Buddy Blue Eyes Aqua

[athenaworth]

I've been looking for an aqua that would rival my Siamese's eyes (Buddy) and I found this. I love the cut and the color is spot on, but it's pretty included. I bought it anyway, just to give it a shot, but thought I'd share it over here and get your opinions before it gets here:
http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=8347

And here's a shot of Buddy. The best kind of eye candy.

 

[talamasca]

The colour of the stone looks lovely and Buddy is gorgeous

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

Oh, BUDDY !!!!!
WHAT a beautiful cat !!!!!
He looks so angelic in that photo !!!
I am thinking that the aquamarine is a pretty good match, too

 

[Mayk]

BUDDY IS SOOOO CUTE!!!!! and I love the color of the stone..

 

[JewelFreak]

Wow, 2, no, 3 (if you count both gorgeous eyes), beautiful aquas! The kitty is a beauty queen (king) & the stone a great color too. When you see it you'll be able to tell better if the veiling affects brilliance at all, but it's a wonderful color & I like the cut.

--- Laurie

 

[T L]

I suspect that aqua may be almost colorless. I was actually looking at it the other day, and I thought "how pale." I don't think your cat's eyes are that pale. Very beautiful cat.

 

[Aoife]

What a beautiful Siamese! Who could resist that face?

But I don't think the Litnon aqua is going to have that same blue. Did you look at Gemfix? Some of their aquamarines have color that is a little closer. http://www.gemfix.com/aquamarine.html

 

[faegrace]

Athena ~

Buddy is simply gorgeous! (Sitting here thinking how many of us hunt for gems to match our kids' eyes, whether they are two- or four-legged kiddos.... ) I hope you find the right aqua; I'm with Aoife, check out Gemfix.

Thank you for sharing the photo of your feline.

~ faegrace

 

[baby nurse]

Buddy is sooo beautiful! Another place you can look for amazing aqua is Gene at Precision Gem. He had some amazing aqua rough.

 

[purplemelody]

Buddy is beautiful! I can see why you'd want to find a stone in the colour of her eyes.
I love the cushion cut of the Aquamarine you've bought. Can't wait to see IRL pics!

 

[tyty333]

Buddy has such beautiful eyes and that stone is lovely!

 

[athenaworth]

Litnon really is a great site to work with. They were nice enough to send me another photo of the aquamarine. I wound up cancelling, even though I'm even more in love with the cut from this photo, but the color just isn't quite right.

 

[LD]

I'm pleased you've cancelled because I don't think that Aqua would have done your gorgeous Buddy's eyes justice. Like TL (despite that last photo), I think the stone would have been too pale. If you look at the skin colour in the photo above, you can see how it probably isn't correct.

Anyway, Buddy is simply yummy! I adore cats and would love to have a cuddle with him!

 

[athenaworth]

Anyway, Buddy is simply yummy! I adore cats and would love to have a cuddle with him!

Awww, thank you! He'd LOOOOVE a cuddle from you! He's a cuddle/kissy hoe!

 

[packrat]

Ohhh Buddy is a handsome boy! We used to have a couple cats that looked like him..Cochese and Trissy. Love those eyes. And a snuggle buns to boot? Jeez I love snuggly cats.

I'd maybe contact one of the other vendors to see if they have some rough..are you looking for a particular shape or anything? Do you have a Barry cushion?

 

[athenaworth]

Do you have a Barry cushion?

I've actually been in contact with Barry. He said he had a rough that would be pretty pricey but he hadn't cut it because he was busy on spinels but that he would let me know when/if he cut one. I think I'll hold out (and save up) for that. For now I need to not spend my funds on anything since I should be hearing from Jeff White about my sapphire next week (eeeek!)
I thought I'd attached two more cute shots of Buddy, just because I now feel like spamming you guys with his cuteness

 

[packrat]

Good idea..Barry's cushions are phenomenal.

Buddy just really has a look to him..the "don't hate me b/c I'm beautiful" thing going on.

 

[talamasca]

OMG Buddy's sooooooo cute, especially pic of him laid on his daddy

 

[pwendyp]

Hi!

Your cat is a total darling, and those eyes...how could you not melt when you see them!

A quick 2 minute browse just for ideas found this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

A pendant perhaps?

 

[chrono]

It's so cute to see Buddy's personality shine through in those pictures. The idea of a cat's eye aquamarine is a good one although I think that it is also an uncommon phenomena.

 

[athenaworth]

Thank you so much for helping, but I'm not the biggest fan of cabochons. I'm a facets girl.

 

[T L]

It's so cute to see Buddy's personality shine through in those pictures. The idea of a cat's eye aquamarine is a good one although I think that it is also an uncommon phenomena.

Actually, I have seen cat's eye aquas around. While not plentiful, they're not unattainable or rare. You can find lots on ebay. I think LD bought one not too long ago. It's a great idea if you really want to simulate your cat's eyes.

 

[athenaworth]

I should really stop lookin, but I can't seem to help myself. What do you guys think of these:

http://www.ajsgem.com/beryl/aquamarine/aquamarine-1.32-carats.html
http://www.artcutgems.com/item.php?item_id=726&category_id=45 (a bit over my budget, but maybe good for Bright Ice?)

 

[T L]

I should really stop lookin, but I can't seem to help myself. What do you guys think of these:

http://www.ajsgem.com/beryl/aquamarine/aquamarine-1.32-carats.html
http://www.artcutgems.com/item.php?item_id=726&category_id=45 (a bit over my budget, but maybe good for Bright Ice?)

I wouldn't buy any aqua by photo alone. Most vendors do their utmost best to make them look more blue and/or saturated than they are. Always ask about tone and saturation.

 

[LD]

It's so cute to see Buddy's personality shine through in those pictures. The idea of a cat's eye aquamarine is a good one although I think that it is also an uncommon phenomena.

Actually, I have seen cat's eye aquas around. While not plentiful, they're not unattainable or rare. You can find lots on ebay. I think LD bought one not too long ago. It's a great idea if you really want to simulate your cat's eyes.

I most certainly did - 14ct of it! From experience, assume that the colour is going to be a much more muted blue than a vendor portrays! So you can compare, here's the vendor's artistic photo and then two real life ones that I took. Don't get me wrong, this is a gorgeous (and huge) stone and does have a nice blue (with a better cat's eye than the photo shows) but it's not as blue as the seller showed it to be!

I love love love Buddy.

 

[athenaworth]

What do you guys think of this one? It's 2.4 carats, 8.25x8.25x6.1

 

[T L]

Very pale, and since it's on a dark background, it enhances the color more. Stay away from shots on dark backgrounds, and ask the vendor for hand shots, or shots on white backgrounds.

 

[athenaworth]

I"m trying to get the hang of all of this - but does it look like there's a green tint to it too?

 

[T L]

I"m trying to get the hang of all of this - but does it look like there's a green tint to it too?

Not really, it looks like a very pale greyish blue. I think your cat's eyes are greyish as well, but I just don't trust stones on dark backgrounds. If you're interested in it, ask for photos against a white background. I know this is probably an expensive piece, so just be extra cautious because pale aqua is very inexpensive. In this case, you are most likely paying for the cutting, which may be important to you as well, but I personally would want something less pale. Pale aqua is glassy and gets dirty fairly easily, giving it a waxy luster.

 

[athenaworth]

I heard back about the aqua. He took photos of all of his available aquas and this is what he had to say:


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> 1-3.98ct square emerald cut (similar technique to Princess cuts) 9.6 x 9.6mm @$125 per carat. Is slightly more green than the photo shows, and would be considered SI for clarity.
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> 2-3.20ct classic oval 10.75 x 8.85mm @$100 per carat. For color, is a fairly close rendition, with clarity at VVS
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> 3-2.40ct Asscher cut 8.25 x 8.25mm @$100 per carat. The tone is identical to the 3.20ct oval, but due to the technique appears richer in color. Is also ever-so-slightly more green. Clarity is very nice at VVS.
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> 4-7.94ct radiant style emerald cut 13.5 x 10.3mm @$55 per carat. Big, very bright, very clean, just not rich color. Also VVS.
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> 5-4.39ct 'Scissors' style rectangular emerald cut 14.2 x 6.95mm @$150 per carat. Nice blue color with a hint of green. Clarity is VS.
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> 6-5.34ct square emerald cut with checkerboard top (crown) 10.7 x 10.7mm @$65 per carat. Has a nice pleasing color, but there are visible inclusions that can be seen without magnification. Probably well-suited for a pendant or broach as the inclusions will be less visible.
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> 2A- Only the 3.20ct oval has been heated.
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> 3A- The 2.40ct Asscher cut is showing the black lens reflection in the photo. It is also significantly brighter in the hand.