My new colour change garnet...

[Pandora II]

1.32ct colour change garnet.

These are the dealer''s pictures rather than mine. I wasn''t expecting it to look nearly as good IRL nor the colour change to be as extreme as it is, but I was amazed when it arrived this morning.

The colour in the pictures is 100% accurate.

It was a completely chance find and the price was exceptional so I took a gamble.

What do you think?

Here it is in daylight:

 

[Pandora II]

And in incandescent light...

 

[Eva17]

wow that is awsome. i love the daylight color!!

 

[IrishBreakfast]

Good Lord it''s gorgeous! How are you going to set it?

 

[Pandora II]

I'm not setting it - no point, I don't really wear any jewellery other than my e-ring.

It's going in a little box in Pandora's Box!

It's native cut, but a nice one.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Pandora, that's just lovely. Color change garnets(anything) are so cool!

I've been wanting to write you and tell you that I cannot WAIT for the colored gems portion of the G.G. I have 3 more weeks of diamonds. If I have to grade another diamond...

60 more to go!

I reallyreallyreally need some variety to stay sane.

We graded mounted stones today, though, and I loved it. Very fun!

How are your courses going?

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 6/10/2008 7:00:53 PM
Author: coatimundi
Pandora, that''s just lovely. Color change garnets(anything) are so cool!

I''ve been wanting to write you and tell you that I cannot WAIT for the colored gems portion of the G.G. I have 3 more weeks of diamonds. If I have to grade another diamond...

60 more to go!

I reallyreallyreally need some variety to stay sane.

We graded mounted stones today, though, and I loved it. Very fun!

How are your courses going?

I''m a bit behind on my assignments at the mo - wretched wedding...

The FGA doesn''t do diamonds in any depth - there is a separate diamond course, the DGA that you take after the FGA if you are into diamonds. FGA is almost entirely theory - the practical exam is to confirm that you can use the instruments correctly, and you get a set of stones to ID and questions on them. Or at least it is at the Foundation level - the Fellowship is in 2 parts Foundation and Diploma. I''m on the Foundation currently.

I''ve seen the new exam papers and they''re pretty frightening. You have a 2.5hr one in the morning and a 2hr one in the afternoon and a gazillion questions that cover pretty much every topic in the syllabus. I''ve decided to put my exam off till next June as the wedding has skewed my schedule so badly. Problem is I need a good 7 hour stretch to write up all my notes and do an assignment properly and if I lose a Saturday and Sunday I''m in trouble.

What have you covered so far on the optics, crystallography stuff? Crystallography reminds me of French grammar...

Glad you''re enjoying the course (don''t envy you on the diamond grading, I''d have gone nuts!)

 

[Selkie]

Date: 6/10/2008 6:05:59 PM
Author: Eva17
wow that is awsome. i love the daylight color!!

MMM, me too! It looks like Concord grape juice. Why do my favorite gems always remind me of food or candy?

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Very cool, pretty stone!

 

[marcy]

Wow, what a great find! I''ve been thinking about getting one for my collection too. Hints on where to be watching for another treasure like this?

 

[Harriet]

Pandora,
That''s an awesome colour change.

Pandora and Coati,
I''m so envious of the two of you and your courses.

 

[movie zombie]

some day i''m going to want to open that Pandora''s box and just see all her pretty stones!

movie zombie

 

[Linda W]

Pandora that garnet is gorgeous, I love the color change, it is really beautiful.


Linda

 

[Fly Girl]

Very, very pretty. I love color change stones.

 

[dh97]

Gorgeous

!

 

[Deelight]

OMG that is really beautiful another thing I have now added to my wishlist

 

[Catmom]

YUMMMM, I love color change stones and your is GORGEOUS!!!!!!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Whoa, pretty sweet!

cheers--Sharon

 

[mercoledi]

Holy crap!

What a beautiful transition. I think one of those has to go on my life list (actully it''s mreo of an after-I-get-a-real-job list).

It''s just gorgeous, may I ask where you found that little gem?

 

[Kim Bruun]

I did not know that true violet garnet existed, as I had only seen rhodolite that was red with a purplish tone to it. It is an absolutely magificent stone, Pandora. Specifically what type of garnet is it, and where did you aquire it?

 

[Pandora II]

I need to do a bit more digging, but going on origin, I''m thinking it''s a spessartite/pyrope mix with a dose of chromium chucked in. Don''t you just love isomorphic replacement...

There are similar ones from Madagascar that are as true a blue as you can get in a garnet - they have vanadium rather than the chromium. I''ve only seen very bad pictures.

I''m afraid I''m not revealing my source at the moment.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 6/10/2008 7:27:42 PM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 6/10/2008 7:00:53 PM

Author: coatimundi

Pandora, that's just lovely. Color change garnets(anything) are so cool!


I've been wanting to write you and tell you that I cannot WAIT for the colored gems portion of the G.G. I have 3 more weeks of diamonds. If I have to grade another diamond...

60 more to go!


I reallyreallyreally need some variety to stay sane.


We graded mounted stones today, though, and I loved it. Very fun!


How are your courses going?

I'm a bit behind on my assignments at the mo - wretched wedding...


The FGA doesn't do diamonds in any depth - there is a separate diamond course, the DGA that you take after the FGA if you are into diamonds. FGA is almost entirely theory - the practical exam is to confirm that you can use the instruments correctly, and you get a set of stones to ID and questions on them. Or at least it is at the Foundation level - the Fellowship is in 2 parts Foundation and Diploma. I'm on the Foundation currently.


I've seen the new exam papers and they're pretty frightening. You have a 2.5hr one in the morning and a 2hr one in the afternoon and a gazillion questions that cover pretty much every topic in the syllabus. I've decided to put my exam off till next June as the wedding has skewed my schedule so badly. Problem is I need a good 7 hour stretch to write up all my notes and do an assignment properly and if I lose a Saturday and Sunday I'm in trouble.


What have you covered so far on the optics, crystallography stuff? Crystallography reminds me of French grammar...

Glad you're enjoying the course (don't envy you on the diamond grading, I'd have gone nuts!)

That's interesting about the FGA being mainly theory. The G.G. is fairly balanced theory and practical--with a bit more focus on the practical. We handle stones for the better part of the course. I would enjoy more theory! So far, I've loved the lectures on light theory and crystallography.(limited to diamonds as of now--can't wait to learn light theory/crystallography in depth for colored stones!)

As far as crystallography, we are currently only dealing with the cubic system as it pertains to diamonds. Diamonds comprise the first 7 weeks, and then, the remainder of the course (4.5 months) is colored stones. I'm so glad that I bought Practical Gemology to get ahead. Thanks again for the suggestion! My friends (not gem folk) have deemed me Hermione Granger, as I like to get ahead--with a little "light reading."

(Don't know if you've read the Potter books!)

The definitions PERTURB me. I'm constantly rewriting things to suit my understanding.

The final exam for colored gems will consist of a 20 stone exam, and you must pass with 100%

The final for diamonds is a 5 stone in which you grade 5 diamonds and have to be 75% accurate. This is a good thing, because we measure everything with our eyes. No Sarin machine for us! Crown angles are my BAIN!

I feel you on needing the 7 hour stretch for writing notes. I rewrite everything. I practically rewrite my textbooks. It's good that you're taking your time to devote to your notes. How is the wedding planning going? I don't visit the Bridal threads very often. I hope you're not too stressed!

Thanks for posting photos of your growing collection! I'm hoping to have one of those soon. (There's a gem show in my area this weekend--I'm at least going to score a box--if not a few specimens(sphene!and a petite benitoite-if within budget)

Hope you're having a good week, Pandora!

eta: Harriet, have you considered taking courses in New York? or distance education?

 

[Gypsy]

Beautiful stone Pandora. Just lovely.

 

[Rhea]

Now that''s a pretty stone! You must have an awesome collection of garnets.

 

[diamondringlover]

That is a beautiful stone