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What Light Do You Use To Observe Your Gemstones?

pwsg07

Brilliant_Rock
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Nov 21, 2016
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739
I just got a garnet online. When I received the stone, I was not happy. The colour of the stone was quite different than the colour in the dealer's photo. In the photo, the colour was bright orangy red. But my stone is orangy brown. Then the dealer told me he used full spectrum light bulb to shoot the photo. When I look at the stone under the sunlight its colour is closer to orangy red. Although the colour is still not as beautiful as the one in the photo, it makes me happier. Maybe this stone has some colour shift. I wonder what light do you use to observe the stones. I am planning to change my light in my room. Thank you.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2016
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I can't say about garnet, but my peach sapphire also looks different in every light. It is always pretty so I had no problems, but I marveled at the strength of the 'colorchange' and interviewed Edward from Wild Fish about just that question (is my gem a colorchanger?). He said 'no', for sapphire it is normal and a sign of good quality IF all visible colors are pleasant. Sapphires getting dull or grey or black in some light are low quality.

As for your garnet, I would think it should look good at least in the light that you typically live with. If I'd have to have a sunny day to see my gem's beauty I'd have to wait for weeks or months sometimes. no good. I have read there is a standard-light to grade all gems, which is what the gem laboratories use, but if you don't like it most of the time then what does it matter? See that other stone, blue sapphire I will post later today. It looks terrific ALL the time, even if changing.
 

Arcadian

Ideal_Rock
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Sep 17, 2008
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All stones shift to some degree which is also dependent on light source. Somtimes sellers can flood a dark stone with a lot of light (one of the things you can pick up on over time) and also, some stones are photoshopped to be lighter.

So generally I tell people always check the sellers return policy prior to purchase. Sometimes the stone just doesn't look as good in your environment...I mean, you can't change how much the sun shines or when it sets, or if you get a bunch of cloudy days, and as much as you'd like it, would be a bit silly to carry a big ass sun lamp with you everywhere. There are just things that can't be changed.

Case in point. I'm in Florida, I probably get more sunlight than most, and yes many of the stones which I purchased while living in the Northeast, DO indeed look different here most of the time. Most for the better, a couple I'm on the fence about.

In the home, those things I can change and did. In my home I have mostly full spectrum LED's. They weren't cheap but I personally rather enjoy full spectrum lighting and I hate CFL's with a passion. I'd use incandescent but they get hot and with over 35 of them overhead? thats like cooking in an oven :lol:

So for me Full spectrum LED's for the win. . Still, in some situations, like in the bathroom, I still see some yellow because of the non LED's.
 

gem-hunter

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
5
I use a light temperature (degrees K) that flatters a stone when I'm trying to sell and a different temp of light that is unflattering when I'm buying.

Warm temps push color to the yellow end while hot temperatures push toward blue.
 

Barrett

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
2,218
Arcadian said it correctly :read: :appl:
A gems color is dependent on the lighting it's being viewed under. All gemstone color shift to some degree! This is why anyone marketing a "color shift" stone is ridiculous. :errrr:
 

chroman

Brilliant_Rock
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May 18, 2015
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1,087
I think a 'show your color shifts' thread aimed at stones not marked as CC would be interesting! I've got a garnet series I could post.. Sometime after the holidays though.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Apr 22, 2004
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38,364
I view my gemstones under all types of lighting. It has to be a pleasing colour to my eye under the light conditions that I will be wearing it the most often.
 

chatoyancy

Brilliant_Rock
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Dec 17, 2016
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1,384
That's a great idea.
 

Burmesedaze

Ideal_Rock
Trade
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Oct 9, 2016
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Even in sunny Southeast Asia, morning sun, noon sun, overcast skies or not and evening sun, most gemstones look different under them all. My jewellers recounted how, some years back, they had a tourist that wanted to buy blue zircons from them. She had pre-selected quite a number one morning but wanted to think it over and requested them to bring to her hotel one evening. Needless to say, they looked less impressive in the failing light of the evening sun and she took about half of what she had chosen earlier.

I agree with Chrono on the light conditions you wear them most often - that'd be mornings (when I step out of the apartment to get to work), evening sun (heading home) and indoors white light (office). The jams here are so bad, I alternate between checking my work emails on iPad, catching Pokemon or walking the egg on my phone and looking at my bling on my fingers :razz:

While most (to me) don't look as impressive in the evening sun, I love how the warm fading light gives an otherworldly glow to my pink stones. There's just something magical about that look.
 
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