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Help me find a a periwinkle sapphire / spinel

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natascha

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
644
So after years of hankering for a gorgeous three stone I'm finally getting on with it. I have the matched OEC side stones and am in contact with David Klass regarding the setting... now for the even harder part (and I thought finding matching OEC's on a budget was hard) finding the periwinkle center stone

Now since the sidestones are 0.65ct each I need a center that can match it. Really hoping to hit the 7mm mark in terms of width (so a bit longer). Further I just prefer elongated shapes, so emerald cuts, ovals and elongated cushions (marquise and pears wouldn't work for this particular project). As for colour I'm looking for a light medium tone of violet blue (typical periwinkle would be the ideal but open to other tones) and I am open to a certain amount of grey. I don't want something too far into purple so excluding lavender and the like. Regarding treatments I'm fine with heat but not more serious treatments like diffusion. Since I don't have a big budget I'm pretty lenient regarding clarity as long as there are no mayor carbon spots etc. So minor eye visible inclusions, zoning etc is fine. Regarding cut the one major thing I do want is a certain height to the table, I can't stand flat pancake stones and especially considering I'm pairing it with two OEC's it needs to have something on top


Now I was hoping to achieve this on a budget of $500-700, I know it will be tough but do please advise if I'm completely off base. I might need to reconsider the type of stone and colour I can afford


So to summarise:
Budget $500-700 max
Size: hoping to hit 7mm wide in an elongated shape
Shape: Emerald, Oval or Cushion
Colour: Ideal is periwinkle, hoping for something light medium in blue-violet-grey
Cut: No need for precision cut but no flat pancakes, major windows or completely wonky culets
Clarity: Dreaming of eye clean but open to inclusions and some light colour zoning, and I enjoy hazy stones as well
Treatment: Heat is fine but nothing major like diffusion, etc.


Any help would be very appreciated, even if its just to tell me I'm nuts :lol:
 
natascha|1423688285|3831005 said:
So after years of hankering for a gorgeous three stone I'm finally getting on with it. I have the matched OEC side stones and am in contact with David Klass regarding the setting... now for the even harder part (and I thought finding matching OEC's on a budget was hard) finding the periwinkle center stone

Now since the sidestones are 0.65ct each I need a center that can match it. Really hoping to hit the 7mm mark in terms of width (so a bit longer). Further I just prefer elongated shapes, so emerald cuts, ovals and elongated cushions (marquise and pears wouldn't work for this particular project). As for colour I'm looking for a light medium tone of violet blue (typical periwinkle would be the ideal but open to other tones) and I am open to a certain amount of grey. I don't want something too far into purple so excluding lavender and the like. Regarding treatments I'm fine with heat but not more serious treatments like diffusion. Since I don't have a big budget I'm pretty lenient regarding clarity as long as there are no mayor carbon spots etc. So minor eye visible inclusions, zoning etc is fine. Regarding cut the one major thing I do want is a certain height to the table, I can't stand flat pancake stones and especially considering I'm pairing it with two OEC's it needs to have something on top


Now I was hoping to achieve this on a budget of $500-700, I know it will be tough but do please advise if I'm completely off base. I might need to reconsider the type of stone and colour I can afford


So to summarise:
Budget $500-700 max
Size: hoping to hit 7mm wide in an elongated shape
Shape: Emerald, Oval or Cushion
Colour: Ideal is periwinkle, hoping for something light medium in blue-violet-grey
Cut: No need for precision cut but no flat pancakes, major windows or completely wonky culets
Clarity: Dreaming of eye clean but open to inclusions and some light colour zoning, and I enjoy hazy stones as well
Treatment: Heat is fine but nothing major like diffusion, etc.


Any help would be very appreciated, even if its just to tell me I'm nuts :lol:
Click to expand...

Really nice lighter toned periwinkle stones are hard to come by, let alone one with specific measurements and a lower budget. If you're lucky, you might find something. I'd check the loupetroup listings, as the lapidaries are going to charge more. Maybe JuliaB has a loose stone (she's on etsy), and she often gets in lots of spinels. I don't think your budget will allow for a sapphire, even if its heated. I could be wrong, and someone might show up here with a stunner for you, in your price range. Even so, you have to be really careful of lurkers on this forum, as everyone and anyone wants a light periwinkle colored spinel or sapphire it seems.
 
Freke, where are you?
 
Do you like this? It's 5.8 x 8.3 mm (not 7 mm) spinel, but it's only $311. It has a small window. It is very grey. The cut does not appear perfectly symmetrical, and it has a prominent bow tie. If you like everything else, perhaps you will want to risk a slight recut to improve it.

j2w_sn11401ag.jpg
 
This one is 6.2 x 8.4 mm. Spinel for $204. I prefer this one to the one above because the cut is better. It is also very grey.

j2w_sn10501am.jpg
 
Not really sure what qualifies as "periwinkle." Is this in the color range you are looking for? I thought it was pretty and its in the right size range. Hard to tell about grey with the background.

ps0340.jpg

ETA: Looking at this on another monitor it looks much more purple! Color is so tough to read online!!
 
enbcfsobe|1423693117|3831038 said:
Not really sure what qualifies as "periwinkle." Is this in the color range you are looking for? I thought it was pretty and its in the right size range. Hard to tell about grey with the background.

ps0340.jpg

ETA: Looking at this on another monitor it looks much more purple! Color is so tough to read online!!
Click to expand...
I think this one is better than both to the ones I previously posted. Better color and better cut.
 
This sapphire is actually listed a Periwinkle color. I would choose sapphire over spinel because light blue sapphires are affordable right now. Spinels in the color you seek can suffer from that dreaded grey mask in different lights. Sapphires in my opinion usually do not.

http://mastercutgems.com/images/gems/29938.jpg
 
I like the mastercut one that Lisa posted -- that's more what I think of as periwinkle, but upon some googling it turns out that Pantone and Crayola (the latter being my reference point from memory) have differing ideas on what periwinkle looks like. ETA: I think the Crayola one looks much more blue. I am fascinated by how we each perceive color slightly differently.

deep_periwinkle_pantone_paint.jpg

48-periwinkle-crayon.jpg

I like some of the other JD stones dk posted but those seem too grey or too grapey to me for what you've described. The one I posted earlier was also from JD.
 
pregcurious|1423690382|3831016 said:
Freke, where are you?
Click to expand...
I cannot post to suggest stones for you, or comment on anything else that anyone else has posted, except in a very general sense.

I think you're going to have a pretty hard time finding exactly what you're looking for, because periwinkle is a highly sought after color in the gemstone world. Spinels are going to have a strong dose of gray, and typically don't come in larger sizes without a large price premium (sounds like you're wanting around a 9x7 stone or larger) and sapphires will be cost prohibitive unless it's pretty light in tone or has some other "less than perfect".

I would up your budget if those are all of your requirements. Basically, something has to give. Cut, color, size, budget are going to be things that you analyze and figure out the direction you really want to go and your expectations for this project.
 
Brad at the gem trader will have a drop next week, he may have what you're looking for. I'd also email him and ask. He has a beautiful one now, but over budget and not the right shape. Sometimes he has things he doesn't list.
 
It will be easier to find a sapphire in this colour than spinel although sapphires will be pricier. Either way, both will have a significant amount of gray unless you increase your budget.
 
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