Suggestions for golden gem..

[arjunajane]

Hey coloured stoners

I would like my next gemstone purchase to be a golden/yellow/light orangey colour - you know what I mean, just warm and sunny. I've fallen for this colour bigtime, but don't see a whole lot around..
So far I am thinking grossularite garnet, but I would love to hear any other suggestions of what would be a suitable candidate?

It would need to be hard enough for a ring, but not for everyday wear, just occasional.

Thanks in advance for your advice,
AJ.

ETA: oh, and pics of any you may own or have seen are very welcome, cheers!

 

[ma re]

On the pastel side or brightly colored? If you''re after a bright one, candidates could include tourmaline or spessartite. But if you''d like a more gentle color, beryl, topaz, sapphire (untreated), diamond, zircon or malaya garnet would do. Citrines and hessonites tend to be brownish yellow, and chrysoberyl is either brownish or greenish and I''m not sure if that''s what you''d like.

Whatever you buy, pay attention to clarity, cause even the smallest inclusions are easy to spot in light colors. Cut should also be good and the stone lively. It doesen''t have to be perfectly precise, but good enough to make the stone interesting and sparkly.

 

[arjunajane]

Hi ma re - all good points, thankyou for your post.

To answer your question - I would like something with a bright golden colour (not really a pale one). I will post below two images from White''s site - the first is an orange yellow grossular, and the second an orange. I would honestly be happy with either type of colour. He also has a yellow gross, but thats getting a lil pale for me.

I was thinking spess too - am I correct in thinking they also come in more golden colours, as well as the darker oranges? If the "fanta orange" in spess is more sought after, would a golden one reflect any lower pricing? Not really..?

After always noticing Gailey''s citrine asscher, I was also considering that - hers looks very nicely golden, is this not really typical of the material?

What about golden chrysoberyl - anything negative there?

first White''s gem:

 

[arjunajane]

second

 

[LD]

WOW lovely stones!

Have you considered a Sphene? Not only can you get them in a glorious warm honey colour but you get the added bonus of tremendous scintillation and fire. I have one that takes my breath away each time I look at it. It's never flat or boring!

Chrysoberyl is a lovely gemstone and very sparkly too but I'm not sure you'll achieve the depth of orange you want.

 

[arjunajane]

For some reason it won''t let me post gailey''s citrine - but here''s the thread (hope you don''t mind Gailey - love the gem btw!).

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/more-shots-of-gaileys-citrine-asscher.85533/

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 2/21/2009 6:04:53 AM
Author: LovingDiamonds
WOW lovely stones!

Have you considered a Sphene? Not only can you get them in a glorious warm honey colour but you get the added bonus of tremendous scintillation and fire. I have one that takes my breath away each time I look at it. It''s never flat or boring!

Chrysoberyl is a lovely gemstone and very sparkly too but I''m not sure you''ll achieve the depth of orange you want.

Hi LD - I haven''t seen much sphene to be honest. Can you tell me about it, or have any photos to show? Does it have ok hardness/cleavage etc for a RHR?

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Hey AJ!

I was looking for a sunny, happy yellow stone too!

How about heliodore, chrysoberyls and golden topazes?

I know Barry has a golden topaz in an emerald cut (or he did a few weeks ago) on his site, and I think a heliodore that's not been sold yet either.

Dan had a bunch of grossular rough not long ago - I got one from him but mine is a very light yellow, almost colorless. He did mention to me that he had a few more rough that might show more color, but they'll probably cut a bit smaller (all around 1 ct. or so).

Are you looking for a new project now that your garnet is off to be set in its new home?

EDIT: I should totally have hit refreshed before replying - I didn't know so many people were up! Sorry for duplicating answers

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 2/21/2009 6:35:21 AM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
Hey AJ!

I was looking for a sunny, happy yellow stone too!

How about heliodore, chrysoberyls and golden topazes?

I know Barry has a golden topaz in an emerald cut (or he did a few weeks ago) on his site, and I think a heliodore that's not been sold yet either.

Dan had a bunch of grossular rough not long ago - I got one from him but mine is a very light yellow, almost colorless. He did mention to me that he had a few more rough that might show more color, but they'll probably cut a bit smaller (all around 1 ct. or so).

Are you looking for a new project now that your garnet is off to be set in its new home?

EDIT: I should totally have hit refreshed before replying - I didn't know so many people were up! Sorry for duplicating answers

Oh thats ok hon! I appreciate all the input.
I don't have anything particular in mind - just acquiring, you know how it goes

But yeah, I will need something to keep me occupied while that garnet is on its travels

I just love this sunny colour, hopefully I can find something pretty.
Off to look on Barry's site, thankyou BEG.

ETA: hrm..chrysoberyl does seem like a good option - 8.5 hardness and high RI? sounds good to me..But do these tend to have much brown or green undertones?

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 2/21/2009 6:09:53 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 2/21/2009 6:04:53 AM
Author: LovingDiamonds
WOW lovely stones!

Have you considered a Sphene? Not only can you get them in a glorious warm honey colour but you get the added bonus of tremendous scintillation and fire. I have one that takes my breath away each time I look at it. It''s never flat or boring!

Chrysoberyl is a lovely gemstone and very sparkly too but I''m not sure you''ll achieve the depth of orange you want.

Hi LD - I haven''t seen much sphene to be honest. Can you tell me about it, or have any photos to show? Does it have ok hardness/cleavage etc for a RHR?

Absolutely not! It''s very soft and fragile.

I have them set as a pendant and earrings - my wedding present from DH - and I was incredibly worried about them being set - and that was using a setting with minimal prongs. I only wear them a couple of times a year.

There are photos around of mine - but sphene is a nightmare to take pics of. It always seems to show huge extinction which is just not there in real life. It is an incredible stone, but I''d never set another one - just too scary (especially as the good stuff is not exactly cheap!)

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 2/21/2009 7:10:55 AM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 2/21/2009 6:09:53 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 2/21/2009 6:04:53 AM
Author: LovingDiamonds
WOW lovely stones!

Have you considered a Sphene? Not only can you get them in a glorious warm honey colour but you get the added bonus of tremendous scintillation and fire. I have one that takes my breath away each time I look at it. It''s never flat or boring!

Chrysoberyl is a lovely gemstone and very sparkly too but I''m not sure you''ll achieve the depth of orange you want.

Hi LD - I haven''t seen much sphene to be honest. Can you tell me about it, or have any photos to show? Does it have ok hardness/cleavage etc for a RHR?

Absolutely not! It''s very soft and fragile.

I have them set as a pendant and earrings - my wedding present from DH - and I was incredibly worried about them being set - and that was using a setting with minimal prongs. I only wear them a couple of times a year.

There are photos around of mine - but sphene is a nightmare to take pics of. It always seems to show huge extinction which is just not there in real life. It is an incredible stone, but I''d never set another one - just too scary (especially as the good stuff is not exactly cheap!)

Thanks Pandora, thats very helpful. I recall now you saying as much about your sphene pieces in the past - I find the setting process a tad stressful anyways So think I will avoid sphene for now

Anything in particular I should ask/look for in a good grossular garnet? Say if I''d like a stepcut - just good clarity?

 

[ma re]

Date: 2/21/2009 6:03:10 AM
Author: arjunajane
Hi ma re - all good points, thankyou for your post.

To answer your question - I would like something with a bright golden colour (not really a pale one). I will post below two images from White''s site - the first is an orange yellow grossular, and the second an orange. I would honestly be happy with either type of colour. He also has a yellow gross, but thats getting a lil pale for me.

I was thinking spess too - am I correct in thinking they also come in more golden colours, as well as the darker oranges? If the ''fanta orange'' in spess is more sought after, would a golden one reflect any lower pricing? Not really..?

After always noticing Gailey''s citrine asscher, I was also considering that - hers looks very nicely golden, is this not really typical of the material?

What about golden chrysoberyl - anything negative there?

first White''s gem:

A few answers and thoughts

1. Stones you showed were more on the brownish side than yellow or orange IMO. The yellow one is something like occhre and the orange one is similar to cinnamon, at least on my monitor.

2. Spessartite''s "main" and most valuable color is a straight, vibrant orange that almost glows (similar to fire opal, but with more brilliance and better clarity). But they do come in either yellowish orange or reddish orange, whichever one desires. If they have a brown tint and look more like hessonite, the prices drop somewhat. HERE''s what I think would be a very nice yellowish orange spess, with a nice cut and probably very brilliant - and also not very expensive. THIS one looks more like one of the stones you posted, and you can see the price going down as the color gets more brownish (less saturated and darker).

3. Golden citrines without any brown or grey, can be found, but it''s not an easy task because there''s so much of the low quality material out there, that it takes a lot of searching.

4. Chrysoberyl would be a nice option with all it''s great properties, but I''ve never really seen a golden one. I''ve seen lemony, occhrish, muddy and all kinds of shades with some yellow to them, but never really anything that caught my eye.

 

[arjunajane]

Thankyou ma re, that post was very helpful.

Honestly, I really don't see this brown in gems that people speak of - maybe I just don't know what I'm looking for, lol..
I guess looking back at the pics, I do see a lil brown..but I don't find it unattractive, yanno?

Now this, this is incredible and exactly what I would love - this yellow grossular was posted by facet fire back when, and is amazing imho

One more question - are good yellow/gold garnets quite rare? As in, will they be pricey much?

 

[arjunajane]

oops the pic

 

[ma re]

Date: 2/21/2009 8:15:52 AM
Author: arjunajane


Honestly, I really don't see this brown in gems that people speak of - maybe I just don't know what I'm looking for, lol..

Try opening two windows in your internet browser, one with the spess I recommended you, the other one with one of the stones you posted.

The "brown" is actually a decrease in color saturation and tonal value of orange hue (color is a combo of hue, tone and saturation) i.e. when the stones become darker in shade and less yellow/orange. And when that happens these colors start turning into various shades of brown, cause you actually get brown by diluting orange and adding grey/black to make it darker. Don't know if anyone showed you THIS, but it might help you understand colors of gems a bit more.

EDIT: The last one you posted is very nice, but it's green-yellow, similar to most chrysoberyls and some mali garnets. Yellow tourmalines can be found in similar shades, but more vibrantly colored.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Oh that asscher is to die for. I don't think I could ever feel sad looking at that - it would definitely brighten my day!

AJ, these are the ones I was thinking of on Barry's site - I can't find the one that Dan had a while back.

Heliodore

Topaz

I'm also really bad at noticing undertones so these may have more brown or something else that you're not looking for. But they were what I thought of when I thought "golden." Although now I'm thinking more sunny and I should go do another search

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 2/21/2009 8:40:20 AM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
Oh that asscher is to die for. I don''t think I could ever feel sad looking at that - it would definitely brighten my day!

AJ, these are the ones I was thinking of on Barry''s site - I can''t find the one that Dan had a while back.

Heliodore

Topaz

I''m also really bad at noticing undertones so these may have more brown or something else that you''re not looking for. But they were what I thought of when I thought ''golden.'' Although now I''m thinking more sunny and I should go do another search

Oh I know, that asscher - I am soo envious! I swear that has to be one of my C. stones on PS

Thankyou BEG, I did see those two on barry''s site - however neither is really a shape I''m after at the moment..the topaz is a pretty colour.



Thankyou Mr Ma Re for the further explanation - no I have not seen that link, looks like I have seem reading to do.
I actually think I''d be quite happy with a mali, as long as it were more yellow than green - the high dispersion appeals to me

I have emailed Gene to see if he has anything appropriate, seeing as he''s posted some lovely mali''s lately.

Interesting, I see no green in that asscher, just yellow/gold ! Ah well, guess I better train my eye better..or maybe its a good thing, it could make me a "cheap date" so to say, right?!

 

[Fly Girl]

Here is my golden beryl/heliodore that I picked up during the sale when ACStones switched from Barbara to Barry. It''s a Barry Bridgestock piece. In real life the color reminds me of a yellow school bus, or a yellow pencil. Such an intense yellow it almost looks fake.

I haven''t set it yet.

Heliodor (J) 2.42 ct. 6.1 x 10.5 mm. [Gec: N] Baguette cut. This unenhanced Mozambique piece is eyeclean and has color saturation of an intenisty usually only seen in precious topaz. BB.

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 2/21/2009 8:58:21 AM
Author: Fly Girl
Here is my golden beryl/heliodore that I picked up during the sale when ACStones switched from Barbara to Barry. It''s a Barry Bridgestock piece. In real life the color reminds me of a yellow school bus, or a yellow pencil. Such an intense yellow it almost looks fake.

I haven''t set it yet.

Heliodor (J) 2.42 ct. 6.1 x 10.5 mm. [Gec: N] Baguette cut. This unenhanced Mozambique piece is eyeclean and has color saturation of an intenisty usually only seen in precious topaz. BB.

Under indoor incandescent lighting.

 

[Fly Girl]

And next to the window. I''ve got to get this little piece of sunshine set!

 

[LD]

AJ - Please don't avoid Sphene! I have quite a large collection of them and most are set and I wear them as right hand rings and pendants). I haven't had any issues/problems with them. This is a picture of the green variety (and I know it's not the colour you're look for) but you can see the fire! I'll look to see if I've got a photo of any of my orangey toned ones but they really don't photograph well.

 

[LD]

Here it is on the hand

 

[LD]

Found one of the orange variety - it looks much much darker than it is but again, you can see the fire. I''ll have a go at taking some photos of my loose gemstones this afternoon and see if I get any better results for you.

 

[cinnamon013]

What about this one from Gary at Finewaters?

Chrysoberyl is an extremely brilliant gem and is rapidly gaining in popularity. It is exceptionally tough (Mohs 8.5) and is therefore ideal for everyday wear. This was one of the stones that I purchased in Sri Lanka, but was so well cut that I didn''t feel the need to recut it. Very slightly greenish-yellow. flawless clarity, and great proportions.
2.14 carats, 8.2 x 6.5 x 5.5mm, IF clarity
$195

Too much green??

 

[Gailey]

Good morning ladies

I''ve only just noticed this thread and I want to play!

I''ve got some other pictures and some other options, but I''m rushing out for breakfast with my wonderful husband. More later on today, promise .........

 

[T L]

Ooop, had to amend my post.

 

[T L]

Date: 2/21/2009 6:03:10 AM
Author: arjunajane
Hi ma re - all good points, thankyou for your post.

To answer your question - I would like something with a bright golden colour (not really a pale one). I will post below two images from White''s site - the first is an orange yellow grossular, and the second an orange. I would honestly be happy with either type of colour. He also has a yellow gross, but thats getting a lil pale for me.

I was thinking spess too - am I correct in thinking they also come in more golden colours, as well as the darker oranges? If the ''fanta orange'' in spess is more sought after, would a golden one reflect any lower pricing? Not really..?

After always noticing Gailey''s citrine asscher, I was also considering that - hers looks very nicely golden, is this not really typical of the material?

What about golden chrysoberyl - anything negative there?

first White''s gem:

I don''t like the secondary brown modifier in this gem.

I like vanadium Chrysoberyl, but I don''t like crysoberyl with brown in it. However, you might, and other people do, so that is something you need to consider.

I am also not into darker orange spessartites for the same reason - too much brown, but again, you might not mind that. It''s all a matter of taste.

I typically don''t like "golden" or "honey" colored gems (unless they''re diamonds) because of the brown secondaries. However, you might.

 

[marcy]

Great suggestions and photos. My favorite yellow gemstone is yellow beryl.

 

[shinyrocks]

Date: 2/21/2009 8:17:12 AM
Author: arjunajane
oops the pic

Yummy! I think that gorgeous Facet Fire asscher was a Jeff White creation as well, wasn''t it? I can''t recall....

 

[Gailey]

Gosh you gals are up early!

Thanks AJ for the comments about my citrine asscher. I love it. But more of that later.

My love affair with gems was re-kindled when I got engaged. I have an golden oval topaz that is really mellow in colour. I see very little colour topaz of this colour out there, and I scour the gemsites. The one posted earlier, cut by Barry Bridgestock is the closest I have seen to mine.

I''m attaching a picture taken on my wedding day of the ring, so you can see what it looked like at it''s finest! After 17 years or so, it was looking tired, and I had discovered what windows are, so it''s gone off to Peter Torraca for a renovation!

It''s been a tough little ring, so I can highly recommend topaz if you can find the colour. I always think mine resembles vintage Veuve Cliquot.