Thoughts on these aquamarines?

[elliefire99]

Hello CS friends! New to PS and even newer to colored stones, so enlisting help!

I am looking for a pair of aquamarine rounds for some studs for my mother. I originally was looking for a single stone for a pendant to match earrings she had, but it turns out she lost one of the earrings haha (That saga here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/aquamarine-pendant-necklace.244796/#post-4447273)

So now looking for a pair of matched rounds, 6mm-8mm. Max budget $200, preferably (much?) lower. Unheated preferred, but heated not off the table, as I am looking for a slightly more saturated blue-green (sea green???), not the super pale aquas. Also, these are not for me, and mom doesn't mind heat I think.

I have been browsing the recommended vendors, but have yet to find something exactly right. (The pair is hard! I was hoping I might get lucky with the 50% off Seda Gems code. Oh well.)

I could also just buy set earrings (yg), but nothing I have seen on Etsy/Ebay has called to me yet...

Any recommendations welcome! Thank youuu!

 

[missy]

@elliefire99 maybe Barry has something? If not on his website contact him and see if he can find something beautiful in budget for you.

https://www.acstones.com/new/whatsnewACS.asp

 

[elliefire99]

Thanks @missy! I always see people talking about "Barry," but I never knew which was his site....

 

[elliefire99]

Sorry! I meant to write my budget as $300!

 

[2Neezers]

That sound like an awesome gift
Blue Nile has some nice pre-set aquamarine earrings. If you see something you like, they often have sales running throughout the holiday season if you aren’t in a hurry and can watch and wait for a better price.
https://www.bluenile.com/gemstone-jewelry/gemstone-earrings?track=NavJwlCatEarGem

I would also recommend contacted Sukrita at Aurelia Gems. She is running the retail end of Prima Gems under that name and has more inventory available than listed. Here’s a link to ovals, but if you reach out to her she might also have rounds.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/646194...uery=Aquamarine&ref=shop_items_search_2&frs=1

 

[elliefire99]

Thanks @2Neezers! Good call on watching the BN holiday sales! Their aqua studs are $400 atm, but they may drop down to my budget if the sale is good!

And I have seen Aurelia in my searches. For whatever reason, oval, pear, and trillion shaped pairs seem to be a lot more common than rounds for the aquas. I wonder why that is? Is it a color maximization thing?

In any case, thanks for the leads!

 

[elliefire99]

Considering these. They seem to be fairly well cut and have good color... Thoughts? My aquamarine knowledge is pretty sparse.

The seller is sending me a video so I can verify the color

 

[elliefire99]

Videos! She sent me a video of a set of cushions too. Both are so pretty! And both unheated.

Goodness. What to do?

Rounds:

Cushions:

 

[elliefire99]

Rounds would come out to appx. $120/pair (7.2mm), and the Cushions appx. $180/pair (8.2mm).

I think the cushions are actually too big for studs.

Is that good for this color/size/clarity/cut? (Apologies for my CS ignorance!)

 

[missy]

So please take my opinion with a grain of salt as I am not a colored gem expert either but I don't like any of those stones in the video. They seem to have large windows and are not (to my eye) pretty.

I like the idea of waiting for BN sales and/or contacting Sukrita at Aurelia Gems (but I am not sure BN colored gems are good quality)...I think contacting a PS approved colored gem vendor is your best bet.

 

[elliefire99]

So please take my opinion with a grain of salt as I am not a colored gem expert either but I don't like any of those stones in the video. They seem to have large windows and are not (to my eye) pretty.

I like the idea of waiting for BN sales and/or contacting Sukrita at Aurelia Gems (but I am not sure BN colored gems are good quality)...I think contacting a PS approved colored gem vendor is your best bet.

Thanks for your honest opinion missy! Sorry if I gave the impression that I was about to buy these. I also have some windowing concerns, and they may be slightly greyer than I would like (though I know this is closer to the trade preferred Santa Maria color...). Weird that trade doesn't care about aquas being grey?

I posted them here for opinions just like yours! Because I'm such a CS noob.

Though, at least from my recent searches, it seems that a lot of aquas have a tendency to sort of blank out to clear at certain angles. Not exactly windows buuut.... I don't know of it is because they are such a light color or if it's a polish thing?

But these will be in ears, so maybe not a HUGE deal.

Waiting back to hear from some other vendors.

 

[elliefire99]

Response from Sukrita at Aurelia!

These are a maybe a more familiar aqua color. All heated. The 8mm are gorgeous but I think maybe a bit big for a daily stud, and butting up against the top of my budget. Especially considering that I still have to have them set.

The 6mm are a good price, but maybe paler than I would hope in the video.

6mm options (I think I like the bottom left best?)

Video 6mm: https://www.dropbox.com/s/stid2xagfdurphw/Video Nov 16, 9 43 09 AM.mov?dl=0

Video 7mm (bottom) and 8mm (top): https://www.dropbox.com/s/a0zxgzu02ovnppf/Video Nov 16, 9 46 55 AM.mov?dl=0

Thoughts appreciated!

 

[2Neezers]

I’m glad she had some for you to look at! She has been posting a lot of set stones lately, so she might even have the option to set them in studs for you, if you find a pair you like.
I like both of the bottom two pairs on her hand. I think those two are Portuguese cut and have a tilt window that you are seeing from that cut. You’ll see that the window goes away when the stones are straight on with the camera, but you can see a window when the stones are tilted away from the camera. It is common with this cut, I didn’t want you to be alarmed by it . I would ask her which pair has the least amount of windowing in person.

 

[elliefire99]

Thanks for the recommendation @2Neezers!

I was also most drawn to the bottom two, but didn't realize that it was because of a different cut.

You think the rounds from the other seller are a no-go? I am drawn to the fact that they are unheated, but maybe other issues outweigh that?

 

[2Neezers]

Thanks for the recommendation @2Neezers!

I was also most drawn to the bottom two, but didn't realize that it was because of a different cut.

You think the rounds from the other seller are a no-go? I am drawn to the fact that they are unheated, but maybe other issues outweigh that?

I could be seeing things wrong, but to my eyes the rounds from the other seller don’t look like a good color match. It could just be the lighting though. I do see the windows also, but they might not be so bad straight on and in person. If returns are hassle free you could always order them and return them if they aren’t what you were hoping for.

 

[mtsapphirelovingannie]

You think the rounds from the other seller are a no-go? I am drawn to the fact that they are unheated, but maybe other issues outweigh that?

Hi elliefire99, I think the gems you first posted are pretty windowed. This would bother me.

Regarding treatment, will your mother care if they are heated gemstones? If not, I'd go for better cut heated gems.

 

[elliefire99]

Fair point. I don't think she cares about heat treatment, so it's probably best.

7mm would be nice, but I don't particularly like the 7mm rounds from Aurelia. I can't put my finger on Why. Faceting seems kind of meh I guess.

 

[lovedogs]

I agree that the 7mm is kind of "meh" in cut. I like the 8mm and 1.48ctw, even though the latter was only ok in the pic (I think bc of angle).

 

[chrono]

You aren’t going to get bright light blue at your price point for the size you want.

Aqua has low RI so they will have fairly large tilt windows. That’s just the way they are.

Heated and unheated aqua are priced almost the same although it’ll be a challenge to find unheated Aqua in the US. It drives off the green, making it bluer.

 

[Bron357]

I wouldn’t worry about “heated vs unheated” as nearly all aquamarine is heated to remove any yellow tinge.
While the seller of the other ones says they are unheated, it would cost you more than you paid for the aquas cost to send them in for a report to confirm their unheated status.
With coloured gems, to me anyway, it’s all about the colour. I like the 1.42 carats pair best.
And consider your mothers earlobe size.
I have huge meaty earlobes and can easily wear a 10mm stud, my mother on the other hand has wee ear lobes and a 6mm stud looks big on her. I got my dads ears!

 

[elliefire99]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

I guess I personally like the greener color of unheated aquas, which is the only reason I would really care. But I have to remember if these aren't for ME

And my mom's earlobes are similar to mine. Not dainty, but not "meaty" as Bron357 says. Haha. 7mm seemed like a good size to be a sizable stud, but not a statement.

And hmmm, there seems to be a pretty even spread in terms of preference among the 6mm. Maybe I will ask the seller about which she thinks are the least window-y, sibxevtge color seems to be pretty consistent.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

Most of my studs are around 5.5-6 mm so I think that’s a nice size, but I really like the 8 mm aquamarines. I have a friend who has some that size and they really look great. They’re not a flashy kind of stone and I think you can go bigger with them.

Happy hunting! Your mom is going to be so pleased!

 

[elliefire99]

Throwing a wrench in the thread!

I asked seller 1 for a video of the 7.2mm on a hand, not with tweezers, and I must say they look MUCH less windowed. The are really very nice I think. 14 day return policy, but I would have to pay shipping back to India.

TBH leaning toward these atm. Holler at me if I am being foolish.

(for whatever reason, my computer isn't letting me download, so here's a link!)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/x5dqrVGMwNAY7pubA

 

[elliefire99]

Whoops, another twist.

Sakrita just sent me these 6mm trillions as an option. Because they are very well cut. So pretty!

Thoughts on the wearability of trillion cut studs?

 

[chrono]

Those are pretty!

 

[LinSF]

Those trillions are beautiful! Just in the CS thread for eye candy... I'm sure mom would be thrilled. I would definitely wear them as studs.

 

[2Neezers]

Whoops, another twist.

Sakrita just sent me these 6mm trillions as an option. Because they are very well cut. So pretty!

Thoughts on the wearability of trillion cut studs?

These are my favorite so far and look like they have great color and cut! I think trillions would be easy to wear as studs because they could rotate in any direction and still look good. You don’t have to worry about their orientation on the ear like you would with ovals. Do you think your mom would like trillions?

 

[elliefire99]

Part of me thinks she would appreciate the simplicity of round studs, but I also think she won't think twice about the shape once receiving them. Haha. She doesn't over-analyze like some...

Hard to pass up such a pretty pair!

 

[Marsha Ayers]

If you decide not to get the trillion studs, I would love them. Let me know!

 

[chatoyancy]

Whoops, another twist.

Sakrita just sent me these 6mm trillions as an option. Because they are very well cut. So pretty!

Thoughts on the wearability of trillion cut studs?

Lovely! That’s the aquamarine color I love! Great choice!!