Pink Tourmaline Question..

[ArtistJess]

Hello all, I am new to the gemstone world, but I must admit that the more I read these forums and do my research, the more my fascination grows..

Side note: I used to collect bunches of beautiful stones, quartz, micah, random stuff when I was a kid so I know this must be a deep-rooted love that is rearing its head again.

But I digress..

I am considering purchasing my first gemstone. I want it to be something inexpensive (as fiance is currently without work, and we are both trying to save for the wedding). I found a thread on here talking about under $25 gemstones. After surfing through litnon.com I found this one:

http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=7514

and stats:

Gem ID#: 7514
Price: 25.00
Origin: Nigeria
Weight: 1.57 carats!
Size: 8 x 6 x 4.3 mm deep
Clarity IF to VVS Top clean and bright gemstone.
Cut: Stepped oval facet.
Color: Bright pink
Treatment: None, guaranteed natural color!
Note: This is a bright, clean and pretty natural Pink Tourmaline from Nigeria.

My question is this..
Is this a good deal? Could you suggest any other pretty gems for under $25 that would act as good "starter pieces"? I will probably just play around with this one, but I don''t want to waste money either. Are there better tourmaline pieces out there? Thanks in advance for all info!

 

[T L]

It''s a fair price. That is not exceptional color, and there is a huge window.

 

[ArtistJess]

I did notice the window.. it is quite distracting.

 

[T L]

For $25, you're not going to find much in tourmaline, or many stones for that matter, with decent color, and/or cutting.

If you want a play stone, I like srilankamall on ebay. They sell decent native cuts of some garnets, tourmalines and spinels. The color isn't the best, but they're fine for play stones, and at least most of them are cut better than the one you picked out. Most of their stones are free shipping and $25.

 

[mousey]

Also vallejo (ebay) does great cheap pink tourmaline (at least to my uneducated eye). I got mine for approx $30 (maybe it was $40), and I was very pleased! It has a tiny bit of extinction, but it has a lovely cut, and is great dark pink.

 

[ma re]

That''s a decent pink tourmaline considering the price. If you''re interested in other colors, it''s not impossible to find nice stones for 25-ish$. Try ametrine, pyrope garnet, or smoky quartz for instance. If you''d consider something that''s not faceted as well, rose quartz can be found very affordable, as well as tiger''s eye, carnelian etc. For ideas (and some education) you can browse "gem by gem" section of www.gemstone.org. Have fun!

 

[T L]

Date: 12/12/2009 3:40:09 AM
Author: ma re
That''s a decent pink tourmaline considering the price. If you''re interested in other colors, it''s not impossible to find nice stones for 25-ish$. Try ametrine, pyrope garnet, or smoky quartz for instance. If you''d consider something that''s not faceted as well, rose quartz can be found very affordable, as well as tiger''s eye, carnelian etc. For ideas (and some education) you can browse ''gem by gem'' section of www.gemstone.org. Have fun!

Most $25 quartz like amethyst and ametrine are synthetic though, so beware from where you buy it. I know srilankamall sells natural gems, so no worries there. There''s one spinel on that site that is $25 but has pretty nice color and cut. I''m tempted!! LOL!!

 

[T L]

Date: 12/11/2009 11:22:04 PM
Author: mousey
Also vallejo (ebay) does great cheap pink tourmaline (at least to my uneducated eye). I got mine for approx $30 (maybe it was $40), and I was very pleased! It has a tiny bit of extinction, but it has a lovely cut, and is great dark pink.

He''s also very good and one of the most inexpensive precision faceters. However, his stones for sale right now are more than $25, but if you want an inexpensive precision faceted gem, he''s a good candidate.

www.bobkast.com