Moody stones: Post them here!

[WhoaNelly]

I’ve noticed as a newbie (long-time lurker) that moody stones are mentioned a fair amount. I’d like to create a post that shows these babies in both their moody and vibrant states. In part for education and to showcase their mysterious, temperamental ways.

Here are a few of mine.

Spess garnet in a James Mayer setting that I bought pre-loved. Definitely glows the best in overcast weather. It has sugar and was cut by either Barry Bridgestock, Richard Homer, or Gene—I don’t remember (darn my aging brain).

 

[WhoaNelly]

Purple Mozambique garnets. The large one was cut by Gene/ Precision Gem and the smaller one by Jeff White, which I bought
pre-loved (originally @NKOTB)

Gene’s is in a CVB setting (pre-loved from @HS4S_2) and NKOTB’s in a Rahaminov setting I purchased at auction from pics alone—I got lucky in multiple ways.

 

[HS4S_2]

Purple Mozambique garnets. The large one was cut by Gene/ Precision Gem and the smaller one by Jeff White, which I bought
pre-loved (originally @NKOTB)

Gene’s is in a CVB setting (pre-loved from @HS4S_2) and NKOTB’s in a Rahaminov setting I purchased at auction from pics alone—I got lucky in multiple ways.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I love them so much!

 

[WhoaNelly]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I love them so much!

Well thank you for helping me!!

 

[Starstruck8]

Great idea for a thread!

And I love your stones! Especially the big Mozambique purple garnet in its magnificent sculptural setting. My purple garnet behaves much the same - sometimes it shows beautiful purple flashes, sometimes, it's just too dark.

I'm wondering how many of us are going to be keen to show our stones at less than their best...

But I'll start. Here's my opal. Opals love directional light. Top, hero pic in light from a distant window - soft but directional (see shadow). Below, under a cloudy sky. Still shows colour, but much less vivid and lively.

 

[ilovegemstones]

Love this thread idea. I have a few to add! Newest is my moody silky spinel!

 

[diamondyes]

Purple Mozambique garnets. The large one was cut by Gene/ Precision Gem and the smaller one by Jeff White, which I bought
pre-loved (originally @NKOTB)

Gene’s is in a CVB setting (pre-loved from @HS4S_2) and NKOTB’s in a Rahaminov setting I purchased at auction from pics alone—I got lucky in multiple ways.

Oh my gosh I love these

 

[diamondyes]

Great idea for a thread!

And I love your stones! Especially the big Mozambique purple garnet in its magnificent sculptural setting. My purple garnet behaves much the same - sometimes it shows beautiful purple flashes, sometimes, it's just too dark.

I'm wondering how many of us are going to be keen to show our stones at less than their best...

But I'll start. Here's my opal. Opals love directional light. Top, hero pic in light from a distant window - soft but directional (see shadow). Below, under a cloudy sky. Still shows colour, but much less vivid and lively.

Stunning

 

[WhoaNelly]

Great idea for a thread!

And I love your stones! Especially the big Mozambique purple garnet in its magnificent sculptural setting. My purple garnet behaves much the same - sometimes it shows beautiful purple flashes, sometimes, it's just too dark.

I'm wondering how many of us are going to be keen to show our stones at less than their best...

But I'll start. Here's my opal. Opals love directional light. Top, hero pic in light from a distant window - soft but directional (see shadow). Below, under a cloudy sky. Still shows colour, but much less vivid and lively.

OMG that opal---it's gorgeous! Thank you for sharing. Even moody, the colors stand out. Wow.

Yah, I figure it's a risk but I believe that seeing these types of stones would help newbies such as myself understand what to expect, even when stones are cut by masters. And, funnily enough, I quite like them, which surprised me.

 

[WhoaNelly]

Love this thread idea. I have a few to add! Newest is my moody silky spinel!

That's so cool and lovely---looks so delicate. I didn't know that spinels could be moody! Love the colors---like it's fluorescent. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Starstruck8]

These (top, spess; lower, zircon) are a bit like your amazing spess. (But not quite so amazing, of course.) Great under a cloudy sky (they look sparklier IRL than in the photo), not so good in directional light from the wrong direction. I think this is caused by the brilliant cut, not by anything about the stone - the brilliant cut just doesn't reflect much light from wide angles.



I've said this often enough before, but there's no harm in repeating it: star stones only work in hard sharp light. Under a cloudy sky, my avatar stone is just a pale grey blob. Fortunately, I live in Queensland, which bills itself as Australia's sunshine state...

 

[CBianco]

I think all stones are moody to a certain degree and no stones will look "on" all the time. It really depends on the lighting. My jedi spinel will hold color better in bad lighting than my mahenge garnet (unset) for example, which goes from the prettiest shade of pink to meh in a split of a second when I change where I'm facing.

Flattering lighting:


Unflattering lighting/light coming from "wrong direction":

 

[WhoaNelly]

These (top, spess; lower, zircon) are a bit like your amazing spess. (But not quite so amazing, of course.) Great under a cloudy sky (they look sparklier IRL than in the photo), not so good in directional light from the wrong direction. I think this is caused by the brilliant cut, not by anything about the stone - the brilliant cut just doesn't reflect much light from wide angles.



I've said this often enough before, but there's no harm in repeating it: star stones only work in hard sharp light. Under a cloudy sky, my avatar stone is just a pale grey blob. Fortunately, I live in Queensland, which bills itself as Australia's sunshine state...

I love these! I’m currently on an orange run. Picked up a zircon that I’m having set into a cluster. Love the orange/pumpkin/ brown vibes! Thank you for sharing.

This is fascinating and raises the question of how much moodiness is affected by cut amongst other factors. I know sometimes size plays a role, as in larger can be moodier?

I did not know that about cat’s eye stones (reinforcing my newbie status). I’m jealous of you living in Queensland—so dang beautiful!

 

[WhoaNelly]

I think all stones are moody to a certain degree and no stones will look "on" all the time. It really depends on the lighting. My jedi spinel will hold color better in bad lighting than my mahenge garnet (unset) for example, which goes from the prettiest shade of pink to meh in a split of a second when I change where I'm facing.

Flattering lighting:


Unflattering lighting/light coming from "wrong direction":

So glad you posted! I have long admired your stones! Incredible how different the unset stones are. I wonder if that will make stones more complicated to evaluate??

I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on pink or red because they seem so changeable. Your post has given me hope—once I release myself from my self-imposed stay on ban island.

But the glow, gah!!!, regardless of lighting is evident—wow. #goals Thank you for sharing.

ETA: correcting autocorrect

 

[CBianco]

So glad you posted! I have long admired your stones! Incredible how different the unset stones are. I wonder if that will make stones more complicated to evaluate??

I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on pink or red because they seem so changeable. Your post has given me hope—once I release myself from my self-imposed stay on ban island.

But the glow, gah!!!, regardless of lighting is evident—wow. #goals Thank you for sharing.

ETA: correcting autocorrect

To clarify, the stones in both rings are spinels and the unset/loose one is garnet. The cushion in ring is "jedi", round in ring is mahenge neon pink. Sorry for the confusion!

But thank you so much!
Based on reading other's posts on here, it seems like all red/pink/purple garnets are very very moody. I had recently bought and returned a purple garnet that changes from the most gorgeous grape color to a black blob

 

[Catmom]

Great idea for a thread. I have several moody stones but not counting my opals and star sapphires, these are my two moodiest. The left is a lavendar/pink spinel that in some lighting can look like a dull purple blob, yet in the right light looks like a sparkly pink princess. The one on the right is a golden zircon cut by Andrew Gulij. In some lighting I can only describe it as a dollop of brownish green dijon mustard. Yet get it in the right lighting and it is a beautiful golden ball.

 

[Neptune]

Yin Yang Vibes

Weekend grocery run

11am diffused natural light

Keep it real and I like it.

 

[Starstruck8]

Keep it real and I like it.

These are a brilliant demonstration! And great stones, of course. The second last one threw me, until I followed the link back and saw that was taken under a streetlight. (Sodium vapour?) Who ever saw a blue (well, blue - teal) emerald? That's amazing! Did it really look like that, or did the camera do that?

I’m currently on an orange run. Picked up a zircon that I’m having set into a cluster. Love the orange/pumpkin/ brown vibes! Thank you for sharing.

This is fascinating and raises the question of how much moodiness is affected by cut amongst other factors.

The one on the right is a golden zircon cut by Andrew Gulij. In some lighting I can only describe it as a dollop of brownish green dijon mustard. Yet get it in the right lighting and it is a beautiful golden ball.

The cut can make the stone dark when the lighting comes from the 'wrong' directions. The trick is that dark blue, green and red are still blue green and red. But dark orange and yellow are sort of brown, which is not most people's favourite colour. So the effect is more noticeable with these colours.

Based on reading other's posts on here, it seems like all red/pink/purple garnets are very very moody. I had recently bought and returned a purple garnet that changes from the most gorgeous grape color to a black blob

That's my experience too. All such garnets are very shifty. But not necessarily in a bad way. The malaia is shifty, but in a good way.

 

[WhoaNelly]

The cut can make the stone dark when the lighting comes from the 'wrong' directions. The trick is that dark blue, green and red are still blue green and red. But dark orange and yellow are sort of brown, which is not most people's favourite colour. So the effect is more noticeable with these colours.

That's my experience too. All such garnets are very shifty. But not necessarily in a bad way. The malaia is shifty, but in a good way.
[/QUOTE]

Thank you for this info. Helps me understand better why I’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger on red/pinks and what I’ve noticed about garnets.

 

[Neptune]

These are a brilliant demonstration! And great stones, of course. The second last one threw me, until I followed the link back and saw that was taken under a streetlight. (Sodium vapour?) Who ever saw a blue (well, blue - teal) emerald? That's amazing! Did it really look like that, or did the camera do that?

Maybe it's a sodium vapour but I don't really don't know. Yes, I do see the blue pops out occasionally. The emerald is almost a perfect match with GIA GemSet Hue vslbG 5/5 so that might have something to do with it. I use an old iphone.

 

[WhoaNelly]

Great idea for a thread. I have several moody stones but not counting my opals and star sapphires, these are my two moodiest. The left is a lavendar/pink spinel that in some lighting can look like a dull purple blob, yet in the right light looks like a sparkly pink princess. The one on the right is a golden zircon cut by Andrew Gulij. In some lighting I can only describe it as a dollop of brownish green dijon mustard. Yet get it in the right lighting and it is a beautiful golden ball.

Thank you for posting your experiences. Love the description of a blob of Dijon mustard! Lovely pieces no matter what lighting.

 

[WhoaNelly]

Keep it real and I like it.

Holy cr*p!! I lust after your rings and to see them together like that—swoon. No matter what light, they glow! Enjoy and please don’t stop sharing

 

[CBianco]

My "galaxy" sapphire is a little too photogenic lol, irl the pink part is more peachy pink rather than vivid pink like in the first pic. Missing my jedi ring, she's currently at DK getting her prongs redone

 

[WhoaNelly]

Not to spam with the same stones; here’s the gene purple garnet in the car—kind of a mix of a sunny and cloudy day. Dunno what conditions existed/angle I held to create this.

 

[Starstruck8]

The one on the right is a golden zircon cut by Andrew Gulij. In some lighting I can only describe it as a dollop of brownish green dijon mustard. Yet get it in the right lighting and it is a beautiful golden ball.

To add to what I said before, here is a demo I set up in photoshop:

Top row has maximum brightness and saturation possible for a standard RGB monitor. Lower rows are progressively darker at the same hue. You can see that darkening yellow and orange makes what are usually considered less attractive brown-tan colours. 'Dark golden yellow' just is 'like a dollop of brownish green dijon mustard'. (Great phrase!). It's not an issue with the colour of the stone, rather that the cut doesn't return light from all angles. This is not a fault. It's not physically possible to make a cut return light from all angles. Cuts are designed to give best light return for light from behind the viewer, at not too wide an angle.

Note that for colours outside the orange-yellow range, the darkened colours are not so unattractive, so there is less of an issue.

For this trilliant Aussie parti sapphire, the problem isn't the colour, it's just the darkness. With soft light from behind, there's a fascinating interior landscape. With direct light from the side, it's just too dark. Many Aussie blue and teal sapphires are like this - they can show good colour flashes in the right light, but most of the time they look too dark. Beware!

 

[WhoaNelly]

This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing. I’m curious if this is true for all colored stones or if not, what it is (separate from cut) in the chemical composition that contributes to “darkness”.

 

[Starstruck8]

This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing. I’m curious if this is true for all colored stones or if not, what it is (separate from cut) in the chemical composition that contributes to “darkness”.

The story about darkened colours applies to all coloured objects, not just gemstones. Darkened orange just is brown. Usually we don't notice it, because our visual system (somehow!) uses contextual clues to recognize and adjust for the illumination level. A demonstration: try looking at a shaded orange or yellow object through small hole in a white card (to cut out the context).

On chemical composition, I was hoping someone else would answer, but... For many gemstones, the basic mineral is transparent and colourless. This applies for example to the corundum, beryl and quartz families. The colours come from small proportions of impurity atoms such as iron, chromium, vanadium and manganese incorporated into the crystal lattice.

The higher the proportion of these impurity atoms, the darker the stone. (For the same size and cut, of course.) For example, the blue colour of sapphires is caused by iron-titanium pairs. As the concentration of these increases, the colour goes from pale light blue through cornflower blue, royal blue and midnight blue to practically black. The best strength of colour is at cornflower blue to royal blue.

An aside: Have you ever played with artist's paints? You see the same thing, the other way around. Straight from the tube, they are surprisingly dark. But as you mix them with white (or dilute them with water, for watercolours), you see an amazing change. At first, the colour becomes lighter, stronger and purer. It reaches an optimum, then becomes lighter and paler, then fades to white.

Why are Aussie blue sapphires typically dark? I don't know the whole story. The easy part is that they are of magmatic (as opposed to metamorphic) origin, and magmatic blue sapphires are usually dark. But exactly, why, in terms of how they were formed, I don't know.

 

[Neptune]

To add to what I said before, here is a demo I set up in photoshop:

Top row has maximum brightness and saturation possible for a standard RGB monitor. Lower rows are progressively darker at the same hue. You can see that darkening yellow and orange makes what are usually considered less attractive brown-tan colours. 'Dark golden yellow' just is 'like a dollop of brownish green dijon mustard'. (Great phrase!). It's not an issue with the colour of the stone, rather that the cut doesn't return light from all angles. This is not a fault. It's not physically possible to make a cut return light from all angles. Cuts are designed to give best light return for light from behind the viewer, at not too wide an angle.

Note that for colours outside the orange-yellow range, the darkened colours are not so unattractive, so there is less of an issue.

For this trilliant Aussie parti sapphire, the problem isn't the colour, it's just the darkness. With soft light from behind, there's a fascinating interior landscape. With direct light from the side, it's just too dark. Many Aussie blue and teal sapphires are like this - they can show good colour flashes in the right light, but most of the time they look too dark. Beware!

That's a pretty cool setting for trillion. It's enclosed, right?

 

[Starstruck8]

That's a pretty cool setting for trillion. It's enclosed, right?

Thank you!

Trillions are sort of 'challenging' to set. Not quite sure what you mean by 'enclosed' - the stone is held entirely by the V-caps, and the girdle is above the metal rim.

FWIW, I like the concept, but I feel that the detail could be a bit more stylish, though I'm not quite sure how. Maybe make the outer sides of the caps angled in, to follow the line of the shoulders. And angle the rim in, so that the stone seems to sit in a little crater. Maybe next time...

 

[Neptune]

Thank you!

Trillions are sort of 'challenging' to set. Not quite sure what you mean by 'enclosed' - the stone is held entirely by the V-caps, and the girdle is above the metal rim.

FWIW, I like the concept, but I feel that the detail could be a bit more stylish, though I'm not quite sure how. Maybe make the outer sides of the caps angled in, to follow the line of the shoulders. And angle the rim in, so that the stone seems to sit in a little crater. Maybe next time...

Got it.

I think this is a great one too.