Show Us Your FAVorite Stone!

[iLander]

Do you have a favorite stone? That special something that makes all this ridiculous CS searching worthwhile? Something you'd never see if you purchased through brick-and-mortar stores? Show us pics and tell us why this stone has captured your heart. It can be more than one, if you like.

I like my sapphire (yes, I'm beating it to death ) because of the color, lack of treatment and something I just noticed about the inclusions. The other day, in a certain angled light, they lit up and looked like a bunch of stars in a midnight sky. Enchanting.

Tell us about yours! Show us a pic or two!

 

[iluvshinythings]

Great idea for a thread!!! I love looking at everyone's gems. Prior to PS, I was strictly a diamond girl but I don't think I'd ever seen a nice, well-cut gem before and now I see I was missing out!

I have a couple of favorites right now. I'm still completely enchanted with my CC garnet. She goes from green to blue to purple and gives off flashes of red and raspberry. I just can't get enough of looking at her and I love that she came out of the earth looking like this.



My other favorite is my new gray spinel for e-ring #2. I bought her from a lovely lady on LT and she's a knock out. I just got my completed ring back and I don't have any shots of her in her setting yet but she's stunning. She's precision cut, about 7.5 mm and shifts from gray to blue to plum and very, very sparkly. I'm mesmerized and not getting much work accomplished this afternoon. Now I totally understand all the hype about gray spinels and want to thank those on PS who showed their pics and started my new addiction.

 

[athenaworth]

Definitely my new Mahenge. After feverishly searching for the perfect stone for a good 8 month stint, I'd stopped looking and then a year later a perfect one basically fell in my lap. If I could marry a ring, I'd marry this one. It just makes me giddy.

iLander, your sapphire is spectacular. It's one of my favorite PS rings.

 

[packrat]

My chrysoberyl. I love yellow and it is perfect to me. Sometimes it looks more pastel-ish, sometimes it's super yellow, and always it's sparkling and gorgeous.

 

[erinl]

We need a picture packrat!

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Probably my sphene earrings They're a jolly rancher green and the dispersion is beyong amazing.

 

[minousbijoux]

Davi, you have inspired me and for a while I've been looking for green sphenes like yours to make earrings. Love!

 

[FrekeChild]

Ugh. I have too many. I've pared down my collection so much that all I have left are favorites...

 

[FrekeChild]

And more...

Including a picture of unset stones that I labeled as my favorites several years ago.

Green Goblin - Tsavorite from Barry
Supernova - Spinel from Barry
Colorless - Spinel from Barry
Blue Green - probable cuprian tourmaline from Barry
Lavender/pink - Mahenge spinel from Barry
Radiant/barion emerald cut - unheated Umba sapphire from Gene

Almost all of those are set now. Couple of them in temporary settings, couple of them in forever settings. Only the sapphire is loose right now until I get the funds to set it.

 

[jstarfireb]

Just a few...

Barry tourmaline:

Alexandrite (I don't have a good non-vendor pic but I swear it really looks like this):

Tsavorite (I call this the Green Lantern Ring):

Black opal (also a vendor photo but it's the best I have):

 

[pregcurious]

My flawless, red spinel. Just got the AGL report back on it confirming that it's real.

 

[JewelFreak]

Yay, Preg! Everybody's are stunning.

Mine is still my blue spinel:





I also love a green tourm, my first stone purchase. I lost the photos of it when my computer crashed & haven't taken more yet. It's hard to see here, but you get kind of an idea. (The tourmaline in front is my copper/peach one recently set, that I keep whining is not brown -- now you can see what I mean, love that too.)

 

[sphenequeen]

Yay, Preg! Everybody's are stunning.

Mine is still my blue spinel:





I also love a green tourm, my first stone purchase. I lost the photos of it when my computer crashed & haven't taken more yet. It's hard to see here, but you get kind of an idea. (The tourmaline in front is my copper/peach one recently set, that I keep whining is not brown -- now you can see what I mean, love that too.)

Who did you get your blue spinel through? LOVE the color!

 

[packrat]

pics of my chryso

The summer before last, I happened to be sitting outside when the sun was coming up, and of course, doing what PS'ers do, staring at my rings and moving my hand around. The light from the sun...holy cow. The ring is gorgeous anyway but that specific lighting was breathtakingly beautiful. I'd loved the stone from the moment I opened up the package from Barry, but then seeing it in that moment just reinforced it a thousand fold.

 

[pregcurious]

Davi, who set your beautiful sphenes?

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Davi, who set your beautiful sphenes?

My jeweler here in Buffalo, Barbara Oliver and Company

 

[pregcurious]

Thank you!

 

[chrono]

I kept trying but am disappointed that my pictures look nothing like what I see in person. My camera even picked up yellow in my Mahenge spinel and we ALL know that that is impossible. There are also so many beauties here, which understandably are reasons why they are your particular favourites.

 

[athenaworth]

I'm so happy to see new pics of your baby. She should make appearances more often.

 

[periwinklegirl]

I kept trying but am disappointed that my pictures look nothing like what I see in person. My camera even picked up yellow in my Mahenge spinel and we ALL know that that is impossible. There are also so many beauties here, which understandably are reasons why they are your particular favourites.

Stunning!!! I suspect your spinel is many CSers favorite!

It looks fabulous in the shade!

 

[periwinklegirl]

Much as I love my new red diamond ring, my blues are my favorites.

 

[SB621]

My all time FAVORITE CS that I owned was my asscher cut tourmaline from JW that I sold. As much as I loved the color I really wanted a bigger version of it. My RH is a large size and I really like statement rings so down the road I definitely plan on seeing if Jeff can cut me another.

However, truly as much as color is king I just love step cuts with my CS collection. It seems I can sell almost everything but I just can't give these two up.

First is my 5ct asscher cut emerald in art deco bracelet
Second is the 5 or 6 ct EC Aqua by Barry that I bought pre-loved from a fantastic PSer! I adore these 2 stones.

 

[missy]

Really gorgeous colors and stones in this thread! I can see why they are beloved favorites. I love all the stones posted in this thread.

iLander-love your sapphire and love being able to visualize the stars-very romantic.
Freke, your whole collection is really the most beautiful collection!
Chrono-awesome color. Just amazing.
Periwinkle, that blue asscher sapphire is TDF!
Laurie-love your blue spinel. So beautiful.
Sarah-love all your jewelry!


Here's my favorite colored stone. It was a gift from my mom a number of years ago because she never wore it since it isn't insured so she gave it to me so it could be loved and enjoyed. She knew I coveted it. My dad gave it to her in 1972. It's from Lightning Ridge Australia though my dad bought it from Cartier on fifth ave. Not as far for him to travel lol. These are new pics-just took them now but I still cannot capture the colors that come off this baby. It's impossible. It's a thousand times more beautiful in person (IMO).

 

[GregS]

Love the neon of Athenaworth's Spinel... my favorite stone is in my avatar, the bigger one. Seen below in different lighting.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Stunning colour Greg!

 

[iLander]

WOW! There so many spectacular stones here! I would like to hear more stories, though. What makes them your favorite, the special moments, describe the colors you see, etc. I very much enjoyed the stories from the CSers that mused and waxed poetic.

I will be giving (worthless) points for stories!

iluvshiny: What a great description, I feel like I'm there! +10 Points for the story.

athenaworth: Awww, thank you! I love the color on that mahenge!

Davi: I love a great demantoid, and they're so hard to find.

Minous: We'd love to see one of yours.

Freke: Droolworthy goodies, as usual!

Pregcurious: A beauty, what a great color!

Laurie: That spinel is spectacular. Can you please explain spinels to me? I rarely see them, but CSers seem to love them, what's the deal?

Packrat: Wonderful story! +10 Points for the story!

Chrono: This stone is the queen of CS , at least for me. Stunning . . .

Periwinkle: Such a range in the blues, I'd love to see that diamond in RL

SB: I've always loved that emerald bracelet!

Missy: What a treasure! Tell me, does the body color change any when you wear it? Sometimes they do, I have an opal that gets darker if I wear it several days in a row. Great stone with great memories, we need a thread on that beauty.

Greg: What fabulous neon color!

 

[periwinklegirl]

Stories, OK, here goes.

My blue diamond was my first fcd and my first really valuable piece (as in over 5k). And my first post PS stone.
Before I got it I didn't know that coloured stones have colour change. I mean white diamonds more or less look white all the time. And, like most us, I'd been waiting for it for long time before I actually got it (like seven months). I drove down to my girlfriend's place in the US to pick it up. She'd never seen an fcd before either.
Once I had it on my hand, I couldn't stop looking at it. I did that thing all PSers do where you look at it in different places and in all kinds of different light. Oddly enough, I like it least in sunlight (although the dispersion is incredible). It becomes a darker steel grey with a little tinge of blue. I remember that I liked it in the light in the bathroom, in daylight, the best. That's where it looks like the pic I posted.
Plain overcast daylight is my favorite (convenient since I live in the PNW).
Very few people ever know what it is. I've even had a Tiffany sales person ask if it was an aquamarine! Although her colleague was able to correct her.
But I remember once I was helping someone at work (I work in a public library) and he noticed it. He said something along the lines of, "you just don't expect to see something like that around here". He must have repeated that three or four times. I just smiled and thanked him for the compliment.

 

[FrekeChild]

Well if we have to have stories....

Lots of these stones have their own threads...

Big Blue - my first named stone. Barry talked about him in the monthly newsletter very close to when he was starting to do the drop thing. He mentioned to me that it was from a piece of rough from his friend that didn't like to polish spinels, and Barry hadn't seen rough like this in a long time. I emailed him and begged him to please please please sell it to me and not drop it. He wouldn't. Hah! Seeing as how I was a poor newly engaged student at the time, I begged my dad and he said it could be my wedding present. I had nightmares the night of the drop, waking up twice thinking that I'd missed it. I set my alarm so I'd wake up with plenty of time to spare (3 hours, I was REALLY worried I'd miss it) and then started refreshing about an hour before. No joke. As soon as the website was up again, I didn't look around at anything else. I went straight for it and didn't even hesitate. And I was the only one. That would have never happened nowadays! Anyway, the tapered baguette is it's second setting.

Lavender asscher - bought it secondhand. I actually sold it to a friend recently (GASP!) but she couldn't think of how to set it, so she considers it having babysat it for a few months for me.

Earl Grey - I asked Barry if he had any gray spinel rough? He did, and this is the stone. I don't think he has had any other gray spinel rough since then. Super special stone to me, as it's one of the things I looked for when I first joined PS.

Namibian Tourmaline - Eesh. Another stone I bought as a starving student! I grabbed it off of a Barry drop, but nothing as dramatic as Big Blue's story. I just wanted a blue green stone, and this one sung to me. I designed the setting and Daniel M and Caren brought it to life for me.

Strawberry Soda - This was bought before the hot pink Mahenge spinels got super popular. I had seen this one on AJS's website, but as a poor student (see the trend here?!) I couldn't afford it all at once. I'd heard that Rung was awesome and so I emailed them about doing a payment plan, which they were amazing about. Despite the inclusions, I imagine this would cost a LOT more now than what I paid for it. I tend to think that it was influenced by the episode of Sex and the City where Carrie's Manolos are swiped at her friend's party - she's wearing a big fake neon pink necklace, and the cheaper Tiffany gemstone necklaces.

Supernova spinel- I'll just post the thread. Lets just say I found the owner of it off of PS because I wanted it so bad. In a non-creepy way, I swear! She had mentioned wanting to sell it, but it was before the Preloved forum was around.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/one-year-and-a-couple-months-later.125382/

Green Goblin - Shorter story, but MTG posted about it, returned it because it wasn't dark enough for her, and I emailed Barry about it ASAP.

 

[missy]

Thank you iLander. It changes color all the time. It's really quite amazing. It photographs much lighter than it actually is and there are so many different flashes of colors always coming from this ring. I'm not sure if it gets darker after wearing it a few days in a row because I never wear it for more than one day at a time. It's more of a special occasion ring and because it is soft I don't wear it ever to knock around. It's also not insured (way too expensive to insure it) so while I certainly do get to enjoy the ring it's not an everyday ring.

The story behind this ring is pretty straightforward. My dad is very romantic and loves giving my mom beautiful things whether it be artwork, jewelry or even making jewelry himself (he's a retired dentist and very creative with an artistic streak).When my parents got married my dad had just started his career so had no money for an ER. Their love story is romantic as they met and 3 weeks later they were engaged and a few months after that they were married. He proposed to her on the Brooklyn Bridge. And 50 years later (this December!) they are still happily married. But I digress.

After he could afford a ring (I think sometime during the first year of marriage) he bought her a gorgeous ER that she still wears to this very day. And then he was on a roll LOL. So many lovely pieces but in 1972 he took her to Cartier and they fell in love with this ring. My mom has modest tastes but my dad insisted and they got this ring.

Fast forward 30 or so years and she didn't wear it as much and it languished in the bank safe. I always longed for this ring. It just sang to me and my mom would lend it to me when I asked to borrow it. Finally one day she just gave it to me and said she wanted me to enjoy wearing it whenever I wanted and I was thrilled. Especially because my mom never gave me a significant piece of jewelry before. I was hesitant because it is not a hardy ring and I am a klutz but I didn't want the ring to be lonely anymore. So I did the selfless thing and accepted it.

Freke, I love your story behind big blue. It was meant to be.

 

[pregcurious]

My flawless, red spinel. Just got the AGL report back on it confirming that it's real.

Okay, here's the story.

I wanted a red spinel. I wanted a highly saturated red stone that was not pink, and I preferred medium plus to medium dark. I looked around at all the usual vendors for several months in 2009.

Finally, I contacted Pala for an oval or round red spinel, approximately 2 carats. It was my first time dealing with Pala; I did not know I had to be part of the trade, and the person I contacted never told me either. (He must have been new?) They gave me the trade prices. I talked to them on the phone and asked if it would be possible to send it to an appraiser directly, and they said that would be okay. Just before it was to be sent, they balked and said that because I was not part of the trade, I would have to go through someone else. I have reason to believe that another vendor contacted Pala because they were cc'ed on the email to me from Pala; I had contacted this other vendor also about the spinel and had foolishly mentioned that I was planning a last ditch stop at Pala when they didn't have any spinels that met my criteria. I did not appreciate, and still do not appreciate to this day that the other vendor did not just tell me directly that I could not deal with Pala directly, and instead went behind my back. What's wrong with just telling me? I was a noob. I even emailed the vendor and told the I did appreciate their move, and I never received a response back. Her loss because I have purchased many stones since then that I could have bought from her. Anyway, the gem was "burned" for me, and I was no longer interested in it. I think after that experience, my naivete about falling in love with stones wore off.

I basically gave up. Then one night in 2010, while looking for tsavorites, I found Bruce Bridges' website. I emailed him on a whim about a red spinel. I think of his father as a gem legend, and I was so surprised when he emailed me. He was gracious and easy to work with. He sent me pictures of 2 stones, and I went on his word about the color. I picked the higher carat one, even though the face-up dimension was about the same, and the higher carat one was pricier. (I wish I could have seen both. The smaller one seemed slightly lighter in color, which made it seem more bright.) He sent the higher carat to the appraiser, and it had that saturation I had been seeking. If I need to buy another holy grail stone in the future, and I cannot find it from the usual vendors, I would ask Bruce again. He is focused on selling to the trade, so I would feel badly about bothering him for hand shots etc.

I never ended up asking Bruce for tsav, even though he had many in stock back then. I think I was still feeling "set" after purchasing the spinel. I should have bought a tsav too!

I like my other stones, but they don't reach the "holy grail" level of color for me. The spinel is still not set because I can't find a setting I love. At this point, I'm thinking cluster/halo, but it doesn't quite do it for me. I have a ring being made for something else by ERD, and if that comes out well, I'll may have enough courage to set Red.