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Help a newbie?

yarntea

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Messages
9
Hi there. I have just started looking for a gem to set into a ring. I am not a fan of diamonds as a centre stone, so when my husband asked me to marry him almost 20 years ago he gave me a lovely necklace. Now, I would like to design a ring. My wedding, birthday and son's birthday are all in January, so I'm thinking garnet. However, while I know getting what I like is most important, I would also like something worth setting in a custom ring (probably with some small diamond sidestones or a a diamond halo).

I've looked at tsavorite and teal-ish colour change garnets. Any other suggestions? I definitely prefer cooler colours - so I like a blue-green if I'm going to go green. To be honest, I might go for a sapphire except the garnet is so meaningful for me and it is important for me that my jewelry has meaning.

I've looked at AJs gems, Lapigems and Primagems US. I also looked at Africa Gems but they seemed to be twice the price of other places?

Oh and I would like to keep it not much more than 1K. Thanks! I welcome any advice and education! The research I have done so far has been fascinating and I can see why people get obsessed with this.
 

duckduckgoose

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
82
A garnet would be very nice since it is so meaningful :) - is your budget for the stone only? If you do a garnet and plan to wear the stone most days you might consider a bezel style setting for added durability.

What shape and size is ideal? And yes, Africa Gems can be pricey - they have a tourmaline there that I love, but alas... :)
 

yarntea

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Messages
9
Thanks! I'll have a look at the purple; I also like some of the true, bluish reds. I've looked at the mint garnets but I'm having a hard time understanding the difference between a mint garnet and a not very good tsavorite? Is it just whether it leans blue or yellow tones?

I prefer cushion cut but would consider oval. I'm looking at about 1K for just the centre stone - though might end up a bit more on exchange as I'm in Canada. I was looking at this, but wondering if it is too dark and it doesn't look very "blue" in tone, but that might just be the photo.

http://www.lapigems.com/gemstonedetails.asp?id=5901

or this:

http://www.lapigems.com/gemstonedetails.asp?id=4989
 

chroman

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
1,087
Once you venture into reds, be careful for color shifts! Garnets can move around a bit, color wise.

I think the line between a not-so-saturated tsav and a mint depends on your vendor. If you call it a tsav you can charge people more :) To me, those two stones look awefully dark.

Assuming you're confortable wearing a garnet on a regular basis (because its not as hard as, say, sapphire), here's a few interesting stones:

6.3x5.3 1.33 emerald:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/239233...e-emerald-cut-133-cts?ref=shop_home_active_72

6.9x5.7 1.25 cushion:
http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/gemstones/?sku=6946

8x6.2 1.61 oval:
http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/gemstones/?sku=6068

In case a trillion is of interest, this looks like a nice color:
6.7 1.19 trillion:
http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/gemstones/?sku=3934

This is over budget, but the color...
7.8x6 1.47 oval:
http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/gemstones/?sku=2981
 

OTL

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
1,349
1k for the stone only or the whole ring?
If for the whole ring then I'd suggest a mint garnet that are generally cheaper than tsavorite.
And basically yes mint garnet is just a light tsavorite, with blue secondary color preferred though.
 

yarntea

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Messages
9
Hmm. Now I'm really down the rabbit hole. I've looked at mints and they are quite lovely. Also something called a mahenge garnet I could get in a salmon colour?

Maybe I should start with some reputable sellers/cutters. Suggestions there? Thanks. Oh and yes, hoping 1k for centre stone, though in US that would be around $750. Might go closer to US 1K if really special.
 

DDOC

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jul 24, 2016
Messages
91
Hi Yarntea,
To clear up confusion, both Mint Garnet and Tsavorite Garnet are Grossular Garnet varieties, the difference being that Tsavorite is coloured by Chromium.
Green Grossular Garnet is found in lots of places around the world.
Tsavorite comes from one area only, crossing the border from Kenya to Tanzania.

Maybe consider a Demantoid Garnet. They are expensive when you go above 1.00 ct, but have a very nice green and really bright.
You could get an 0.80 to 0.90 round brilliant and use it as a centre to an Art Deco inspired ring maybe.
As a colour reference, the green square radiant cut below is a 1.50 ct Demantoid. The rest are diamonds to compare brilliance.

GemLine have some nice ones. This one is outside your budget, but it is super bright.
http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=10878

imgp0524.jpg
 

GemstoneNoob

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Messages
21
Earths treasury is from the vendor list, and I almost bought one of their garnets myself, for a ring. My only concern with garnet is that I'm hilariously clumsy, so I'm terrified I'd chip it. The one I almost bought is just a smidge above your price range, so I won't post that one, but he does have quite a few others, so you should pick through his site a bit. One I found particularly interesting was a color change. Changes from a bright purple to a hot pink. He didn't post pictures of the pink in this listing, but he did in the others. He'd probably be willing to take extra pictures for you as well. Really stellar guy, quick responder.

http://www.earthstreasury.com/product/1-50-carat-pastel-pyrope-color-change-garnet/
 

yarntea

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Messages
9
I've been looking at this peach colour of mahenge (by the way, how is it pronounced). This one is too big for me but is the colour I like. I mistakenly called it salmon when I was emailing with a vendor so I will have to correct that:

http://www.earthstreasury.com/product/3-11-carat-pink-peach-mahenge-garnet/

If I can find a good deal on both a mahenge and a tsavorite maybe I will have to get both ;-)
 

yarntea

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Messages
9
Funny. Gene is who I've started a conversation with. I'm waiting to hear if he might have something cushion or oval. I saw an oval mehenge he sold to someone on this site and it was beautiful. This round one is lovely as well - everything I've seen on his site is lovely - but I'll wait to hear if he might have something that he thinks will turn out in my first choices of shape.
 

Garnetgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,140
GemstoneNoob|1477555205|4091061 said:
Earths treasury is from the vendor list, and I almost bought one of their garnets myself, for a ring. My only concern with garnet is that I'm hilariously clumsy, so I'm terrified I'd chip it. The one I almost bought is just a smidge above your price range, so I won't post that one, but he does have quite a few others, so you should pick through his site a bit. One I found particularly interesting was a color change. Changes from a bright purple to a hot pink. He didn't post pictures of the pink in this listing, but he did in the others. He'd probably be willing to take extra pictures for you as well. Really stellar guy, quick responder.

http://www.earthstreasury.com/product/1-50-carat-pastel-pyrope-color-change-garnet/

I had a great experience buying a pastel pyrope from earthstreasury. Wonderful, prompt service. Jeff provided additional photos, so I was able to judge the colour quite well beforehand. It was my first online purchase and I'm really pleased with it.

I can be clumsy at times too. I have my garnet set in a bezel, so I'm not worried about it.
 
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