Thoughts on this garnet?

[cristinajanusz]

This is my first post on the colored stone forum. Hi.

I am thinking about buying this beautiful little thing:
http://www.customgemstones.com/GARNET/ga1214.html

What do you guys think?
Show me different types of garnet and ruby!

 

[MonkeyPie]

I have a stone very close to that in color, but it''s a spinel. One thing to keep in mind is that it will actually be a lot darker than it appears under lights in the pictures - almost black, in this case.

 

[Porridge]

Welcome cristinajanusz!

That''s a lovely cut, and the colour is beautiful (as long as you like the slight pink rather than pure red).

However it is quite dark, and stones are usually even darker in real life than they are in photos.

 

[T L]

Too dark, and although precision cut, seems kind of pricey per carat for such material. Did you check precisiongem.com or acstones.com for a rhodolite as well?

Off topic: I actually like the new Nigerian amethyst Dan has up.

 

[chrono]

I have to agree with all the above posters. The precision cutting is good. However, the tone is so dark as to appear almost blackish.

 

[movie zombie]

great cut, too dark. if its that dark in the picture, its going to be even darker in real life.

mz

 

[Kim Bruun]

If it is any darker than that in hand, I'd pass on it. Personally, I'd prefer to see any red garnet in hand, but if the seller allows you to return it, you should be fine.

I own a 1 carat rhodolite which was cheaply bought. The color is dark red with a purplish tint, and in anything but bright light, it is almost black. I consider it singularly unattractive.

 

[T L]

I purchased a darker 5 carat rhodolite like the one above on ebay for $25 (free shipping!!). It was precision cut, but it had very large chunky facets and a very small table. It was designed to look like a very old antique cut. I must say that even though the color is dark, it sparkles a lot, and is very lovely. It has it's own charm. However, it was very inexpensive. Here is a photo of it sitting on top of an empty mounting. I love the sparkle factor that the chunky facets and small table help bring to this stone. I'd love to set this one of these days in an antique mount. I even once saw the cutter of this stone discuss how chunkier facets really help darker bodied garnets

 

[AustenNut]

If cristinajanusz wants a stone to appear like the color of Dan''s stone in real life, how much lighter does the picture of the garnet need to be?

P.S. Beautiful stone, Tourmaline_Lover!

 

[cristinajanusz]

Thanks everyone for your comments! I would have never guessed the stone would be so dark from the pictures. How are you able to tell? I am fine with dark garnets as long as they''re not almost black. How do you find out what people on PriceScope have to offer?
Tourmaline lover, your ring is gorgeous, just the kind of thing I am looking for.

 

[cristinajanusz]

By the way, this stone was 2.55 cts... that sounds pretty big. How would I be able to tell how big it would be in my hand? By the 8.55 mm?
Also, how were you guys able to tell it was precision cut? All it says is round modified brilliant. I''m very new to looking at gemstones.
Thanks for all your help.

 

[chrono]

Date: 12/19/2009 10:32:42 PM
Author: cristinajanusz
By the way, this stone was 2.55 cts... that sounds pretty big. How would I be able to tell how big it would be in my hand? By the 8.55 mm?
Also, how were you guys able to tell it was precision cut? All it says is round modified brilliant. I''m very new to looking at gemstones.
Thanks for all your help.

Yes, go by the measurement because the different densities of different gemstones all can have the same carat weight but be smaller or larger than one another. Precision cutting has very precise facet arrangement, extremely symmetrical, no windows, good polish and a bunch of other small things that can be spotted once you know what to look for.

 

[T L]

Date: 12/19/2009 10:29:52 PM
Author: cristinajanusz
Thanks everyone for your comments! I would have never guessed the stone would be so dark from the pictures. How are you able to tell? I am fine with dark garnets as long as they're not almost black. How do you find out what people on PriceScope have to offer?
Tourmaline lover, your ring is gorgeous, just the kind of thing I am looking for.

Check out the vendor photos sticky thread at the top of the subforum. It takes some practice, but once you see a zillion photos from various vendors, you can probably spot a stone that's too dark, too light, etc. . .

Thanks for the kind words. It's actually not set yet, I just plopped it in an empty mount to take a photo of it.

In any case, see if acstones.com, precisiongem.com or one of those other precision faceters has something lighter. Dan might also have something lighter in a rhodolite, but I didn't see it on his site. Rick from artcutgems.com specializes in rhodolites, and he might have something as well.

 

[AustenNut]

TL, do you have the vendor photo of your stone? The OP might find it helpful to see what color in a photo would result in a stone color like yours.

 

[cristinajanusz]

Date: 12/19/2009 10:36:46 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 12/19/2009 10:29:52 PM
Author: cristinajanusz
Thanks everyone for your comments! I would have never guessed the stone would be so dark from the pictures. How are you able to tell? I am fine with dark garnets as long as they''re not almost black. How do you find out what people on PriceScope have to offer?
Tourmaline lover, your ring is gorgeous, just the kind of thing I am looking for.

Check out the vendor photos sticky thread at the top of the subforum. It takes some practice, but once you see a zillion photos from various vendors, you can probably spot a stone that''s too dark, too light, etc. . .

Thanks for the kind words. It''s actually not set yet, I just plopped it in an empty mount to take a photo of it.

In any case, see if acstones.com, precisiongem.com or one of those other precision faceters has something lighter. Dan might also have something lighter in a rhodolite, but I didn''t see it on his site. Rick from artcutgems.com specializes in rhodolites, and he might have something as well.

Haha..I think its beautiful in that, the round stone and rounded square setting..just what I was thinking of doing with the stone I posted about. (Although now I''m going to hunt down another.) Rhodolite is fine, any kind of garnet or ruby. I have been looking at acstones but have not gotten to others yet. I wonder how many tabs I can have open in Internet Explorer before my entire computer overloads on me and crashes.

 

[T L]

I have lots of round stones in square halos, so I also love that look. It''s reminicent of art deco. Be careful where you buy rubies, due to all the undisclosed treatments out there, but rhodolites remain untreated and are a good value. Umbalite is a type of rhodolite from the Umba valley in Tanznaia, and shows a very purplish red hue which is quite lovely, so keep your eye out for those as well.

 

[T L]

Date: 12/19/2009 10:50:50 PM
Author: AustenNut
TL, do you have the vendor photo of your stone? The OP might find it helpful to see what color in a photo would result in a stone color like yours.

I no longer have the vendor photo of that stone unfortunately. I bought it really quickly, and I didn''t save off the photo. However, the OP should always ask the vendor if a stone is too dark, or goes extinct in certain lighting.

 

[cristinajanusz]

I am having a hard time finding this vendor photos sticky thread...=(

 

[T L]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vendor-pictures-and-owner-pictures-of-ps-stones.109420/

 

[cristinajanusz]

Thanks