What do you think about this color change garnet?

[marionberry]

Dear all,
I'm looking for a special roughly square/rectangular cut for a pendant design and I love the idea of a color change stone.
What do you think of this guy here:

https://streamable.com/s71s3
https://streamable.com/d80pg





(here I colour-tuned the previous one to roughly match the normal skin color. I have no clue if this is realistic...

0.80ct, cushion cut (isn't that a huge table?!)
Forest green in daylight (hard to capture on camera), red in incandescent, "very clean". I wish I had better quality pictures/videos or could see this in person.
Do I find better for $500? Where? Thank you so much!!

Via Gemsbytlc on Etsy

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

I bought several of these a few years ago when there was so much jazz about these and I was naive and not wanting to "miss the boat". Unfortunately they are so dark in almost ALL light, either color (they are the green to purple as well). I haven't set any of them yet mostly because of my disappointment in this, though I kept them thinking they would increase in value (another naive assumption at the time). So I definitely recommend you ask for much better pictures, and a video as well. Good luck in your search. I know there are beautiful ones out there, I just wish I had been on PS at the time and chose wiser for my collection.

 

[marionberry]

Thank you! There are video links in my post above. I am sorry to hear about your disappointment. I should probably either go to a place where I can look at the stone I am buying myself - or find a seller that is well-known and can be completely trusted to pick a good one for me.
I am hoping to get some recommendations for sources here...

 

[qubitasaurus]

I think they're generically a dark stone, multicolour has tones you can get an idea by flipping through their lists

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/color_change_garnet/cg11104ad/&930512007

I believe they also have another shop for finished rings

https://www.davidwein.com/jewelry/list/191/10/0

Something makes me think Tan used to stock them too, not sure if he still does.

 

[lambskin]

That stone also has window problems.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I have one and enjoy it and it is in one of my most often worn rings (because it’s small and practical). However, it looks almost black in dim light. The color extremes only show up in bright light—as you can tell by the skin tones in your pictures. I got mine from Brad at the Gem Trader. He carries a lot of unusual things. I enjoy this stone’s personalities. You might want to see one in person before you buy, because it may not be what you expect.

I can’t find an individual picture right now, but here it is with its green friends in bright daylight, and a vendor shot. I think color change is one of the coolest things about gemstones!

 

[marionberry]

Beautiful stone, Missy! Thnak you for sharing!

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

Just for comparison purposes, here's a pic of mine with the flash compared to MissyBeaucoup's.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

Here’s some more pics I had posted on page 15 of the under $1250 page:

Here's my fun little project! It's a red-purple to green-blue color changing garnet from The Gem Trader. It is 4.7 mm, 0.60 ct. This one is from Sri Lanka, though these are commonly from Africa as well. I had it set into a 1930s-40s vintage inspired setting from Ivy and Rose with 0.11 ct of diamond sidestones in white gold. They were really sweet to work with and the total cost of the ring came in under $600. The most usual color I see is a dark turquoise indigo. In these pictures I'm trying to shine a pen light to bring out the green. I'll attach the vendor photos below to show the color extremes in forced light.

@marionberry Thanks for the compliment!

@Mrs_Strizzle I like the purple that’s shining through in your garnets, especially the trillion. It’s true...these garnets are really dark, kind of a collector’s stone. Mine has a slightly full belly too, since they’re cut for the fullness of color and not for sparkles. It’s kind of like looking into a deep lake for the mystery that hides in there.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

https://www.finewatergems.com/store/p63/2.08_ct_Blue_Color-change_Garnet.html

At 2.08 carats and $4160, it might break the bank, but it’s lovely!

 

[chatoyancy]

They are pretty, but I keep hearing how dark they are. I suppose if anyone ever does discover blue garnets that look great in all lights, they will go for $20,000 a carat and be gone in 2 years flat.