My first tourmaline - opinions please

[rinni]

Got this little tourmaline recently, a 6mm modified square brilliant cushion.

Vendor describes it as "a Copper bearing Paraiba Africana Tourmaline with beautiful color! It is from the famous Ofiki mine in Oyo Nigeria."

I was not very happy with it at first as the color isn't quite as neon and saturated IRL, but its been growing on me, so I'm of two minds whether to return it or not ...

Anyway, here are the vendor pics.

 

[rinni]

Now here are my own photos. The stone looks closest to vendor pics when i photograph it with flash

 

[Edward Bristol]

Many consider a stone growing slowly on somebody as a good sign. It leaves more room to development and is normal with great gems.
Its like with people, you get to know and love them more over time (or not).

 

[rinni]

More photos.

Strangely, the more photos i took, the more i liked the stone...

 

[Arcadian]

I like the color and the cut on it.

Should you decide to keep it and set it, an open setting will be key for this stone. Indirect natural light and incandescent light may be the lights you'll likely see your stone in most. I does depend on what you really like most of all. Some stones take me a little time to warm up to, some I'm in love with from the start.

IMO each stone has its own personality, kinda like people Think about it for the weekend and see if you're still liking it. If not, Litnon's return policy is very good so there should be no problems if youre not happy with it.

-A

 

[m76steve]

dont no what u paid for the stone-to me looks very nice cut/color etc.-robust stone good 4 a ring or eye-catching pendent-steve...

 

[JewelFreak]

Nice cut & color; it really comes down to personal preference. Over this weekend you'll have a chance to see more of it in varying lights & decide how you feel. Do you love the color flashes in lower light? It's very pretty in bright light. Ed's right that when a stone grows on you slowly, it can be very satisfying. My first tourmaline (green) didn't wow me at first -- it's similar in light reaction to yours. But the cut did knock me out & it has good saturation, so I kept it. After living w/it by my computer for a few months, its subtleties showed & I'm totally nuts about it now. If yours doesn't do that for you, you'll have time to send it back.

Good advice from Arcadian too -- open setting. It's a pretty stone, whether or not you let it live with you.

--- Laurie

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

Was the stone very expensive and was this a purchase you thought about for a while ?
Was it an important purchase for you?
It is your first Tourmaline, is it your first Colored Stone?
Is blue - green your favorite?
Do you tend to like lighter colored stones, or do you prefer
richer, medium or dark hues....

It is obviously in a vendor's best interest to photograph their
stones in the best light possible and to take lots of pics
and then to publish the best pics that they take, I would imagine.
H***, I think we all do that here!
That can certainly raise our expectations significantly.
Then we open the package and sometimes go.... Hmmmmmmmm.........

And Ed, Arcadian, steve and Jewel Freak give good advice !
And I agree, I think most of us have colored stones that initially made us go hmmmmm
but are now among our favorites.

This is your thread, so I won't tell you about my personal Hmmmm stones,
Maybe I will start a thread.
Anyway, see how you feel about the stone, and if it just doesn't do it for you
set it free !
There are lots of stones out there.

 

[T L]

Got this little tourmaline recently, a 6mm modified square brilliant cushion.

Vendor describes it as "a Copper bearing Paraiba Africana Tourmaline with beautiful color! It is from the famous Ofiki mine in Oyo Nigeria."

I was not very happy with it at first as the color isn't quite as neon and saturated IRL, but its been growing on me, so I'm of two minds whether to return it or not ...

Anyway, here are the vendor pics.

I'm a bit less biased about commenting on returns as I'm not a tradesmember, so just know if you paid a lot, and you feel the color "has to grow on you," to me, that is not a good sign. I have stones that I kept because I let them "grow on me," and in hindsight, I should have returned them. In my experience, if I don't love it upon first getting it, it goes back.

If your photos are accurate, I see an okay blue tourmaline in terms of other regular indicolites, but definitely not a neon one or one in the league with other cuprians I have seen from Africa.

 

[FrekeChild]

I agree with TL.

 

[marymm]

Another +1 to TL's post.

I would add that I will give a new stone a few days so I can see it in different lighting conditions - but generally speaking I go with my first reaction to a stone - I want my stones to grab me or sing to me and if they don't, I send them back. I do choose stones for different reasons, and I do like moodiness in some stones. But if I were to buy something like a copper-bearing Paraiba-type stone, I myself would be looking for some degree of neon/glow that is generally present and noticeable. Of course, I have a limited budget, and I've returned stones that were interesting or somewhat pleasing - but I no longer buy gemstones that will sit in my collection box - my focus is on gemstones that I will set and wear.

So to be fair to the gemstone:
1. take a good look at it in all lighting conditions;
2. ask yourself what your expectation or goal was in buying the stone - and then decide if this stone meets that criteria or if it provides other acceptable attributes that make it pleasing to you;
3. if it pleases you but didn't fufill your criteria in choosing it -- ie, if you keep this stone, will you still keep looking for a neon/saturated Tourmaline? -- does your budget have this flexibility?

Have some fun with the process - luckily there is no right answer - if the stone works for you and you can afford it and you desire it - there you go.

 

[LD]

Were you looking for a Paraiba Tourmaline (albeit from Mozambique) of neon colour? If so, then I'm afraid you haven't got one. What you've got is an indicolite tourmaline. If you've paid "Paraiba" prices then you MUST send it back. If the price was right for Indicolite and it wasn't expensive then it's worth keeping if it's growing on you.

 

[K9]

I also agree with TL - if you don't love it as soon as you open the package, it'll always just be an "ok" stone. Especially as you grow your collection and end up with stones you adore.

 

[minousbijoux]

I agree that if it wasn't what you expected when you opened it, you might want to seriously consider returning it. I just had the same experience with them, and returned it the same day I got it, as it was considerably different than their photos. I think that particular vendor takes the photos outside in bright light, so there is sometimes a certain glow stones seem to have in their pictures.

My rule of thumb - I determine what lighting the stone is going to be in most often, and then examine it there. If it doesn't absolutely sing to me, I send it back, because, like others, I have enough sitting in gem boxes...

Personally, I saw that gem and would have loved to have purchased it, but now seeing your pics, I don't think I'd be interested, unless I was just wanting an indicolite.

 

[Arcadian]

I will say I don't love everything I buy on site. It takes a day sometimes more which I think is perfectly acceptable. I have stones I really like that I've never sent back, as well. I have them mainly for their collectability tbh. I have stones that I wasn't keen on at first but over time really fell in love with them because I got to hold them, see them react to light, and study them.

If the stone dosen't have the right vibe, then sure, I'll send it back.

My lovely red spinel that I just purchased, yes I loved the picture, and yes I loved the color when I got the stone, but I wasn't immediately in LUV when I opened that package. It was my first silky stone, so I had to spend a little time with it after all. Took a few hours to wrap my head around it but I will say that yes, its a stone I would NOT ever send back.

The blue-green tourmaline I got from Swala...classic example. I was intrigued by the picture, I honestly wasn't in love with it at first. Its kind of an odd coloration. I got the stone home and I wasn't in love with it immediately then either. But I loved the cut, the color shift was pretty cool, and I thought it was very pretty and large given its price. That glow it had was really something else too. So I listened to instincts and said you know, its a nice stone I like how it looks, let me see what happens if I set it. Funny enough I didn't even bother setting it right away! I let it sit for months without even thinking about it. I damn near had a coronary after I had it set and can't leave it alone! Its a definite favorite.

So I think as a person collects, their tastes evolve and grow some. I've had some stones I sent back early on in my collecting days and I actually now regret doing so because I've matured in how I view certain stones and their properties.

Taking a couple of days to study a stone, see it in different lights if its not love at first sight it is really important IMO. SOme stones do take seeing in different types of conditions to see if it works for you.

If beyond that there are doubts, and it was something that was of great expense, then sure, it needs to go back.

Personally I think tourmalines can be weird, especially the bluer ones. My first, hell, I sent it back! I didn't even like it. But over time once their properties, I began to appreciate them for what they were. I'm still picky when it comes to blue/blue-green tourms but they've 'grown on me'.


But if the first reaction when you open a stone package is "what the hell is this?" yes, send it back!

-A

 

[rinni]

Thanks Edward, Arcadian, steve, JewelFreak, Shiney, tourmaline_lover, FrekeChild, marymm, LovingDiamonds, k9muttlover and minousbijoux!

Thank you all for your inputs, it has helped me straighten up my thoughts on this stone.

I first saw this stone IRL in the evening when I got back home from work, and my first reaction was Hmmmmmm. It can be a moody stone in low light settings, but it almost always shows a bit of neon blue-green flash whenever it catches the light (which it does quite often due to the superb cutting).

As I played with the stone, taking pictures and looking at it under different lighting conditions, I’m growing really fond of this little gem. So, I’m most probably gonna keep this gem.

However, before I make my final decision, I’d like to know the mkt price for a tourm such as mine.

This gem is an impulse buy, and while i most definitely didn’t pay Paraiba prices for this stone, it is not inexpensive. So what’s bothering me right now is if I’d paid a fair price for the stone.

The stone is precision cut, VVS clarity, 0.94ct and 6mm in width

 

[FrekeChild]

My probable cuprian (has not been tested, but other stones in the same parcel were) is 1.32ct, 6.3mm cushion cut by Barry Bridgestock was $140. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/tourmaline-eye-candy.130021/

This is a round, previously owned by BEG, came from the same parcel as the above stone, and it was around $150. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/secondhand-tourmaline.156743/

My more recent seafoam green tourmaline (seen halfway down this thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-cs-setting-help-thread.157183/) is 1.32cts as well and 6.5mm and was $250. It is not copper-bearing.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/picture-overload-seafoam-and-periwinkle.155136/

The large Namibian in the above thread with the seafoam tourmaline is 2.32cts, 8.5mm and cost me $350.

So that's a little price comparison for somewhat similar stones...

 

[minousbijoux]

For a precision cut, .94 carat, Nigerian cuprian with that clarity, the price is fine - you did not overpay if that is your concern.

 

[FrekeChild]

Here are BEG's pictures which are better than mine at showing the color.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-and-blue.129058/