New stones - anything positive about these?

[JLW05]

Received this photo from a vendor I have been in contact with. The stones are very well priced and I am not as fussy about stones for earrings but the top stone appears to have a large window. Even though the second stone seems to be in shadow, I think it would be dark anyway and close up in my earring jackets.

 

[katharath]

I'm way too much of a noob to take my advice, but I'll post my thoughts since I'm trying to learn, too.

But - it's my understanding that many gems (if not most?) will show a window from *some* angle. It doesn't mean the gem really has a window unless it's viewed from straight on, and I don't think the angle is good enough to tell if there's truly a window or not in that gem. It might just be a bad angle. The other gem - too hard for me to tell the true color with it being shadowed like that (although it def doesn't appear to have a window). I think that's a pretty bad pic, to be honest . I don't mean to be overly suspicious, but maybe the vendor is actively trying to hide a window and a poor match or too dark gem, with a photo like that. Or maybe they're just bad with taking pics, like me, lol.

At any rate that's not enough info, I usually need at least 3 good pics of a gem from varying angles to be sure before I buy online.

But please take almost anyone's advice over mine, I've only been buying CS for about 8-10 mos and I'm learning as I go

 

[katharath]

And the "darker" gem looks shallower to me than the other, but maybe also a bad angle? It just looks a bit odd to me for some reason.

 

[JLW05]

Thanks for the input. I am trying to put what I have learned from this forum to use, having very little experience with colored gems. The second gem looked shallow to me too but I thought it just might be camera distortion. Pix are not good and the vendor will send more if I'd like but it doesn't look promising.

 

[katharath]

Yes, just to clarify (since my thoughts were possibly a bit contradictory), I don't think they are too promising either. But if the price is REALLY good, I'd ask for better pics just in case.

 

[tara3056]

I honestly don't think we can judge the cut quality very well from how they are pictured, and I believe the "window" you're seeing in the top stone is nothing more than a tilt window, which is to be expected, to some degree, in almost any kind of stone. A tilt window is not a sign of poor cutting; even precision cut stones can have them. The degree of tilt window is largely based on the material's RI. Something with a low refractive index, like tourmaline, will show tilt windows very easily whereas something like spinel will not show them as plainly. Because this pic was taken at an angle, that makes me think you're seeing a tilt window rather than a true window.

I'm more concerned about the color of the stones - they look too dark, at least in this pic. And I am one who prefers the medium-dark stones vs the medium tsavs. I like my tsavs to look velvety, not minty, but I think these might black out. Again, though, it is a poor pic and so it is difficult to judge. Perhaps the vendor could take a straight-on picture in diffuse sunlight to get a better idea of their true color/tone/saturation?

If the vendor is in the US, you may want to consider purchasing them for in-person viewing no matter what. USPS First Class mail with insurance is quite cheap, and so you wouldn't be out but a few dollars to gain the benefit of actually seeing them IRL. It's obvious from your posts that you are very much wanting to learn as much as possible (which I admire, as I freely admit I have a lot to learn too - more with certain gemstones than with others), but at some point, I think you will need to see more examples IRL to gain confidence in your own judgment.

 

[JLW05]

Tara, these are the stones from the vendor you recommended. Thanks for clarifying about the window. The stones might be the ones you returned. I also received photos of another pair but I didn't bother to post them as they were too saturated. They looked almost black. Below are more photos e-mailed to me late last night. The stones look very dark even in the new photos. Ah, well.

 

[chrono]

Unfortunately, none of these pictures are sufficient to tell us about the colour and cut. Please request a face on picture of the tsavorites where you can see the full crown (from the top), not angled shot of the stones which are all that were provided. Tara provided a clear explanation about window vs tilt window. What was seen in the first picture is a tilt window and that is normal. I would be only concerned with a true window when the stone is viewed perpendicular to the table or when the tilt is too easily seen at the slightest angle. The other correction I'd like to make is about stone being too saturated. It is extremely rare for a stone to be over-saturated. Over-saturated means that the pop of colour is so intense and so vivid that it becomes dark. More often, the darkness is caused by the tone being too strong, hence appearing blackish. Tone is the measure of a stone being light or dark.

 

[JLW05]

Thanks for the corrections, Chrono. I will ask the vendor for the shot you suggested.

 

[JLW05]

New photos from vendor. These earrings are really nicely priced. Although I am not terribly fussy about earring stones, I think that even in these photos the stones look way too dark.

 

[JewelFreak]

I think you're right -- at least for me, but it's personal. Against your ear, with hair possibly blocking light too, even if they were prong set not bezeled, I'd worry they would be too dark. Frustrating to keep looking, but it might be worth it for a happy ending.

--- Laurie

 

[chrono]

I wonder if the darkness is due to obstruction... Could the camera be too close to the stones and so casts a shadow on them. This is a question only the vendor can answer.

 

[tara3056]

I think they're just too dark, even if priced well. My experience with Vance is that Elke was super nice and responsive, with *great* prices, but she just didn't have what I was looking for. The stone I got was too dark. I'm still keeping Vance in mind as a potential resource, though, because even if they had to charge a bit more for a nicer stone, I suspect their prices would still beat everyone else's!