shape
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what would be the best clear, most diamond-like stone?

chel180

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I've always wanted a pair of diamond studs but I'm reluctant due to the fact that I lose thing. Not every week, but definitely yearly! This to the point that I can't enjoy wearing valuable earrings because I'm constantly checking my ears. I want something real and precious not fakes but I would like something that is a diamond lookalike, clear and sparkly on my ears. Round/square 5mm-10mm in 18kt white gold, set bezel style. I was thinking white topaz but does anyone have a better suggestion?

Thanks :)
 

movie zombie

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there are others....clear spinel, zircon come to mind....but i think white topaz gives you a good price point and value.
 

T L

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chel180|1318865655|3041997 said:
I've always wanted a pair of diamond studs but I'm reluctant due to the fact that I lose thing. Not every week, but definitely yearly! This to the point that I can't enjoy wearing valuable earrings because I'm constantly checking my ears. I want something real and precious not fakes but I would like something that is a diamond lookalike, clear and sparkly on my ears. Round/square 5mm-10mm in 18kt white gold, set bezel style. I was thinking white topaz but does anyone have a better suggestion?

Thanks :)

To me, there is really nothing that looks like a diamond, except, maybe sphalerite, and it's usually orange, and very very soft.

I think your best bet would be colorless zircons, but they would still not live up to a diamond's luster or sparkle.
 

Pandora II

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Zircon would be my choice. They have an adamantine lustre as does diamond and they are not far off in terms of dispersion.

Please note that Zircon is a totally natural and very beautiful gemstone in its own right and has the misfortune to have a similar name to Cubic Zirconia (CZ) which is a man-made diamond simulant.
 

colorluvr

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I concur that zircon would be the way to go, but personally, I would spend the extra money for a well cut stone because poorly cut white zircons can look glassy.
 

LD

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I would agree that Zircons are probably the way to go but they really don't perform like diamonds. If you can't find Zircons to your liking then you may have to look at moissanite (I know I've spelt that incorrectly :lol: ) or a man made lookie likey.

If you're looking for a stone that is a real gemstone you could search for a white sapphire. Again, it doesn't perform like a diamond but at least it's a real gem.
 

jstarfireb

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In addition to the ones mentioned (zircon, topaz, sapphire, sphalerite, occasionally spinel), there are also colorless tourmaline and danburite, but your best bet for diamond-like sparkle is probably zircon.

Peter Torraca has an example of an exceptionally fine and well-cut colorless zircon:
http://www.torraca.net/gems/gems.php?spec=Zir

Of course, your earring stones would probably be MUCH smaller and less expensive! ETA: To give you another price point, here's a pair of 5x7mm ovals for about $20: http://diamondexpert.com/diamonds/d...gi&active=active&stock=Z00260&submit_search=1
 

distracts

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Zircon or sapphire would be my choice - they both look different than diamonds do but they're pretty in their own way. I actually prefer white sapphire to diamonds, but I know I'm in the minority with that. I have a white sapphire ring that I wear as a RHR and it's amazingly pretty. Doesn't look much at all like a diamond though - it's sleepy and glowy in a way diamonds aren't.
 

chel180

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Thanks guys. I know the only thing that looks like a diamond is a diamond, but that doesn't work for this project so I'm looking for the next best thing. I'd rather a top set of zircons, than a bad set of diamonds or a beautiful pair of stimulants.

I will start hunting round for a nice well cut pair, if anyone sees anything on their internet travels- please let me know!

Thanks.
 

gsellis

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I know you said clear... but I will assume for a moment that you might not have meant 'white' (I know, that is a stretch).

For that performance, Sphene and Sphalerite. The warning, Sphene is pretty soft and Sphalerite is softer. But it will be on your ears, just handle with care. Egor Gavrilenko at gem-sphalerite.com has some of the best ones, but nothing as a matched earring set listed. Most of the cutters around here are online friends with Egor and can get rough too. BUT Sphalerite is tricky. It has more than 1 perfect clevage plane (3?) from what I remember. And it is Moh 3.5ish. But the dispersion is Glorious (about 4 times that of a diamond). If you want a custom cut, patience is required as stuff like this makes faceters use words that will make a drunken pirate blush.
 

Barrett

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George Ellis|1318985592|3043109 said:
I know you said clear... but I will assume for a moment that you might not have meant 'white' (I know, that is a stretch).

For that performance, Sphene and Sphalerite. The warning, Sphene is pretty soft and Sphalerite is softer. But it will be on your ears, just handle with care. Egor Gavrilenko at gem-sphalerite.com has some of the best ones, but nothing as a matched earring set listed. Most of the cutters around here are online friends with Egor and can get rough too. BUT Sphalerite is tricky. It has more than 1 perfect clevage plane (3?) from what I remember. And it is Moh 3.5ish. But the dispersion is Glorious (about 4 times that of a diamond). If you want a custom cut, patience is required as stuff like this makes faceters use words that will make a drunken pirate blush.

:mrgreen:
 

Arkteia

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George Ellis and Amethystguy, supposedly I purchase a sphalerite from him (looks stunning BTW! I always wanted to have one...) And what do I do with it afterwards? Set in a pendant? Either the setter will crush it or my husband when he hugs me... Have you ever seen anyone wearing a sphalerite? If my memory doesn't fail me, the stone has six cleavage planes. On top of its Mohs index...

P.S. I did not check myself on cleavage planes. Sphalerite was one of the first stones I read about before coming to PS, I think it was September of 2009. (I have a sphalerite from Russia in my Moscow apartment, in a collection, and it is very bright and very ugly.)

I am not checking myself on Mohs index but I think, 3.5...
 

T L

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George Ellis|1318985592|3043109 said:
I know you said clear... but I will assume for a moment that you might not have meant 'white' (I know, that is a stretch).

For that performance, Sphene and Sphalerite. The warning, Sphene is pretty soft and Sphalerite is softer. But it will be on your ears, just handle with care. Egor Gavrilenko at gem-sphalerite.com has some of the best ones, but nothing as a matched earring set listed. Most of the cutters around here are online friends with Egor and can get rough too. BUT Sphalerite is tricky. It has more than 1 perfect clevage plane (3?) from what I remember. And it is Moh 3.5ish. But the dispersion is Glorious (about 4 times that of a diamond). If you want a custom cut, patience is required as stuff like this makes faceters use words that will make a drunken pirate blush.

I think I only mentioned sphalerite in the beginning as a stone that I think performs closest to diamond, and to me, I don't think any other natural gemstone comes close. It is one of the few stones with a higher RI than diamond, and the only stone I have ever seen to not have a discernable tilt window to my eye (diamonds have very very small tilt windows due to their high RI). When clean (many are very cloudy), they are very beautiful gems, but yes, way way too soft for jewelry, although I did see a set one on the "Gem Shopping Network" once. I think for earring studs, they would be safe, as long as you kept them in a very protective place after you took them off (I wouldn't sleep with them on, or shower). They remind me of canary, orange or champagne diamonds (depending on the color they're in).

I remember that a certain shopping channel bought up all of MC.com's merchandise and sold them for ten times the price. People were buying them like mad. I recognized some of those stones belonging to David and all his merchandise was gone in one day after the shopping channel got them (I could be wrong), but the shopping network didn't explain the softness at all. I have one and I love it, but it's like a very beautiful woman, you can only admire her from afar. LOL!

Look at the photos of some of the gems on this site, and look at the video link I posted below for that company. If you didn't know better, you would think it's a diamond. No other natural stone, to me, has a look as close to diamond as sphalerite. Zircon, demantoid, sphene, while dispersive, just don't do what diamonds do, IMHO. However, they're very pretty. If sphalerite were a hard durable gem, you'd be talking major $$$$ here.

http://gem-sphalerite.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCnhcNjzjrk&feature=player_embedded

spanish-sphalerite-834-1.jpg
 

Arkteia

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It is fantastic, I'd buy it on the spot. But does anyone, anyone on the PS have a jewelry piece made with sphalerite? Does anyone know a jeweler who ever worked with it? The guy selling them might know...
 

cookies

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crasru|1319044204|3043572 said:
It is fantastic, I'd buy it on the spot. But does anyone, anyone on the PS have a jewelry piece made with sphalerite? Does anyone know a jeweler who ever worked with it? The guy selling them might know...

I want to know too!
 

T L

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crasru|1319044204|3043572 said:
It is fantastic, I'd buy it on the spot. But does anyone, anyone on the PS have a jewelry piece made with sphalerite? Does anyone know a jeweler who ever worked with it? The guy selling them might know...

Honestly, I would never ever set something that beautiful into jewelry, even your clothing could scratch it as there are find particles of silica in the air and dust, and that would really harm it. I would keep it as something I would view, like a piece of fine porelain, or a piece of art work. BTW, that lapidary must be exceptionately talented because I heard that cutting sphalerite is a nightmare.
 

mayachel

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As a "what not to use" advice, I bought some fabulously white, brilliantly cut topaz last spring hoping that they would be a good diamond stand in for me. They lost their luster so to speak, for me within a day or two. Friends assumed they were cloudy CZs. (I was all, hey you can get CZs with better clarity...)
 

T L

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mayachel|1319051102|3043636 said:
As a "what not to use" advice, I bought some fabulously white, brilliantly cut topaz last spring hoping that they would be a good diamond stand in for me. They lost their luster so to speak, for me within a day or two. Friends assumed they were cloudy CZs. (I was all, hey you can get CZs with better clarity...)

Yes, stones like topaz, danburite, beryl, just don't have the RI to hold their own against diamonds. Sorry about your disappointment.
 

jstarfireb

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mayachel|1319051102|3043636 said:
As a "what not to use" advice, I bought some fabulously white, brilliantly cut topaz last spring hoping that they would be a good diamond stand in for me. They lost their luster so to speak, for me within a day or two. Friends assumed they were cloudy CZs. (I was all, hey you can get CZs with better clarity...)

They probably could use a good cleaning. I'd throw 'em in an ultrasonic (I think topaz is ok for that) or have your jeweler steam-clean them. Low-RI stones are more prone to the effects of dirt on the pavilion, so I bet that's what it is.
 

TonyMontana

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Spaherite is a beautiful stone but way too soft. Demantoid or Andradite comes in my mind when I think asbout a diamond like stone.
The dispersion is higher than of a diamond and so it sparkles even with a nice saturated color. Besides it has a very high luster too.
Zircon and maybe Sphene would be an alternative aswell, but aren't singly refractive.
 

T L

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I think those would certainly do the job. :)
 

chel180

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Who would be the best person to set into bezels? I like my settings to be ruler straight rather than artsy.

Thanks :)
 

T L

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chel180|1319210284|3044788 said:
Who would be the best person to set into bezels? I like my settings to be ruler straight rather than artsy.

Thanks :)

Daniel M on Etsy is very very good, and very reasonable.
 

jstarfireb

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TL|1319211501|3044796 said:
chel180|1319210284|3044788 said:
Who would be the best person to set into bezels? I like my settings to be ruler straight rather than artsy.

Thanks :)

Daniel M on Etsy is very very good, and very reasonable.

Daniel M is indeed reasonable, but his bezels often leave something to be desired. They have improved greatly over time, but if you're looking for a perfectly even bezel, he might not be your best choice. His prong work is much better than his bezel work IMO. He does have the "ruler-straight" aesthetic you're looking for, though...clean and modern rather than vintage, floral, etc. For inexpensive and perfectly even bezel work on round faceted stones, I prefer kyleannemetals on Etsy. Her bezels aren't as good for non-round stones and cabs, but they're flawless for rounds, and she's really inexpensive, even less expensive than Daniel M.

One last thing - when you said "clear" I also assumed you meant colorless. A lot of the other suggestions in this thread are for colored stones (sphalerite, demantoid/andradite garnet, etc.), which will sparkle more like a diamond but have color. I think you're on the right track with zircon if you want a sparkly colorless stone with diamond-like refractive index and dispersion. Those zircons look like great choices, by the way!
 
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