Master Cut's Big Sale

[iLander]

Did anyone get anything at Dana's big sale? I waited for a couple of days to post this, so I figured most of you have seen it by now. I noticed most of it disappeared 1 hour after he opened it.

I didn't get anything, I am paying huge tuition, and will be for years.

I did like the little star ruby, but it was small for my taste.

See anything you wanted and missed out on? Or did you scoop up something?

 

[azred]

i'll play

I wanted this spinel - the color is so pretty!

But alas, was too slow!

 

[JewelFreak]

Anybody here buy sapphires? He had a couple of nice ones. They were already gone when I looked & I'm not in the market for one, but the price made them awfully tempting.

Pat on the back for you, iLander -- hang in there!

--- Laurie

 

[velouriaL]

OMG I hope someone here got that old cut 2 ct teal-ish sapphire. Yum.

There is a lof of nice stuff at really good prices! Nice chrysoberyl. I'd love to see those catseye alexs IRL.

 

[cm366]

I may have gotten a little trigger happy here...

 

[katharath]

Anybody here buy sapphires? He had a couple of nice ones. They were already gone when I looked & I'm not in the market for one, but the price made them awfully tempting.

Pat on the back for you, iLander -- hang in there!

--- Laurie

O.M.G!! Here's my tale of woe...

I'm on the west coast so I actually set my alarm for 6:30 am so I'd be up and ready.

I was constantly refreshing the screen...watching as the sapphires came up...there were FOUR different sapphires that I really wanted. All VERY reasonably priced IMO.

I got zero. I tried. They kept disappearing!! Seconds after I saw them. "This gem is sold". "This gem is sold". Repeat, repeat.

It was a sad day

 

[Lady_Disdain]

So, now I know who got that ruby before I did. I stupidly decided to wait and see if I wanted anything else. I wonder who got the vanadium beryl - it went so fast I didn't even get a chance.

I got an amethyst and the colour change sapphite.

 

[JewelFreak]

Wow, CM, you cleaned up! Enjoy them -- and post pics when they arrive. I loved the cc sapphire, Lady D -- look forward to seeing it in your own little hand.

Katharath, I can SO sympathize. That has happened to me so darned often -- it's frustrating & depressing at the same time. Once I was actually on Brad Payne's site when it switched to the new stones -- emailed him seconds later about one & it was already gone. Guess it wasn't meant to be.

--- Laurie

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I have never managed to get anything at Barry's drop because of this. I also hate to have to buy before I can see everything that will be available and can decide what I would prefer. This time, I saw the sapphire and just snapped it. I knew it wouldn't last long.

 

[Xrisus]

@cm: Nice haul, you beat me to the stewart mine pink tourmaline by 1 minute. Paypal actually took my payment, but Dana later refunded me. I also tried after that ruby, and kick myself for also missing that. Please post pics when you get them!

 

[derbygal]

Ha! I wanted that round spinel, too! Too slow.

 

[katharath]

Wow, CM, you cleaned up! Enjoy them -- and post pics when they arrive. I loved the cc sapphire, Lady D -- look forward to seeing it in your own little hand.

Katharath, I can SO sympathize. That has happened to me so darned often -- it's frustrating & depressing at the same time. Once I was actually on Brad Payne's site when it switched to the new stones -- emailed him seconds later about one & it was already gone. Guess it wasn't meant to be.

--- Laurie

Thanks Laurie. It was just a bit depressing at the time. But, I have an email in to Dana about another gem, so we'll see...the good news is that there's always another gem just around the corner

 

[michellechan2211]

Oh, so a PSer snagged that gorgeous ruby! =X I request pictures.

I'm comforting myself with the fact that there's a gem and jewelry fair which I'm going to this weekend, but I'm a little sad at missing out a lot of the pretty things. At least its healthy for my wallet...

 

[cm366]

I have never managed to get anything at Barry's drop because of this. I also hate to have to buy before I can see everything that will be available and can decide what I would prefer. This time, I saw the sapphire and just snapped it. I knew it wouldn't last long.

This, this exactly. The thing is, though, shipping is expensive for me... but it's not any more expensive if I've got two or three stones! So if one of these is a keeper, it justifies the parcel, and I can see how the rest work out. At least, that's how I justify it to the weeping accountant in the deep recesses of my soul.

I tried for two of those sapphires too, but alas, no such luck...

Thanks JF! I'll be sure to post some pics

Xrisus, you're the third person to say that - apparently there were 8 people who purchased before the system caught up, poor Dana had to sort through timestamps! I guess there were similar hiccups with the ruby, and at least one of the sapphires I tried for. I'm fed up with Paypal now, magical though it would seem in 1995 - I want a transporter!

 

[boerumbiddy]

I bought, or at least I hope I bought, this rhodolite garnet. Someone else started a thread on wine-colored stones and before I knew it I had talked myself into it.

 

[y2kitty]

I am intrigued by his Jadeite pendants.

 

[RTFrog]

I managed to get this one!

 

[katharath]

I did end up getting something after all...a spinel. I own several blue to blue gray to violet blue spinels, plus my little mahenges, but I've wanted one of the lighter spinels for awhile too - something you can really see some dispersion on. So I'll be adding this pink/lavender spinel from Dana to the collection.

 

[minousbijoux]

Katharath, I know you are really good about posting your purchases, but I want to specifically request that you post this please when you have it in hand. I will be interested to know whether you get the dispersion and flashes of pastel color you sometimes get in lighter toned spinels.

 

[katharath]

Katharath, I know you are really good about posting your purchases, but I want to specifically request that you post this please when you have it in hand. I will be interested to know whether you get the dispersion and flashes of pastel color you sometimes get in lighter toned spinels.

Oh of course, I will let you all know . I have it in mind to do a post that is just about my spinels - I recently got a violet/blue one that I haven't posted about yet. So I'll do a thorough post with the new ones plus my older spinels together.

I did mention to Dana what I was looking for in this gem and what I hoped to see - and he said that he doesn't think I'll be disappointed. The description also mentions something about how great the dispersion is. So I'm very hopeful, fingers crossed!! If it isn't what I'm hoping for I probably won't keep it, to be honest.

Dana shipped it out lightning fast, so I should have it by Saturday according to USPS tracking, can't wait!!

 

[RTFrog]

Really was super fast shipping. Here's my new Spinel from his site:




Picture a couple of posts above was taken outside yesterday.

 

[RTFrog]

All three stones from the sale, with Dana's shots and one of my group shots.

 

[pandabee]

RTFrog those are beautiful! Look much better than the washed out pictures. What type of stones are those?

 

[chrono]

RTFrog,
Dana's pictures look very different from yours and I know you are a great photographer. Can you tell us which pictures look truer to what you see in person?

 

[RTFrog]

Hi Panadabee,

Thank you for the compliment on the photo, I appreciate it. The photos from Mastercut’s site are in each link below, and I think they are a pretty fair representation of the color, and are extremely good at showcasing the facet work. I tried capturing some of the colors below.

The blue one is a Tanzania Sapphire:
http://mastercutgems.com/preview.php?id=7075
The greenish/blue one is a Nigerian Vanadium Beryl
http://mastercutgems.com/preview.php?id=7093
The last one is a Pink Spinel
http://mastercutgems.com/preview.php?id=7191

Hi Chrono,
Thank you for the compliment regarding the photos. I’m still learning! Kenny’s posts and digging through the comments to find how different backgrounds affect the coloring and characteristics of the gems are very interesting.

I was absolutely thrilled to get these gems. Like everyone else, I was refreshing constantly and checking out quickly. It’s rather hard to make split second decisions.

The pictures from Mastercut’s site are very true to the color of the stones with natural outside lighting. I believe indirect sunlight, and sometimes a shadow is present, which I believe is the owner’s, Dana’s, his outline can be seen in some of the reflections. Here’s one where I think I see the sky, a tree, forehead, short sleeve shirt, general silhouette, camera, and possibly tripod and building. (Pictures 3 and 5 on that page) http://mastercutgems.com/preview.php?id=6920

In terms of more true to color, the photos from the MasterCut website are true to color. I try my hardest to make these photos true to color too – and sometimes cannot capture the complete essence. In all fairness, multiple monitors and color profiles etc. show a bit differently. I’m using a retina display on an iPad and 27-inch 2560x1440 monitor with a 680mx Nvidia GeForce graphics card and several other LG monitors to view pictures. I change the brightness up and down all the way to see what I can in stock pictures.

I recently responded to a thread about a Malaya garnet, and tried showing the various characteristics under all different types of lighting.
I shoot all pictures inside as a standard with the recommended bulbs used at 5500k in a light box.

The Vanadium and slight Chromium Beryl is really a beautiful yet difficult gem to shoot. Honestly, when I first shot it in the light box I was a bit surprised and underwhelmed. I suspect it is camera shy with calibrated lights, because when it went outside… wow! Hopefully I can show what I mean through some pictures.

I’m including some pictures below to show the different examples of the colors. Can I link to full pictures here? I’m going to put them on an external site like Pinterest or Flickr. I made a mistake of trying to put full sized images on here, but know I froze some laptops and made scrolling impossible. Sorry about that! I really think the full size pictures best emphasize the color and beauty of the stones. Made to 1020x720 or so, hopefully it makes it easier to see.

Also, I’ve been running out of live flowers. Seems the fall weather is here. So, I used some fresh picked Apple’s to show how the lighting can change things a bit. As always, comments or recommendations are appreciated.

 

[boerumbiddy]

The Tanzanian rhodolite garnet I mentioned above just arrived. It loves incandescent light! Hasn't been in the sun yet. My photos are awful, so I may not be able to show you what it looks like, but it doesn't like fluorescent light and turns that garnety brown -- which I think is the color change described in the sale info.

 

[distracts]

Wow, look at all the pretties! That cushion sapphire is GORGEOUS.

 

[katharath]

I wanted that sapphire SO BADLY!! Congrats you lucky duck!! (Message me if you want to sell it...sorry, I just has to say that, I'll drop it now Your pics are so lovely, you got some wonderful gems.

I wanted to pop in to say that my pale pink/lavender spinel also arrived and it is just as pictured (only more beautiful!). The dispersion is awesome, just what I hoped for!! I will get some pics up tomorrow. I also received a matched pair of Umbalite garnets, 4.5 mm round diamond cut, and they are beautiful. Dana was a pleasure to buy from.

 

[boerumbiddy]

Forgot to mention that they sent along a pair of garnets as a gift to a first-time buyer that not only match each other, they match the oval garnet I bought!

 

[chrono]

I am happy that everyone here is loving their new stones.

RTFrog,
Come to my house and photography my gems and rings. Then again, I have no flowers around so can I come over for a photoshoot session? Your pictures are just awesome in every way! They also show the different colours that a gem can show (shifty sides).