Tanzanite pendant... color or cut?

[Luke76]

Dear friends,
several months ago, I bought a 1.43 carat tanzanite. I purchased this stone from a reputable seller, however I checked it with Hannemann filter and the gem presented the typical reaction of an authentic natural tanzanite (pinkish color under aqua filter, purple/violet dichroism at London dichroscope).
The point is: the stone has a very nice purple/blue color. But... the cut is not so good ( I guess it might be defined "native cut"). The gem is a little windowed, although the light return is still very good.
I had the stone mounted in a gold pendant, decorated with six cognac diamonds. The pendant was for my wife and she liked it very much.
Furthermore, the pendant has been appraised for about USD 2500. The appraiser did not mention the bad cut of the stone.
The question is... how much the cut of a such rare stone is important?
If you should choose... cut or color?
here the loose stone

here the pendant


to evaluate the eye-fish effect


Thank you in advance for your considerations!

 

[chrono]

Tanzanite in those sizes are not rare at all. In actuality, there is a glut of tanzanite, in spite of it coming only from one location in the world, which is why the pricing remains low and very affordable. I do not know of any lapidary in Europe to assist you with deciding whether the trade-off of re-cutting is worth it (cutting cost, potential size and colouration differential, and final value). Given that the cut isn't too bad, I think it is likely that a recut will not improve the monetary value but you might appreciate the added performance / sparkle factor.

Uli might be able to suggest someone who can help you evaluate your tanzanite in terms of cut and colour improvement.
http://osirisgems.com/

 

[Luke76]

@Chrono thank you for your kind and professional suggestion!

 

[LD]

I agree with Chrono but I'd mention something else.

In the top picture, your photo shows a tilt window - this is something that many many gemstones have and it's not something to worry about. Your second photo is really the only one that is taken with the photo straight onto the camera and it doesn't appear to have cut issues.

However, photos can lie, so when you look at it straight on does it look ok or is the centre line of the gemstone not symmetrical? It could be that it has a wonky culet (difficult to tell from the photo). To be honest, for a gem that small, I'd leave well alone. It's set in a pendant and quite happy there. Sometimes a cut that isn't perfect gives the gem a bit of personality!

 

[Luke76]

@LD. thank you for your kind reply.
To my inexperienced eye, the tanzanite seems to have a little tilt window, as you suggested. When I look at it straight on, the gem has a good light return and seems quite symmetrical. However, the overall result (the tanzanite set in the pendant) is pleasant, although the cut is not perfect.
So, I think you're right