GIA article on "aquaprase"

[Lady_Disdain]

I'll spare everyone my thoughts on the name given to this type of chrysoprase found in Africa, but the article is interesting and the colour seems lovely.

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2015-gemnews-new-natural-color-bluish-green-chalcedony?utm_source=education&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=aquaprase

 

[minousbijoux]

It really is a gorgeous color.

 

[lilmosun]

i want

 

[mochiko42]

I've been following the news of this new chalcedony on Yianni's account on Instagram. It really does seem to be a gorgeous sea green color!

 

[maccers]

Which vendors are selling aquaprase?

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I wanted to chime in since I love my piece of aquaprase. Admittedly, I had Ryan Quantz put his perfectionist touch on it; a huge thanks goes out to him. I received it back this morning and I absolutely love it. For those who are interested:

Before:
29.38cts
17.83 x 17.97 x 10.84mm

After:
26.00cts
17.80 x 17.80 x 10.74mm

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDtliplx-ev/?taken-by=quantzstudios

 

[jordyonbass]

Wow! I may have to track some down, that color is amazing!!

 

[lovedogs]

Wow! I may have to track some down, that color is amazing!!

+1!! OMG that color is incredible!! Now I feel like finding some too!

 

[Rfisher]

Anyone know the contact information for the single source this material seems to be limited to?

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Anyone know the contact information for the single source this material seems to be limited to?

Do you have Instagram? If so, send a DM to Yianni. He'll direct you to the right person. (I'd rather not post emails here, otherwise I would. Or, if you want to contact me via LT - my username there is surprisingly similar - I'd be happy to pass it along.)

ETA (need to drink my coffee!): https://www.instagram.com/gemexplorer/

 

[Rfisher]

Anyone know the contact information for the single source this material seems to be limited to?

Do you have Instagram? If so, send a DM to Yianni. He'll direct you to the right person. (I'd rather not post emails here, otherwise I would. Or, if you want to contact me via LT - my username there is surprisingly similar - I'd be happy to pass it along.)

ETA (need to drink my coffee!): https://www.instagram.com/gemexplorer/

Thank you! Your piece is beautiful! is I tried to search for you on loupe troop, but I must be some kind of special- I can't seem to find anything remotely close.
I don't have Instagram......

 

[SparkliesLuver]

You're welcome. And thank you.

No worries at all. https://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/2-dot-41ct-lavender-spinel-trillion;10785

 

[marymm]

^ SparkliesLuver, since you've purchased one already, would you happen to know or be able to estimate a rough price-per-carat range for Aquaprase?

 

[lovedogs]

hmm, I think gem explorer must be swamped---I asked him to give my email to the cutter/supplier guy a few months ago and never heard back. I wrote him again today, and he said he was busy with the Vegas show (totally understandable). I'm hoping I get a message soon since I would love to own one of these!

 

[arkieb1]

Wow that really is cool, I've seen a number of the green stones from here, but the blue is just beautiful.

 

[lilmosun]

Sparklieslover....I think I love that cab the best of all the amazing ones you own..the color

I remember seeing pictures of some on the JCK site and they weren't nearly as beautiful as yours. Please keep us posted if you all hear back as I would love one the same color.

(Barry dropped some of the aquaprase on his site tonight...but looks to be be bluer and less green by his pictures)

 

[SparkliesLuver]

^ SparkliesLuver, since you've purchased one already, would you happen to know or be able to estimate a rough price-per-carat range for Aquaprase?

marymm, it honestly all depends on the quality of what you want/choose. Do you want matrix? That'll be more affordable. If you want true gem quality, it'll be $20-$25+/ct, I believe. I also purchased mine three months ago, so pricing could have shifted in the meantime.

hmm, I think gem explorer must be swamped---I asked him to give my email to the cutter/supplier guy a few months ago and never heard back. I wrote him again today, and he said he was busy with the Vegas show (totally understandable). I'm hoping I get a message soon since I would love to own one of these!

I'm sure he is, lovedogs. Feel free to email me, and I'll send you the contact information.

Sparklieslover....I think I love that cab the best of all the amazing ones you own..the color

Thank you very much, lilmosun! You're too sweet. If only we lived closer so we could have a GTG with our sparklies.

 

[marymm]

I do have a little Aquaprase package coming to me from Barry (yay!), and of course his pricing is very very reasonable although I agree his photos read very blue with very little green.

However, I was just quoted $43-$45/carat for "top gem quality Aquaprase" from an American gemstone vendor (not a PS vendor) who apparently sources directly from Yanni Melas. The photo sent by the vendor showed 6 different Aquaprase cabs with varying levels of saturation but color-wise basically were the 2nd color from the left on this color line.



Although I really like the rich greenish Blue of this vendor's Aquaprase cabs, I did think the price-per-carat rate was high.

I will wait and see what Barry's Aquaprase looks like; maybe IRL it will have more green. He does say his camera does not do justice to the Aquaprase stones.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Oh, fun, marymm! Definitely let us know how you feel, once it arrives. I'm curious myself to see what Barry's stuff looks like.

If it's the same person/company I bought mine from, they're (supposedly) the only vendor selling directly with Yianni. So it's quite possible the price has gone up due to demand? I'm not sure. It does seem a little high though.

 

[Rfisher]

I do have a little Aquaprase package coming to me from Barry (yay!), and of course his pricing is very very reasonable although I agree his photos read very blue with very little green.

However, I was just quoted $43-$45/carat for "top gem quality Aquaprase" from an American gemstone vendor (not a PS vendor) who apparently sources directly from Yanni Melas. The photo sent by the vendor showed 6 different Aquaprase cabs with varying levels of saturation but color-wise basically were the 2nd color from the left on this color line.



Although I really like the rich greenish Blue of this vendor's Aquaprase cabs, I did think the price-per-carat rate was high.

I will wait and see what Barry's Aquaprase looks like; maybe IRL it will have more green. He does say his camera does not do justice to the Aquaprase stones.

Oooh! Happy for you that you snagged one from Barry! I'm very curious to see what you think of it, compared with his photos, too.
Did you receive the quote from the American vendor by searching yourself, or is this thru the direction of the single source from the discoverer? I have not heard back from my inquiry yet, just curious.......

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I wanted to chime in since I love my piece of aquaprase. Admittedly, I had Ryan Quantz put his perfectionist touch on it; a huge thanks goes out to him. I received it back this morning and I absolutely love it. For those who are interested:

Before:
29.38cts
17.83 x 17.97 x 10.84mm

After:
26.00cts
17.80 x 17.80 x 10.74mm

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDtliplx-ev/?taken-by=quantzstudios

Lovely, serene yet vibrant at the same time. I can see why you love this gem.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Lovely, serene yet vibrant at the same time. I can see why you love this gem.

Thank you, Lisa. Serene yet vibrant is a good way to describe it. Sometimes I think it leans a little green but then I put it next to my chrysoprase and realize there's a huuuuuge difference. I do love it, and I'm super happy I was able to get a piece. Hopefully I'm able to set it next year and start enjoying it more often.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I do have a little Aquaprase package coming to me from Barry (yay!), and of course his pricing is very very reasonable although I agree his photos read very blue with very little green.

However, I was just quoted $43-$45/carat for "top gem quality Aquaprase" from an American gemstone vendor (not a PS vendor) who apparently sources directly from Yanni Melas. The photo sent by the vendor showed 6 different Aquaprase cabs with varying levels of saturation but color-wise basically were the 2nd color from the left on this color line.

Although I really like the rich greenish Blue of this vendor's Aquaprase cabs, I did think the price-per-carat rate was high.

I will wait and see what Barry's Aquaprase looks like; maybe IRL it will have more green. He does say his camera does not do justice to the Aquaprase stones.

Hi, marymm. Wanted to check in and see if you received your stone from Barry.

 

[marymm]

hi SparklieLuver, I did end up getting two Aquaprase cabs from Barry - thanks for asking!

One is a round and the other is a rectangle cushion -- I'm completely enamored with the round which has a beautiful color and a glow to it - for sure it will be a ring. Not sure yet what I'll do with the cushion (maybe a pendant or bracelet). Here are Barry's photos, and I'll try to take a couple pics myself in the next day or two and add them to this thread.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I'm so glad they worked out for you! I look forward to seeing your pictures.

 

[marymm]

Okay, here are some photos I took - the round is a 5.44ct Aquaprase (10.7mm), the cushion is a 8.25ct Aquaprase, (16.1 x 10.5mm), both from Barry:






For comparison, I also took a couple of pics with my 1.76ct Aquamarine cabochon (also from Barry), 8. x 6.7mm oval.




(the color is desaturated in this pic, but it shows the profile of the stones -- adore the gumdrop shape of the large round!)

 

[lovedogs]

Re: GIA article on "aquaprase"

Okay, here are some photos I took - the round is a 5.44ct Aquaprase (10.7mm), the cushion is a 8.25ct Aquaprase, (16.1 x 10.5mm), both from Barry:






For comparison, I also took a couple of pics with my 1.76ct Aquamarine cabochon (also from Barry), 8. x 6.7mm oval.




(the color is desaturated in this pic, but it shows the profile of the stones -- adore the gumdrop shape of the large round!)

Wow, those pics are stunning! I was wondering what they'd look like in person (or from a non vendor photo). They are gorgrous!!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Rfisher]

Okay, here are some photos I took - the round is a 5.44ct Aquaprase (10.7mm), the cushion is a 8.25ct Aquaprase, (16.1 x 10.5mm), both from Barry:






For comparison, I also took a couple of pics with my 1.76ct Aquamarine cabochon (also from Barry), 8. x 6.7mm oval.




(the color is desaturated in this pic, but it shows the profile of the stones -- adore the gumdrop shape of the large round!)

Very pretty! Love the shapes too. Your face on pics are very close in color to vendor pics too.on my monitor, at least.
Your Aquamarine is lovely as well!
My quest for aquaprase cab is still ongoing. I seem to be reliving groundhog day, seems every few days discussion has to start over from beginning, ending without a sale and back to beginning. If I didn't already know the vendor did indeed ship a stone out to someone here- I would have thought the whole deal was shady. For 6 weeks now, I think?
Congrats on yours though! Plans to set?

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Thank you so much for posting your pictures, marymm! I always love to see those more than the vendor photos. I'm happy you love your stones. I too love the gumdrop shape of your round!

Really, Rfisher?! Wow. I'm so sorry! I wonder what's up because my experience was not like that. Hm. I'm tempted to email him...

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I thought I'd follow-up with a picture since my ring is now finished. I'm super happy I can wear it and enjoy it now! Hope everyone else is enjoying their stone(s); I'd love to see what others make with theirs!