)

Their price is quite the same. I can''t grab ''em both (otherwise, I''ll be broke huhu) but their colors are both yummy, certified (AIGS), plus their size... I''ve never seen such rich indicolite like that before (in RL nor online)...

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I''m no help, I think they''re both gorgeous!

 

[Harriet]

I''d take the spessartite.

 

[jstarfireb]

I''d take the indicolite, simply because I love blue-green stones but don''t care for orange.

 

[movie zombie]

spess.

mz

 

[jewelz617]

I really love both, but if it were me choosing, I''d probably go with the blue. It''s just such a calming color. But the spess has personality and would be a great statement piece, so you really can''t go wrong with either.

 

[T L]

It really depends on what you like. They're both such different stones, in color, and other attributes.

Basically, to answer your question, I would pick the stone with the better saturation of color, whether it's orange or blue. That means that the orange should be as free of yellow and/or brown undertones, and the blue should be as free of grey undertones as possible. Tourmalines, in particular indicolites, do tend to go extinct, so make sure it's an open c-axis.

 

[blithesome71]

PSers, thanks to all of your inputs. So far 2 votes for spess, 2 votes for indicolite and some neutral votes...

I''m thinking about the blue one ''cos it''s very calming and not often seen in such a rich color. On the other hand, that spess is also very yummy and I agree w/ chrono, the cut seems nice (which might spare me from spending for a recut compare to the indicolite)

Oh man, it''s so hard to choose

sob* sob* sob*

 

[blithesome71]

TL, glad you posted here too... I know you own some of the nicest spess here in PS (& I drool over those eye candies of yours), honestly, for you, which one of those would you choose? I know you also have some verrrry pretty cuprians (& other fine gems)... Do you see some gray in that indicolite? ''cos uhmm, me, I see a slight hint of it (or it''s just due to the monitor)... Also, hmmm, forgive me but I''m not really familiar with the c-axis? Would you mind explaining it more to a novice like me? TYVM girl...

...I gotta come up with a decision this coming weekend... (sigh)

 

[chrono]

Are you able to see both in person at the same time to help you choose? That is the best way to answer your question. In this case, it might be worth paying the return shipping cost of the stone you are not keeping. Since both pictures posted are from different vendors, it is difficult to say which stone has better saturation. If they are from the same place, then a picture of the 2 stones side by side will be extremely helpful. If you do a search on “closed c-axis”, you’ll probably see quite a lot of discussion on it.

 

[Crystal keeper]

Hard one. Like Harriet said you are comparing oranges to app err blueberries Hard to beat an excellent colored blue tourmaline but the fire look of a good spess hmm