Amethyst & Garnet - Friends?

[Wyntery]

I've been lurking the Colored Stones forum for some time, but this is my first post.

My children are January and February babies, so I'd like to have a piece made that has both their birthstones included; amethyst and garnet, perhaps in the Julia Kay Taylor three stone split shank bezel setting (I think that's what it's called!). I'm not fixed on which stone would be the centre and which would be the sides but I understand that it will probably be easier to get a matched pair of amethyst than a matched pair of garnets.

My dilemma is this: which of the garnets would be better 'friends' with an amethyst? I thought perhaps demantoid, but it would have to be very green (thus very expensive). Then I got into looking at other types of garnet, but the more I look the more confused I get about what colour match would be best.

So, I'm deferring to the experts, tell me, which garnet would be the best match for an amethyst? Does anyone have a piece of jewellery that features these two stones?

 

[chrono]

Tsavorite garnet.

 

[Agneau]

I think the "mint" variety of green grossular garnet would look amazing with african amethyst.
Sooooooo yummy and pretty together in my head.

 

[JewelFreak]

Rhodolite.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I think it would depend on the amethyst - blue or red flash would lead to different side stones. The saturation would also be a factor - a light, pastel ring or a deep, saturated trio of stones, for example.

 

[erinl]

I think a green garnet would be lovely with amethyst. I would probably use the amethyst as a center stone and the tsavorite or mint grossular as the side stones. I am not familiar with the ring design you are looking at, but is the center larger than the sides?

 

[Deathspi]

Tsavorite or spessartite. I think purple is pretty easy to co-ordinate with, as long as you don't mind the bold colour combinations.

 

[ChrisA222]

I had envisioned a purplish-pink Rhodolite or Umbalite as a center stone with ammys as side stones. But thats just me--as I wouldn't really like green and purple together.

 

[jbkhere]

I'm with Deathspi - I love amethyst and spess together!

 

[1001smiles]

I agree. Purple and orange is one of my favorite color combinations. Some day I'd like to get a spess with an amethyst halo.

 

[minousbijoux]

As attested to by so many others, there are a number of good color combinations that would look great. I caution you, though, to try as much as you can to have the saturation level of each stone, as well as the tone, match.

 

[chrono]

Minou brings up a good point; it will look odd to have one dark stone with 2 pale sides and vice versa.

 

[LD]

Amethyst can be so pale as to be almost colourless ranging right the way through to incredibly dark (with lots of variations in between). Do you have any of the stones yet? If not, why not get one and then the decision will probably be easier because you'll be able to match the saturation.

 

[txgreeneyes]

The middle stone should be your birth stone!

 

[Wyntery]

So I guess I could go with any combination as long as the saturation is similar. I think I will search for a centre stone (either a garnet or amethyst) and worry about matching sides once I have the centre.
The ring I was wanting to have made is similar to arjunajane's ([URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/julia-3-stone-ring-complete.120822/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/julia-3-stone-ring-complete.120822/[/URL]) but with an oval or round centre and perhaps oval sides.
What size do you think I should look for as the centre? Would an 8mm round be my best bet?

 

[chrono]

My advice is to have the amethyst be the side stones because it will be far easier to find matched pairs and less expensive than garnets.

 

[Wyntery]

Hello again everyone,

After all your feedback I ended up buying a small pair of 5x4 oval tsavorites which I am going to use as the sidestones. Now I'm hunting for the amethyst. I have checked all the cutters on the recommended list and no one seems to have any small amethyst available. I'm wanting a an oval of 7x5. Where should I be looking?

 

[minousbijoux]

I notice that Jeff Davies has what looks to be some pretty ones lately. Have you tried him?

 

[milton333]

I know that Gary Braun of Finewatergems has some amethyst rough that he would be willing to custom cut, if you're looking for a specific size you might reach out to him.

 

[Wyntery]

I've been looking at Jeff Davis' site for a while, but none of his amethysts were the right shape or size, so I've asked Lloyd at Clear Cut Gems if he can cut me a 7 x 5 stone from some neon material he had. I'm waiting for his reply.
In the mean time my tiny, lovely little tsavorites arrived today. They are so green and sparkly, so I'm really very happy I went with them rather than spess as I was worried about ending up with stones that brown out.

 

[minousbijoux]

You can't go wrong with amethyst and tsavorite. I look forward to seeing the stones in their final home.

 

[chrono]

I'm glad that you love your new tsavorites. I just remembered that Gary Dutton has smaller budget friendly stones. Do email him to see what he has available as he has a ton of stock. Not only that, it looks like he's running a 50% off sale at the moment!
http://www.diamondexpert.com

 

[Wyntery]

Thanks Chrono. I've just had a look and he has one the perfect size from the Four Peaks Mine. It's part of a pair, but the site says he can split them. I've sent an email to him now.
Lloyd came back to me last night (my time) and said he didn't have any of the neon material left, but he could cut me a stone. I'm sure it would be fantastic, but by the time I'd paid his cutting fee and the cost of the rough it would end up costing way too much for a such a small amethyst.
I also has some bad news from Julia Kay Taylor. She says she wants to focus on Art Projects and doesn't really want to revisit past designs, so is unable to help me with my design. Heartbroken! I have sent an email to Daniel M though, changing the design slightly. So I'll see what he comes back with. Fingers crossed!