True Stories From Real Life

[velouriaL]

So, I almost never see amazing or at least unusual colored stones in real life. Sure, I see rubies, sapphires, the occasional emerald, pink or yellow FCDs, the usual "semi-precious" birthstones...

The other days, I saw what had to be a gorgeous chrysoberyl in a boutique. I wondered if the wearer was a PSer and just had to comment. I asked what the stone was, and she said that is was "yellow alexandrite." I complimented her (because it was truly beautiful) but inside, I was like, "WUTTTT!!!!" Has anyone heard this term, "yellow alexandrite" before? That's like calling a sapphire a "blue ruby." Maybe it's because alexandrites are (marginally?) more well-known than chyrsoberyls? I suppose if the chrysoberyl exhibited STRONG color change, like this Jeff White one, but still... Needless to say, I don't think she was a PSers. I wish I had asked more about the stone's backstory but it wasn't really the moment.

Anyone else care to share, um, interesting gem stories from everyday life?

 

[cm366]

There's an older 'custom jeweler' near me who claims that everything he does is handmade, but orders everything from Stuller or another catalogue setting manufacturer. He regularly has sales on "Yellow emeralds", "blue emeralds", or my personal favorite, "Historical rubies" which are pale pink. He's got a great patter about how they were the choice of monarchs for hundreds of years before the Americans and the Chinese distorted the market in favour of cloudy red stones that only a mother could love.

 

[boerumbiddy]

Link to a previous thread on cruise ships trying to sell "yellow emeralds" and other such mongrels.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yellow-emeralds.185702/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yellow-emeralds.185702/[/URL]

 

[boerumbiddy]

And now when I go to 47th Street or even some fairly strictly vetted antiques shows, the folks trying to sell rubies either insist that ALL rubies are heated or suggest it is impossible to tell....Or maybe that had a certificate once but it's too hard to look it up. I do think it is true that pinker-toned (though not pink) rubies used to be more popular.

 

[T L]

I went to a B&M store that is one of the oldest jewelers in Chicago, and they had a huge CZ that they were selling as a pink tourmaline. It had tons of fire and dispersion, unlike true tourmaline, and you could see it was machine cut in a similar fashion to those large radiant cut CZ's. It would have been at least 15 carats if it were a tourmaline. It was completely clean and bubblegum pink, and very heavy for it's size (CZ's are very dense stones). Everything about it screamed CZ, and when I told that to the SA, she was extremely perturbed with me, and said they only sell natural stones.

I think their buyer was duped or confused into buying what they thought was a natural stone from a company they did business with.

The stone looked almost identical to this one I found on ebay, same cut and color, and approximate size.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/15Ctw-Radiant-Cut-Pink-CZ-Cubic-Zirconia-Bridal-Engagement-Wedding-Ring-/290849151454

 

[corundum_conundrum]

Unread post by cm366 » 30 Oct 2013 20:53
There's an older 'custom jeweler' near me who claims that everything he does is handmade, but orders everything from Stuller or another catalogue setting manufacturer. He regularly has sales on "Yellow emeralds", "blue emeralds", or my personal favorite, "Historical rubies" which are pale pink. He's got a great patter about how they were the choice of monarchs for hundreds of years before the Americans and the Chinese distorted the market in favour of cloudy red stones that only a mother could love.

I actually like your jeweler's take on rubies.

 

[Indylady]

I saw a pair of bixbite studs on a woman, set in 22k (or at least a high-karat gold)--I wish I could have asked more, but, it seemed too awkward after I gave the initial compliment and asked what they were.

Hmmn..besides that, I can't think of anything else incredible except for large, large diamonds.

I did once have someone at a Kay or some other national chain tell me that Mikimoto only carries freshwaters and not akoya (they have one of the Sea Magic lines) in a super snotty way. She didn't know the difference. The store had both Sea Magic akoyas and freshwaters, and of course she called them Mikimoto the whole time. It was obnoxious.

 

[minousbijoux]

Okay not quite the same thing, as my scenario is a bit reversed, but I actually have gotten to the point where its almost always a disappointment when people comment on my rings. The conversation typically goes something like:

"Hey MB, I've been noticing your ring all night. What is that? Its very pretty."
Me: "Thanks. Its one of my favorites. Its a copper bearing tourmaline from Mozambique, kinda like the Brazilian Paraibas."
[Their head begins to nod, eyes ever so glazed]
Me continuing: "The copper makes the stone appear to glow...wait, where are you going?"

Yeah, I'm really that bad, and have lost more than one "audience member" to boredom. I just can't seem to modulate my need to expound. So now I've gotten pretty good at just saying: "Thank you!" and changing the subject.

 

[JewelFreak]

Me: "Thanks. Its one of my favorites. Its a copper bearing tourmaline from Mozambique, kinda like the Brazilian Paraibas."
[Their head begins to nod, eyes ever so glazed]
Me continuing: "The copper makes the stone appear to glow...wait, where are you going?"

Haha, Minou, that's me! I can see the paralysis overtaking their faces but can't stop expounding. It's so exciting to me; how can it possibly not be to them? Er, lost a few friends that way & DH floats mentally into the ozone.

I persuaded a jeweler to take me on a long time ago. Good sized shop in Scarsdale. He made a big deal about everything being made right there in his own workshop; all his pieces gen-u-ine hand-created works of art. I was not allowed to go out for lunch -- had to eat a sandwich at the desk in the basement storeroom -- unpacking all the stock he ordered from Italy! This job lasted less than a week; I couldn't lie to customers & besides, the guy was a dope in a lot of other ways.

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

Me: "Thanks. Its one of my favorites. Its a copper bearing tourmaline from Mozambique, kinda like the Brazilian Paraibas."
[Their head begins to nod, eyes ever so glazed]
Me continuing: "The copper makes the stone appear to glow...wait, where are you going?"

Haha, Minou, that's me! I can see the paralysis overtaking their faces but can't stop expounding. It's so exciting to me; how can it possibly not be to them? Er, lost a few friends that way & DH floats mentally into the ozone.

That's probably why this forum is addicting to many of us. It's really difficult to find people IRL that know so much about gems. I met a lady once, at a hair salon, and I could have spoken to her all day. She was working on her G.G. too. She actually purchased colored stones from some of the same people we do.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

My Prehnite earrings and ring keep people guessing. A few "educated" guesses are "moonstone" but most often it is "mood" ring..

"Hey did you get that at H & M--it is just like mine"!

MB, like you I no longer explain.....just the usual convention, "thank-you"!

cheers--Sharon

 

[emmmme]

One person asked me if my morganite ering was a pink diamond; another asked me if it was a champagne diamond. Both times I laughed. Fine by me if people make that mistake!

I don't encounter many beautiful coloured stones in the wild, however, my husband recently commented on his colleague's pale lavendar gemstone and was subsequently subject to a long story about her "extremely rare" tanzanite.

 

[deskjockey]

Me: "Thanks. Its one of my favorites. Its a copper bearing tourmaline from Mozambique, kinda like the Brazilian Paraibas."
[Their head begins to nod, eyes ever so glazed]
Me continuing: "The copper makes the stone appear to glow...wait, where are you going?"

Haha, Minou, that's me! I can see the paralysis overtaking their faces but can't stop expounding. It's so exciting to me; how can it possibly not be to them? Er, lost a few friends that way & DH floats mentally into the ozone.

Funny, I tend to be attracted to things that require lots of random knowledge and learning. Aquarium keeping, horses, and now apparently colored gems even though I'm not a huge jewelry person at all and even keep forgetting to wear my e-ring (oops). I've seen that paralysis-of-the-face my whole life, almost every time I get going about the stuff that I get excited about. heh.

 

[minousbijoux]

Me: "Thanks. Its one of my favorites. Its a copper bearing tourmaline from Mozambique, kinda like the Brazilian Paraibas."
[Their head begins to nod, eyes ever so glazed]
Me continuing: "The copper makes the stone appear to glow...wait, where are you going?"

Haha, Minou, that's me! I can see the paralysis overtaking their faces but can't stop expounding. It's so exciting to me; how can it possibly not be to them? Er, lost a few friends that way & DH floats mentally into the ozone.

Funny, I tend to be attracted to things that require lots of random knowledge and learning. Aquarium keeping, horses, and now apparently colored gems even though I'm not a huge jewelry person at all and even keep forgetting to wear my e-ring (oops). I've seen that paralysis-of-the-face my whole life, almost every time I get going about the stuff that I get excited about. heh.

Well said!

 

[T L]

One person asked me if my morganite ering was a pink diamond; another asked me if it was a champagne diamond. Both times I laughed. Fine by me if people make that mistake!

I don't encounter many beautiful coloured stones in the wild, however, my husband recently commented on his colleague's pale lavendar gemstone and was subsequently subject to a long story about her "extremely rare" tanzanite.

I have a friend that calls all my stones, "diamonds." He has no clue as to the difference between a diamond or any other gem.

 

[LD]

Oh dear!

Some Alexandrites can look yellow(ish) and turn to a muddy brownish. Although you could just about call them Alexandrites they're not what you think of so I'm guessing you're right that it was a Chrysoberyl. I wonder if she paid lots and lots for it because of the "Alexandrite" title

 

[AN0NYM0US]

So, I almost never see amazing or at least unusual colored stones in real life. Sure, I see rubies, sapphires, the occasional emerald, pink or yellow FCDs

I have seen a couple people wearing yellow diamonds, but never a pink diamond. Not a natural one anyway.

 

[txgreeneyes]

I had a friend say that my new diamond ring was pretty.

It was a 2 carat (almost) colorless topaz from Precision Gem. I paid under $100 for the stone. Gorgeous stone with one of his professional cuts.

I think she was just being kind. It doesn't look like a diamond to me, and I never bought it to fool anyone to think it was a diamond. I just wanted a natural unheated topaz.

Can I post a glamour shot if it from the jeweler that set it? It has their logo on it.

 

[txgreeneyes]

My Dad passed away in 2008, and my Mom passed away in 2010.

While going through their jewelry, my sister and I found a unique ring that belonged to my Dad.

It had a pretty stone like a diamond, and then it had some strange markings.

I guessed "mason ring". So I checked ebay. Sure enough, it was a 32 degree Masonic ring.

He wasn't in the Masons. His father wasn't in the Masons. My Dad probably saw it at a gun show and had to have it.

I wish I knew the story behind it! My Dad just liked to have stuff that he wasn't supposed to.

 

[boerumbiddy]

Just visited "fine jewelry" at Bloomingdale's. Each case has a little sign warning that almost all diamonds, colored gems and cultured pearls can be assumed to be treated and to need special care....... Even diamonds? Sheesh!

 

[FrekeChild]

I got complimented on my amazing purple diamond once upon a time. It was a periwinkle spinel, smaller and pretty saturated, under spot lighting, so I gave her a pass.

I don't talk about jewelry. The only people who know about my "problem" are my husband and my best friend - and she doesn't have any idea just how bad it is!

 

[colorluvr]

I don't talk about jewelry. The only people who know about my "problem" are my husband and my best friend - and she doesn't have any idea just how bad it is!

What Freke said!

 

[minousbijoux]

I got complimented on my amazing purple diamond once upon a time. It was a periwinkle spinel, smaller and pretty saturated, under spot lighting, so I gave her a pass.

I don't talk about jewelry. The only people who know about my "problem" are my husband and my best friend - and she doesn't have any idea just how bad it is!

That would've taken every ounce of willpower I had in my body (admittedly not that much to begin with) to not expound on the beauty of spinels...

 

[JewelFreak]

I got complimented on my amazing purple diamond once upon a time. It was a periwinkle spinel, smaller and pretty saturated, under spot lighting, so I gave her a pass.

I don't talk about jewelry. The only people who know about my "problem" are my husband and my best friend - and she doesn't have any idea just how bad it is!

That would've taken every ounce of willpower I had in my body (admittedly not that much to begin with) to not expound on the beauty of spinels...

Absolutely me too! Don't know if I could've bottled it all up.

DeskJockey -- talk to me about horses any day! I'll listen forever.

--- Laurie

 

[pregcurious]

I persuaded a jeweler to take me on a long time ago. Good sized shop in Scarsdale. He made a big deal about everything being made right there in his own workshop; all his pieces gen-u-ine hand-created works of art. I was not allowed to go out for lunch -- had to eat a sandwich at the desk in the basement storeroom -- unpacking all the stock he ordered from Italy! This job lasted less than a week; I couldn't lie to customers & besides, the guy was a dope in a lot of other ways.

--- Laurie

He should have just stated it was from Italy. What's wrong with that?

 

[iLander]

I was at a jewelry store and they had a lovely emerald, about 7 x 7 which is what I had always wanted.

The lady said she would give me a "deal" of only $9000. For the lovely Chatham emerald. Regular price $12,000.

Then she started talking about the mine it was from.

I didn't know anything about emeralds at the time (Before PS) but my spidey sense told me something was off. I walked away.

I went home and googled Chatham emerald. I found out it was a synthetic and of course, there's NO MINE Involved.

I believe that afternoon of googling first lead me to PS . . . I just shudder to think how these people are so full of it.

 

[minousbijoux]

iLander, iLander, iLander! You can find the Chatham emerald mine right next to the grove of money trees!

 

[iLander]

iLander, iLander, iLander! You can find the Chatham emerald mine right next to the grove of money trees!

I know the one! Just down the road from the spaghetti trees!

 

[dragonfly411]

iLander, iLander, iLander! You can find the Chatham emerald mine right next to the grove of money trees!

I know the one! Just down the road from the spaghetti trees!

And the lasagna bush?

 

[minousbijoux]

iLander, iLander, iLander! You can find the Chatham emerald mine right next to the grove of money trees!

I know the one! Just down the road from the spaghetti trees!

And the lasagna bush?

I frankly did not know they came in bushes; I thought they only came in "family size" trees! Good to know...