Help me understand...pink tourmaline

[Elegant]

This is a picture of a pink tourmaline set in a ring on a website we all know...

My question is - should a person be able to see straight through the gem like this? It is a pretty expensive ring.

 

[LD]

Basically no!

If I were going to pay for an expensive ring I would expect a well cut gemstone.

I also want to mention that pink tourmaline is not an expensive gemstone (by comparison to others) so unless you absolutely HAVE to have it, I''d be tempted to pass and continue the search.

Sorry I realise that sounds very negative but I would rather be honest.

 

[Tuckins1]

Yeah.... No. That stone appears to have a pretty big window (where you can see right through the stone)... I would pass and find another.

 

[Elegant]

Ok, thanks. No feelings hurt, just very curious. I like pink tourmaline and I too thought it was much less expensive and I know little to nothing about colored gemstones and I need visual comparisons or examples of what is good and what isn''t. This ring is $2600 with a 7.19ct pink tourmaline.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Elegant]

Date: 12/24/2008 7:44:34 AM
Author: Tuckins1
Yeah.... No. That stone appears to have a pretty big window (where you can see right through the stone)... I would pass and find another.

Okay, so it''s called a window...that''s good to know. Thanks!

 

[brendaman]

Here''s an example of what I think is good cut for a pink tourmaline from Jeff White (whitesgems.com).

 

[brendaman]

And another. BTW, my avatar (my 3 year old, 5 lb. Maltese, Shayna) is similar to yours!

 

[T L]

Sometimes a small window is acceptable since it can be masked by the setting it is in. However, that window is just too huge to be tolerable. The only time I would ever accept a window that huge is on a very rare color stone that I can't find anywhere else, especially if the price is right. You can then always have the option of having it recut. However, because of the window, it is cut shallow, and there would probably be a lot of carat loss in such a stone if it were to be recut. A lot of ebay vendors will often show stones with huge windows tilted to one side in order to mask the size of it. If you were to see that stone head on, it would look awful. That's a really badly cut stone - not just for the windows, but the facet angles are all off as well and unsymmetrical.

Your dogs are all too cute, now I want a Maltese.

 

[Elegant]

Thanks for the visuals...but what about the black spots in the gem? Is that normal and/or acceptable? Or is it just the way the light hits?

Yes, Chanel, my Maltese is also about 3 years old and about the same poundage! I love the breed - they are so sweet - except this one is feisty and a bit independent, but as the years go on she becomes more and more dependent. They are pretty much one owner type of dogs as my bf will attest to! Shayne is a cutie!!

 

[movie zombie]

color stones are difficult...understatement!...to photo and even the best of the best can show some black spots....

however, most times in stones that are being hyped the cause is extinction. for some basics see:

http://www.gemcal.com/gemstone-cuts.htm


movie zombie

 

[packrat]

Elegant-I''m so glad you posted this! I was browsing a few nights ago online and wondered the same thing!

 

[PrecisionGem]

To be fair, the stone is tilted, and even a properly cut stone will window at some point when it's tilted. If you had the pavilion angles cut at say 42 degrees, which wouldn't window for tourmaline, but then tilted the stone 5 degree's, now the effective angle is 37, which will window. The crown angles, can be used to offset this, but with a large table there isn't much you can do as far as the tilt angle goes.
I do think this stone will window straight on however, but maybe not as much as you would think from the photo.


"The Guide" lists tourmaline in that size as going wholesale for $45 to $260 per ct.

 

[Elegant]

Date: 12/24/2008 8:45:13 PM
Author: PrecisionGem
To be fair, the stone is tilted, and even a properly cut stone will window at some point when it''s tilted. If you had the pavilion angles cut at say 42 degrees, which wouldn''t window for tourmaline, but then tilted the stone 5 degree''s, now the effective angle is 37, which will window. The crown angles, can be used to offset this, but with a large table there isn''t much you can do as far as the tilt angle goes.

I do think this stone will window straight on however, but maybe not as much as you would think from the photo.

''The Guide'' lists tourmaline in that size as going wholesale for $45 to $260 per ct.

This is another pic but again, I didn''t see a straight-on shot of the ring. Only tilted and angled. This ring is actually $2,600.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

That is a pretty large window, I would not pay for a ring with a window that large.

 

[T L]

I think that window is larger than the ones I have on the front of my house!

That is severely overpriced IMO.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Ok, it''s a big window, and the cutting is really awful. You can see that the pavilion facets are just all over the place with no meets. The stone looks to have some inclusion, which is typical for pink tourmaline, and the color is nice. It''s a shame it is so poorly cut. At that price it should be a well cut stone.

Straight on pictures always tell the story, and that''s why so many online sights don''t use them.