That MOODY Sapphire- What Was That?

[iLander]

So I see that Barry has some new stuff tonight as well as the songea sapphire that I returned. I returned it because it is just too moody for me! It's probably the oddest stone I've ever seen.

In full sun, it turns completely teal green. Turn your hand, and put it in filtered shade and it goes medium brownish with bright teal flashes. Take it inside and it turns the purple color he photographed. He said he didn't see the purple in RL, but that's almost all I saw, especially in incandescent light. After sunset, there was no way that you could get the green to come back, even with a fluorescent light. It seemed to go to sleep at the end of the day! It was fascinating, and also vaguely distracting. I kept looking at it to see what color it was at any given moment. I really did get three distinctly different colors out of it, depending on time of day and lighting. It was very sparkly, and beautifully cut and TRULY strange. He sent me his daylight photo, which has the brownish with teal flashes, but it's only in full sun that the bright teal covers the whole stone.

Almost forgot, here's the link: http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=141&idproduct=3402

Which leads me to my question; why was Barry only able to photograph the purple (read the description), but not see it? Why was I not able to see the maroon color? Are stones really affected by the sun's position in the sky? I'm in Florida and Barry's in Arizona, so the latitude is the same, so what is up with that? And why couldn't I get it to go green after sunset, even though I was inside? I thought it was only fluorescent light that caused color changes.

Yes, I know, I should have taken and posted pictures . . . I was lazy . . .

 

[Arkteia]

OMG! What a beautiful stone! I am probably the only one that does not have Barry's stones - again, it is hard for me to read colors in his images. But I am going to wait for your photos, please, post them. The stone must be gorgeous.

 

[iLander]

Well, here's your chance; in the first line it explains that I returned it (because the thing made me nuts!). It switched constantly. It's bipolar!

That's why there is no pictures, Barry has it . . .

My question is; why were Barry and I were getting different colors in different parts of the country?

Is that really possible?

 

[iLander]

Never mind, somebody snagged it.

Hopefully a PSer (who isn't lazy like me) who will post pics.

 

[Zzz]

it really sounds like a strange sapphire
what's that phantom hexogonal crystal in the center?
is it part of the sapphire's growth structure? it kinda looks like some sand/fuzz was trapped inside!
iLander, did that portion change its colour as well?

 

[iLander]

Re: That MOODY Sapphire- What Was That? PIC

A lot of the time I didn't notice the brownish fuzz at all because it would blend in. When I took it outside, it was overwhelmed in the full sun bright teal color. Or it would blend into the purplish or brownish color. I never saw a hexagonal crystal shape, but I didn't loop it either. It never disappeared, but many times it would blend in. As you can see from the pix, it changed too, but only slightly.

I've attached Barry's partial shade pic, which I'm glad I didn't see before purchase, because it looks kind of oogly But it does give everyone an idea of how BRIGHT the teal shade is. Also, the sparkles were really strong (I wonder what the RI was?)

I did some looking up and I think the stone can be different colors in different parts of the country. Apparently rainbows are only visible when the sun is at a certain angle (28 degrees) so I guess certain wavelengths and angles of light can affect stones in odd ways. I'm starting to wonder what it would be like at different times of year!

It's sold again, hopefully to a PSer who will post pix! I'm starting to miss the moody little cuss . . .

 

[JewelFreak]

What an intriguing stone. I looked at that a few times on his website. Didn't like the brownish fuzzy. Hope whoever bought it is here & puts up pics.

--- Laurie

 

[LD]

You asked about lighting/sunlight/photographs etc etc .........

- colour change sapphires (and most colour change stones) DON'T just change colour with fluorescent lighting. With any indoor lighting (apart from those that purposefully replicate daylight) you will see the colour change in a stone. Normal halogens show the best IMO.

- Photographing colour changers is a nightmare. The easiest colour to capture is the incandescent colourway (i.e. in your case, purple). Even if you're photographing the stone in natural daylight, the camera can "see" the incandescent light and so you see a teal green stone with your eyes and then take a photo and there's a photo of purple gem! There is an explanation of why this occurs somewhere on this forum but I wouldn't know where to start the search!

- This is why you should never trust photographs of colour change gemstones unless you're able to ask questions and trust the vendor. For example, a rubbish Alexandrite will still photograph with a strong incandescent purple/red even if you can never see it!!! I have a pair of earrings with Alex that only changes to a pale pink but in photographs they look purple!

- Your indoor lighting may well be different from Barry's which may be why he wasn't seeing what you were.

-I'm convinced that depending on where you are in the world, the strength of sun and general colourways make a huge change to what you see. For example, in the UK, the light is very grey and even when it's sunny, the sun doesn't have the strength that it would in other parts of the world. When I go to the Meditterranean, the general light is much warmer, less grey and gemstones (some of them) look more vibrant.

 

[VapidLapid]

I woudn't have sent that back. Its totally unique and gorgeous. Wish I were the one who snagged it on the second time around.

 

[platinumrock]

I love stones like these!! The varying personalities, the unpredictability, sort of like a chameleon. And the phantom crystal in the middle just gives it a supernatural, mystical quality.

It's like getting a bunch of colors in one stone. I'm also hoping a PS'er snagged this one so I can see more pics.

 

[brandy_z28]

Ditto Vapid and PR! What a cool stone!