My first 5 stones

[tyty333]

Hi,
I'm new to the colored stones forum but have been admiring everyone's lovely jewelry and colored stones.
I ordered some inexpensive stones so that I could use for some hands-on experience and they came in today.
Here is what I got and what I learned.

1.63 amethyst - *I* cant find anything wrong with this one
1.45 peridot - pretty color but has a window
1.01 almandine garnet - too dark to appreciate unless outside in bright light
0.81 rhodolite - again, to dark unless out side.
0.41 apatite - little stone, big window

Also, learned that for my dainty size 7ish fingers I probably need to stick with larger stones like 8mm or larger.

Please point out anything you can see. You cant hurt my feelings...these are my starter stones and they were cheap.
Their fine cuts are also related to their price so nothing spectular there.

Thanks for your feedback.

tyty

edit to put descriptions in order in pictures (doh!)

 

[Arcadian]

Your stones look quite nice. some varieties of garnet do tend to close up in some types of lighting. Its the nature of the beast really.

The peridot looks good, the window would no doubt close in the right type of setting. (either halo or bezel)

The apatite isn't the most suited for a ring as its quite soft. I've got sphene set into rings just fine, but I'm quite careful with it and my setter had years of experience with soft stones. (thats very important)

All in all, you've done quite well! You should see what my first stone looked like (what can I say, I was 14!)

At some point in the future (maybe even now), you need to decide if cut is important as color. Everyone's a little different in that regard, and for some, they must have a well cut stone. Others will always go with color and can handle the odd wonky cut on occassion if the color is there. I tend to choose color, as long as the stone isn't too badly cut...and then there's my oddity with cushion cut stones where I have to be more careful because in that shape for me, cut matters a whole lot!

I've got a 5mm stone set and wear a size 8. So as long as you like it, you'll be fine!

-A

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

I think all the stones look pretty together !!!!
You did a good job of taking their pictures, NOT easy !!!!

 

[marcy]

Very pretty gemstones. What a great starter set.

 

[chrono]

Excellent selection for a starter collection. Not too expensive so it’s a safe enough learning experience. Seems like you also already see the good and bad of each gemstone.

 

[KarenFe]

Very pretty and you're 5 gems ahead of me. They look like they will be fun to play with and obviously great to learn from.

 

[tyty333]

Arcadian - Thanks for your comments. I'll probably order a few more cheap ones just to get some more variety of
color and shape...then I have to start concentrating more on cut. I love looking at some of the beautiful
setting options on etsy.

I think next I need a sphene for some yellow and maybe a tanzanite for some blue. If anyone has any inexpensive
options for blue and yellow please let m know.

oooshiney, marcy and Chrono - I never realized how mesmerizing staring at these little stones can be. Just so fascinating
that the right elements came together to make these beautiful colors. Hoping to learn more about what makes up different
stones and where they come from as well as creating some beautiful jewelry along the way!

KarenFe - here is where I found inexpensive stones...
http://www.gemselect.com/tanzanite/tanzanite.php

Its really fun to make selections then see what you actually get. I didnt see the window in the peridot and didnt realize
how dark the rhodolite and almadine garnet were going to be. Next time I know I need to try for lighter colors in those
stones. I see why its important to have a return policy for expensive stones!

Thanks again everyone for your comments...my next purchase will be a stone holder and something to store my stones in.