Gray is Beautiful

[valeria101]

Richard Hughes - WWW 27:15 - 28:00 (You Tube): "Vlad, you have so many beautiful spinels, why ... " [This Vlad]

The rest, before and after, sum to whatever else I might have heard of taste, categories & Sapphire.


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What I make of it ... 'You cannot tell', I take, reffers to 'tell' not to 'see' - hence my quoting below:

 

[Bluegemz]

Valeria, thanks for the link. The main point to me, is that beauty is subjective and one person cannot tell another what beauty is. Even inclusions and how distracting they are, is a very subjective choice, as is color in gemstones.
We all realize this at some level, but I feel that only the people that can think for themselves really have a personalized and independent sense of beauty. Fashion industry and marketing of high end, luxury goods, dictates what beauty is for the masses, in part because therein lies true aesthetic refinement, worthy of regard, however many don't really see this and instead purchase simply because they trust the name brand. My point is that ideally, we develop our own sense and have confidence in our choices, which are in conversation with, but independent from the trends. And hopefully we have the eyes to see new beauty when it arrives on the scene. Yes, To me, some greys are remarkably gorgeous and complex. I have seen beautiful greys in moonstones, grey pearls, grey diamonds and grey spinels.

 

[valeria101]

one person cannot tell another what beauty is

Will have to listen to all that again - for a swift shift from defining 'blue' to the conclusion you mention.

I posted this mostly for the first part, exposing the notion of color as an enumerative category - useful as an expression of taste in something as simple as a single color [cornflowers, peacock feathers, skies - standing for 'blue'] accomodating dimension beyond language [the first part fo the talk tells of this - nothing to add].


I'd think of gray in similar terms, of gray things. Sapphire seems to do gray nicely, and the gray ones are never called 'Gray'; yet, ever so faintly bluish gray (or else) is such a prize in other species. Have not seen enough.

Wishing there were a bona fide metalurgist in the house - they'd know Gray ...


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Digressing: your star sapphire is such a puzzle in pictures - it seems to be an extremely clear mid-day sky blue, but this is a wild guess !

 

[Vesper]

I have a gray/blue star sapphire and it was sold as white. I love it. I know it might not be everyone's thing but that is okay.

 

[Bluegemz]

Will have to listen to all that again - for a swift shift from defining 'blue' to the conclusion you mention.

I posted this mostly for the first part, exposing the notion of color as an enumerative category - useful as an expression of taste in something as simple as a single color [cornflowers, peacock feathers, skies - standing for 'blue'] accomodating dimension beyond language [the first part fo the talk tells of this - nothing to add].


I'd think of gray in similar terms, of gray things. Sapphire seems to do gray nicely, and the gray ones are never called 'Gray'; yet, ever so faintly bluish gray (or else) is such a prize in other species. Have not seen enough.

Wishing there were a bona fide metalurgist in the house - they'd know Gray ...


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Digressing: your star sapphire is such a puzzle in pictures - it seems to be an extremely clear mid-day sky blue, but this is a wild guess !

Valeria, this is a good point too, yes the many interpretations of color, and even within a defined catagory, there are so many variations, none of which are more 'real' than others.

You see my star sapphire correctly! It is a very clear, mid day, light sky blue which shifts to a periwinkle, lavender blue in some lights. It's very hard to capture it though.

 

[Bluegemz]

I have a gray/blue star sapphire and it was sold as white. I love it. I know it might not be everyone's thing but that is okay.

I love it! I really adore it's round shape!

 

[mochiko42]

Here are a couple of interesting blog posts by Elle of Gemstone Project

https://thegemstoneproject.com/2014/09/30/spinels-scale-of-gray/
https://thegemstoneproject.com/2016/08/29/market-watch-spinel/

 

[Vesper]

Here are a couple of interesting blog posts by Elle of Gemstone Project

https://thegemstoneproject.com/2014/09/30/spinels-scale-of-gray/
https://thegemstoneproject.com/2016/08/29/market-watch-spinel/

WANT:

 

[chrono]

Shhhhh, keep it quiet or prices will spike like gray spinels did a few years ago. They went from dirt cheap to now being over $1K

 

[T L]

I personally don't like gray gems, but I think certain tones and lusters, like lighter tones and metallic lusters, accentuate stones that otherwise lack a distinct hue. Gray itself is not considered a hue, but a modifier that quells saturation.

I own several greenish gray diamonds that, to me, are more about the luster and fire. That's why I enjoy them.

 

[T L]

WANT:

I think the metal color in the ring, the design, and the luster and tone on this stone is very nice. The pink of the spinel also stands out more against the steely gray setting. Grayish gems tend to be more affordable, so. If you can find a metal color that accentuates their hue (pink in this case), they can really be affordable options for people who cannot afford a more saturated color.