Which is better pink sapphire or pink topaz
- Thread starter eks6426
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colormyworld
Brilliant_Rock
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Hi IslandDreams. I am not an expert, but natural pink topaz is very rare. Most pink topaz is either surface treated or diffused some how. I don't think they are very durable. Sapphire is more durable with a higher refactive index. Spinel is another choice which IMO is the best choice because it seems to keep a better color in various lighting conditions and is all natural. Spinel is less expensive than sapphire also. ( I am partial to spinels though ) Hope this helps
Best regards Doug
Best regards Doug
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Sparkle has quite a bit to do with RI, the depth of color and the cut...
The RI order for the pinks I can think of now would be:
Sapphire 1.76
Grossular garnet (sort of pink?) 1.74
Spinel 1.72
Tourmaline 1.64
Topaz 1.63
Beryl (Morganite) 1.58
Kunzite (great, but the color is sensitive to light) 1.66
Quartz 1.55
(Note: there are slight variations in these numbers from source to source, and each type of stone comes with variations of RI, e.g. spinel is listed from 1.7 to 1.
Regardless of species, dark color (say, deep magenta pink, in this case) reduces brilliance. But this doesn''t mean that the lightest colored pink stones are necessarily the brightest and more impressive, especially when the cut doesn''t do much to show as much brilliance as the material allows.
On a quick note: I wouldn''t venture to explain why, but from all I''ve seen, spinel may be a bit brighter than sapphire in real life than sapphire (explanations refer to birefringence, clarity, dichroism and more poetic notions of ''crystal'' - not sure which truly applies). The difference of RI between them is academic anyway. The typical pink of Pamir spinel is one of the memorable sights that made me love spinel so much.
Also, just from seeing them without the RI numbers... I would have never guessed tourmaline is as brilliant as topaz just because it typically comes in deeper colors: pastel tourmaline shows that the RI rating is right though.
To each his own - every stone comes with its own ''trademark'' pink:
Deeper, intense pink works wonderfully for sapphire - and there isn''t much spinel between light pink and dark red.
Pink topaz is almost always enhanced and those are dirt cheap. Natural pink topaz is among the (very) precious colors and usually light although shades do go into red - which is very rare.
Morganite... beryl needs some truly wonderful cut to look bright - before concave faceting came my way, I didn''t think much of Morganite as a bright gem.
Tourmaline - no intro needed for those bright, saturated pinks and magenta pieces. Recently pastel pink tourmaline seems to be popular. Maybe it has just become more available... I just don''t know. The couple of pieces I have seen with fine cuts made quite a sight. You could mistake it for Morganite (so can I).
Kunzite is beautiful - both light and striking bright pink is feasible but the colors fade with light exposure and relatively fast (i.e. chances are it would be a white gem by the time you become bored with the piece - in a few years or so - depending on how it is worn).
Pink quartz: most of the time it is very hazy (translucent), although there are exceptions to that rule.
Some fancy grossular garnets are classified as ''pink'' (more peach color) but are surely rare. Hidrogrossular garnet is the only reliable pink garnet I know - but the material is translucent, not transparent.
The typical sizes differ too: if you wanted a large stone, Morganite, Kunzite, Quartz and Tourmaline come in large pieces easily and relatively inexpensive. Not so the rest.
There may be others, who knows...
Hope the 2c worth helps
The RI order for the pinks I can think of now would be:
Sapphire 1.76
Grossular garnet (sort of pink?) 1.74
Spinel 1.72
Tourmaline 1.64
Topaz 1.63
Beryl (Morganite) 1.58
Kunzite (great, but the color is sensitive to light) 1.66
Quartz 1.55
(Note: there are slight variations in these numbers from source to source, and each type of stone comes with variations of RI, e.g. spinel is listed from 1.7 to 1.
Regardless of species, dark color (say, deep magenta pink, in this case) reduces brilliance. But this doesn''t mean that the lightest colored pink stones are necessarily the brightest and more impressive, especially when the cut doesn''t do much to show as much brilliance as the material allows.
On a quick note: I wouldn''t venture to explain why, but from all I''ve seen, spinel may be a bit brighter than sapphire in real life than sapphire (explanations refer to birefringence, clarity, dichroism and more poetic notions of ''crystal'' - not sure which truly applies). The difference of RI between them is academic anyway. The typical pink of Pamir spinel is one of the memorable sights that made me love spinel so much.
Also, just from seeing them without the RI numbers... I would have never guessed tourmaline is as brilliant as topaz just because it typically comes in deeper colors: pastel tourmaline shows that the RI rating is right though.
To each his own - every stone comes with its own ''trademark'' pink:
Deeper, intense pink works wonderfully for sapphire - and there isn''t much spinel between light pink and dark red.
Pink topaz is almost always enhanced and those are dirt cheap. Natural pink topaz is among the (very) precious colors and usually light although shades do go into red - which is very rare.
Morganite... beryl needs some truly wonderful cut to look bright - before concave faceting came my way, I didn''t think much of Morganite as a bright gem.
Tourmaline - no intro needed for those bright, saturated pinks and magenta pieces. Recently pastel pink tourmaline seems to be popular. Maybe it has just become more available... I just don''t know. The couple of pieces I have seen with fine cuts made quite a sight. You could mistake it for Morganite (so can I).
Kunzite is beautiful - both light and striking bright pink is feasible but the colors fade with light exposure and relatively fast (i.e. chances are it would be a white gem by the time you become bored with the piece - in a few years or so - depending on how it is worn).
Pink quartz: most of the time it is very hazy (translucent), although there are exceptions to that rule.
Some fancy grossular garnets are classified as ''pink'' (more peach color) but are surely rare. Hidrogrossular garnet is the only reliable pink garnet I know - but the material is translucent, not transparent.
The typical sizes differ too: if you wanted a large stone, Morganite, Kunzite, Quartz and Tourmaline come in large pieces easily and relatively inexpensive. Not so the rest.
There may be others, who knows...
Hope the 2c worth helps
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