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Rock Crystal Ring - thoughts?

Mina-Lo

Shiny_Rock
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Hi everyone
I hope i put this post in the correct place, please redirect me if not.

I saw this ring on the James Allen website and am intrigued by the 'rock crystal'. I can't find any images of anyone actually having purchased it.
Would it perform like a diamond in terms of fire?
Would I need to remove the ring before washing hands? Would it look more like a diamond simulant?

Is the price reasonable? It's $4000AUD and want to be sure before I take the plunge.
 

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stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
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Rock crystal is just plain old clear quartz. Which is this mineral which you've seen before.
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I have a drawerful of it. Very beautiful, very common.
It will look great while you hold your hand up and admire it.
The minute you breathe on it, it will begin to look cloudy and dull.
This type of stone will sparkle nicely, if kept super clean.
But it will not be anywhere near a diamond, white sapphire or CZ.
And that price is just ridiculous.
 
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AV_

Ideal_Rock
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Carved rock crystal with diamonds is a glorious classic, faceted rock crystal - I have not seen much worth remembering. It is as FAR from looking like a diamond as any colourless hard stone.


www
 

LilAlex

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Imo, it looks like a "pretend" diamond (5 ct? maybe more?) and if you can't otherwise conspicuously afford a clean, white, well-cut 5-ct diamond, it will look "poser-ish." On the other hand, if your friend group has 5-ct diamonds, I think it's kinda cute. If it were any other color than diamond-mimic, I would not have responded but I'd rather wear a real Seiko than a fake Rolex.
 

Mina-Lo

Shiny_Rock
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Imo, it looks like a "pretend" diamond (5 ct? maybe more?) and if you can't otherwise conspicuously afford a clean, white, well-cut 5-ct diamond, it will look "poser-ish." On the other hand, if your friend group has 5-ct diamonds, I think it's kinda cute. If it were any other color than diamond-mimic, I would not have responded but I'd rather wear a real Seiko than a fake Rolex.

Hi LilAlex,
It would be a right hand ring, my grandma left me some money and I'm looking at options, something I will remember her by. I'm under no illusions it will look like a diamond and not trying to fool anybody, it just stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. It's within my budget and thought it was a showstopper=)2
 

strawrose

Brilliant_Rock
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With that budget, you can get a nice hefty blue zircon. It would be very sparkly (and I’ll drool.)
 

LilAlex

Ideal_Rock
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Hi LilAlex,
It would be a right hand ring, ...

I see. Not sure why I'm so obsessed with what other people think about this one :) The short answer for any purchase is always "If you like it and you can afford it..." You wanted a range of opinions and I think I'm toward one extreme on this one.

If it's obviously not diamond, then I don't think it "looks" like a $4,000 ring. If you're not confined to a hard stone (i.e., since this is quartz), there are any number of gorgeous and good-sized colored stones you could get for that price. But I'm biased since this is the only PS sub-forum I follow :) Many are on here because they're tired of the bigger-diamond arms race.
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
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I think it's a pretty ring, I've seen it and admired it before while going through that website, but agree it is overpriced. I'd look around for quartz or "herkimer diamond" (also quartz) rings on etsy or other retailers and get a feel for the price ranges. Try some things on in person if you can to see what you like, sometimes things look great in a photo or on someone else and not as good on the hand. Happy hunting!
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
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You can spend your money on whatever you want, but for $4k, surely you can do better? You can get sapphires, emeralds, zircons, garnets, or tourmalines that would look better than the rock crystal itself.

I don't think this is the right forum for your thread, as there is no COLOR in the rock crystal. I'm in this sub-forum because white diamonds by themselves spark no joy for me. A nice fancy canary yellow, however :twisted2:...
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Hi LilAlex,
It would be a right hand ring, my grandma left me some money and I'm looking at options, something I will remember her by. I'm under no illusions it will look like a diamond and not trying to fool anybody, it just stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. It's within my budget and thought it was a showstopper=)2
its pretty but what is the durability of rock crystal ?
that's lovelly grandma left you some money and a lovelly idea to buy a ring - im big on sentimentality
but maybe something more durable so one day when your an old nana you can leave it to a grand daughter
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
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Of all the diamond “look a likes” Quartz has the lowest refractive index and is only 7 on Mohos.
It’s a lovely idea, a rock crystal ring, but that rock crystal will not show any fire (rainbow sparkles) even 5 seconds after cleaning and it will abraid (facet wear) as you look at it.
If you want a diamond “look a like” that is a natural gemstone, my first choice for fire would be zircon but white sapphire or white Topaz are “harder” so will wear better.
If you want man made, Moissanite is the preferred substitute these days, though CZ is still around, with great dispersion and great hardness.
$4,000 :-o “tell em they’re dreaming!”
 

Mina-Lo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
120
Thanks everyone for your responses, it has helped a lot.
I've officially moved on from the rock Crystal ring, especially for that price.

I was just in my jewellers and spotted these grey spinel rings, they spoke to my soul :-o

The smaller one is on sale for $3k AUD, but i know nothing about spinels and how much they should cost. The smaller one is 1.8ct
 

LilAlex

Ideal_Rock
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Those are unusual, imo. I love gray spinel in geometric cut but for a man's ring. (Full disclosure: those instances have only been in vendor pictures and never IRL.) Those two rings are lovely, feminine, and ethereal-looking settings that (imo) call out for a pink or a pale blue or a yellow...something. I see the smaller one set east-west in a fat, heavy, platinum band.

If they speak to you, there may be a liveliness or other quality that just isn't captured in the stills. Sorry -- I guess I ruin everything :)
 

Mina-Lo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
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Looking at spinel prices online it seems I can get one at a very reasonable price and have total control over the setting, all for less than $3000.

I think I'll start a new thread asking for suggestions on how to choose a good spinel.
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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You can spend your money on whatever you want, but for $4k, surely you can do better? You can get sapphires, emeralds, zircons, garnets, or tourmalines that would look better than the rock crystal itself.

I don't think this is the right forum for your thread, as there is no COLOR in the rock crystal. I'm in this sub-forum because white diamonds by themselves spark no joy for me. A nice fancy canary yellow, however :twisted2:...
I think this is the right forum because personally, I look at this forum to discuss all gemstones that are not white diamonds. If someone wants to discuss colorless gems that are not diamonds, where else could they on Pricescope?
 
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