Matching Stones

[AGBF]

I have a pair of earrings (round brilliants) which I matched myself: taking one stone out of a ring and buying another on Blue Nile (using the virtual GIA cert, not anyone else's advice) to match it. Now I am in the process of choosing a pair of pears.

I was happy matching the criteria that mattered to me in the other pair of stones: size, clarity, and color. When a jeweler looked at them through a loupe, though, she mentioned that the table size was different (albeit not terrible!!).

What ahould I be looking for when I match pears? How important is table size in pears? *WHAT* is important in pears!!??

Please don't send me to another forum; let's build up the Pricescope archives!!!

PS-I have never bought a fancy shape diamond before!

 

[AGBF]

Here is some *GENERAL* advice about how to match stones (quoted, as fair use, from a site called DiamondShop.com):


"Similar stones

Earrings, multiple diamond bands, and bracelets often have multiple diamonds of the same size and quality. Symmetry is important for the aesthetic value of such jewelry. The diamonds have been exceptionally well-picked if:

(1) the length, height, and width of the diamonds are the same,

(2) the table size, crown height, pavilion depth and girdle thickness of the diamonds should are similar, and

(3) under ten-power magnification the diamonds appear to have similar color and clarity grades.

No diamond is exactly the same size. But when you're trying to match diamonds, their measurements should differ no more than a couple hundredths of a millimeter. In any case, the diamonds should fit their settings almost perfectly."

 

[Giangi]

Hi AGBF,

Hope all is fine...
I don't know what size you're considering --I'm assuming about 1ct each or maybe a bit less, as pears look somewhat larger than rounds... Am I wrong?
If you want a very well matched pair, the stones should have exact or similar color grades --not more than one or two grades difference. Since color is easier to see in fancy shapes, I'd look for H or better --preferably G. Clarity... I know ya like high quality

. If you want an eye-clean stone consider only SI 1 or above. The grades don't need to be matched, as I guess none of your friends will look at them under a loupe or miscroscope (Or so I hope!

).
Cut... I prefer the tables to be within 52-65%, crown 11-17%, pavilion 40-46%, depth between 57 and 65%. The girdle should not be very or extremely thick or thin, but keep in mind that many pear's girdles are pretty thick in some point. As long as the girdle is nice and even, you're doing fine. Polish and Symmetry Good/Good are just fine.
Depending on the stone's size a ~0.1mm difference in measurements is fine and won't be noticed by the observer...
Last point, look for stone with no or slight bowtie... These are hard to find, but there are some out there!

Hope that helps!

 

[fire&ice]

Funny, a good friend is looking for a matched pears for a three stone ring. She wants *me* to help her find them. I'm not looking forward to the search. Her center stone is 1.5 G (she thinks). She wants two matching .50 stones.

I am hoping more advice will come & I can piggyback off your thread AGBF. What size are you looking for?

 

[AGBF]

On 6/16/2003 4:53:45 PM fire&ice wrote:

"Funny, a good friend is looking for a matched pears for a three stone ring. She wants *me* to help her find them. I'm not looking forward to the search. Her center stone is 1.5 G (she thinks). She wants two matching .50 stones.


I am hoping more advice will come & I can piggyback off your thread AGBF. What size are you looking for?"


Uh oh! The same!!

Thank you for the measurement guidelines, Giangi. As you can tell from my answer to fire&ice I am looking for stones of less than your guess of one carat, though!

I want D color stones of around .35 to .50 size. VS quality is fine, but better wouldn't bother me. I am unsure whether the .50 stones will look too big with the spinel with which I want to set them. I have a picture of the spinel with smaller (.35-.37?) carat stones and I love THAT look!!

I like to buy ideal cut round brilliants. I'd like well cut pears.

 

[Giangi]

Oh I see. Sorry.

One more point... I'd look for pears with 3% or less difference in proportions and %'es... Otherwise you'll see the difference with your naked eye...

BTW, is the spinel from Jan and Brad? Why don't you ask them about the pears. Just a suggestion, even though I agree that searching diamonds is soooooooo much fun!

 

[AGBF]

On 6/16/2003 6

5:37 PM Giangi wrote:

"Oh I see. Sorry.


One more point... I'd look for pears with 3% or less difference in proportions and %'es... Otherwise you'll see the difference with your naked eye...


BTW, is the spinel from Jan and Brad? Why don't you ask them about the pears. Just a suggestion, even though I agree that searching diamonds is soooooooo much fun!

"



When I *BUY* I will, indeed, buy from Jan and Brad. They have custody of my spinel and they have been the ones from whom I have bought my diamonds and cultured pearls since I found them

.

What I am doing *NOW* is picking the ones I want to buy from Jan and Brad! I am also trying to learn and trying to build up the wonderful Pricescope archives so that future buyers can use them to educate *themselves*!

Jan and Brad are wonderful jewelers. I have to say that before I found them I *also* had good experiences buying diamonds on-line from Blue Nile and the Tradeshop, though. In fact the diamonds I bought from those vendors were far larger than any I bught from Jan and Brad! My solitaire ring is an ideal cut 1.678 F color sold to me by Ray Elsey of the Tradeshop. That is my diamond in the "invisible" setting of which I have posted pictures.

I have been lucky on-line .

I had hoped to buy freshwater pearls from mercier when he returned from Australia. Since he had given me some as a gift I thought it might be nice to give him some paid custom in return. I still have his e-mail promising to look for pearls for me when his surgery was over and threatening me to send my address for yet another gift by mail. (Besides the pearls, he had sent me some topaz earrings once without any warning whatsoever.)

I miss mercier.

 

[Mara]

Also check out www.gemappraisers.com to get information from Dave's site on fancy cut grading and look at the cut grade charts to find out what table, depth, crown etc is acceptable for the different cut grades. Should help as you search...

 

[AGBF]

On 6/16/2003 11:23:43 PM Mara wrote:

"Also check out www.gemappraisers.com to get information from Dave's site on fancy cut grading and look at the cut grade charts to find out what table, depth, crown etc is acceptable for the different cut grades. Should help as you search..."

Believe me, Mara, I couldn't forget those charts! I found them before I ever "met" Dave on-line (I think when he joined Diamond Talk). When he arrived on Diamond Talk to me he was already a celebrity whose charts on cut had seemed extraordinary!!! He has become such a regular on diamond forums (and has done work for me personally appraising and setting stones), that he now seems more accessible. In the days before he started to participate, however, he had the mystique of an unattainable movie star .

 

[AGBF]

I *finally* managed to upload a picture of my solitaire. (It is in the "Show Me The Ring" area, and here is a link to it!!)

How do I make the photo larger?

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/agbfs-solitaire.7382/

 

[AGBF]

Can pictures be uploaded to rockytalky? I have been able to put two pictures into a thread on Show Me The Ring, but have had trouble getting any into this thread. Finally it occurred to me that I don't know if I see photos in the area. What is the practice on that? (Thank you!!)

 

[AGBF]

I asked:

"Can pictures be uploaded to rockytalky?"

Will someone please post an answer? Surely this is public knowledge and need not require a PM to the cognoscenti? Or is the problem my subject line?