Wanna help me find a nice Sphene?

[Tanzigrrl]

Hi, All,
Well, I'm onto finding a sphene. For those of you who helped me *not* buy an inferior Pariaba, I'm moving on to something I have a better understanding of - at least for now.
I'd like to find a nice sphene, good clarity, not green, but rather, bright yellow with great green and red "fire." I'm looking for something between 3-6 carats +/- and I really want a "cleftless heart" shape.
I saw one when I was watching the Gem Shopping Network, but don't buy from the TV so I wanted to find one elsewhere. Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks

 

[chrono]

I have not seen any bright yellow sphenes. Yellowish green and chrome green, yes, but not a bright yellow. The only yellow ones I’ve seen are honey coloured (a little brownish). Add to the fact that you are also limiting yourself to a specific carat weight and shape will make this search more difficult.

Here's an established vendor's sphenes to give you some idea of what's out there:
http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=79

 

[T L]

Hi, All,
Well, I'm onto finding a sphene. For those of you who helped me *not* buy an inferior Pariaba, I'm moving on to something I have a better understanding of - at least for now.
I'd like to find a nice sphene, good clarity, not green, but rather, bright yellow with great green and red "fire." I'm looking for something between 3-6 carats +/- and I really want a "cleftless heart" shape.
I saw one when I was watching the Gem Shopping Network, but don't buy from the TV so I wanted to find one elsewhere. Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks

Thank goodness, GSN is super overpriced for sphene. Exportgems on ebay often has nice sphenes too.

 

[LD]

Chrono is correct. You'll find them in lime green, yellowish green, an olive green and then a sort of marmalade colour but yellow? Not really.

You do like to search for the impossible don't you? A yellow cleftless heart within a certain carat weight? Well, you may find it but would you compromise somewhere along the lines? For example, a cleftless heart will be tough. How about a trilliant? That would be a little easier to find.

Not a cleftless heart but it is a heart - it's not yellow but it's a stunning green! This one will light up like a Christmas tree I think!
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/sphene/sh6555aa/&1244716636

This is about as yellow as you'll find (I realise it's the wrong shape) http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/sphene/zsh104aa/&1244716636

This is a trilliant - it's bi-coloured in that it's marmalade and green! I don't think it will perform very well though as it's fairly included.
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/sphene/ysh112ad/&1244716636

AJS have a few trilliants but only one above 1ct. http://www.ajsgem.com/sphene-gemstone-2046340459.html?page=1

This is the one that I bought from Multicolour about a year or so ago (their photo is first so you can compare with my photo below). It's incredible. The fire is amazing and if you can find one this colour (if you like it), I'd highly recommend it for fire/sparkle and the WOW factor!

 

[Tanzigrrl]

LD, I'd call that yellow. I see that their photo is greenish, but your ring seems yellow to me. I think I've admired that photo before - you have posted it elsewhere before, no? I like the ones you sent in those links. I suppose I'd compromise size for shape, meaning I really want a cleftless heart for my sphene. An odd shape for an uncommon stone. Hearts aren't my thing, but a cleftless heart is awesome. I can't explain why I feel the way I do. I'm thinking about these, though.

 

[T L]

Well after looking at LD's, now I know why they call these the "Christmas Tree" stones. That looks like a happy lit up tree decorated with lights.

 

[LD]

Tanzigrrl - in real life the Sphene looks exactly like the photo from Multicolour and isn't yellow at all. My camera has a problem with green unfortunately. I'll see if I can find another photo of it but it's definitely not yellow I promise you!

TL - thank you hun! I'll happily sit next to it with a glass of Mulled Wine!

Edit: Found a piccie - see it's green!

 

[Tanzigrrl]

What do you think of this one? I do like the shape (yes, I know it's not my cleftless heart, but still). I'm concerned with how much you think it will "light up."

http://www.ajsgem.com/gemstones/sphene/sphene-2.33-carats.html

 

[Kismet]

Gemline has a pear and a trillion sphene for sale. http://litnon.com/index.php?page=view&cat=248

 

[LD]

What do you think of this one? I do like the shape (yes, I know it's not my cleftless heart, but still). I'm concerned with how much you think it will "light up."

http://www.ajsgem.com/gemstones/sphene/sphene-2.33-carats.html

If you look closely you'll see that it has evidence of the Marmalade tones although the body is greenish/yellow. The marmalade ones have slightly less fire. The one from AJS looks a little flat and a tiny bit dull where the marmalade tones are at each end. All Sphenes have fire but some more so than others.

Edit: Just had a thought - the stunning green heart from Multicolour is over 10ct so you could potentially ask David to cut it down to a cleftless heart. Ok you'll lose a lot of carat weight and the gem is expensive in the first place but if you heart is set on a cleftless heart this stone would give you the opportunity to own a big one.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Ack - it's so hard to choose. The prices are so good on these, I almost feel like it's not such a big risk. I like the ones that Kismet linked. Do you think any of those would have more "fire" than the one I like at AJS?

 

[T L]

BTW, Arcadian has some amazing sphenes, including the one in her avatar. It came from exportgems. I bought a beautiful apple green sphene from them for $60. I don't recommend other stones from them, they can be "iffy," but sphenes, yes.

 

[jstarfireb]

I bought my first and only sphene from Roger Dery's gem show in San Francisco. It's more yellow than green, and the dispersion is out of this world! You could see if he has any similar material left. The photo doesn't do it justice at all, but it's gorgeous in real life.

 

[Arcadian]

if you want yellow sphene you will not be able to bypass other colors in other lighting situations. a slightly greenish sphene will tend to show more lemony yellow in sunlight, though in indirect light and it will show its greener side.

the sparkle... yeah its great! its unlike anything I've ever seen in my life. Like LD, I don't have a problem wearing them in rings. they're pretty much strictly dinner rings though (meaning I wear them to dinner and nothing else)

I did purchase most of mine from export gems. I also purchased some from BKK gemstones.

there's a few precison cut ones on the forum. one of which was cut by Gene (don't remember who it belongs to though)




-A

 

[jstarfireb]

While we're on the subject of exportgems, I took a look at their ebay site and found a bunch of "demantoids" up for extremely low prices. Are they selling sphene and passing it off as demantoid? It's way too good to be true.

I think sphenes are ridiculously difficult to photograph. So you may not be able to tell from photos if they'll light up. You may just have to buy one you like, see it in person, and return it if you don't love it. If you're in the US, it may be a safer bet to buy from Gemline/Litnon, since shipping would be easier and safer. AJS and Multicolour are located in Thailand, and they're great vendors, but I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of return shipping.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Hi, All,
Big news - I chose a sphene and I'm very pleased with my selection!!! I found several I liked at AJS and one at Multicolor, but I ended up finding one for a great price/size/clarity/color at Gemline/Litnon (as jstarfireb suggested) and purchased it. It met all of my critera except shape - even I realize I'm not going to find a yellowish cleftless heart). I'm so excited with my choice! I can't wait for it to arrive!!! This also marks my first-ever online gemstone purchase (I've only ever done the gem show purchase method before). My very own sphene!!! I am so excited. The second it arrives, I'll post photos. I am fine with wearing tanzanite in rings, so I'm okay with "fragile" stones, but I've wanted a sphene as a pendant for a while so I'm going to go that route with it. My current design idea is a prong set sphene on a diamond station chain. Just teeny tiny, maybe 5 point-ish, diamonds, about 4 of them, total, 3/4 inch apart, on each side of the sphene. That sounds ugly, and it's hard to describe, but do you know what I'm talking about? I'm a "silver" metal girl, so probably white gold.

THANK YOU ALL for your help in finding me a sphene. You know I will report back when it gets here!

 

[jstarfireb]

Nice! But I can't take credit for Kismet's suggestion of Gemline in the first place! Can you post a link to the one you got?

My sphene will also end up in a pendant. I wear tanzanite in rings, but none of them are really high-quality or expensive, unlike this sphene. I figured I'd get more wear out of it in a pendant. I sent it to Daniel M on Etsy for a plain silver basket pendant. I'm sure he could make your "diamonds by the yard"-style idea come to life.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Oops, you're right it was Kismet's idea. I'm still new here and am trying to lean and remember everyone's handle.

Here's the one I got:

http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=7414

It's inexpensive and smallish, but it's a great "first sphene." Thanks for the Daniel M idea. I will have to check him out. I'll post my own photos once my sphene arrives. This one is said to have nice multicolor fire.

 

[LD]

Very nice and a great price! Can't wait to see pictures. Don't worry if it takes 999 photos until you get one that shows dispersion! It's awful to photograph! Many congratulations.

 

[Arcadian]

While we're on the subject of exportgems, I took a look at their ebay site and found a bunch of "demantoids" up for extremely low prices. Are they selling sphene and passing it off as demantoid? It's way too good to be true.

I think sphenes are ridiculously difficult to photograph. So you may not be able to tell from photos if they'll light up. You may just have to buy one you like, see it in person, and return it if you don't love it. If you're in the US, it may be a safer bet to buy from Gemline/Litnon, since shipping would be easier and safer. AJS and Multicolour are located in Thailand, and they're great vendors, but I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of return shipping.

They're not sphenes for sure. the one I purchased did check out as a dematoid, its not Russian though. Its also not very high quality either but it did have a decent cut. Origin on mine is Nambian (so says my report) so as always do your due diligence no matter who it is on ebay.

of the sphenes, they are the real deal. but again, you must do due diligence.

-A

 

[jstarfireb]

Interesting. I don't wanna threadjack too much, but one of the demantoids caught my eye, and the starting bid is super-low. I don't particularly care about origin.

 

[T L]

One of the ways to tell between a sphene and a demantoid, is that the sphene is very doubly refractive (the facets give off double reflections), and the demantoid is singly refractive. Most dealers are touting Namibian material as Russian on ebay.

 

[Arcadian]

jstar, I'm pretty sure nobody minds much...lol. Nambians tend to be a lot less expensive because of their location. I've never seen nambians in the bottle green color of their more northern cousins either. Also, I thought that dematoids were recently found in another location as well (Madagascar?? Maybe? I honestly don't remember off hand and my signal in this airport dosne't allow for quick searches either Did I ever say how much I don't really like to travel sometimes?)

so if you're not bothered by origin, I would say go for it and don't bid too much.

-A

 

[chrono]

Yes, there's a new find of demantoids from Madagascar. If you like the demantoid, don't care about origin and it is priced accordingly for such material (African), then by all means, get it.

TanzG,
Let us know your opinion when you receive the Litnon sphene. I was concerned you were looking for a pure yellow sphene which I've never seen but a greenish yellow like you've chosen are certainly out there. This is why pictures of something similar to what you have in mind is crucial, more than words. Those with a well trained eye see modifiers easily, so it might seem yellow to one person but greenish yellow to another.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

I had a quick question - I realized that it is unlikely that my husband or I will be home when the package from Litnon arrives. They sent it via USPS, first-class, with 3rd party insured and a delivery ID confirmation number. Does anyone know if someone has to be present or if they'll just leave it on our doorstep/mailbox/etc.? I really hope they'll leave it for me. My neighborhood is safe and I don't want to go around town trying to track down my package at the various Post Offices. Does anyone know what this configuration of shipping means or if I have to be home to receive it? Thanks!

 

[chrono]

Someone needs to sign for the package or you can go to the PO with the slip to pick it up at your convenience.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Darn! I figured as much. It means an increase in the number of days until I get my stone!

 

[chrono]

The post office actually has someone in quite early; at my local PO, there’s someone in the back as early as 6 am and I can pick up my package if I ring the door bell at their unloading dock. Call your local PO to see if they will allow you to do the same.

 

[T L]

I had a quick question - I realized that it is unlikely that my husband or I will be home when the package from Litnon arrives. They sent it via USPS, first-class, with 3rd party insured and a delivery ID confirmation number. Does anyone know if someone has to be present or if they'll just leave it on our doorstep/mailbox/etc.? I really hope they'll leave it for me. My neighborhood is safe and I don't want to go around town trying to track down my package at the various Post Offices. Does anyone know what this configuration of shipping means or if I have to be home to receive it? Thanks!

You won't have to go around town tracking your package at various post offices. If the package arrives and you're not home, the mail carrier will leave a slip in your mailbox stating which post office it is located at. Then all you have to do is bring that slip to the post office, with some id, like a driver's liscense, and you can pick it up there. I find USPS very convenient because of that.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

I'm just impatient and like to come home from work to find a treasure waiting for me at my doorstep. I also didn't plan ahead very well, because my husband works from home most MWFs so that usually works for deliveries, but he's out of town this week on a conference and I know I won't be home. Had I ordered it last week or next week, I'd be all set. But, I'll make do.