First CS - 12ct Blue/Green "Lagoon" Tourmaline Recut Project

[Polyhex]

Maybe this color combination?

 

[T L]

Maybe this color combination?

I like that, hot and cool colors really accentuate each other.

 

[Polyhex]

I like that, hot and cool colors really accentuate each other.

Somehow they magically look more saturated to the eye.

 

[Cina_s]

Hi @Polyhex would you mind telling me who you bought this from?
Its beautiful! I'm now on a similar quest for a similar coloured Tourmaline. but does not have to be as large!

 

[GliderPoss]

OMG this is utterly delicious... Ooooooh I just want to dive into that lagoon goodness. What a fab stone & Dan did a great job perfecting the cut. Can't wait to see what you do with this....

 

[LilAlex]

Maybe this color combination?

But you can only wear it one day of the year

 

[DauphineMucha]

But you can only wear it one day of the year

Meaning Christmas Day? Hmmm..., I can't say I'm with you.

 

[Cina_s]

Meaning Christmas Day? Hmmm..., I can't say I'm with you.

I dont its Christmas like either

The blue lagoon one isnt an emerald or pine tree colour!

But I might pair it with a more pinkish red,

 

[Polyhex]

Hi @Polyhex would you mind telling me who you bought this from?
Its beautiful! I'm now on a similar quest for a similar coloured Tourmaline. but does not have to be as large!

Haris Gems on Instagram - if you buy it will come out of Pakistan with a courier and then ship via DHL out of Thailand. I have since bought another stone from him, and both were exactly what he said they were. Prices are somewhat negotiable. https://www.instagram.com/haris_gems_93/

Other Afghan/Pakistani vendors I have purchased from and been happy with include:

Stylogems_pakistan

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Ali_minerals_collection

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I liked Haris and Stylogems the best.

Return is possible but difficult as a gemstone can't be shipped directly to Pakistan. So don't buy to view in person.

 

[Polyhex]

OMG this is utterly delicious... Ooooooh I just want to dive into that lagoon goodness. What a fab stone & Dan did a great job perfecting the cut. Can't wait to see what you do with this....

Thank you so much! I absolutely love it.

 

[DauphineMucha]

Thank you so much! I absolutely love it.

Are there any updates?

 

[Polyhex]

Are there any updates?

Yes, acquired more tourmalines and garnets and haven't set any of them! This seems to be a common problem!



I have been thinking of having Dan Stair recut the big blue tourmaline to an old mine cut. This one is also from Haris Gems.



Glowing in direct sunlight...


More of the lagoon green/blue tourmaline... the rholodite garnets are from Stylogems.


A smaller lagoon green/blue tourmaline.. this is a dark photo but I love how the gems seem to glow from within.

 

[DauphineMucha]

 

[Cina_s]

Haris Gems on Instagram - if you buy it will come out of Pakistan with a courier and then ship via DHL out of Thailand. I have since bought another stone from him, and both were exactly what he said they were. Prices are somewhat negotiable. https://www.instagram.com/haris_gems_93/

Other Afghan/Pakistani vendors I have purchased from and been happy with include:

Stylogems_pakistan

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Ali_minerals_collection

https://www.instagram.com/ali_minerals_collection/

I liked Haris and Stylogems the best.

Return is possible but difficult as a gemstone can't be shipped directly to Pakistan. So don't buy to view in person.

Thanks so much for all this info! It's really helpful!

 

[Rad_Fan]

I like those 3-stone ideas...they remind me of those deigned by Paolo Costagl. BOLD and with minimum metal showing.

Paolo Costagli

Award-winning jewelry designer Paolo Costagli is the best place to buy contemporary and modern engagement rings. Discover our unique jewelry today

paolocostagli.com

 

[DauphineMucha]

Just rocks!

 

[CSpan]

Haris Gems on Instagram - if you buy it will come out of Pakistan with a courier and then ship via DHL out of Thailand. I have since bought another stone from him, and both were exactly what he said they were. Prices are somewhat negotiable. https://www.instagram.com/haris_gems_93/

Other Afghan/Pakistani vendors I have purchased from and been happy with include:

Stylogems_pakistan

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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Ali_minerals_collection

https://www.instagram.com/ali_minerals_collection/

I liked Haris and Stylogems the best.

Return is possible but difficult as a gemstone can't be shipped directly to Pakistan. So don't buy to view in person.

Thank you so much for this information. Did you find the stones true to the appearance in photos? Was anyone particularly good (or bad) about requests for additional photos/videos?

 

[Polyhex]

Thank you so much for this information. Did you find the stones true to the appearance in photos? Was anyone particularly good (or bad) about requests for additional photos/videos?

They are all really great about requests for more photos and videos, you will need to specify the lighting conditions you want. For example indoor lighting being normal dim indoor light, not jewelry store halogen light.

For context, labor is inexpensive in Pakistan, so putting the work into more photographs and videos is worth it. Usually the situation is that the instagrams are being run by the son, nephew, or young relative of either the owner or one of the workers. Most of their customers are vendors and I have frequently seen stones sold and then show up on a vendor instagram a few weeks laters, especially vendors based in Asia like Singapore vendors. They will assume you are in the trade but they don't have an inherent pricing difference for vendors vs. the public.

They are posting unedited photos / videos usually from a cell phone camera. Of course they are picking the best ones out of multiple shoots, and unedited is not always best because digital photos may need to be color-corrected to be true to life. But in general, their photos have been accurate and because they are selling to vendors they want to have an ongoing relationship with selling dozens of stones, they have incentives to be accurate. The downside is that they will assume you are familiar with how different gemstones behave in indoor vs. outdoor lighting, and they are not set up to take many returns.

Here is a still from Haris' video on the 16 ct blue tourmaline. This is an accurate representation but it was taken in very bright outdoor lighting and the stone won't look like this in other lighting conditions. You can see it compared below against my own photos in different lighting.



Here is my photo outdoors, probably in similar lighting conditions:


But this is the stone in very dim outdoor lighting after the sun has set:



Really bad dim indoor lighting looks like this:


And nice indoor lighting like this:



I have seen a lot of US/Western vendors whose photos are impossible to replicate at home, they are taken in studio lighting by an amazing camera. That has not been my experience for these Instagram vendors.

 

[Polyhex]

I like those 3-stone ideas...they remind me of those deigned by Paolo Costagl. BOLD and with minimum metal showing.

Paolo Costagli

Award-winning jewelry designer Paolo Costagli is the best place to buy contemporary and modern engagement rings. Discover our unique jewelry today

paolocostagli.com

Just rocks!

Wow, thank you so much for the pointer to this designer!! These rings are very much my style with bold, contrasting colors!!

 

[MariMeow]

That blue tourmaline is breathtaking!!! They all are, but when I saw that I was immediately like "wait! what's that?!"

 

[DauphineMucha]

@Polyhex i am not sure where you are located but did you have to deal with import duty for them?

 

[Polyhex]

@Polyhex i am not sure where you are located but did you have to deal with import duty for them?

I'm in the US, I'm not an expert but my understanding is that importing loose gemstones is generally duty-free here and I haven't been asked to pay any duties. I know that can be expensive in some countries.

 

[Polyhex]

That blue tourmaline is breathtaking!!! They all are, but when I saw that I was immediately like "wait! what's that?!"

Thank you so much!! I love it too, it's from Afghanistan and I think it would be classified as an indicolite.

 

[DauphineMucha]

I'm in the US, I'm not an expert but my understanding is that importing loose gemstones is generally duty-free here and I haven't been asked to pay any duties. I know that can be expensive in some countries.

I am so excited to learn about those new vendors!

Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

 

[Rad_Fan]

@Polyhex do you have the urge to send your new purchases to GIA or AGL?

Just curious. You do seem to be very happy with them and the vendor...not sure if you feel the need.

 

[Polyhex]

@Polyhex do you have the urge to send your new purchases to GIA or AGL?

Just curious. You do seem to be very happy with them and the vendor...not sure if you feel the need.

I will eventually get an AGL report for the two largest tourmalines. When they came in, I brought them to my gemologist for confirmation. Of course gemologists are not as experienced as AGL and GIA with colored stones, but my reasoning was that they are NOT special origin or mineral content, and tourmaline is a less expensive stone without that many sophisticated treatments, so getting confirmation from my gemologist was reasonably safe. Let me know if you see a flaw in this reasoning, as I am definitely not an expert in collecting colored stones!

 

[Rad_Fan]

I will eventually get an AGL report for the two largest tourmalines. When they came in, I brought them to my gemologist for confirmation. Of course gemologists are not as experienced as AGL and GIA with colored stones, but my reasoning was that they are NOT special origin or mineral content, and tourmaline is a less expensive stone without that many sophisticated treatments, so getting confirmation from my gemologist was reasonably safe. Let me know if you see a flaw in this reasoning, as I am definitely not an expert in collecting colored stones!

I would have done the same myself, take them to my gemologist first before deciding.

I am still learning too.

 

[CSpan]

They are all really great about requests for more photos and videos, you will need to specify the lighting conditions you want. For example indoor lighting being normal dim indoor light, not jewelry store halogen light.

For context, labor is inexpensive in Pakistan, so putting the work into more photographs and videos is worth it. Usually the situation is that the instagrams are being run by the son, nephew, or young relative of either the owner or one of the workers. Most of their customers are vendors and I have frequently seen stones sold and then show up on a vendor instagram a few weeks laters, especially vendors based in Asia like Singapore vendors. They will assume you are in the trade but they don't have an inherent pricing difference for vendors vs. the public.

They are posting unedited photos / videos usually from a cell phone camera. Of course they are picking the best ones out of multiple shoots, and unedited is not always best because digital photos may need to be color-corrected to be true to life. But in general, their photos have been accurate and because they are selling to vendors they want to have an ongoing relationship with selling dozens of stones, they have incentives to be accurate. The downside is that they will assume you are familiar with how different gemstones behave in indoor vs. outdoor lighting, and they are not set up to take many returns.

Here is a still from Haris' video on the 16 ct blue tourmaline. This is an accurate representation but it was taken in very bright outdoor lighting and the stone won't look like this in other lighting conditions. You can see it compared below against my own photos in different lighting.



Here is my photo outdoors, probably in similar lighting conditions:


But this is the stone in very dim outdoor lighting after the sun has set:



Really bad dim indoor lighting looks like this:


And nice indoor lighting like this:



I have seen a lot of US/Western vendors whose photos are impossible to replicate at home, they are taken in studio lighting by an amazing camera. That has not been my experience for these Instagram vendors.

Thank you so much for all this. I think the fact you can replicate the color at all is incredible. That seems like a high bar in certain stones. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to break this all down. Definitely worth adding these vendors to my "try" list.

 

[Polyhex]

I should maybe make a separate threat for my colored stone obsession which would be along the lines of "Big, Vivid, and Reasonably Priced.."

This is the CAD for the first colored stone setting a 4+ ct lagoon green tourmaline, getting a small one under my belt before I do the namesake of this thread. The CAD is with Kyo and I am buying the melee separately to reduce the cost. The inner halo is pave-set rubies and the outer halo is diamonds starting at 3mm size.



And then I collected more stones!!

This is a 7+ ct blue tourmaline, a 7+ ct citrine, and an almost 10 ct garnet.

 

[DauphineMucha]

Still waiting for "Big, Vivid, and Reasonably Priced”!