10 months of searching and no blue spinel...

[joy2theworld]

I''m not sure if I''m not looking in all the right spots, but I have been searching since early January for a light blue spinel in either a round or cushion shape that is about 7mm or more. I contacted a few vendors and even purchased a darker blue stone, but I''m still on the quest for a light blue stone. Does anyone know of any other resources that I can try? I do not have a jeweler where we live that I can work with at this point. The jewelers I have visited in our area have been very disappointing. I know more about gems than their sales people.

 

[icekid]

What vendors have you already contacted?

Assuming you''ve already tried the usual suspects, what about some vendors closer to the source? Perhaps swalagemtraders.com (check out this pretty http://swalagemtraders.com/search-gems/detail.php?pid=701!)

Though I have not personally worked with him yet, Wink Jones also has a great reputation for locating stones.

 

[packrat]

I feel your pain, Joy! Have you tried Dana at Master Cut Gems ? My spinel search ended there. He has a LOT of stuff not on his website.

Or Michael E ? He was also incredibly helpful and informative when I was looking!

 

[chrono]

Do you mind sharing who you’ve contacted? Have you tried the following:
Gary Dutton www.diamondexpert.com
Jeff White www.whitesgems.com
I second the suggestion for Swala, Wink, ArtCut and Mastercut.
What about Brad at the GemTrader? AJS?

 

[SB621]

Rick at artcutgems.com was able to hunt down some green tourmaline for me. I have faith that he can find just about any shades if you give him examples. I would definitely contact him.

Goodluck on your search!

 

[joy2theworld]

Thanks everyone... I had contacted the regulars like Dan and Barry. I''ve constantly searched artcutgems, acstones, precisiongem, multicolour, etc... A lot of them don''t make looking for recently listed stones easy, so, it gets tiresome to search everyday, but I''ve tried.
I thought for swalagems that you have to work through a jeweler. I don''t see anything on their site right now that i like, but I''ll keep it in mind. I will also try to contact a few others you have mentioned. I hate to have more than one person searching for me because I don''t want to "play the field" so to speak. I would just hate to have someone do work for me and then me find the stone through someone else.

 

[packrat]

Joy, I didn''t want to do that either, but in the end, I did it anyway. I just started emailing everyone and telling them I knew it was something hard to come by so I was asking several cutters. Once I found the one, I emailed everyone to let them know I''d found it and they could take me off the search list. Everyone was SUPER nice about it. I''d only been waiting a few months-not the 10 you have. And really, they don''t keep all their inventory on their sites, so you never know what they might have. Maybe something already cut just not up on the site, or maybe some rough in the back they could cut for you. Never hurts to ask!!

 

[Harriet]

Joy,
That's because Colormyworld bought all the gemmy ones! You have to go through a jeweller to buy from Pala, not Swala.
PS. If you think 10 months is long, I've been searching for double that!

 

[Michael_E]

How about this stone from Pala. It's more a violet blue, but still attractive. Anyway it's cheap, (meaning well under $1K...most of the stuff on Pala is much higher) and large enough to get at least a 7mm round from it if it were re-cut. Here's a link to their description:
http://www.palagems.com/php/db_search.php?action=gemdetail&inventory_number=5304

 

[Michael_E]

This one from Pala has a similar color, though probably a bit better...not as steely. It''s already well cut, but the darn thing is 3 or 4 times more expensive than the stone needing a recut.

 

[joy2theworld]

Actually, I like the steel blue in the first stone. Do you think if it were recut that it would be lighter or darker in color?
Am I safe to assume you are the Michael E referred to in an earlier post?

 

[chrono]

Blue spinels are plentiful but a good gemmy blue isn’t common. I am also an avid collector of blue spinels and only own 4 so far because nice ones without much gray aren’t easy to find, so I understand your concern about it taking so long. Please be patient; some of my searches have taken years. Since a good blue is rare, it is understandable for you to cast your net wide via the help of several vendors. As Packrat as advised, once you find the right one, informing the vendors that your search is done, is the polite thing to do.

With Pala, you’ll need the assistance of a jeweller. Gary Dutton or Rick will be able to price the stone and get it on your behalf. You can purchase directly from Swala.

Michael,
I believe the pricing of the second is significantly more because the colour is vivid (saturated) and hence, showing less gray, as you mentioned. For me, I’d rather pay the price asked then risk recutting the round. I’ve done several recuts where the colour came out grayer and the second where the feather kept growing until the stone was a third its original carat weight. On both stones, it was the cutter who had the opportunity to personally examine the stone and deemed them as good potentials for recutting. Both are also well known precision US cutters. It’s just a risk I’m not willing although I understand that it isn’t an common occurrence.

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 10/12/2009 10:20:16 PM
Author: joy2theworld
Actually, I like the steel blue in the first stone. Do you think if it were recut that it would be lighter or darker in color?

I think that the stone shown would get dramatically lighter if it were recut. It would probably also lose about 15% to 20% of it''s weight or more since it most likely has a significant belly, (too much beer I''m afraid)

Am I safe to assume you are the Michael E referred to in an earlier post?

I think so. I''ve been cutting gems for about 30 years so I''m just totally full of it,
listen to me at your own risk.

Chrono,
Gray overtones can become more pronounced when a stone is cut or recut, since they get brighter and more reflective, showing less of their body color and more of whatever is in front of them. Aquamarine is horrible in this way and a cutter has to take great pains to avoid cutting these lighter stones with the brightest cut available. It''s often best to design the cut so that they are not so bright, but show their body color to greater advantage, high crowns and small tables help a lot with this as long as the pavilion is still adequately cut so as to not show a window.

As for fractures growing...ouch. I''ve only had this happen a few times and that was enough to refuse to make any promises with a stone which has any fractures. Pala does allow you to return goods which are not deemed suitable though, so if it looked risky I would advise against re-cutting it. My attitude is that if there are any fractures in a stone, leave it alone or take the risk and assume that you may have a problem. I''ll bet that stone with the growing feather was a big disappointment, I hope that it wasn''t too expensive !

 

[chrono]

Michael,

I think it’s more difficult for an aquamarine because it doesn’t have a high RI in the first place.

As for the fracture growing spinel, I am in a sense fortunate that the cutter made me a promise to fully refund my money so technically, it wasn’t a loss on my part. However, the cutter is experiencing financial difficulty at the moment and I’m having a heck of a time trying to get my refund for the past few months! He’s a well known cutter that you probably know and not some fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants cutter. He purchased it from Pala and thought it looked suitable for recutting but well...things happen.

 

[movie zombie]

the big Tuscon gem show is coming up in february. make your wishes known to a trusted cutter and just wait and see what they find at the show. a fine spinel w/o extinction can be pricey. i''d pick a cutter that is going to the show but be clear just what you''re willing to pay.

mz

 

[Harriet]

The following is merely my opinion. Some material is so precious. Why waste it by having a gem recut, unless the cut is especially offensive? I have a red spinel from Pala that''s not perfectly cut. It even has a divot due to my negligence. I considered having it recut. Several people, including professional cutters, dissuaded me from doing so. I''m glad they did.

 

[movie zombie]

i''m with Harriat re a recut.......

mz