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I only like pastel (light toned) stones. Am I weird? Please show me your pastels!

roxta

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2019
Messages
188
My new butterfly qualifies I think
D67551EC-0DF6-4BD9-AFA2-3F803926FC07.jpeg

Icy jadeite with sapphire sides

This is stunning. I love how the sapphires are set so perfectly around the main jadeite. I usually see all same size round stones being pave set but yours incorporates some larger fancy cuts as well. Really unique and the three colors are beautiful together!
 

roxta

Shiny_Rock
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Oct 23, 2019
Messages
188
Such a bad graphic. Color has nothing to do with quality! It can influence demand and therefore price, but color and quality are completely unrelated. I personally LOVE pastel colors and so do many people, and this thread shows why.

When I saw this chart I was like.....hmmm ok, you can call pastel tanzanites "low/poor quality" all you like but it won't put me off them. If I have "poor" taste by normal market standards, so be it. I acknowledge that as emeralds get paler, at some point they stop being emeralds and are just green beryls with much lower demand. Supposedly color is king. So there must be people who look at a pastel tanzanite the way they would look at a pale green beryl - they would think "that's not saturated enough to be a tanzanite" like "that's not saturated enough to be an emerald". They might call it a pastel zoisite rather than a pastel tanzanite. Or they might just call it a poor quality tanzanite.
 

737liz

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
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Oct 18, 2015
Messages
690
I like pastels too! Today I picked up this tourmaline that had been languishing unset for 10 years. I bought it for the minimal faceting pattern. It is a lightly saturated seafoamthat leans silver in some lights. 20210619_111516.jpg
 

Newb2U

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
168
When I saw this chart I was like.....hmmm ok, you can call pastel tanzanites "low/poor quality" all you like but it won't put me off them. If I have "poor" taste by normal market standards, so be it. I acknowledge that as emeralds get paler, at some point they stop being emeralds and are just green beryls with much lower demand. Supposedly color is king. So there must be people who look at a pastel tanzanite the way they would look at a pale green beryl - they would think "that's not saturated enough to be a tanzanite" like "that's not saturated enough to be an emerald". They might call it a pastel zoisite rather than a pastel tanzanite. Or they might just call it a poor quality tanzanite.

Some of the refractive quality's in pastels far exceed that of dark stones,you can find a specimen pastel and it will be much harder to find than the "high quality" darker stones.All depends I suppose
 

roxta

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2019
Messages
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I like pastels too! Today I picked up this tourmaline that had been languishing unset for 10 years. I bought it for the minimal faceting pattern. It is a lightly saturated seafoamthat leans silver in some lights. 20210619_111516.jpg

The seafoam color is gorgeous and love the chunky facets in the cut.
 

Alnitak

Rough_Rock
Trade
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Jan 16, 2013
Messages
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Some of the refractive quality's in pastels far exceed that of dark stones,you can find a specimen pastel and it will be much harder to find than the "high quality" darker stones.All depends I suppose

Exactly, and if there's dispersion, the pastels will show it much more visibly than a saturated color. Take demantoid--I love a deep green classic Russian demantoid, but if you've seen one of the lighter grass green ones, the visible increase in dispersion is so appealing!
 

Musia

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
1,073
My pale greenish blue Russian emerald/beryl. Vendor's photo and mine. On my photo next to beryl/emerald is Russian aqua from the Lake Baikal region. The aqua has more color than the emerald/beryl:). 1'''' (2).jpeg IMG_0737 (2).jpg
 

Alnitak

Rough_Rock
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My pale greenish blue Russian emerald/beryl. Vendor's photo and mine. On my photo next to beryl/emerald is Russian aqua from the Lake Baikal region. The aqua has more color than the emerald/beryl:). 1'''' (2).jpeg IMG_0737 (2).jpg

Not to sidetrack this thread but...the color on that aqua is insane. Any other photos of it?
 

Musia

Brilliant_Rock
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Not to sidetrack this thread but...the color on that aqua is insane. Any other photos of it?

Yes, but I have Russian vendor's photos only (the stone is at my daughter's place). These aquas are mostly in private collections now, my vendor had only two of them and sold me the one he/I liked less :mrgreen: I showed him a picture of the aqua I got from you, he was very impressed and showed me a photo of his 2+ct trillion. Of course I begged him to sell the trillion to me, but he only agreed to part with this 1.8ct pear. I can't find anything in English, here is an article in Russian https://webmineral.ru/deposits/item.php?id=1119 These aquas were heated inside the Earth, that's why the color is deep blue. 90.jpg 90'.jpg 90''.jpg 90'''.jpg
 

Newb2U

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
168
Exactly, and if there's dispersion, the pastels will show it much more visibly than a saturated color. Take demantoid--I love a deep green classic Russian demantoid, but if you've seen one of the lighter grass green ones, the visible increase in dispersion is so appealing!

This thread made me appreciate it more than,I'm gonna pick up my first loose stone,and it's going to be a lighter shade,AA is often perfect for me,any suggestions? I like the sound of Russian demantoid
 
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Alnitak

Rough_Rock
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This thread made me appreciate it more than,I'm gonna pick up my first loose stone,and it's going to be a lighter shade,AA is often perfect for me,any suggestions? I like the sound of Russian demantoid

My first suggestion is to avoid anyone using terms like "AA" for color. There is NO formal system for this, and anyone can just make up an "A" rating for their stuff. Judge the quality and color yourself based on photos, and avoid putting any stock in those rating systems.

Russian demantoids are fabulous, but expensive even in the lighter colors. Namibian mint green or slightly yellowish-green demantoid can be a better value if you want a demantoid garnet.
 

Newb2U

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
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My first suggestion is to avoid anyone using terms like "AA" for color. There is NO formal system for this, and anyone can just make up an "A" rating for their stuff. Judge the quality and color yourself based on photos, and avoid putting any stock in those rating systems.

Russian demantoids are fabulous, but expensive even in the lighter colors. Namibian mint green or slightly yellowish-green demantoid can be a better value if you want a demantoid garnet.

Oh,it's garnet,wow I love garnet,I'll hafta save for one,and just when I was thinking about green garnets
 
W

westofhere

Guest
Dan Lynch often has reasonably priced green garnets, like this one for only $750.
 
W

westofhere

Guest
And this 2.7 mint is only $1,600.
 
W

westofhere

Guest
Links didn’t go, feh. Trying again:


 
W

westofhere

Guest
If you’re going to buy stones set in sterling like Larimar, synthetic Alexandrite/spinel, or yellow CZ, Walmart carries all of these, so if anyone ever tries to sell you a ring for more than $30-or $40, you’re being conned. And crap stores like Walmart donate zero value jewelry like this to thrift stores because the tax write-off is more profitable than dumpstering it, so look at your local thrift stores.
 

roxta

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2019
Messages
188
My pale greenish blue Russian emerald/beryl. Vendor's photo and mine. On my photo next to beryl/emerald is Russian aqua from the Lake Baikal region. The aqua has more color than the emerald/beryl:). 1'''' (2).jpeg IMG_0737 (2).jpg

Wow, stunning!
 

Musia

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
1,073
@Alnitak I am attaching a very poor picture made by my daughter some time ago that shows a part of her collection. There is a big aqua cut by Jeff White, he describes the color as 'double blue'. And there is also a blue pear from Russia. It looks awfully black/dark grey in this photo. We showed the pear to Jane Carleton of J.E. Carleton Appraisals, she is a good friend of Richard W. Hughes, and knows everything about CSs. She also saw a pendant you made for my daughter with your aqua in it and liked both stones. So the pear is indeed aqua, I didn't get any papers that day but I am 150% sure it is aqua and not something else. The stone should go to the lab if I want a paper/card and Jane only appraises pieces of jewelry with stones already set.

Since this thread is about the love for pastel colored gems, I must say that she wasn't impressed with our pale green beryl, but confirmed that it is not oiled :D. She liked all Russian demantoids we showed her but found a surface reaching feather in one of them and didn't recommend setting it. The stone is light greenish/yellow that sparks like a diamond, I wanted to make a pair of earrings with it:cry2:. As a person who saw/bought saturated as well as pale Russian demantoids I can say that I like lighter ones a lot for the crazy fire they produce. My saturated green stones are eye clean, have no visible horse tails, and their fire is siglificantly lower than the lighter ones have. I am attaching a picture and sharing a link to the video of Jeff White's 'double blue' aqua for comparison
Jeff's stone is untreated.
1 (3).jpg IMG_1311'.JPG 0''''''''''.jpg BYL145.jpg
 
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Newb2U

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
168
If you’re going to buy stones set in sterling like Larimar, synthetic Alexandrite/spinel, or yellow CZ, Walmart carries all of these, so if anyone ever tries to sell you a ring for more than $30-or $40, you’re being conned. And crap stores like Walmart donate zero value jewelry like this to thrift stores because the tax write-off is more profitable than dumpstering it, so look at your local thrift stores.

Paid next to nothing,rarely wear it and still somehow like it .I'm planning on having a diamond set in the center,that would make it a favorite.
Then I might give it to my mother☺️
 
W

westofhere

Guest
That’s very sweet! Mothers cherish things their sons give them.
 

Newb2U

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
168
That’s very sweet! Mothers cherish things their sons give them.

Well she misses her wedding ring and this one would bring out her eyes(ice blue),so it'd really make me and her smileit would be really special ik it
 

fantapanda

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
147
I like paler sapphires and my wallet is glad for that.

I really need to set the tourmalines and blue sapphire. The silvery lavender spinel I got thinking of matching it with my zircon but changed my mind :S
IMG_20210622_163939367.jpg IMG_20210622_164147030.jpg
IMG_20210622_164528965.jpg IMG_20210622_164802039.jpg
 

roxta

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 23, 2019
Messages
188
I like paler sapphires and my wallet is glad for that.

I really need to set the tourmalines and blue sapphire. The silvery lavender spinel I got thinking of matching it with my zircon but changed my mind :S
IMG_20210622_163939367.jpg IMG_20210622_164147030.jpg
IMG_20210622_164528965.jpg IMG_20210622_164802039.jpg

Gorgeous stones. What's the green pair?
 

fantapanda

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
147
Gorgeous stones. What's the green pair?

They're sapphires I got off eBay. Color on the listing was more green but IRL they are paler greeny blue. Didn't match my pink tourmaline sadly.
 

oncrutchesrightnow

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
2,635
I feel like the minority here who isn't into rich, deep or vivid colors. Not only do I like light tones, I also enjoy a bit of grey (my favourite color). Ice/steel blue? Lovely! Dusty pink? Perfection! The best part of this is.... lower competition? And sometimes lower prices :bigsmile:?

I'm currently obsessed with pastel purples like lilac, lavender and periwinkle. I had a laugh with my husband the other day because I saw a grading chart for tanzanite and I'm most drawn to the lowest quality ones, right at the bottom. He can't complain.

Are you a pastel lover too? Show me your pastel stones so I can oogle!

Tanzanite-Color.jpg

I love grey-ish stones. I was looking for a goth-y purple stone and all the amethysts I found were too plum. Then I discovered this thing called spinel… and learned that grey spinel apparently are less valuable if there is a hint of purple. Bonanza!!! Now I have found an entire internet full of goth-y grey-purple inexpensive gems. :lol:

My first one should arrive in the mail soon.
 
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