Tourmaline

Date: 12/15/2008 1:06:46 AM
Author:Afterglow
Hi everyone

I saw a picture of a green cabochon tourmaline ring that I absolutely loved. I want to get one made up and I''m trying to source Tourmaline stones. The color of this ring was really natural looking (if that makes sense!!) and it had black going through it almost like a turquoise.

The tourmalines I have seen online aren''t quite the right color. I''ve come across a stone that''s called an Indicolite Tourmaline which is almost the color I want but it''s not exactly what I want. I''m after a really good quality one as well. So if anyone can assist me in finding the right stone it would be much appreciated!

TIA!

I''ve never seen a tourmaline with black going through it like a turquoise.  Do you have a picture of the stone?  Or a picture of a faceted gem with a similar color.  Paraibainternational.com carries several paraiba cabs that are of turquoise color, but they are very expensive.  I''m really not sure what you''re looking for.  There is also cats eye tourmaline that comes in a cab form as well. 

Could it have been a dyed moss agate or something of that sort?

I''ve never seen a tourmaline as described either - it could have been a one off anomaly with a pleasing inclusion I suppose...

Hemimorpite is a paraiba windex blue colour and sometimes has black running through it.  It''s becoming more popular and is mostly cut as cabochons.  It''s not an Indicolite colour though and isn''t tourmaline but thought I''d throw it in the mix as a possible!

How transparent is the stone? From transparent, to translucent to opaque--where does it fall?

Hi thanks for the replies!!

Perhaps my description is a little hazy as I am a newbie!!

http://www.janlogan.com/#/collections/bespoke/rings click til you get to 11-17/17 and it''s the first ring.

It''s so pretty but I just don''t know if it''s worth paying that much. Does anyone have any idea as to how much it would cost to get made? I''m from Australia so I suspect it will be a little pricier. I''ve seen some stones on Etsy and I don''t know whether I should get it http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=14756599

Thanks everyone!

Oh, those look like liquid inclusions--typical for tourmaline. At the top of this page there is a thread called "sites selling colored gemstones and jewelry." I'd start there. I would also purchase a stone loose, and then have a good jeweler make the setting. Price depends on quality of the stone, metal, etc.

Hi thanks for the reply.

Is there anyone you recommend because I was going through these sites yesterday and it's an awful lot to sort through!

Also am I right in calling it an Indicolite Tourmaline??

Date: 12/15/2008 5:28:31 PM
Author: Afterglow
Hi thanks for the reply.

Is there anyone you recommend because I was going through these sites yesterday and it''s an awful lot to sort through!

Also am I right in calling it an Indicolite Tourmaline??

I mainly buy from Rick Martin at ArtCutGems - www.artcutgems.com at present.

Garnets are my thing - and he''s very passionate about them as well. I''ve had some fantastic stones and never returned any.

I''m based in the UK, so returning stones would be a PITA.

I''ve also got stones from Wink Jones - www.winkjones.com - he did my e-ring (I believe the stone came from Palagems who are trade only but have a fab website - www.palagems.com ) and e-rings for some of my friends and relations.

Richard Homer - www.concavegems.com - sourced me some amazing sphene at Tucson this year, which Wink then set for me.

There are lots of others who are favourites on this board - Jeff White, Precision Gem, Daniel Stair and others. I haven''t bought from them personally, but their reputations are stellar.

If you are buying from overseas, it''s worth discussing your needs with a vendor rather than just buying a stone off the website and having it shipped. Remember also that not all stock will be listed on the website - well worth asking if they have what you are after.

I also find that the free tool at Gemewizard can be really useful for describing colour over the internet so that both parties know what is being talked about.

Hope that helps a bit!

Thanks for the recommendations!!

Do you think $4650 is excessive for this piece as I''m tempted to buy it from this jeweller? I just don''t know if tourmaline is that valuable.

Ok here''s a pic of the ring I want to get made up

Attachments

RingAfterglow.JPG (17.25 KiB) Viewed 27 times

What's the carat weight of the stone?

I would call the vendors/faceters that Pandora recommended to get an idea of what a good blue-green tourmaline cab would cost. I imagine you could have the ring made more economically.

A great vendor for handmade bezel settings is also James Meyer. I've worked with him-he just reset my e-ring in a bezel.

Here's a link to his colored stone rings. There's actually a blue-green tourmaline on this page, but with a more intricate setting. He also does very simple settings.

http://www.jamesmeyerjewelry.com/rings.htm

Good Luck!

i love cabs!  good luck with this project:  i expect pictures to be posted upon completion!

movie zombie

Hi everyone

I have been going around trying to find quotes for this ring! A few jewellers are trying to source some stones for me.

As I''m new to all of this can someone tell me what they think of the following stone and whether or not it''s a close match to what I''m after?

http://www.loosefacetedgemstones.net/servlet/the-28/blue-green-tourmaline%2C-indicolite/Detail

Also has anyone bought from these people before? A jeweller I saw said that I should be weary when buying stones as it''s best to get an unheated and untreated stone. They mentioned something about oil. I have no idea what they were on about haha so can anyone tell me if they think this stone is treated/heated?

Also the ring will end up being approx 10mm to 12mm round as I have relatively small fingers (great for me as it makes the stone cheaper!!). Can this gem be sized down?

Thanks everyone for your help!!!!

I can understand why people get so into making jewellery now!!

There is absolutely no way to know for sure what, if any, treatment has been applied to the stone unless you (a) ask the seller and then (b) have it independently assessed by a gemological testing centre.  As for re-cutting the stone?  You may struggle to find somebody to do this.  It may also be costly.  It may also not be possible to facet the stone to the shape you want.  During a re-cut, many things can happen including the gemstone fracturing and it''s unlikely that a gemstone cutter would be willing to take the risk at their cost.  Of course, the seller may have in house cutters and they may be able to do this for you.  If I were you, I''d either buy the gemstone and leave it as it is, or find a gemstone cut as you want.

As for treatments ..... there are many different kinds.  Some you may find acceptable, others not.  For example, some people feel that heat treated gemstones are ok because it''s a more natural form of treatment and if the earth ever heated itself up considerably the gemstone would change that way anyway!  Filling with lead/glass into cavities to improve the appearance of a gemstone is another and generally means you get a bigger gemstone for a cheaper cost BUT the value of the stone will normally be depreciated.  I personally don''t find this acceptable but others are ok with it.  Then you have beryillium diffusing which is adding beryillium to the treatment process to improve or change the colour of the gemstone.  For me, this is unacceptable whether it''s a stable process or not!  Coatings are another and the majority of Topaz on the market are coated.  There are tons of other treatments and if you do a google search I''m sure you''ll find tons more but you also asked about oiling?  That''s typically found in Emeralds and a coloured oil is infused into the cavities of the gemstone (again to improve its appearance).  The oil, over time, can dry out as you''d imagine.  This is a fairly standard practice with Emeralds and isn''t generally frowned upon (like the Beryillium process for example).  Many many Emeralds on the market have been treated with oil.

Hope that helps (and apologies to the experts if I''ve used incorrect terminology in any of the above).