What exactly is cornflower blue?? Royal blue??

[Sagebrush]

TL,

Yes indeed, that is "Kashmir blue" I can show you a few more examples. Note that the color and saturation do resemble the color of a cornflower in Kismet''s image. Exact match, no, but it conveys the sense of cornflower.

In Plato''s philosophy there were two levels of reality. There was the realm of the pure idea and that of the senses which Plato compared to shadows on the wall of a cave. Without waxing too poetic, Kismet''s image conveys the pure idea of the color. A transparent gemstone is another type of medium altogether, but we are seeking a comparison, when you say that a sapphire has the color of cornflower, you aren''t saying that it really looks like the flower, it is a metaphor. How does one convey metaphor by abbreviation? GIA shorthand attempts it but...!

 

[colorluvr]

The cornflowers in the original post are very pretty, but definitely darker than the ones that I have seen, and consequently, I have always associated cornflower blue sapphires as being lighter than royal blue in color. (as others have stated also).... just goes to show how decriptive names can be misleading.

 

[empress]

Agreed.

Sort of like "Fanta" and "Mandarin."

 

[Arkteia]

I would call it "stonebabble". In medicine, we also have our own lingo which won''t bode well with daily life. If I tell my friend, "you seem diaphoretic", she''ll make big eyes. I''d rather say, "you are sweating, is it too hot here?" I won''t say, "my skin is loosing its turgor", I''d say, "time to see a plastic surgeon".

So, if someone talks to a rookie customer about "color wheel", or "hue", or "saturation", he won''t be understood. By saying "cornflower blue" or "sleepy Kashmir" you get the message across. It is something unusual, it is "in".

If I hear "emerald by day, ruby by night", it sounds spicy, I want it. If I hear, "100% color shift", I''d say "so what?". Metaphors move products.

 

[Sagebrush]

All,

Flowers are a problem, no doubt about it. Damn things are inconsistent. Ought to be a law!

It has always been difficult to reduce beauty to sterile analysis. Metaphors often bring us closer to the truth if they stimulate us. Obviously, all the members of this forum are drawn to gems. Can we reduce that desire to clinical analysis? Wouldn''t that take all the fun out of it?

Anyone around Washington this Thursday, I''ll be lecturing on blue diamond at the GIA Alumni Association. Love to see you.

 

[T L]

Pidgeon blood is a problem too since I''ve never seen a pidgeon get a cut. I have seen chicken blood, but maybe it''s not good enough to define the color of top rubies.

Who invents these terms?? OMG!!

 

[Sagebrush]

All,

Lighter toned cornflower blue

 

[chictomato]

Date: 6/16/2010 10:56:04 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Pidgeon blood is a problem too since I''ve never seen a pidgeon get a cut. I have seen chicken blood, but maybe it''s not good enough to define the color of top rubies.

Who invents these terms?? OMG!!

haha TL! you are so humorous, thats certainly funny!

Hi Richard! That is a STUNNER

 

[VapidLapid]

Living in NYC i have the opportunity frequently to see pigeons and their blood. Neither is attractive. If anyone got a spot of that on their hand they would become more OCD than Lady Macbeth. The color is dark with a significant brown modifier. As they are usually squished on the street there are many feather inclusions.

 

[chictomato]

Date: 6/16/2010 12:08:45 PM
Author: VapidLapid
Living in NYC i have the opportunity frequently to see pigeons and their blood. Neither is attractive. If anyone got a spot of that on their hand they would become more OCD than Lady Macbeth. The color is dark with a significant brown modifier. As they are usually squished on the street there are many feather inclusions.

Hahaha! ''Feather Inclusion'' is a good one

 

[chrono]

VapidLapid,
Maybe that doesn’t count as the blood is no longer fresh? Or perhaps it only counts if the pigeon is of a certain age and has ingested a certain diet and is only from a particular region?

 

[Rockit]

I''ll stick with the flowers...

 

[Sagebrush]

All,

I think there is some confusion between the colors: Pigeon''s Blood and Roadkill Red!
The latter occupies a much compressed position in 3-D color space.

 

[T L]

Wow, I just realized I don't even know how to spell the word pigeon.

The problem with blood, any blod, is that it starts turning brownish when exposed to air, and blood is slightly brownish to me when it comes right out of the body. I know because I am always testing my diabetic child's blood sugar and I see it all the time!!

I prefer Swingline stapler red (remember Office Space?). LOL!

ETA: Richard don't show us gems like that without ample warning first. I almost fainted!

 

[movie zombie]

i like "stop light red".........especially spinel. however, my budget wouldn''t allow it.

mz

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 6/16/2010 1:30:35 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Wow, I just realized I don''t even know how to spell the word pigeon.

The problem with blood, any blod, is that it starts turning brownish when exposed to air, and blood is slightly brownish to me when it comes right out of the body. I know because I am always testing my diabetic child''s blood sugar and I see it all the time!!

I prefer Swingline stapler red (remember Office Space?). LOL!

ETA: Richard don''t show us gems like that without ample warning first. I almost fainted!

You are right, it turns brownish because heme contains iron and iron oxidizes in presence of air. That is why old blood looks rusty-brown. Also, when you pinprick your child''s finger you are looking at venous bllod and it is darker.

Fresh arterial blood, however, is much more red. So if there is a major trauma to the body ( blood will look much more red since major arteries get severed. If there is a hemolytic process (when membranes of red cells get torn) blood may look slightly "varnish-y".

God knows what they did to those pigeons...Although we are no better, just eat different products. How about "cow''s blood"? Or "pig''s blood"?

Sorry - today is my free day so I decided to meditate a little bit. Just to visualize something positive. But instead of cornflowers I am constantly seeing these darn pigeons...

 

[T L]

Crasru,
So we should call fine red color, "arterial blood?" Unfortunately, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of pigeons is poop, and that''s not red. LOL!

 

[colorluvr]

Date: 6/16/2010 11:18:03 AM
Author: Richard W. Wise
All,

Lighter toned cornflower blue

Now you are talking - I love the color of that stone you posted

 

[VapidLapid]

This is blue. The blue of blueprints. The original process for copying drawings. a fresh solution of potassium ferrocyanide and ferric ammonium citrate are coated on to paper and dried in the dark. the drawing to be copied or in this case the film negative is placed in contact with the paper and exposed to UV light. Developed in running water this blue pigment forms portionately to the light that fell on it. This indigo pigment was also used as the original coloring agent in dungarees. cyanide and kyanite come from the same root (word not substance) for cyanide will turn you blue by taking up and blocking all of the receptors in hemogoblin (hehe) so that no exygen can be transported. Now this picture of blue that I reproduce here is one that I made of one of my sculptures. You see many degrees of blue but they all are the same hue. It becomes slightly relevant to this forum in that I designed and ground the lens for my camera and it is made of titanate and (the forbidden to mention) cz. There was a wonderful philosophical text published in the 80s by philospher william gass entitled "On Being Blue". A great (ultra nerdy) summer read.

 

[marcy]

Date: 6/16/2010 11:18:03 AM
Author: Richard W. Wise
All,


Lighter toned cornflower blue

Pretty color.

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

Would a Kashmir sapphire ever have a bit of green in it? Or is it always pure blue to violet blue?

 

[Nosean]

They come in many blue shades - unbelievable beautiful to extremely ugly...

The same top color you can find in Sri Lanka, Madagascar or Myanmar.

And be careful - LED light often used to bring put a mich better color than in real life - same with Co Spinel.

Video always in daylight.