How bad are these cracks on the Paraiba Tourmaline?

[fiona00004]

The designer of this ring said she heated the entire ring to add cracks in the stone for a special effect. The fact that she did this to a Paraiba sorta makes me shudder. However, for a 4.5 ct tourmaline of this color, I am still intrigued to see this stone in person and consider keeping it especially since it is under 200$. I might even consider taking out the stone and resetting in a brushed yellow gold setting to give it a more raw feel. There is a 7 day return policy....

My main concern is that if the stone is taken out of the bezel, it may fall apart on me or something...do you think that could/would happen? Do the cracks on the stone seem really bad such that it can't be re-set into something else?

The pics are from the designer...

Thanks!!

 

[theredspinel]

Only a mad person or a lier would take something worth 1k value and do something to it so it sells for 1/10 of that. My figures are plucked from thin air as I'm really assuming this designers story is.

Why not just get a cracked and beat up stone in the first place.... or pay someone a million dollars to take a tenner of you (!)

Sorry op I'm not being helpful at all I just can't believe someone would concoct such a story!

And yes I would assume if it's cracked or been heated to crack it will just crumble apart if you try to remove it from its setting.

 

[fiona00004]

Only a mad person or a lier would take something worth 1k value and do something to it so it sells for 1/10 of that. My figures are plucked from thin air as I'm really assuming this designers story is.

Why not just get a cracked and beat up stone in the first place.... or pay someone a million dollars to take a tenner of you (!)

Sorry op I'm not being helpful at all I just can't believe someone would concoct such a story!

And yes I would assume if it's cracked or been heated to crack it will just crumble apart if you try to remove it from its setting.

Hmmm.....you mean maybe the original stone already had the inclusions/cracks in it and the designer just tried to justify them by saying she "added them for effect"?

This is what she described:

"I wanted to do this gorgeous stone justice, so designed a heavy, simple wrap band with deep pockmarks and a mildly stiff flow. I felt that a slightly severe and solid base would balance well with the fire and brilliance of this stone. I also fired it extra long in the kiln to enhance the stone with a crackle effect."

 

[Arcadian]

She sounds nuttier than squirrel poop.

That's not somebody I'd be buying jewelry from frankly.

 

[mochiko42]

Only a mad person or a lier would take something worth 1k value and do something to it so it sells for 1/10 of that. My figures are plucked from thin air as I'm really assuming this designers story is.

Why not just get a cracked and beat up stone in the first place.... or pay someone a million dollars to take a tenner of you (!)

Sorry op I'm not being helpful at all I just can't believe someone would concoct such a story!

And yes I would assume if it's cracked or been heated to crack it will just crumble apart if you try to remove it from its setting.

To heat a cracked paraiba to increase the cracks, then BEZEL set it? Does this designer know anything about tourmaline, let alone paraiba? Is this designer for real?? If so, what was she smoking?

And yes, theredspinel is right, it would likely be highly risky to remove a highly included/cracked type II stone from a bezel setting.

Finally, $200 for a 4.5ct paraiba?? If it were a true paraiba with only normal inclusions for tourmaline, it would be more like $20,000! Even a non paraiba tourmaline in blue or green is more than $200 for 4.5ct... Something is way off here.

 

[sapphiremomma]

Gonna play devils advocate a bit. They way I am reading her description, maybe she is talking about the setting and not the stone? Sounds like she wanted to add a crackle effect to the band. That would make more sense. Because who in their right mind would do that to a Paraiba!!!

 

[fiona00004]

Gonna play devils advocate a bit. They way I am reading her description, maybe she is talking about the setting and not the stone? Sounds like she wanted to add a crackle effect to the band. That would make more sense. Because who in their right mind would do that to a Paraiba!!!

I know!! But I only wished she meant the setting! When I asked her if she actually intentionally heated the stone, this is what she answered "I added cracks to the stone on purpose to give it more of a crackle effect."

In her ring description, this is what she wrote about the Tourmaline:

"There is nothing like the brilliant, ethereal glow of a Paraiba Tourmaline. Hailing from Mozambique Africa, the lustrous, neon-like glow is colored by copper and manganese, and is quite unlike other gemstones. The interplay between these elements creates a glistening, super saturated green-blue hue. In the sunlight it is absolutely breathtaking. Natural African 4.60 Ct.African Paraiba Tourmaline - 10 X 8 X5.3mm "

 

[sapphiremomma]

Gonna play devils advocate a bit. They way I am reading her description, maybe she is talking about the setting and not the stone? Sounds like she wanted to add a crackle effect to the band. That would make more sense. Because who in their right mind would do that to a Paraiba!!!

I know!! But I only wished she meant the setting! When I asked her if she actually intentionally heated the stone, this is what she answered "I added cracks to the stone on purpose to give it more of a crackle effect."

In her ring description, this is what she wrote about the Tourmaline:

"There is nothing like the brilliant, ethereal glow of a Paraiba Tourmaline. Hailing from Mozambique Africa, the lustrous, neon-like glow is colored by copper and manganese, and is quite unlike other gemstones. The interplay between these elements creates a glistening, super saturated green-blue hue. In the sunlight it is absolutely breathtaking. Natural African 4.60 Ct.African Paraiba Tourmaline - 10 X 8 X5.3mm "

Wow! I have no words. That is insane to me!

 

[pinkjewel]

the ring looks like it is made from PMC- so it was either heated in a kiln or torched to cure- then usually it is tumbled to bring out the shine. The "jeweler"(I say this lightly) should have known what would happen and no one in their right mind would have cracked it on purpose- so I'd run from this seller as fast as possible!!

 

[fiona00004]

the ring looks like it is made from PMC- so it was either heated in a kiln or torched to cure- then usually it is tumbled to bring out the shine. The "jeweler"(I say this lightly) should have known what would happen and no one in their right mind would have cracked it on purpose- so I'd run from this seller as fast as possible!!

What is PMC? She said the ring is made from fine silver...?

 

[pinkjewel]

the ring looks like it is made from PMC- so it was either heated in a kiln or torched to cure- then usually it is tumbled to bring out the shine. The "jeweler"(I say this lightly) should have known what would happen and no one in their right mind would have cracked it on purpose- so I'd run from this seller as fast as possible!!

What is PMC? She said the ring is made from fine silver...?

PMC is Precious Metal Clay. Once it is cured it becomes "fine silver". I used to play with it when I made dichroic glass jewelry.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Even at that price, I think I'd save my money and put it toward something else. Very interesting find though!

 

[theredspinel]

I'm still gobsmacked at this!

 

[chrono]

I wouldn't risk it. Some tourmaline, after heating, is shattered into pieces so who knows whether the stone will fall apart once removed from the setting.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Is she sure the stone is a tourmaline and not apatite? I can't imagine a 4ct tourmaline being treated that way, let alone a paraiba.

My guess is that it is an apatite and she tried to fire it in place (which can be done with certain stones and is commonly done with lab stones) and it cracked. To save the piece, she is marketing it as done on purpose for her artistic vision.

 

[digdeep]

I agree with the above comment----any way you look at it, it's 'broken'.....and I almost question whether this is glass and not a real stone (apatite much less tourmaline)............can the seller send you picture's of the stone before she 'set' it? I'm curious what it looked like before her 'artistic' touch..........

 

[Acinom]

I would not take the risk. The pricing is not high. But you run the risk of the stone shattering into pieces.
The story of the vendor sounds quite odd.

 

[RaiKai]

This is all way too fishy.

What reputable vendor would do that? (absolutely rhetorical question since the answer to that should be quite clear!)

 

[fiona00004]

So it turns out the designer has decided to pull the ring out of the sale since after all my questioning, she is starting to doubt the integrity of her item.....interesting.

If it was indeed a Paraiba, SHOOT that it has been damaged and SHOOT that it didn't end up in my hands before hers!

She said she tends to do a lot of experimenting and worried about the durability of the ring...

 

[lovedogs]

So it turns out the designer has decided to pull the ring out of the sale since after all my questioning, she is starting to doubt the integrity of her item.....interesting.

If it was indeed a Paraiba, SHOOT that it has been damaged and SHOOT that it didn't end up in my hands before hers!

She said she tends to do a lot of experimenting and worried about the durability of the ring...

just saw this and read the comments. Happy you didnt buy it--I agree with others that something is WAAAAAY off here. I bet it's apatite!

 

[theredspinel]

So it turns out the designer has decided to pull the ring out of the sale since after all my questioning, she is starting to doubt the integrity of her item.....interesting.

If it was indeed a Paraiba, SHOOT that it has been damaged and SHOOT that it didn't end up in my hands before hers!

She said she tends to do a lot of experimenting and worried about the durability of the ring...

Hahaha interesting indeed!

 

[RaiKai]

So it turns out the designer has decided to pull the ring out of the sale since after all my questioning, she is starting to doubt the integrity of her item.....interesting.

If it was indeed a Paraiba, SHOOT that it has been damaged and SHOOT that it didn't end up in my hands before hers!

She said she tends to do a lot of experimenting and worried about the durability of the ring...

Uh huh.

I have a hard time believing even an artist would be willing to destroy a Paraiba that they paid $$ for and could have got $$$ all for the sake of "artistic expression".

Artists like to eat, too.

I don't think you missed out here, I think this was a lucky "loss" for you.

 

[arkieb1]

Ask her if she has any more loose stones like it, and if so since that was what you wanted, get one and get it tested - the reason it cracked could be it was fracture filled anyway or as the others have said if she is that clueless as to what stones she can and can't heat it could be something else like apatite.

 

[fiona00004]

Ask her if she has any more loose stones like it, and if so since that was what you wanted, get one and get it tested - the reason it cracked could be it was fracture filled anyway or as the others have said if she is that clueless as to what stones she can and can't heat it could be something else like apatite.

Great idea! But she said she only purchased one!

 

[arkieb1]

Ask her if she has any more loose stones like it, and if so since that was what you wanted, get one and get it tested - the reason it cracked could be it was fracture filled anyway or as the others have said if she is that clueless as to what stones she can and can't heat it could be something else like apatite.

Great idea! But she said she only purchased one!

Ask her if she can get another or if she will tell you where she got it from explain you want one that is not "cracked."

 

[Rare gem lover]

The designer of this ring said she heated the entire ring to add cracks in the stone for a special effect. The fact that she did this to a Paraiba sorta makes me shudder. However, for a 4.5 ct tourmaline of this color, I am still intrigued to see this stone in person and consider keeping it especially since it is under 200$. I might even consider taking out the stone and resetting in a brushed yellow gold setting to give it a more raw feel. There is a 7 day return policy....

My main concern is that if the stone is taken out of the bezel, it may fall apart on me or something...do you think that could/would happen? Do the cracks on the stone seem really bad such that it can't be re-set into something else?

The pics are from the designer...

Thanks!!

Researching cracks in tourmaline, I came across this thread. Wow who would ever do this! I must know who this jeweller is. I wonder if she is still in business

 

[LemonMoonLex]

This definitely wasn't a paraiba.
Even if the seller was a cray cray and actually did this to a real Paraiba...she would have purchased it for thousands and would be selling it for thousands.

That could have been apatite like some has said, flourite, or dyed blue/green quartz.
Glad you didnt buy it!

 

[Barrett]

It could be that the stone cracked up during the process of heating. To achieve the best colors they heat the tourmaline to remove any effect the manganese has on its color. The risk of heating a rough stone is high, so much so that it must have been done for a good reason... either to change the color some(like the majority of paraiba are), or to stabilize the stone with some epoxy-resin in a vacuum.
I would never have anyone keep my Cooper in tourmaline if it was actually worth anything except for a professional and/or someone who's done it before. I've heated regular tourmaline and Paraiba tourmaline before, using many different people and oven types to do so. I have had them explode and embed themselves in the oven(the color did change from red to green though, so it did work), or they would pick up a burnt look and seem more sickly looking/washed out.

The stoning question is questionable. If that's anywhere close to the true color it's horrendous. That color does nothing for the term.... paraiba tourmaline. If I had a cuprian tourmaline piece of rough that looked like that gemstone...shit.... I too would try to heat it and make it look better in some form or fashion.
Regardless of its size, color is King and what sets the value of the Stone more so than any other variable. With a color like that I can see a couple hundred bucks being it's true value. Remember... just because a stone has copper in it, it doesn't automatically make it a Pataiba tourmaline. If this was a normal tourmaline who would pay over $100 for it? It has such a poor saturation and hue, it would never be considered a Paraiba tourmaline.... in a million years.... if not for some lab test that says Trace Amounts of copper are present. If that lab report didn't exist would anyone of you call it a Paraiba Tourmaline? No! If you remember the write-up I did showing numerous examples and localities of Tourmaline is that contain Trace Amounts of copper. Namibia, Brazil(non-paraiba), etc. have all produced tourmaline that show detectable amounts of copper inside them.... since the 1930s this has been known.