Vendor pictures and owner pictures of PS stones

[Babyblue033]

What a great thread! I'm often trying to find real photos by PSers, trying to gauge what the stone I'm interested in might look like in real life. Helps me to have a more realistic expectations

Starting out with my very first colored stone, Umbalite Garnet from Gene at Precisiongem. I was not disappointed

 

[Babyblue033]

Another stone from Gene, which obviously was again pretty accurate.

 

[Babyblue033]

Amethyst from Gary at Finewater Gems.

 

[Babyblue033]

BB Tanga Garnet. The stone looks darker in my photo here, which was taken indoors. I would say Barry''s photo is pretty close to what the stone looks like outside.

 

[Babyblue033]

Umbalite Garnet from Barry again.

 

[Babyblue033]

Topaz from Richard H. Exactly what I expected from his photo, my picture is actually a tad darker than what it looks like.

 

[Babyblue033]

I also have a blue spinel from Dan, which I love but was definitely darker than his photos showed. By now I was totally expecting it so it was ok, but I did get a Garnet from him earlier that I returned because it was too dark for me. I''ll see if I can get some photos of them tomorrow.

All in all I''ve been pretty lucky and have been happy with almost all of the stones I bought. I think learning about individual vendors and learning to "translate" their photos/descriptions can be an art in itself in purchasing gemstones online

 

[jeffwhite]

What a cool idea! I don''t post often, but a client clued me into this project you guys have going on, and I just had to check it out. As any vendor will tell you, getting good, representative photos is one of the most difficult parts of this biz! Personally, I like seeing how our efforts match your perceptions. It''s good for everyone involved - keep ''em coming!

 

[LostSapphire]

Hi Jeff!!!

LS

 

[Gailey]

Here''s my citrine asscher from Peter

 

[cinnamon013]

Date: 3/9/2009 9:47:40 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 3/9/2009 9:40:11 PM
Author: cinnamon013
I hope this doesn''t post too large. A garnet and tourmaline from Jeff White. They are pretty much just like the photos in real life.

Hi Cinnamon

That tourmaline pic is messed up on the JW website as well.....maybe he can send you a non-pixelated one? I''d LOVE to see it!
LS

LS,
That isn''t pixels - that is actually how the stone looks! It''s called an opposed bar cut. When you rock the stone, it gives a flashy effect.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 3/9/2009 11:47:46 PM
Author: cinnamon013

Date: 3/9/2009 9:47:40 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 3/9/2009 9:40:11 PM
Author: cinnamon013
I hope this doesn''t post too large. A garnet and tourmaline from Jeff White. They are pretty much just like the photos in real life.

Hi Cinnamon

That tourmaline pic is messed up on the JW website as well.....maybe he can send you a non-pixelated one? I''d LOVE to see it!
LS

LS,
That isn''t pixels - that is actually how the stone looks! It''s called an opposed bar cut. When you rock the stone, it gives a flashy effect.

NO WAY!!! How fascinating! Every time I saw that one on JW''s website I thought there was a problem with the pic! DUH.

Thanks. Do you have any larger pics of it?

LS

 

[cinnamon013]

Date: 3/9/2009 11:49:43 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 3/9/2009 11:47:46 PM
Author: cinnamon013

Date: 3/9/2009 9:47:40 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 3/9/2009 9:40:11 PM
Author: cinnamon013
I hope this doesn''t post too large. A garnet and tourmaline from Jeff White. They are pretty much just like the photos in real life.

Hi Cinnamon

That tourmaline pic is messed up on the JW website as well.....maybe he can send you a non-pixelated one? I''d LOVE to see it!
LS

LS,
That isn''t pixels - that is actually how the stone looks! It''s called an opposed bar cut. When you rock the stone, it gives a flashy effect.

NO WAY!!! How fascinating! Every time I saw that one on JW''s website I thought there was a problem with the pic! DUH.

Thanks. Do you have any larger pics of it?

LS

I''ll give it a good cleaning and take some pics of it tomorrow. My hubby is starting to get grumpy that I''m on the computer and it''s got some fingerprints on it so I can''t possibly get a photo shoot in tonight.

 

[cinnamon013]

Garnet from Gene. It is a terrific cut and true to his picture. 7.18 mm and 1.62 ct umbalite.

 

[arjunajane]

Awesome idea for a thread ppl!
Could someone pls tell my powerpoint illiterate self, in order to be able to post a collage here, what kind of document do I save the ppt as, and how can I size it down to the limit?
I have always wondered how to do the fun collages, and would love to be able to add mine!

TIA

 

[arjunajane]

This is my totally amateur photoshop collage

(I'd still love to know about ppt ones!)..

3.1ct, 8.6 mm umbalite cushion.
I would say this vendor photo is very accurate - the stone can show either purple, red, pink, raspberry or a combo of any of these, depending on
it's mood

If anything, vendor photo a tad more purple than how the gem *usually* looks, but by no means overboard.

Now I'm tired, I will do more later!


Gene's photo on right and my ones on left.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 3/10/2009 8:53:08 AM
Author: arjunajane
Awesome idea for a thread ppl!
Could someone pls tell my powerpoint illiterate self, in order to be able to post a collage here, what kind of document do I save the ppt as, and how can I size it down to the limit?
I have always wondered how to do the fun collages, and would love to be able to add mine!

TIA

Hey!

So Mercoledi was the one who told me to do this in powerpoint. It is WAY easier than what I was doing before...

I inserted the pics into a blank PPT slide, then added text boxes under each pic. Then, I did a "save as" and picked .jpg format (it's way down the list so keep scrolling). Pick "export current slide only" option.

Now, the funny thing is, when I insert a MEGA sized pic into PPT and then save as a .jpg, the .jpg file is well under the 100kb limit, which I found rather amaing. But, I'm sure someone can chime in as to how they resize if necessary, that would help. (I use a small photo-editor software called ACDsee that I've used for years - I'm sure there's an easier way.)

Once you've got your jpg saved you're good to go. Lots of formatting/style options in PPT too so this looks really interesting!

LS

 

[omieluv]

Date: 3/9/2009 10:49:46 PM
Author: Babyblue033
BB Tanga Garnet. The stone looks darker in my photo here, which was taken indoors. I would say Barry's photo is pretty close to what the stone looks like outside.

Very similar to my BB Malaya Garnet. The stone is actually brighter than BB's picture under a direct light source and is darker indoors with moderate light. At the time, I did not think to save his picture.

 

[arjunajane]

Next one:

Dan Stair mint tourmaline: Vendor specs:
1.34 Cts. Modified Round Brilliant,
6.85 mm , Yellowish Mint Green,
Very Good++ (Eye Clean, Nearly Flawless).

I do agree that Dan's pics appear quite a bit lighter in this thread - and the same is true for this stone, although not to a huge extent (and in this case darker is better imo)..
In real life it usually shows up a pale minty green, sometimes with flashes of gold. (If I rest it on a gold mount, it shows quite abit of gold.)
Sometimes (like in hand pic), it does show up stronger.

Second amateur collage coming up

Dan's pic on top left, mine on right.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 3/10/2009 9:37:44 AM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 3/10/2009 8:53:08 AM
Author: arjunajane
Awesome idea for a thread ppl!
Could someone pls tell my powerpoint illiterate self, in order to be able to post a collage here, what kind of document do I save the ppt as, and how can I size it down to the limit?
I have always wondered how to do the fun collages, and would love to be able to add mine!

TIA

Hey!

So Mercoledi was the one who told me to do this in powerpoint. It is WAY easier than what I was doing before...

I inserted the pics into a blank PPT slide, then added text boxes under each pic. Then, I did a ''save as'' and picked .jpg format (it''s way down the list so keep scrolling). Pick ''export current slide only'' option.

Now, the funny thing is, when I insert a MEGA sized pic into PPT and then save as a .jpg, the .jpg file is well under the 100kb limit, which I found rather amaing. But, I''m sure someone can chime in as to how they resize if necessary, that would help. (I use a small photo-editor software called ACDsee that I''ve used for years - I''m sure there''s an easier way.)

Once you''ve got your jpg saved you''re good to go. Lots of formatting/style options in PPT too so this looks really interesting!

LS

Awesome LS, thankyou so much!
I will have a play with that next time..

Boy, I am baaadd at ppt

Thankyou!

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 3/10/2009 9:53:12 AM
Author: arjunajane

Awesome LS, thankyou so much!
I will have a play with that next time..

Boy, I am baaadd at ppt

Thankyou!

It''s easy peasy!

LS

 

[omieluv]

Digging back to a previous thread, I was able to find the original photo of the BB Malaya garnet & used MS Paint to group some pictures together. I do not have his original description, but he described the color as medium dark with a slight color shift to red. The stone needs to be in bright light to achieve results in pictures, otherwise it is a bit dark. However, this was my first colored gem purchase and was not familiar with what medium dark actually meant. I kept it because I really enjoy the shift to red and really enjoy its flashes of orange. After it is set, the garnet will be fun to play with in various light conditions that it is exposed to.

 

[Kismet]

Digging way back, here''s a picture of my zircon. My dusty picture on the left, AJS pic on the right.

 

[T L]

Here's a tourmaline I got on ebay a long time ago for around $100. It looked horrible in the photo, but I suspected it might be neon. It's cut terrible, and full of inclusions, but I like the color. Vendor photo on left. I should get it set one of these days.

 

[BWise]

mercoledi, thanks for this BRILLIANT idea! So many eye candies!

BTW - you are sooooo funny about how you collect vendor pictures - I know who shall I call next time

Come to think about it - we are pushing the great cutters also becoming photographers

- maybe GIA should offer that as a class?

Date: 3/9/2009 9:19:34 PM
Author: mercoledi
Thank you everyone for participating, this is really, really great! PS is awesome and your stones are beautiful.


LS- Your stone deserves big pictures! I do my collages in powerpoint and export them as .jpgs


Freke- which spinel are you missing? I have a bunch of vendor pics for stones I don't own.

 

[BWise]

I want to play too! Sorry for re-posting from my original thread, but they should belong here.

Rhodolite garnet, 2ct. Bottom right is the vendor picture. GemRite.com

 

[BWise]

Umbalite garnet, 3.73ct cut by Barry. Vendor picture on the right and is CLOSER to the real color than mine pictures. acstones.com

 

[BWise]

Mint garnet, 2.34ct, cut by Gene. Top right corner is vendor picture. precisiongem.com

 

[BWise]

A little pink spinel cut by Dan, 0.66ct. customgemstones.com On the right is the vendor picture. Dan''s picture is actually CLOSER to the real color.

 

[BWise]

Another spinel from Dan, 1.34ct. Actually darker than the picture and less blue. I NO LONGER OWN THIS STONE - Dan allowed me to return it. Thank You, Dan!