Which gemstone has the most brilliance?

[bluemoon]

Hi All-

First time posting. Completely new to the board and new to the gem world. Just love the people on this forum!!

I was wondering what everyone''s opinion is on which gemstone you think gives the most sparkle? brilliance?

I love the colors of gems over a white diamond, but I want to buy a gemstone that will shine and sparkle like a diamond. I''m sure the answer to this question relates to the cutting of the stone...but in general ..which stones naturally give off a better sparkle??

thanks

 

[FrekeChild]

Sphene. But it''s extremely fragile and not recommended for jewelry. Other than that, I''d say spinel maybe? I don''t know, it''s a good question.

 

[marcy]

Just based on personal opinion I think 3 gemstones offer a great deal of brilliance. That would be garnet, sapphire and spinel.

 

[bar01]

Demantoid?

 

[Pandora II]

In order:

Rutile - Rutile doesn't come in facetable sizes, but if it did would be amazing.
Sphalerite - Sphalerite is super-soft and a collectors stone only
Sphene - Sphene is also not really suitable for wear.
Diamond
Zircon - you would need to be very careful as it's prone to chipping
Demantoid garnet - care needed
Almandine garnet
Spessartite garnet
Tsavorite garnet
Sapphire
Chrysoberyl
Spinel
Tourmaline
Apatite
Topaz

I would go for sapphire unless you are happy to not wear your ring all the time. As you will see from other threads, MZ and I only wear ours when we leave the house, otherwise it stays in it's box. I have a tsavorite, and MZ has a spessartite.

 

[RevolutionGems]

One other stone that has really great sparkle is Danburite. Problem is, it is a white stone. You might find it in yellow or VERY pale pink, but it isn''t really strongly colored. Very pretty though.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/4/2008 12:18:11 PM
Author: Revolution
One other stone that has really great sparkle is Danburite. Problem is, it is a white stone. You might find it in yellow or VERY pale pink, but it isn't really strongly colored. Very pretty though.

Danburite was going to be my suggestion too, Jeff White had a pretty yellow one available not too long ago that was very pretty, but a bit included, so I guess it can be found in a deeper yellow at least:



http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/DAN005.htm

 

[Ninama]

I''m certain that the experienced people here are 100% correct, but how about...

"Faceted benitoite is one of the rarest of gemstones. Carat for carat, stone
for stone, it is perhaps a million times rarer than diamonds. A faceted
benitoite gemstone has more brilliance than a diamond."

 

[bebe]

Date: 6/4/2008 12:38:37 PM
Author: Ninama
I''m certain that the experienced people here are 100% correct, but how about...


''Faceted benitoite is one of the rarest of gemstones. Carat for carat, stone

for stone, it is perhaps a million times rarer than diamonds. A faceted

benitoite gemstone has more brilliance than a diamond.''

Ok, I''ll let my ignorance show here! Is benitoite so rare that it is unavailable? Is the cost in the stratosphere?

 

[Ninama]

I forgot to mention that benitoite is pretty soft (6-6.5 on the Mohs scale) and - as I understand it - needs special care and an appropriate setting. This is a quote from a gem site: "Benitoite is only 6.5 on the Mohs scale, compared to diamond at 10. However the light refraction index – the characteristic that makes sparkle - is higher than diamonds. That means that blue benitoite is more brilliant than clear diamond."

 

[Ninama]

Date: 6/4/2008 12:51:28 PM
Author: bebe

Ok, I''ll let my ignorance show here! Is benitoite so rare that it is unavailable? Is the cost in the stratosphere?

Oh no... not unavailable! Benitoite is found only in San Benito County, California (it''s our state gem). If you do a google search on benitoite, you find that most of the available faceted bennies are modest in size, but you can definitely find them!

I was obsessed with them for a while... here''s a thread with lots of pics and info:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/benitoite.76752/

 

[Harriet]

Date: 6/4/2008 12:32:08 PM
Author: neatfreak
Danburite was going to be my suggestion too, Jeff White had a pretty yellow one available not too long ago that was very pretty, but a bit included, so I guess it can be found in a deeper yellow at least:
http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/DAN005.htm

It''s a lot more saturated and bright in person. Yes, I would have liked it to be less included, but I''m keeping it as a collector''s item. I may never set it because its too soft.

 

[Ninama]

Ooohhh.... that danburite is lovely.

 

[Harriet]

Thanks, Ninama. It''s currently languishing in a drawer. I need to find a display case for it.

 

[Ninama]

Like solid sunshine....

 

[bluemoon]

wow...thanks for all the replies

....lots and lots of beautiful options. I haven''t even ever heard of some of these stones before, learning so much from you guys!

Pandora- I''m sure tons of people have asked you...but can you tell me about your stone that''s on your avatar?? It''s simply DIVINE!!!!!!!
what kind of stone is it? what size ? how much did u pay for it, where/who did you buy it from? sorry - if I''m asking you too many personal questions....just trying to learn

more about gems, pricing...etc

thanks- bluemoon

 

[Harriet]

Pandora''s gem is a fine fine specimen of a Tsavorite garnet.

 

[mercoledi]

Pan''s SMTR thread with her stone stats and pictures:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-my-tsavorite-e-ring.75458/

 

[Pandora II]

Thanks for posting the link - saved me having to find it!

I bought it through Wink, I believe it was from Palagems originally. I''d rather not say exactly what I paid for it, but it''s in the thousands rather than the hundreds.

 

[RevolutionGems]

Hey Pandora,

I was just reading over your list again. I have some natural rutile that is big enough to cut. However, it is rather too dark to show any sparkle.

The good news is (ok not really Good news, but news, nevertheless) rutile is available as a light yellow lab grown material. From what I understand, it is very similar to strontium titanate when it is cut. So sparkly and dispersive you can''t hardly look at it.

In any case, there are a few natural rutiles runining around out there if you don''t mind a very dark red/brownish stone. Certainly not suitable in any way for a ring.

 

[Richard M.]

Synthetic rutile has marketed since at least the 1950s under the trade name "Titania" (makes sense since it''s titanium dioxide). It doesn''t seem particularly brilliant to me, but boy is the dispersion garish!

There are big differences between the terms "brilliance," "dispersion" and "scintillation." All 3 are dependent to some extent on the cutter to unlock them. Generally transparent gems with high indexes of refraction have the potential for great brilliance but not all have unusual dispersion or "fire." Again, unlocking a stone''s potential dispersion is usually a matter of cut. But cutting for brilliance AND dispersion is usually a compromise between the two since cutting for one compromises the other to some extent. Of course some stones like sphalerite and sphene have such high dispersion cut is less of a factor.

Scintillation is the number and frequency of flashes a gem gives off when turned in the light. Usually the more facets, the more scintillation. (Think of those mirrored Disco Balls: the more and tinier the mirrors, the greater their scintillation).

Richard M.

 

[Pandora II]

I saw some synthetic rutile a few weeks ago - it was one of the stones my tutor produced for me to ID, and completely stumped me with.

The dispersion was quite incredible. It looked like the sort of thing you should have in a Star Wars movie.

It''s quite industrial chic looking, and a rather nasty yellowish grey tinge. Interesting to look at though, and I''d be keen to see a natural version if it was ever possible.

What is the dispersion likely to be on your rutile?

 

[RevolutionGems]

Tough call. I have several pieces but I haven''t actually cut one so I really don''t know.

I may just have to hack one up and see what it looks like...

 

[zerj]

This link may be helpful:

http://www.facetingrough.com/gemstone_info.shtml

It shows hardness/index of refraction/ dispersion of a lot of different gemstones. According to this benitoite has a lower index of refraction than Diamond but it can have a higher dispersion index.

So I assume that should be less brillant but more firey than a diamond.

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 6/10/2008 10:46:19 AM
Author: zerj
According to this benitoite has a lower index of refraction than Diamond but it can have a higher dispersion index. So I assume that should be less brillant but more firey than a diamond.

Exactly. Imagine a lovely medium blue Ceylon sapphire bursting with rainbow color. Too bad they''re so rare and expensive. Console yourselves with knowing they''re quite soft and not recommended for use in rings.

Richard M.