Please critique this stone.

[demantoid]

I went on a little stone buying spree last week thanks to the helpful vendor's list provided here. This is one of the stones I was most excited to receive and view in person. The vendor pic showed a touch more green than the stone really is (and I was looking for a greenish-blue stone).

I have a few days to decide whether to keep it or not and would appreciate your opinions of this tourmaline - the good, bad and ugly.
It's just under 3 ct and approximately 9 X 9 (will have to look at receipt for exact information).

 

[minousbijoux]

Can you tell us about the accuracy of the photos for color, extinction, saturation, etc?

 

[demantoid]

I would say the color in the hand shots is quite accurate. It's very close to a blue zircon in person. There is some extinction, unfortunately, which I think is due to the stone being shallow. I was hoping that I would love this stone. I decided I didn't like it within a few minutes after opening the box, but I wanted to give it a little more time in case I was being too harsh. I love the color for a tourmaline and probably would have a hard time finding it again in a stone this size, but I'm not sure that's enough. The clarity is really good.

I'm asking for opinions more to learn than anything else. Maybe you see something I'm missing that I should know to look for in the future, or maybe I'm being too hard on the stone and haven't taken everything into consideration. I'm not disappointed that this one didn't "WOW" me because I really some like of the others I got this week, and still have a couple more on the way.

 

[GliderPoss]

Wow!!!! I think it's amazing. Slightly shocked that you dont love it....

 

[demantoid]

Thanks for your comment HotPozzum. That's exactly why I wanted to get opinions here. Maybe I'm not seeing what I should be seeing.

Here are a few more photos taken indoors after dark. It's sitting high in a stone holder so the windowing / extinction areas are more pronounced than when it's laying on my hand.

 

[LD]

Ok well you've asked for honest opinions so I'll tell you what I see and I hope this helps the learning process.

I very much like the colour in the first two photos but the third one worries me intently because it looks like a different stone! I think the top two were taken outdoors and the third inside or when light was less bright? Is that correct? Does the darkening happen only when you're inside?

In terms of the black areas you see, yes, they are there and if you look at the second photo you'll see that this is a native cut stone (as opposed to precision cut). I have to say that it's a reasonably good native cut but the stone has "issues". The window can be clearly seen in the second photo although the good thing is that it's reflecting back colour BUT in the last two photos you've uploaded its actually more apparent which are again indoor shots. So it looks like the window is much more evident when the stone darkens. I know that the colour accuracy of the last two photos isn't accurate because I'm assuming you're not salmon pink coloured in real life?

This is clearly a stone that looks pretty outside/in bright light but never wants to go to bed! If I had only seen the outside shots I would be questionning your sanity at sending it back, but now, seeing the others, I can understand why it's not full blown love because the colour (if your photos are a good representation) really does darken and become less attractive and then shows far more dark areas in the process. It's such a shame but some stones just do this and there's no way of avoiding it. When a stone shifts like this I think you've got to absolutely love one of the colourways to justify keeping it (or that's what I do anyway).

Live with it for a few days (especially if your photos are not representational of the stone) to see how you feel. If it's not love, send it back and you can put the money to something else that you will love.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I won't critique the stone, but the photography. The outdoor pictures have a "cold" color balance to them, making the stone and your hand look blue. The indoor pictures are very warm color, making your hand look red, and changing the color of the stone.

This is a classic example of why you can't really critique the color in subtile ways by a photo. So what's the true color of the stone? What does it really look like. I'm guessing somewhere in between these pictures.

 

[demantoid]

LD, you are correct that the first two photos were taken outside and the rest were taken inside in various lighting situations. If it always looked like the outdoor photos I would love it but the loss of color and enhancement of dark areas indoors (where I would mostly be wearing it) bother me. Your comments on the cut are interesting. This stone was purchased from and cut by an award winning cutter. It was on the high end of pricing compared to what I've seen. Too much for me not to love it.

PrecisionGem, I'm definitely not a photographer and I'm using a phone camera too. I think you are right that the color is between the indoor and outdoor photos. It's slightly more green than the outdoor photos, but more blue than the indoor ones. Here it is beside a blue zircon which is a real sparkler in person. I have no problem with the color of the tourmaline, only the lack of life.

 

[chrono]

I am sorry but the cut issues are too much for me. I think the lapidary tried to save as much weight as possible because the outdoor colour is good. Sadly, there is too much darkness when indoors and the stone desaturates as well. Coupled with the window or tilt window, it passed my "keep" threshold.

 

[minousbijoux]

I won't repeat what others have said here, but I think its unfortunate, because when that stone is "on," the color looks great - amazing saturation and ideal color (in the areas where there is not extinction ).

 

[CollectorExpress]

The color is amazing .

 

[VapidLapid]

First time I've ever seen windows, the plural, in a stone. That (those?) combined with the extinction leave little more to discuss.

 

[demantoid]

I want to thank everyone who responded to this topic. You have all stated what I thought from the beginning. The color is beautiful, but the window and extinction areas would keep me from enjoying the stone. I have emailed the vendor to return it.

I'm sad that I didn't love this stone, but happy that this forum helped me learn and that my own critique of the stone wasn't too harsh.

You all are such a great resource for anyone interested in colored stones!