Cat's-eye tourmaline -- missed opportunity?

[LilAlex]

@LilAlex I must admit, I deliberately went hunting for this piece when I was in Japan over the weekend.

Omg, I would have told you where it was! I think it was the big/main Komeyho in Ginza, right? Although I posted the entire label on purpose to avoid "gatekeeping." The exact location was fresh in my mind a few weeks ago, but it's fading fast since the dinged watch that I also did not get was in one of the Osaka ones. I did not plan on seeing any jewelry this trip, and the pearl question here was a last-minute thing. I always love to poke around in Graff and Harry Winston (way out of my league for what you get, price-wise), and they both had a major presence in Ginza, but my wife refused to even step into either place since the vibe -- and the at-times odd mix of haughtiness and obsequiousness -- makes her truly uncomfortable. I might have planned better if I knew I could have seen all the wonderful things you are seeing!

I'm with you on this ring. Yes, it was pretty blah when I walked it over to the window, but the eye was amazing, and you were able to capture it much better than my quick "don't forget about me" snap. When I got home, though, and poked around online, all the cat's-eye tourmalines were ridiculously expensive -- and that's when I started second-guessing myself a little and inquired here. But my wife already has a few of these big gumdrop cabs, and I'm starting to think that I like them more than she does. There was something else there that I liked, IIRC, but they're not big on reports. One small case with a blue sapphire and all their decent emeralds, maybe?

 

[Pomelo]

Omg, I would have told you where it was! I think it was the big/main Komeyho in Ginza, right? Although I posted the entire label on purpose to avoid "gatekeeping." The exact location was fresh in my mind a few weeks ago, but it's fading fast since the dinged watch that I also did not get was in one of the Osaka ones. I did not plan on seeing any jewelry this trip, and the pearl question here was a last-minute thing. I always love to poke around in Graff and Harry Winston (way out of my league for what you get, price-wise), and they both had a major presence in Ginza, but my wife refused to even step into either place since the vibe -- and the at-times odd mix of haughtiness and obsequiousness -- makes her truly uncomfortable. I might have planned better if I knew I could have seen all the wonderful things you are seeing!

I'm with you on this ring. Yes, it was pretty blah when I walked it over to the window, but the eye was amazing, and you were able to capture it much better than my quick "don't forget about me" snap. When I got home, though, and poked around online, all the cat's-eye tourmalines were ridiculously expensive -- and that's when I started second-guessing myself a little and inquired here. But my wife already has a few of these big gumdrop cabs, and I'm starting to think that I like them more than she does. There was something else there that I liked, IIRC, but they're not big on reports. One small case with a blue sapphire and all their decent emeralds, maybe?

Hehe it’s in the Shinjuku store

And they do have a nice case of all the good stuff but things rotate in and out of there depending on inventory so it was mostly emeralds and rubies, I didn’t see any particularly fine sapphires.

Hmm… sounds like there’s a job opening for a babysitter for the gumdrops?? If so, when do applications open?!

 

[Pomelo]

@LilAlex I must admit, I deliberately went hunting for this piece when I was in Japan over the weekend.

It’s the first cats eye tourmaline I’ve seen so I wasn’t really sure how to evaluate it.

The cats eye was really impressive but the body colour was a bit too dark for my liking, especially if (I assume?) it’d look like the second picture most of the time?

I’ve seen photos online of cats eye tourmaline with lighter / brighter shades of green that I prefer (but also more expensive!).

@Starstruck8 please forgive the directness, I have been thinking about phenomena and you came to mind!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this cats eye tourmaline please? Should we be expecting more translucency / water in cats eye tourmaline like we do in star sapphires?

Thanking you kindly!

 

[Starstruck8]

@Starstruck8 please forgive the directness, I have been thinking about phenomena and you came to mind!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this cats eye tourmaline please? Should we be expecting more translucency / water in cats eye tourmaline like we do in star sapphires?

Thanking you kindly!

I'm flattered, but I don't have much to say. Cat's eye tourmaline hasn't been on my radar, because I had never seen a tourmaline with the combination of bright eye, strong milk and honey, and amazing transparency seen in good cat's eye chrysoberyl. Beside good cat's eye chrysoberyl, even the best cat's eye tourmalines look like 'collectors stones'/'cool specimens'. (Nothing wrong with that, of course. My whole collection is pretty much 'cool specimens'...)

I have one example, very much a 'cool specimen', a tiny (8mm) cab:

Left: in softer light. Right: in direct light, showing eye.

[Googles furiously...] There are many examples showing good transparency and strong colours, but most have visible needles/tubes, like mine. But here is an amazing example:

Note the 'milk and honey' effect (a sign of good transparency), with no visible needles/tubes. (Never mind the price - $8000+!) So it seems that good examples do exist after all. But if you leave aside the 'cool factor', I'd still go for chrysoberyl...

Sorry I can't be more help.

 

[Pomelo]

I'm flattered, but I don't have much to say. Cat's eye tourmaline hasn't been on my radar, because I had never seen a tourmaline with the combination of bright eye, strong milk and honey, and amazing transparency seen in good cat's eye chrysoberyl. Beside good cat's eye chrysoberyl, even the best cat's eye tourmalines look like 'collectors stones'/'cool specimens'. (Nothing wrong with that, of course. My whole collection is pretty much 'cool specimens'...)

I have one example, very much a 'cool specimen', a tiny (8mm) cab:

Left: in softer light. Right: in direct light, showing eye.

[Googles furiously...] There are many examples showing good transparency and strong colours, but most have visible needles/tubes, like mine. But here is an amazing example:

Note the 'milk and honey' effect (a sign of good transparency), with no visible needles/tubes. (Never mind the price - $8000+!) So it seems that good examples do exist after all. But if you leave aside the 'cool factor', I'd still go for chrysoberyl...

Sorry I can't be more help.

I think your cat’s eye tourmaline is awesome, I love the wisps (needles/tubes sound quite surgical haha). Especially in softer light!

To check, would this count as milk and honey?
(Ie one side of the eye is milkier and the other side darker)



And thank you for taking the time, I didn’t mean to make you do extra homework for this…! Much appreciated

 

[Starstruck8]

To check, would this count as milk and honey?
(Ie one side of the eye is milkier and the other side darker)

Yes. that's milk and honey. But it's not very strong. It's stronger in the amazing example I showed. In a good chrysoberyl, it's stronger still. This chrysoberyl of mine is not 'good', only 'entry level' for a chrysoberyl. But still, see the milk and honey in the lower picture:

Note, this stone has an area of silk missing at the right.

A 'good' chrysoberyl combines strong milk and honey with almost unbelievable transparency.

A pedantic nitpick: strictly, the 'honey' in milk and honey refers to the golden-brown body colour favoured by chrysoberyl fanciers. But I don't know any better phrase to describe the effect in cat's eye stones with other body colours.

ETA: On tubes and needles: From what I've read, the cat's eye effect in chrysoberyl is caused by oriented needle-shaped rutile inclusions. In tourmaline, it's caused by oriented hollow tubes.