Bicolour tourmaline

[Sapphiregirl84]

Hey all. I’m just learning about tourmaline and wondering what you think of this? 8.8 carat 1000 AUD. It’s pretty but I know nothing and don’t know what to look for in these stones

 

[Bron357]

You have to be careful, they are making all sorts of pretty colour ”gemstones” these days that are at worst simply glass or at best lab corundum.
buy only from reputable vendors ideally with a lab report.
Bi colour tourmaline exists of course, but Im only familiar with red / green ie watermelon tourmaline.
i haven’t seen natural reddish orange toning to lemon. Not to say it doesn’t exist but that and the “flawless ness” sets off warning bells to me.
proceed with caution.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Oh yes, AJS Gems sells lots in this coloration. It's very pretty! Keep in mind that the greater the contrast in colors and the more 50/50 the split, the more rare and collectible the stone. So a stone that is roughly 50% red and 50% green (called "watermelon" in the trade) would be most valuable, because red and green are opposites on the color wheel (most contrast).

 

[fredflintstone]

Hey all. I’m just learning about tourmaline and wondering what you think of this? 8.8 carat 1000 AUD. It’s pretty but I know nothing and don’t know what to look for in these stones

Yes, bi-color tourmaline come in these colors. I know nothing about the vendor. The price is good.

 

[T L]

I think there is a window. I would like to see the gem held up in the air, with the table facing you directly, to see what f it has a window. At $200/carat, that color is a fair price. I wouldn’t call it a bargain. Of course, with inflation, I could be way off.

 

[Sapphiregirl84]

Is this one better??

 

[T L]

It looks a bit dead in the middle. Maybe others can comment. The best way to see the window is to put it on something other than a white or light solid color,

 

[chrono]

Any picture straight down the table, rather than angled? Hard to see the quality of cut.

 

[fredflintstone]

The cut is fine.

This stone was most likely cut in Peshawar, Pakistan and is a Afghan Tourmaline. The cutting from there is of a very high standard in most cases. Much better than most source countries. Much of it is precision cut.

 

[chrono]

With that angle in photo, impossible to tell whether it is windowed.