Where best place to buy mozambique neon tourm?

[Green with Envy]

Oh- I am going to still see what happens on the ebay bidding tomorrow! I was sitting on the couch today and I looked over at my cat and his eyes almost looked light sea foam green. Since his eyes change- this seriously is an impossible task! I need to get a new hobby...
Now his eyes look like this stone!

 

[Green with Envy]

maybe I should get several different stones!!!

 

[twodoor2]

I see a bit of mint in his eyes when up close. Oh no, confusing you even more!!! That''s a great picture. He does have such beautiful eyes, I don''t think you will ever find a gemstone that will match the beauty in his eyes, and if you did, it would probably be in the Smithsonian behind ten armed guards and a glass case.

I once saw a lime green diamond on icestore.com, it looked radioactive, it was so brilliant and neon. It was a pure lime green, more green than yellow. Most green diamonds are olive colored and a bit on the ugly side, or are yellowish green. You could buy a mansion in most parts of the country for what that stone was worth. It''s stones like that which will always be elusive to the 99.99999% of the population. Alas!!

 

[Green with Envy]

Well the place in NYC was the nicest and he is sending to me on memo so if it works - great. If not, I can send it back USPS and I am not out a restocking fee. I did mention the bits of brown on the edges and he swears it has no zoning, no olive or brown, and maybe about 5% window is only drawback. He also said eye clean.

I think I will still have to hunt for a second stone that is copper-bearing because that little bit of mint that we can see in different pictures is what makes a paraiba the right stone as well. All that glitters is US based and he was going to see his cutter this weekend - if they come up with anything besides the kite shape- I can look at that and easily return it.

I know others have had success- but I am not so keen about getting things over $100 from Bangkok and then maybe worrying about how to return them. especially since this color search is like a needle in a haystack and small chages in position of the sun change the entire vibe!!!!

So many people have emailed me about my cat''s great eyes, as well as their own great cat eyes- I was thinking this gem/ pet matching could be a new business, but it is too hard!!!

My cat''s brother is VERY jealous of all the camera attention he missed out on so I am adding a shot of him. he has straight yellow eyes that have just a HINT of mint in the right light, but harder to photo. Now that I think more about the mint color... I do have one picture with both of them together and their eyes look exactly the same mint green- but I can''t seem to find it.

What a project!!!!

 

[twodoor2]

Wow, that''s really nice he''s sending it to you on memo, and you never purchased anything from him before (is that Lembeck?). Please let us know what you think when you get it. Cats are such gorgeous animals. Like we''re turning you on to chrysoberyls and tourmalines, I might have to go out and get a cat now!!!

 

[Green with Envy]

I told myself I would not go higher than 155.55 on that ebay bid and I lost out- winning bid was $159 I think. I HATE ebay actions.

I guess I see what Lembeck sends and will still look for copper bearing tourmaline with a hint of mint green. (tourmaline is my birthstone and it seems easier to wear than opals so my quest for a tourmaline will still continue...)

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 7/27/2007 5:45:06 PM
Author: Green with Envy
Thanks for checking. Pala''s site has lot''s of neon green tourmalinexs, but most without photos. I will have to have someone check for me because a few have descriptions like light green and light lime green, or electric lime green so maybe something will work. After all- I found this color on ebay for starting bid of .99 cents (no bidders yet) so someone must have this in better quality.

THIS -- at least how it looks on my monitor -- is the color I like. Almost like a Peridot but with the hardness of Tourmaline! What should we call this to get this color?

 

[Stone Hunter]

OH I''m sorry you lost out on ebay. Please post how the stone on memo turns out. This has been a very informative thread. I totally understand going with Tourmaline ''cause it''s your birthstone. Tourmaline looks fab but now I have to check out Chry... oberyl (sorry can''t spell)

Obviously we do need to start our gemstone collections by buying more than one stone -- otherwise there wouldn''t be so many great color options out there.

Hope the stone gets to you soon and is prrrfect!

 

[Green with Envy]

I lost out on the 5+ ct. tourmaline that twodoor2 found for me (thanks for trying twodoor2!)- but the winning bidder was someone in Thialand so maybe it will just end up on another auction soon. I still am in for the tiny 1 ct lime green and because it is not a fancy stone- maybe bidders won''t jump in at last minute. I am excited for 9.14 Chrysoberyl to arrive- but if anyone finds a neon mint green/ yellow tourmaline- let me know!! The prices for these stones are high- but maybe worh it? Even though the first stones I considered were from .99- $400...A couple thousand dolloars for a beautiful colored gem will be worth it to me just as much as an H&A diamond would be to others.

 

[Stone Hunter]

I''m sorry you lost out on that stone. Bummer. But something is out there for you I''m sure.

Wildfish Gems has a stone the they call Venomous it is almost a neon glowing green 2.48ct African Tsav but it''s 3,900 USD

It''s not Tourmaline. I love the color though, take a look.

 

[twodoor2]

Merelani mint garnet is an idea too, but they''re getting pretty rare in nice minty/lime colors. This one is from Pala, and I''m sure it''s not cheap.

 

[Green with Envy]

I am ahead of you twodoor! I saw that mint one and it is sold.

What do people think of this? It has a different kind of minty green I have not seen in tsavorite.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-58-CT-STUNNINGLY-BEST-FIRING-GREEN-NATURAL-TSAVORITE_W0QQitemZ250146415980QQihZ015QQcategoryZ110809QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

 

[twodoor2]

It's pretty, I don't see much of a spectacular luster on that stone, but it's nice and it seems cut well. It's just lacking the luster of a nicer stone, and the color is not very eye popping (maybe because that last mint merelani was a hard act to follow!!). That's really a light grossular garnet, not so much a tsavorite. Tsavorites are darker and more vivid greens, akin to deep emeralds. There is no neon or glowing like qualities to that stone like a copper bearing tourmaline, the merelani from Pala, or the vanadium chrysoberyl. I think the still picture of it is much nicer than the streaming video in the ebay link. The video is what I'm referencing to for all my comments.

 

[Green with Envy]

Thanks for info- I love the color, but don''t want a dull stone. It doesn''t really match cat''s eyes- but I love this green paraiba''s on Pala''s site. I wish more of her green ones had pictures so i can see if really worth inquiry about price. If going for up to $800 ct for smaller stones- this is around $2400? Do we think that much? I thought no one wanted the green ones so they would be less expensive then blue???

http://palagems.com/php/db_search.php?action=gemdetail&inventory_number=14576

 

[Green with Envy]

This is why that tsavorite reminded me of tourmaline...

http://www.paraibainternational.com/product_info.php?product=775

 

[Green with Envy]

Now I am getting confused and going back to subject of moz. tourmalines and pala''s site vs. paraibainternational... here is my quetion...

Ok- if the green ones are cheaper than blue on the overpriced paraibainternational site... and people say Pala''s prices are much better... and I want a green one...

I thought Paraiba international is same price as Pala''s because, according to diamondexpert.com...

"the least expensive green, neon tourmalines (Mozambique) are about $6-800/ct. for small (<1-2ct.) stones and up to over $12,000/ct. for large (8-15ct.) ones."

Aren''t neon tourmalines (mozambique) prices the same as copper bearing paraibas from Brazil OR mozambique?

Then again I become more confused because atggems.com has a seperate page of tourmalines from mozambique and some of them might be copper bearing, others are not, but they still all look better than the regular tourmalines and priced much higher.

Diamondexpert.com made me feel like pala''s inventory was priced way out of my league. (maybe I got the wrong idea about this because no one ever asked me what top price I could pay, I just wanted to obviously find the nicest thing for a good price and not willing to mail hundreds to unknown in Asia.)

Confused about where to shop- besides ebay??

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/27/2007 11:23:41 PM
Author: Green with Envy
Wink said Richard might have something also- but I am not sure about the concave cuts- it is just not what I am used to so i am just waiting for an email back from him with pics. The large stones currently posted on that concave sight look too green or olive.

Remember,
Richard also does traditional flat faceting. And he does it excellently as well. In fact, he just cut 2 Uruguay amethysts with red and blue flashes for me with traditional flat faceting and I love it so much I''m getting 2 more.

 

[chrono]

I too find Pala rather expensive, so I just go to there website for eye candy. I''m sorry that I don''t know where else you can get reasonably priced Moz tourmalines without getting ripped off.

 

[twodoor2]

Date: 7/30/2007 1:24:32 AM
Author: Green with Envy



Now I am getting confused and going back to subject of moz. tourmalines and pala's site vs. paraibainternational... here is my quetion...

Ok- if the green ones are cheaper than blue on the overpriced paraibainternational site... and people say Pala's prices are much better... and I want a green one...

I thought Paraiba international is same price as Pala's because, according to diamondexpert.com...

'the least expensive green, neon tourmalines (Mozambique) are about $6-800/ct. for small (<1-2ct.) stones and up to over $12,000/ct. for large (8-15ct.) ones.'

Aren't neon tourmalines (mozambique) prices the same as copper bearing paraibas from Brazil OR mozambique?

Then again I become more confused because atggems.com has a seperate page of tourmalines from mozambique and some of them might be copper bearing, others are not, but they still all look better than the regular tourmalines and priced much higher.

Diamondexpert.com made me feel like pala's inventory was priced way out of my league. (maybe I got the wrong idea about this because no one ever asked me what top price I could pay, I just wanted to obviously find the nicest thing for a good price and not willing to mail hundreds to unknown in Asia.)

Confused about where to shop- besides ebay??

Brazilian Paraibas are higher in price than those from Mozambique or Nigeria (the two other places in the world with copper bearing tourmalines). That is because it is the original find, and the best, most electric material ever discovered, came from Brazil in the early 90's. However, much of the material that is coming out of Brazil now is not that great, but they're still charging high prices due to the fact that it came out of there. Some of those super high priced and super included paraibas on Paraibainternational look exactly like Mozambique stones that some Southeast Asian dealers are charging one tenth the price. I don't think it's worth the money to pay for a location, especially since the chemical composition is identical according to the AGTA. That being said, I always go for Mozambique stones vs Nigerian. The Nigerian stones, IMO, do not have the neon pop of the Mozambique, and much of the mines aren't producing the copper bearing tourmaline anymore.

Yes, and green is always going to be less expensive (by a lot) than the bluer stones, especially those that are super neon windex blue. So there you're lucky. That Thai dealer that you lost the auction on ebay is going to send me some pictures of other yellowish green copper bearing tourmalines he has, I'll post some pictures. I go with some Thai dealers, although many think that they might not be as honest, but a lot of American dealers get their stones from them. I have to say that one of my favorite dealers is a Thai dealer. I'm getting a windex blue paraiba in the mail today from him, and I know the American dealers would charge ten times the price. That's not to say that there aren't American dealers that have good prices, there are, and Chrono has dealt with some very good ones!!! However, those stones usually change hands more than once before they get over here, so that increases the prices.

Pala is expensive, but if you want what is exactly represented, and a fine cut to boot, then they're the most reliable source for museum quality gems. I always use Pala as a resource to look for colors elsewhere because I don't like paying those prices. However, if you want a super rare high quality stone that's difficult to find, and you're paying a lot for it, and money is no object, they would be my first choice.

 

[Green with Envy]

One reason why I hate ebay--- now that I gather even more info, prices, etc. is I am regretting not bidding higher for that 5ct tourmaline. Losing by 4 dollars and it was eye clean- most of them are not and have weird looking cuts from pictures. The winning bidder has been buying a lot of stones recently at high prices ($300-900) so I am comforting myself by saying his max bid might have been thousands

.

I have been watching some other green ones on ebay, but all are much smaller and don''t seem worthy of the special large ring. Or they are heavily included.

Even if the 9.14 crysoberyl coming my way is perfect color for cat eyes--- I think glowing neon stone dimensions 12x12 cushion set with diamond halo will keep me happy!!

I guess I have to be patient... Suhail emailed me and said no one wanted minty green ones so sold to USA at cost. Those are probably the green ones in pala''s collection for $$$.

I always go to the Four Seasons pool when I am in San Diego so i am going to drop by Pala''s "The Collector" shop in the hotel to see if these tourmalines are as beautiful in real life as on internet!

 

[twodoor2]

Date: 7/30/2007 12:47:46 PM
Author: Green with Envy
One reason why I hate ebay--- now that I gather even more info, prices, etc. is I am regretting not bidding higher for that 5ct tourmaline. Losing by 4 dollars and it was eye clean- most of them are not and have weird looking cuts from pictures. The winning bidder has been buying a lot of stones recently at high prices ($300-900) so I am comforting myself by saying his max bid might have been thousands

.

I have been watching some other green ones on ebay, but all are much smaller and don't seem worthy of the special large ring. Or they are heavily included.

Even if the 9.14 crysoberyl coming my way is perfect color for cat eyes--- I think glowing neon stone dimensions 12x12 cushion set with diamond halo will keep me happy!!

I guess I have to be patient... Suhail emailed me and said no one wanted minty green ones so sold to USA at cost. Those are probably the green ones in pala's collection for $$$.

I always go to the Four Seasons pool when I am in San Diego so i am going to drop by Pala's 'The Collector' shop in the hotel to see if these tourmalines are as beautiful in real life as on internet!

I sent Suhail the link you have of the Pala gem, and he will probably get in touch with you (I didn't realize you emailed him until I asked). He said he can order that color. Now the pure lime green is hard to come by, but that is a more minty green, so it might be more available.

Don't fret, that Thai deler, whose auction that you're so bummed about, appears to have more that color. I'm awaiting pictures. I do that all the time, if I don't win something on ebay, I ask the dealer if he has more that color. They ususally buy their stones in a parcel, and the parcel is cut from the same rough or the dealer sells them lots of a similar color.

 

[chrono]

Green,
I''m keeping my fingers crossed that this lead works out you.

 

[twodoor2]

Here''s another green one from ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-45ct-DAZZLING-HUGE-CERTIFIED-RARE-PARAIBA-TOURMALINE_W0QQitemZ300136525714QQihZ020QQcategoryZ10282QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This dealer has 100% positive feedback. Now it''s more green than a lime green, but there appears to be no blue secondary color (otherwise the cert would say bluish green) and it looks like a touch minty. You may want to ask the seller the same questions you did for the other stone, and ask if it has more of a yellowish secondary color. Now I think this is cut as nice and looks as nice as some of the stones on "All That Glitters" website, but it can be had for much less $$. You can even ask the dealer to sell it to you outside of ebay (although that''s an ebay no no), but see what he says. I think he would say "yes." (I kind of know firsthand, although I didn''t end up buying a stone from him). However, I don''t think the ending auction price will be super huge (unless there are a lot of people reading this forum that shop on ebay).

He also has this cool looking chyrsoberyl

http://cgi.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300134870121

 

[twodoor2]

Another thing, if you''re going to bid, I would wait to bid at the last minute, or a few hours before the auction ends. The more bids an item has, the more it will generate interest. It''s a psychological thing. Can you tell I''m on ebay too much??

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 7/30/2007 3:03:10 PM
Author: twodoor2
Another thing, if you''re going to bid, I would wait to bid at the last minute, or a few hours before the auction ends. The more bids an item has, the more it will generate interest. It''s a psychological thing. Can you tell I''m on ebay too much??

I have been ebaying too much recently too! I ebay almost daily, looking for beautiful and cheap/reasonably priced stones to buy. And in a month I have bought 4 stones from ebay and 2 stones from customgemstones.com (very very bad) as well as a beautiful ruby that my hubby bought and that''s 7 stones in a month (some of my girlfriends think I am sick). I must say ebay is so addictive. I am very into coloured gemstones lately and sometimes I feel that there are just not enough posts on the coloured stones forum!

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 7/30/2007 3:26:31 PM
Author: simplysplendid

Date: 7/30/2007 3:03:10 PM
Author: twodoor2
Another thing, if you''re going to bid, I would wait to bid at the last minute, or a few hours before the auction ends. The more bids an item has, the more it will generate interest. It''s a psychological thing. Can you tell I''m on ebay too much??

I have been ebaying too much recently too! I ebay almost daily, looking for beautiful and cheap/reasonably priced stones to buy. And in a month I have bought 4 stones from ebay and 2 stones from customgemstones.com (very very bad) as well as a beautiful ruby that my hubby bought and that''s 7 stones in a month (some of my girlfriends think I am sick). I must say ebay is so addictive. I am very into coloured gemstones lately and sometimes I feel that there are just not enough posts on the coloured stones forum!

Make it 8! I forgot that I just bought a 6.42ct aquamarine pendant.. now can you tell them I really need help?

 

[twodoor2]

I think we should form a support group. "Ebay colored stone addicts anonymous" or "ECSAA"

I''m getting 3 in the mail today, and a gorgeous setting on Wednesday (from another ebay seller) for another stone I currently have. All from Ebay. To tell you the truth, it''s not that I don''t like online vendors, just have had bad luck with them for my favorite gems, copper bearing tourmalines. I find better stones for more reasonable prices on Ebay. I just received a gorgeous deep violet purple tourmaline today, and I paid the princely sum of $60 for it. It goes from blue to purple in different lighting, I love it!!! That''s not to say that ebay is the best place, but if you know what you''re doing, and you''re careful, there are some great deals to be had. I like to sometimes post ebay scams on pricescope to, so people are more aware of the seedy dealers out there.

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 7/30/2007 3:37:21 PM
Author: twodoor2
I think we should form a support group. ''Ebay colored stone addicts anonymous'' or ''ECSAA''

I''m getting 3 in the mail today, and a gorgeous setting on Wednesday (from another ebay seller) for another stone I currently have. All from Ebay. To tell you the truth, it''s not that I don''t like online vendors, just have had bad luck with them for my favorite gems, copper bearing tourmalines. I find better stones for more reasonable prices on Ebay. I just received a gorgeous deep violet purple tourmaline today, and I paid the princely sum of $60 for it. It goes from blue to purple in different lighting, I love it!!! That''s not to say that ebay is the best place, but if you know what you''re doing, and you''re careful, there are some great deals to be had. I like to sometimes post ebay scams on pricescope to, so people are more aware of the seedy dealers out there.

Your first member is signing up!

 

[simplysplendid]

Hi Green With Envy, I think among all stones posted the 9.14 carat chrysoberyl is the closest match...

 

[Green with Envy]

Now i am "watching" 47 different stones on ebay!!! I tried the "lat minute" bidding for a good looking regular blue tourmaline that was HUGE- in last 30 seconds bidding went from $523 to winner at $1010. Must be others who have that last 20 second ebay craze!

I am keeping fingers crossed about chrysoberyl coming because then i can relax about cat''s eyes and just look for some nice stones to start collection. Ahhhh- that ATG puple stone is yummy.