Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene garnet

[katharath]

Since I started getting really into gems and jewelry again a couple of years ago, I have found that while I really enjoy collecting things, my focus seems to be continually changing. At first I was focused on interesting metal smithing even more than the gems; then I slowly started to focus on the gems themselves. I still bought every gem with the intent to set it though - now, I've shifted again, to where I'm buying some gems for setting, and some just to collect, loose and unset. That's a very recent shift for me. Most of the gems I've bought so far aren't anything special, but things I wanted to get to hold and see in person rather than over the computer.

I did get some halfway decent pics of the color change garnet I got from Gene (I posted about it separately in a thread that sort of spiraled off into other stuff), so I thought I'd post those pics, plus some of my fledgling little collection of loose gems, just for fun

Color change garnet first, 1.47 ct, 6.695 mm - I know this is a ton of pics, but there are so many different looks depending on lighting, I went nuts with the pics. The hardest color to capture is the daylight green, these pics make it look less bright than it is, but I really couldn't get any more accurate pics; it's very hard to get the daytime color on these things, at least for me. It's actually a very pretty teal green. This is a dark gem, definitely appeals to only a certain group, I think. But I think it's the prettiest one I've seen in person (I've owned a small collection of them, I'll post a pic of that too I think...)





















The cc garnets I've owned (sorry, I know these pics are pretty bad, they were hastily snapped):

 

[chrono]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

"Growing", evolving tastes and purposes is very normal when it comes to gemstones. I don't think I know anyone who feels or experiences differently. This makes collecting fun and never boring or stale. CC garnets are a pain to photograph and buy. Most tend to be dark but when the light is right, they surely look great.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Ok, here are some pics of some of the more interesting ones (from my POV) from my tiny collection:

This is one of my favorites, it's a really sweet little Mali, 6.5 mm, 1.21 cts, it just glows; all pics (of all the gems from here on out) taken in indirect sunlight. Sourced for me by Yvonne Raley.







my little blue/gray spinel from Jeff Davies, 5 mm, .5 ct





My little red Burma spinel from Yvonne Raley. It's got issues - a window and a couple of inclusions. I bought it for the color though, I wanted an example of a red for my collection, and due to the small size and imperfections it was very affordable, but still a pretty, open color red (.67 ct, can't remember the dimensions off the top of my head)





And then a couple of chrysoberyls, not top ones or anything but decent example that I got at an unbeatable price from Yvonne (both are just over a carat, around 1.1, 1.2). These two were fun to photograph bc they looked slightly different in all the pics, with just varying amounts of sunlight. Some really pretty sparkle going on.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

A little suite of 4 mm garnets that I got in a trade from a friend/PSer, Amy 3 rhodolites, I think the matching pair of grapes are umbalites but not sure, a little hessonite, a little mali




This is a neat little welo that was cut here in the US by Jeff Schultz, I got this one from PSer Chris Auletta. It's a blue body cats eye welo, I have rarely seen the blue bodied ones in welo! It shows green, yellow, blue, and VERY occasionally a flash of orange or red in incandescent lighting. It's a little guy, about 1.5 carats.







My pretty little Ceylon sapphire, I've posted about it before - haven't gotten around to setting it yet though! .96 carat, 6 mm trillion

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Anyway I've got some more neat little gems but I suppose that's enough for now, those are my favorites anyway...I've got a few more coming next week, maybe I'll add to this thread then. I'd kind of like to have an ongoing "photo journal" of what I have, so I'm thinking I'll do that in here, if nobody minds

I have so much fun taking pics of them, it drives my husband a bit nuts, lol.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

"Growing", evolving tastes and purposes is very normal when it comes to gemstones. I don't think I know anyone who feels or experiences differently. This makes collecting fun and never boring or stale. CC garnets are a pain to photograph and buy. Most tend to be dark but when the light is right, they surely look great.

Yes, I find that a shifting focus keeps things interesting and fun! I've got a lot of gems that I'd still like to own, I sort of always have an ongoing, ever-evolving list in my head. I'm looking forward to enjoying this hobby for many years.

CC garnets - they are a weird thing, but I sure do enjoy them. I might set the Gene stone after all, I'm just not sure. I've only had it for a few weeks, ideas are still percolating in my mind...

 

[gemandjewelrylover]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

What a nice collection! I love the CC garnets.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

What a nice collection! I love the CC garnets.

Thank you . I guess I should be clear, I don't have all of the pieces in that photo anymore - I traded the pair set in the silver button studs for some other stuff. I still have everything else, but I have one of the other pictured items listed up for sale. I'm not sure I'll leave it up much longer though, I keep thinking about just pulling it down - I really do love the piece.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

I also am excited bc I'm adding a blue Barry spinel to my collection, just bought it from a PSer yesterday! I've wanted a Barry gem and a Gene gem for some time, so I guess I've hit those collecting goals - we'll see if I can stop at just one from each of them, lol.

Link to it:

http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/blue-spinel-6-dot-5mm-round-cut-by-barry-bridgestock-of-acstones

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

You've got some nice stones, fun & pretty. The Barry spinel is a knockout -- please put up more pics when you receive it! Terrific that you're having so much fun with your collection.

--- Laurie

 

[Trill]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Nice little collection! I thought about purchasing that Barry spinel too. It looks like a stunner! Is that blue grey Jeff Davies spinel the one you won? I like the color.


As a sidenote... just wanted to say, "Hello." This is my first post, but I'm an expert lurker!

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

You've got some nice stones, fun & pretty. The Barry spinel is a knockout -- please put up more pics when you receive it! Terrific that you're having so much fun with your collection.

--- Laurie

Thanks Laurie! I know my collection is rather modest, but I'm really enjoying picking up gems that interest me, and I hope to continue enjoying this hobby for many years to come.

I will definitely post pics of the Barry blue, I love taking pics of my gems in case you couldn't tell

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Nice little collection! I thought about purchasing that Barry spinel too. It looks like a stunner! Is that blue grey Jeff Davies spinel the one you won? I like the color.


As a sidenote... just wanted to say, "Hello." This is my first post, but I'm an expert lurker!

I'm so glad you decided to say hi! Yes, that's the one I won from Jeff on Facebook - I assume you're in that group? Have we "met" before? I'm Kathryn

The Jeff spinel is a nice little one, it's small but very well cut. I like the color too, it's a bit grey, but it also looks a bit more purple in certain lighting. It's a pretty little thing. I'm excited to compare the Barry spinel to the Jeff spinel - both blues but they look very different to me. I'll take side by side pics for fun.

 

[Trill]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

I'm so glad you decided to say hi! Yes, that's the one I won from Jeff on Facebook - I assume you're in that group? Have we "met" before? I'm Kathryn

The Jeff spinel is a nice little one, it's small but very well cut. I like the color too, it's a bit grey, but it also looks a bit more purple in certain lighting. It's a pretty little thing. I'm excited to compare the Barry spinel to the Jeff spinel - both blues but they look very different to me. I'll take side by side pics for fun.

Yes, I'm in that group, and I bid against you for that stone. It's nice to meet you, I'm Michelle.

Oooh, side by side pics would be interesting. The blues look very different to me as well, but both are pretty!

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Lol!! Well, hi Michelle . I bet Jeff would sell you a similar stone for that same price range if you asked. I thought the pricing was pretty fair on that gem - it is a very well cut spinel and the color is nice, but it was only .5 a carat, so for what it was, it should've sold for that range. But I'm glad you didn't bid any higher, bc the amount I paid was the max I was willing to bid! I felt like, in my own personal opinion, that what I paid was right about what that gem was probably worth, you know? Have you looked at Jeff's eBay auctions? He usually has a few similarly colored (blue to blue grey) spinel up, might be worry looking into if you were still interested.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you! I'm glad you decided to delurk

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Lol!! Well, hi Michelle . I bet Jeff would sell you a similar stone for that same price range if you asked. I thought the pricing was pretty fair on that gem - it is a very well cut spinel and the color is nice, but it was only .5 a carat, so for what it was, it should've sold for that range. But I'm glad you didn't bid any higher, bc the amount I paid was the max I was willing to bid! I felt like, in my own personal opinion, that what I paid was right about what that gem was probably worth, you know? Have you looked at Jeff's eBay auctions? He usually has a few similarly colored (blue to blue grey) spinel up, might be worry looking into if you were still interested.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you! I'm glad you decided to delurk

Just a heads up that if you like Jeff's stones, the prices he posts on Pinterest are cheaper than ebay (I hope its okay for me to say that; if not, I trust the mods will do whatever they need to to sanitize my post ).

 

[Trill]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Lol!! Well, hi Michelle . I bet Jeff would sell you a similar stone for that same price range if you asked. I thought the pricing was pretty fair on that gem - it is a very well cut spinel and the color is nice, but it was only .5 a carat, so for what it was, it should've sold for that range. But I'm glad you didn't bid any higher, bc the amount I paid was the max I was willing to bid! I felt like, in my own personal opinion, that what I paid was right about what that gem was probably worth, you know? Have you looked at Jeff's eBay auctions? He usually has a few similarly colored (blue to blue grey) spinel up, might be worry looking into if you were still interested.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you! I'm glad you decided to delurk

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought the pricing was fair too. I'm glad that I was beat out by someone that really enjoys the stone.

Noticed you won another little set of spinels. Congrats! I was curious about them too, but forgot to bid. Look forward to those pics too!

 

[chrono]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Looking forward to seeing both spinels side by side.

 

[Trill]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

I didn't know Jeff posted stones on Pinterest. Thanks for the info!

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Chrono - I will definitely get some side by side shots. Just yesterday I was actually looking through your thread from not too long ago with your blue spinel pics. I love your blue spinels so much, seeing them was a huge inspiration and one of the main reasons I got interested in them. I only have two now, and one is tiny at just 1/2 ct, but it's a start . And they're both well cut, too, which is very important to me.

Trill - yes Minou is right about Jeff's pinterest, I completely forgot to mention that! So thanks to her for that . I have it bookmarked, you'd think I'd have remembered. And about those little spinels I won yesterday - I don't have any real "need" for them, but it was so cheap for that little set, I just had to bid! I know they're tiny gems (the biggest is around 4.5 mm I think?), but I have been on a spinel kick lately. And the cutting on that set looks quite nice - for $12 it seemed silly NOT to buy them, you know?

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

I have a few new pics to add. I was able to get a couple more red Burma spinels, a pair of ovals, tcw for the pair just over 1.25 - they're small, but bright! They have cutting issues, but the color is so pretty, and I got them so cheaply (IMO anyway) that it was worth it to me. Here they are next to the cushion cut from the same batch. I'm hoping to eventually have the ovals recut for sure, and will probably make earrings out of them at some point. I got all three from Yvonne Raley (and btw, she's having her semi annual, 15% off, store-wide sale. It's a good time to pick things up...I'm getting a tsavorite from her too Her etsy store is called Cecile Raley Designs if you want to take a look).

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Here are some pics of the Barry blue spinel, 6.5 mm, next to the Jeff Davies' spinel, it's smaller with more of a blue gray color at 5 mm

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Also got a nice big hessonite garnet from PSer Chris Auletta. It has such a nice hefty feel to it - I'm so used to tiny gems, lol. This one is 4.56 cts, 9 mm, precision cut by Dan Stair, and it's this peachy gold color that I love. I think it looks a bit yellowy maybe in pics, but it's really not. I took pics of it alone, plus pics for color comparison of it in between a chrysoberyl and one of my Malis - the chryso is yellow/green but the Mali is actually this very pale lemony yellow. The hess is nice and glowy too, I really like that.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Last gem for now...this is the tsavorite I'm getting from Yvonne Raley - I am still paying for it, so it's not in hand yet. These are all vendor pics from Yvonne. I was looking at my loose gems and was dismayed at my lack of darker greens, so I decided that I had to get a tsav This one is 1.04 ct, rectangular cushion.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Have a few more gems that I recently added to the collection. They range from "just for fun" to "pretty!", if that makes sense, lol.

First up are two gems that I got from Chris Auletta. I won one of them from one of his auctions in the Facebook group Fine Faceted Gems and Cabs Auction site (the fluorite), and the other one Chris offered me for sale privately (the aquamarine). I was very pleased with both gems

The fluorite is about 2 carats, and I've never seen one in person. It color changes from this lovely blue to a purple; the color change is very good, but unfortunately my camera will only show the purple. I have no idea why, it's another one of those photography mysteries than I continue to experience with color change gems... It's definitely a fun gem to see though, and the blue is actually quite a pretty color. The purple is too, but I can't get that blue to show, sorry

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Next up is the aquamarine from Chris. I was so happy that Chris offered me this gem! He had recently had some unheated/untreated, light blue-green aqua rough precision cut, here in the US by a cutter he knows. The rough cut two large gems - he kept a cleaner trillion cut, but offered me this one, which shows a veil and isn't completely clean. He offered it to me at a wonderful price which I could not turn down!! I don't mind that it isn't completely clean, I was just pleased to get to own this gem...it's 3.12 cts, 10 mm round, cut with a small table to keep further inclusions out, and it has a cute honeycomb cut across the top and excellent sparkle for an aqua, I think. I'll post a few pics since I like this one a lot! I enjoy the larger size. I saw a pic of the rough and it was this gorgeous blue green color - the cut gem looks lighter, depending on the light it looks bluer to almost a silvery color, it's neat.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Couple more of the aqua just for fun. I like this first one bc you can see the honeycomb across the top. And here's the rough too (pic not taken by me but I'm not sure who to credit it to...might be Chris? Not sure).

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

I also got a couple of new ones from Yvonne Raley (of course... I know I talk her up a lot, but I love dealing with Yvonne )

First up is this tanzanite. I've been a bit weird about tanzanite in the past - I think partly I'm annoyed by the back and forth with how it's been promoted as an "investment" gem, etc...But I actually do think it's a lovely gem, so I decided to go for this one from Yvonne bc I just thought it was gorgeous. It has been heated. I've owned heated and non heated tanzanite but I've never been lucky enough to own a nonheated piece that looks like this one. It's Portuguese cut which is my favorite cut, 1.74 cts round, and it sparkles insanely. I really, really love it. It has that sapphire look to it (IMO anyway) that some tanzanite has.

Lots of pics, sorry, couldn't help it!

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

More tanzy...I know, they're all hand pics, sorry. They just all look different to me, lol.

 

[katharath]

Re: Started collecting gems just for fun, & pics of Gene gar

Last gem is a 1.2 ct rectangular cushion morganite that I also got from Yvonne. I've also had mixed feelings about morganite, but I got this one at a truly unbeatably low price from her (thanks Yvonne!), and I wanted to see it in person. It's actually quite a pretty piece, I think. It kind of looks flesh colored on me though, right? Lol!