What are these?

[hawaiianorangetree]

Hi CSer's!

I was wondering if you would be so kind and help me identify the stones in these earrings for my Mil?

She said that her daughter had bought them for her from an antique dealer about 15 years ago. She completely forgot that she had them until she saw someone wearing a ring with a similar looking stone, so she decided to dig them out but she has forgotten the name.

Can anyone help?

They are set in 18k rose gold and look like they would be about 2 carats each in size. In the pictures they look very purple but IRL they are more of a pink colour with blue undertones. My Mil swears that they change colour.

I believe they are natural as i can see an inclusion deep inside one of the stones. Please excuse the poor photos, I only had my iphone on me and they didn't look that bad on the small screen.

If you need any more information to help ID them please ask and I will see what i can find out.

 

[mastercutgems]

Good Day Hawaiianorangetree;

Do not hold me to it as I do not have them in front of me to do a battery of tests; but just looking at the pictures they look like tanzanites to me ??? But of course any GG can tell you in just a few minutes. They are very lovely and the size is very nice.
They should have some shift in color being a little more purple inside and a little more blue outside.

IF they are tanzanites they would be a very nice and a valuable set. But it would be worth your time to take them to a higher end jeweler that has a Graduate Gemologist on staff and have them do a few tests to confirm...

Have a nice weekend;

Most respectfully;
Dana

 

[chrono]

I am afraid without any further information from you, it is impossible to guess. A refractive index test will help narrow these down but I highly doubt these are antique stones. They look to be in excellent condition. Are they about 7 mm?

 

[PrecisionGem]

I would think judging just from these pictures that they are Amethyst. If indeed they are antiques, than that would kind of rule Tanzanite out since it a stone that is just more recently discovered.

 

[chrono]

Gene,
My initial thought was also amethyst (purple with some blue flash) until she said they are pink with a touch of blue, thus my confusion. I wonder how pink they are (dark or light).

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Thank you for your thoughts!

I texted Mil and she said that amethyst or tanzanite didn't ring any bells. (When she showed me the earrings she said once she heard the correct name she would recognize it.)

I am going back tomrrow with a real camera to take some more photos and to hopefully capture the true pink colour of the stones. Chrono, if i had to say, i would guess a medium to dark coloured pink rather than a light pink.

It facinates me that they look purple in the photos! Any tips on how to cature the true colours in a photo?

 

[Arcadian]

I hate to try to id stones by pictures, mainly because its so easy to get it wrong. They could be any type of stone that can be purple from amethyst to tanzanite. Lots of purple stones in between those.

Maybe it best to take them to someone who can id them? if she wants to get a price, perhaps an appraiser is the best bet.

-A

 

[T L]

Well, they look like amethyst to me in the photos, but they could be corundum (synthetic or natural sapphire), synthetic quartz, or synthetic spinel (and if you're really lucky, natural spinel). I suspect that if they aren't amethyst or tanzanite, they are synthetic since it's hard to find such a matching pair of gems the same exact color like that. Good luck!! We really can't id with 100% certainty from a photo, so perhaps take it to a gemologist. However, if you do that, know that the gemologist might not be able to deem them natural or untreated. They might just only be able to id the substance.

Oh yes, and synthetic stones also have inclusions. It's the TYPE of inclusion that deems a stone natural from synthetic.

 

[LD]

I hate to say this but it looks like synthetic corundum. These are often found in older jewellery.

I doubt they're Tanzanites because you very rarely see round cuts in Tanzanites and when you do, to find a pair of earrings both over 2ct would be unusual. Since Tanzanite has only been around since the '60s and only really available from later it's unlikely.

Amethyst? I think they're too blue but of course that's a personal opinion and only based on my monitor.

I know it's an outside chance but ask your MIL if she thinks they're Alexandrite? They're not but synthetic corundum is often sold as Alexandrite.

 

[briolette]

If there's an inclusion I'm willing to bet that they're natural---unless they're a little dirty ... which could also be the case.

I would have guessed purple sapphire or purple spinel.
It could even be antique swarovsky crystal. I have a pair of earrings with vintage swarovsky and they are just beautiful.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

My guesses:

1) Tanzanite
2) Amethyst
3) Iolite

 

[Michael_E]

I hate to say this but it looks like synthetic corundum. These are often found in older jewellery.

I agree. I don't think that they can be amethyst, tanzanite or anything else with an R.I. lower than about 1.72. I say this because the angle that they are sitting from vertical in several shots is close to 30° and at this angle a low R.I. stone will show a much larger, dark, "tilt window" than these are showing.

 

[LD]

If there's an inclusion I'm willing to bet that they're natural[/b]---unless they're a little dirty ... which could also be the case.

I would have guessed purple sapphire or purple spinel.
It could even be antique swarovsky crystal. I have a pair of earrings with vintage swarovsky and they are just beautiful.

Unfortunately that's not the case. You will often see inclusions in synthetics.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I hate to say this but it looks like synthetic corundum. These are often found in older jewellery.

I agree. I don't think that they can be amethyst, tanzanite or anything else with an R.I. lower than about 1.72. I say this because the angle that they are sitting from vertical in several shots is close to 30° and at this angle a low R.I. stone will show a much larger, dark, "tilt window" than these are showing.

That's a good point Michael, after a second look, I was thinking the same thing.

 

[stci]

For me certainly not iolite, probably not tanzanite cause mine is really different. I vote amethyst.

Wahoooooo the specialist spoke! LOL LOL

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Thank you to mastercutgems, Chrono, PrecisionGem, Arcadian, tourmaline_lover, LovingDiamonds, briolette, Tanzigrrl, Michael_E and stci!!

I texted all the different stone names to my MIL this morning and she believed that they were Alexandrite, so I believe that LovingDiamonds is right on the money with the synthetic corundum estimation, as I measured them up today and they are 10mm !!

I think she was a bit put out when i suggested they may have been synthetic as she knew the antique dealer that her daughter got them from.

I told her that to be sure, she needed to take them to a GG who would be able to tell her. I'm not sure that she will or not.

Anyway it doesn't really matter because she only wanted to remember the name. She was thinking about having them set into rings, one for her daughter and one for herself so i guess if she does go down that road someone will end up telling her the truth and she may not bother at all.

Oh i cringe to think of how much her daughter paid for them as they were both very good clients of this man, spending thousands of $$ on glass paperweights.

I managed to snap a couple of more pictures that were more true to the colour that they looked like IRL and of the rose gold settings themselves.

So thank you all again, and maybe next time she decides to dig something out of the jewelry box that she has forgotten about i may have something a little more exciting to share.

 

[FrekeChild]

I say Amethyst...definitely not iolite.

 

[LD]

Hi Haiwaiiaorangetree

I'm sorry that your MIL was sold these as Alexandrites. I'm sure they're not for several reasons (a) the colour is wrong. The colours you've photographed are, unfortunately, right for synthetic corundum (b) the size - if these were natural alexandrites they would be worth a fortune (c) the round cut (d) the lack of significant inclusions - in alex of this size, you would see some inclusions.

It's quite possible that the dealer who sold these to your MIL really did think they were alex because of their age. Unfortunately synthetic corundum has been marketed as alexandrite for at least 100 years or so and there are so many stories of being sold a ring "in alexandria" as alex. Alexandrite isn't a popular gemstone and, in all honesty, most people won't have seen it. The RI of natural alex and synthetic corundum is fairly close and you only need a machine to need calibrating and they could well read almost the same. Once you know about alex it's relatively easy to spot the difference and have a general "feeling" although some imitation alex is very very good indeed.

Even if they are synthetic corundum, they do still have a value (especially because of their size). It's actually not that easy to get hold of so although you're not sitting on a secret treasure haul, your MIL does have a nice pair of earrings.

 

[Largosmom]

Well, synthetic corundum or not...I personally think they are amethyst and if so, a very lovely pair. Regardless, they are beautiful stones and she should not feel bad or "taken". She should do as she wishes...they are lovely and would still be valued for their source for the family. The story behind them is likely to leave a bit of "mystery" to the stones, anyway.

Laura