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help me spend my birthday money

lavatea

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
519
I have just a little bit of birthday money left. I've found several stones that fit my (very small) budget, but I'm having trouble deciding which (or any) stone to buy. I'm terribly indecisive. Anyone want to help me narrow it down? Or talk me out of all of them? Or add to my troubles by showing me more stones??

Maybe I should just save the $$?

OK:

I have a long-term stacking project I'm working on, and this would be for that.


These would be either for a pendant or a stacking ring.

acs chrysoprase 8mm.jpg

bb iolite 7.7mm.jpg

bb topaz 6.6mm.jpg

bk tourmaline 4.9mm.jpg
 
And these would be for a pendant.



Thanks for any and all help!

bk tourmaline 5mm.jpg

gemrite spinel 4.8x4.85mm.jpg
 
Dont know if my 2¢ will help or hinder but here goes.

the chrysoprase looks weakly colored and granular rather than translucent.

Iolite looks nice from a few certain angles otherwise it looks drab and has cleavage problems

the topaz is nicely cut, but drab

the round tourmaline looks pale and brownish to me


the princess tourmaline is sweet, but quite small for a pendant

the blue spinel and its round sister spinels by that same cutter have all been on my list of contenders for some time.

If the chrysoprase, being your first post is where you were leaning toward I would suggest as a competing stone this jade, also from my perpetual list of contenders



which can be found here
http://www.coloradogem.com/index.php?display=gems

jadeoprase.jpg
 
Thanks! I definitely needed the feedback on the chryso b/c I have no idea what to look for with them. I know I want a square chryso cab for my project, but that's the extent of my knowledge, lol. So a good one should be more translucent?
 
fine color and a glowing translucency. also important to inspect the interior of the stone with penlight to make sure there are no fractures in the crystal.

Completely gorgeous square faceted chrysoprase here but even after figuring the currency conversion it's not exactly a bargain price but it is a fine example of what to look for
http://www.bespoke-gems.com/SacredGeometrics_Gemstones_Chrysoprase.php

170a.jpg
 
Wow, good chrysoprase has gotten really hard to find! I vaguely remember a few years back talk that the Marlborough and Yerilla mines were for sale or sold and that "The Chinese" had bought/were buying it all and sending all the rough to china and that there wouldn't be any chrysoprase left for others. And I spent half the day trying but found very little. Even the milky opaque Tanzanian chrysoprase was scarce.If you want that and Bespoke can't do one for you (and at a price you can handle) the other place I found that might be worth looking into is:
http://www.ozrainbows.com/category1_1.htm
You'll still need to contact him and ask him to cut you one to your shape/size/quality specs.
 
Hi Lavatea! Honestly, I am not very much attracted to the photograph of the gems you have attached ;)) I would keep looking!
 
I love :love: the Barry topaz!

I think you will like it too, topaz is very sparkly and lets off some nice flashes. The way Barry cuts, his stones really sparkle, so put that together with a topaz, and I think you will be thrilled. :appl:

For a ring, I would pick that.

Of course, no one will know it's not a diamond :naughty:

To judge the smaller stones for a pendant, see if you can cut out a piece of paper, using a metric ruler, that is that size. But some people like to have a little bezel set stone pendant, like the Tiffany diamonds by the yard. They can look quite good (and sexy) nestled in the nape of the neck. So, for it's fab color, I like the tourmaline you picked. :praise:

Some spinels can go dark in some lights, so I'm not a fan of those.
 
Chrysophase – not the usual bright watery green that one aims for (think apple jadeite when shopping for one)
Iolite – I usually stay away from these due to cleavage issues too and finding one that looks sapphire-like is like looking for a needle in the haystack
Topaz – I’m not a fan of something colourless
BK pink round tourmaline – pale saturation
BK princess tourmaline – I like this one because the colour is rich and bright
Blue spinel – Not sure because of the dark background which usually makes a light toned stone pop more, making it difficult to estimate the colour.

VapidLapid,
While I love the jade you posted, it’s always more expensive than a chrysophase of like quality, especially if it has not been dyed or resin filled.
 
Thanks everyone! I definitely have some things to consider.

And thanks for the other chryso links, Vapid. :)
 
This thread is very educational.

I see several posts saying the pink round tourmaline is pale saturation, bad color etc.
while the princess tourmaline is good , the colour is rich and bright etc.

Aren't they the same color? :confused: What am I missing?
 
Hi GP. The color of the round is more peach and the princess pink. the round is a weaker tone and that is complicated by the grey mask with which it is afflicted. That also makes the stone look dirty. look in the center of the round. there is only one pavilion main facet that is showing brightly and it aint that bright. Half of them look plain old dirty gray. In the princess even facets that arent firing bright at that angle are still pink.
 
My favorites are the 2 princess-cut stones, the tourmaline and spinel. I like the color of the iolite, but Barry's description as "hazy" would turn me off to it. I'm also not a fan of colorless stones that aren't diamonds, so the topaz would be out for me. The chrysoprase seems to have a dull color, although it could just be the photo. The Bob Kast round tourmaline looks nice, but I like the princess better for color.
 
Yes, both tourmalines are pink in hue but the saturation isn’t equal. The short and easy to understand explanation is that the round is not a pure pink colour – it has a bit of a gray tone to it which makes it look dull and muted. The princess cut tourmaline does not have this gray mask, hence it appears brighter to the eye. The saturation also appears to be better which is what makes the tourmaline “pop” in colour. Usually this comparison is complicated by the fact that the lighting condition and camera used is different (and unknown) which makes judging gemstones difficult but since both are from Bob, the assessment should be fairly accurate.
 
Just a quick update - I think I'm hanging on to the money for now. I don't find myself dreaming about any of these stones, and I think it's a little silly (maybe?) to buy a stone just to buy a stone. I just bought an interesting stone from Uli (one of his starting at $.99 auctions) so we'll see what it looks like in person. Maybe that will satisfy my need to buy something for a bit.

There are some other stones that I'm actually dreaming about, so if I hold on to this money now and add to it, I think that will turn out better in the long run.

Thanks again for all of your help! I think you guys helped me prolong a decision long enough that I was able to gain some perspective.
 
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