Grey

[Niel]

I was talking to a girlfriend of mine about her engagement ring ideas.

All my girlfriends have such interesting e ring ideas. Most want a colored stone of some sort. She wants grey.

Got me to thinking. What would you get? I see grey spinels are beautiful and affordable, but are they easy to find? Do hey come in large sizes? I've heard its undesirable material. Does that mean its also plentiful?

And grey diamonds.... are they affordable? I found an amazing one thats fancy dark. But also Argyle. So I wasn't sure I'd that or the color grade would make this 16 pointer 5k+




There were others that seemed reasonable, but most had expensive modifiers (ie blue or violet) so hard to gauge. Is a pure grey diamond with no fancy mine expensive? Rare? Are they out of the market because they are unpopular or hard to find

Just the discussion we had brought up lots of questions. Just wanted to hear a bit about grey.

And just for reference. She loved this, whoever pser this is

 

[VapidLapid]

grey spinels are durable and easy to find. I just bought one with a violet tinge from jeff davis on ebay nearly two carats for under a hundred dollars. A nice grey diamond would be fantastic too. If not argyle and not dark, the price should be more attractive. Perhaps starting with a grey spinel and upgrading to a grey diamond later would be a good option. About a year or two ago someone here got a fantastic grey diamond. I dont remember who right now, Jewel Freak, LD,...Im not sure. I'll do a search for it.

 

[Niel]

Can I see your spinel?

For some reason I'm quite taken with them too.

Would someone like a Jeff white cut that kind of rough? As sense its a cheap material, I'm sure she would want it cut into an amazing step cut. Plus she was talking big like 2-3 cts. Rare? Not rare?


There's a lovely round 1ct I on leibesh right now that is like 4k... SL you're right. Affordable. But how long would you have to wait to find a step cut one?

 

[bling addict]

Hi Niel, I mostly lurk these days, but thought I'd post as that is my ring your friend likes - which is a lovely compliment! The centre stone is a spinel from dan stair,

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/blue-spinel-halo-ring.102820/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/blue-spinel-halo-ring.102820/[/URL]

Edited - the thread for the ring is above, sorry I am on my ipad and couldn't work out how to make it a proper link.

 

[Niel]

Hi Niel, I mostly lurk these days, but thought I'd post as that is my ring your friend likes - which is a lovely compliment! The centre stone is a spinel from dan stair, there is probably a thread on it somewhere but I might not be able to search until I get home tonight.

Ha! Great! I was hoping whoever's ring this is would see. She was gaga over it.

I see from your thread its actually blue must just be that picture that makes it look grey. Either way very lovely! Love the hue.

 

[VapidLapid]

My spinel shipped to me only today, but I can show you the vendor photo


and the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo78RUUyVwY

 

[Niel]

Oh yeah I saw he had quite a few grey ones recently. They seem to have that lavender tone to them you were talking about. Is a more pure grey more or less expensive/ rare.

 

[FrekeChild]

I was talking to a girlfriend of mine about her engagement ring ideas.

All my girlfriends have such interesting e ring ideas. Most want a colored stone of some sort. She wants grey.

Got me to thinking. What would you get? I see grey spinels are beautiful and affordable, but are they easy to find? Do hey come in large sizes? I've heard its undesirable material. Does that mean its also plentiful?

And grey diamonds.... are they affordable? I found an amazing one thats fancy dark. But also Argyle. So I wasn't sure I'd that or the color grade would make this 16 pointer 5k+

There were others that seemed reasonable, but most had expensive modifiers (ie blue or violet) so hard to gauge. Is a pure grey diamond with no fancy mine expensive? Rare? Are they out of the market because they are unpopular or hard to find

Just the discussion we had brought up lots of questions. Just wanted to hear a bit about grey.

And just for reference. She loved this, whoever pser this is

I have three grays right now, but have had a lot more than that.

They can be easy to find, if you know where to look. Spinel in general does not come in large sizes, which is why spinels of over 2cts generally jump in price. Pure gray spinels are becoming more popular, so prices are starting to go up.

They can range from almost colorless (colorless is VERY rare in spinels) to black, with every shade of gray between.

Step cut spinels are very difficult to find, because the rough shape does not lend itself well to the depth associated with step cuts.

As for gray diamonds, that little tiny emerald makes my heart try to pop out of my chest.

 

[FrekeChild]

Oh yeah I saw he had quite a few grey ones recently. They seem to have that lavender tone to them you were talking about. Is a more pure grey more or less expensive/ rare.

It's more rare. Spinels in the blue-purple family typically have gray modifiers, so they are kind of just an extension of that, just more gray than blue or purple. Grays are very difficult to photograph, and very hard to explain what particular "tone/hue/color/saturation" of gray you're looking for. And they pick up and reflect colors of the environment very very well, so it makes it even more difficult to get a read on the color.

 

[Niel]

Thanks FC.

isn't that tiny grey just amazing! I think I'm in love. And you know they are having a sale if yours interested.


But really. I know she would be looking for an EC, then asscher, then oval spinel.
If those shapes are hard to find? How hard?
And what's expensive in the world of grey spinel? Because her budget isn't necessarily tight.

 

[minousbijoux]

Thanks FC.

isn't that tiny grey just amazing! I think I'm in love. And you know they are having a sale if yours interested.


But really. I know she would be looking for an EC, then asscher, then oval spinel.
If those shapes are hard to find? How hard?
And what's expensive in the world of grey spinel? Because her budget isn't necessarily tight.

The best way to answer your questions is for you - or better yet, your friend - to start looking. Grey spinels, etc. are around and seem to pop up even more frequently lately since Freke just about single-handedly has made their popularity sky rocket. Check out the usual suspect stickies and you should see multiple examples which will give you an idea of price.

 

[JewelFreak]

Montana sapphires can show quite a bit of gray too -- grayish-blue, -teal, - greenish. There are some at http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html she might want to take a quick look at.

 

[FrekeChild]

Thanks FC.

isn't that tiny grey just amazing! I think I'm in love. And you know they are having a sale if yours interested.


But really. I know she would be looking for an EC, then asscher, then oval spinel.
If those shapes are hard to find? How hard?
And what's expensive in the world of grey spinel? Because her budget isn't necessarily tight.

Well, what's her budget? And what does she want? Light? Medium? Dark? I saw a gorgeous light gray oval I think over at Leibish that I told my husband he must buy for me. He just gave me a look and went back to reading.

Emerald spinels of any real size are like hunting for hens teeth. Asschers, same thing - typically you just have to wander across one and get lucky. Ovals are easiest, IMHO.

 

[minousbijoux]

I saw a gorgeous light gray oval I think over at Leibish that I told my husband he must buy for me. He just gave me a look and went back to reading.

Emerald spinels of any real size are like hunting for hens teeth. Asschers, same thing - typically you just have to wander across one and get lucky. Ovals are easiest, IMHO.

Better training is necessary, I'm afraid.

 

[FrekeChild]

I think these are my favorites among Leibish's current selection. Minus the one above, of course!

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5264.htm

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/8858.htm

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5154.htm

 

[Niel]

This was just for my own knowledge. She isn't actively looking. She just was in absolute love everything about that. And it just got me inquisitive as to if her ring would actually be attainable with a grey spinel. I know so little about them.

 

[FrekeChild]

I saw a gorgeous light gray oval I think over at Leibish that I told my husband he must buy for me. He just gave me a look and went back to reading.

Emerald spinels of any real size are like hunting for hens teeth. Asschers, same thing - typically you just have to wander across one and get lucky. Ovals are easiest, IMHO.

Better training is necessary, I'm afraid.

Hah! More like, more money is necessary. No doubt in my mind that if we had the means, he'd cave. BUUUUUT $90k? Lol.

 

[Niel]

I think these are my favorites among Leibish's current selection. Minus the one above, of course!

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5264.htm

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/8858.htm

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/5154.htm

I'm stuck in SIL ring mode so when I say budget isn't an issue, I mean she's dating a guy where their budget is probably 3-5k

Which looking at the few grey spindles I've seen (Jeff Davies) seem to be very doable with the halo setting she wants to pair with it.

But I could very well be wrong. Which was why I was asking.

And its a waste of time to assume you could get a precision cut grey (as close to the above grey diamond as possible) in an elongated EC bigger than 1.5ct?

 

[minousbijoux]

I would contact uppergems.com. They seem to have more emerald cut stones than others. You could also contact Jeff and ask the price to cut one, since he has so much rough.

 

[woofmama]

I bought a grey spinel from Jeff Davies. It arrived Friday. 2.69ct cushion cut. Very interesting stone.

Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJa4FHIlLKw

IRL it is a bit darker than the stills and video show. Beautifully cut! I do see it as a plumish color in some lighting and maybe a hit of blue in other light. It's is very sparkly in direct sunlight, we had a bit of sun yesterday, and it was beautiful. Kind of like a shimmery silver.
I'll try to take some decent pics by next weekend and post them in this thread for the color comparison.
Freke had told me it would be darker IRL and she was definitely right about that.

 

[sonyachancs]

I bought a grey spinel from Jeff Davies. It arrived Friday. 2.69ct cushion cut. Very interesting stone.

Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJa4FHIlLKw

IRL it is a bit darker than the stills and video show. Beautifully cut! I do see it as a plumish color in some lighting and maybe a hit of blue in other light. It's is very sparkly in direct sunlight, we had a bit of sun yesterday, and it was beautiful. Kind of like a shimmery silver.
I'll try to take some decent pics by next weekend and post them in this thread for the color comparison.
Freke had told me it would be darker IRL and she was definitely right about that.

I love greys too! though I think too dark for my ER so I have plans for another project. woofmama, I love your stone! I've been staring at it since Jeff put it up, and the video is just mesmerising.

 

[woofmama]

I bought a grey spinel from Jeff Davies. It arrived Friday. 2.69ct cushion cut. Very interesting stone.

Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJa4FHIlLKw

IRL it is a bit darker than the stills and video show. Beautifully cut! I do see it as a plumish color in some lighting and maybe a hit of blue in other light. It's is very sparkly in direct sunlight, we had a bit of sun yesterday, and it was beautiful. Kind of like a shimmery silver.
I'll try to take some decent pics by next weekend and post them in this thread for the color comparison.
Freke had told me it would be darker IRL and she was definitely right about that.

I love greys too! though I think too dark for my ER so I have plans for another project. woofmama, I love your stone! I've been staring at it since Jeff put it up, and the video is just mesmerising.

Thank you I'm not the best picture taker but will do a thread by the weekend, I hope. It's darker than his picture so something to keep in mind if ordering.

 

[chrono]

Black is the darkest tone possible, hence is gray is considered a level of tone and saturation. Most grey spinels are actually not pure grey but a very light greenish blue, light lavender or (light or dark) blue spinel with very low saturation. A pure grey stone is essentially a gemstone that has no hue, only tone (light to dark) and almost no saturation. Spinels do come in large sizes but pure colourless spinel is uncommon.

 

[Niel]

thank you chrono! that was precisely the information i was hoping to get. Very informative as always.

Question. What do they call a spinel that is colorless and the level of grey that above EC diamond?

Ive heard people throw around the word "silver" or "titanum" spinel. Is that a term you should be using when talking to lapidaries trying to find one? Or just say colorless medium dark grey spinel? Or is it that? is it medium? dark?

 

[chrono]

I have not come across a specific name for a colourless spinel. Colourless tourmaline is called achroite. Silver or titanium is rather new marketing term which I think is supposed to help describe the colour better to the potential buyer and/or make it sound more attractive. Do keep an eye out for synthetic colourless spinel though; they are out there.

 

[T L]

I was talking to a girlfriend of mine about her engagement ring ideas.

All my girlfriends have such interesting e ring ideas. Most want a colored stone of some sort. She wants grey.

Got me to thinking. What would you get? I see grey spinels are beautiful and affordable, but are they easy to find? Do hey come in large sizes? I've heard its undesirable material. Does that mean its also plentiful?

And grey diamonds.... are they affordable? I found an amazing one thats fancy dark. But also Argyle. So I wasn't sure I'd that or the color grade would make this 16 pointer 5k+




There were others that seemed reasonable, but most had expensive modifiers (ie blue or violet) so hard to gauge. Is a pure grey diamond with no fancy mine expensive? Rare? Are they out of the market because they are unpopular or hard to find

Just the discussion we had brought up lots of questions. Just wanted to hear a bit about grey.

And just for reference. She loved this, whoever pser this is

Grey fcd's without any secondary color, like green, can be expensive. It also depends on where you buy, and I find there's a premium on diamonds just because they come from Argyle, but I'm not sure why.

I have several greyish diamonds with a green secondary. They were very affordable.

The diamond ring you posted is a lab created blue diamond I believe. I forget the PS'er. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. If it were a natural blue diamond it would be $$$$

 

[petit_bijou]

*emerging from hiding*

I have a grey spinel that I haven't had a chance to share yet - it's impossible to photograph, as the colour shifts often from a steely pure grey, to an icy cool blue. I managed to get a decent iphone shot of it this morning in the overcast morning light.

It's a 3.76ct native step cut that I paid very little for on eBay early this year (as in, $120 with shipping), and happened to luck out. I'll have to pull out my calipers to measure it as I don't recall the dimensions. I guess it goes to show that what your friend wants IS out there, but in my case it was definitely a stumble-upon stroke of luck.

The purple stone was a native cut stone that I had re-cut by Jerry, and while the brilliance and sparkle definitely improved, the colour did change and it shows a lot more of it's grey personality now than it did before. I still love it, and now that the popularity of greys is increasing, I guess it's not such a bad thing in the grand scheme!

 

[minousbijoux]

Wow, PB, you did really well! That does look to be the perfect tone for grey (not too light, not too dark) and remarkably little in the way of modifiers. Well done - please feel free to start a thread when you're ready, as that is great example of a grey spinel.

 

[JewelFreak]

Not only luck but good judgment to buy it, PB! Nice. Love Woofmama's too. You are making me want a gray spinel too! Plain gray is beautiful but so are ones with modifiers.

--- Laurie

 

[Niel]

Not only luck but good judgment to buy it, PB! Nice. Love Woofmama's too. You are making me want a gray spinel too! Plain gray is beautiful but so are ones with modifiers.

--- Laurie

Right. Something about this convo has me wanting a true plain grey spinel. Hopefully my friend starts the hunt soon so I can lice though her. Or else I'll have to do it.

* edited for my brain throwing up on that sentence.