Your favorite gemstone?

[strmrdr]

mines Ruby but several others are close.
red spinel
honey zircon
blue sapphire
London blue topaz has caught my eye recently and I was looking at some awesome looking samples and the price is great too.
There was a red fire opal ring on tv last night that was totaly yummy also.

 

[winyan]

Pad sapphire, red spinel, and imperial topaz...and of course, diamonds, especially colored diamonds.

win

 

[PlatinumDiamond]

D colorless Diamond is my #1 Precious Stone followed by Red Ruby and Blue Sapphire.

 

[elmo]

Virtually unobtainable and practically unaffordable makes extra fine ruby the most irresistable

.

I think I'd probably enjoy wearing the right fancy intense yellow or orangy-yellow diamond more though, even if it's not the stuff of legends.

 

[pinkangel]

Fancy colored diamond...namely pink! Even the thought of them causes my knees to get weak, and I start drooling.

 

[mogok]

Top quality Mogok rubies,
Mogok red spinels,
Mogok Royal Blue sapphires,
Mogok blue and golden moonstones...

But may be Namya hot pink spinels are the most beautiful and the rarest stone I've ever seen!

Anyway I like also Tsavorite, Padparadshas, Mogok Yellow Danburite, tanzanite, amethyst, fire opal, black opal, Benitoite, ... well so many if I begin to think really about! lol...

 

[glitterata]

I love those deep, wine-dark, red red RED garnets you see only in Victorian jewelry.

I love tsavorites, too.

I guess I'm a garnet girl.

Oh, and blue Victorian moonstones do it for me too.

Also star sapphires.

 

[valeria101]

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On 2/15/2004 10:58:03 AM glitterata wrote:



I guess I'm a garnet girl.

----------------

Ever been to Prague, Glitterata?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 2/15/2004 10:58:03 AM glitterata wrote:

I love

I guess I'm a garnet girl.

I'm also a garnet girl

I love dark red garnets and rhodolite garnets. Also, other favorites are amethysts and citrines.

Michelle

 

[valeria101]

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On 2/15/2004 6:34:38 AM mogok wrote:



But may be Namya hot pink spinels are the most beautiful and the rarest stone I've ever seen!

----------------

I am trying to locate a pink spinel to hold it's color nicely while sunk into a yellow gold bezel. The object below came from Vietnam (Luc Yen), they say. No idea about what the source you mention produces Sounds thrilling, coming from you. Thanks for mentioning THESE !

 

[Bagpuss]

Sapphires - lovely vibrant blue ones and strong pinks. (pink diamonds look a bit washed out to me which is probably just as well

)

I have a lovely oval Ceylon sapphire (mid to deep blue) ring surrounded by .6 ct of diamonds which my husband gave me for our 25th Wedding anniversary.

I wouldn't say no to a really deep vibrant tanzanite though.

 

[Bagpuss]

This isn't my actual ring, but my camera isn't working and it's the closest pic I could find. The diamonds are claw set(rhodium tipped prongs) on mine and the bezel and shank are 18ct yellow gold. Is it unusual to get a mixture of bezel and prong set stones in a cluster ring like this? Mine is the only one I've seen. Typically it seems that they are either all bezel set or all prong set. I find the bezel setting gives the sapphire a clean uncluttered look which I love.

 

[mogok]

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On 2/15/2004 6:43:08 PM valeria101 wrote:

----------------
On 2/15/2004 6:34:38 AM mogok wrote:


No idea about what the source you mention produces Sounds thrilling, coming from you. Thanks for mentioning THESE !----------------

\

Hello,

Ana to fill your curiosity, here are some photos of these spinels. I guess doctor Peretti used a little bit too much photoshop on his photographs as I've never seen such red spinels from Namya. The best quality is hot pink with an incredible fluorescence: They looks absolutly candy like. This color was never seen in Mogok spinel. Doctor Peretti say that they host naturally Beryllium and Lithium, which is fun to me as we are living hard time with this controversy about beryllium in rubies and sapphires with the treatment performed for 4 years by some Thai burners...
I have a particular love for Namya stone from the day I firts went there. It was 4 years ago just after the opening of the mines. It was few month before Doctor Peretti trip. But the leader of the expedition I was in did not made any publication about.
To complete the story: The little photo you can see with alll my posts was taken during this expedition: We were 4 visitors (One American, One english, One Israeli, One French)plus our escort of Burmese military, Kachin guerilla and Pa-O guerilla officers... Only one elephant, as I've choosen to walk beside it: Tought way! One half day through the swamps, the streams and the jungle of the Kachin state as at this time there was still no road to go from Namya village to Se Bo mining camp!
I have broken one chop falling down on a piece of dead wood during this trip...
It was a very fine expedition...
I went back to Namya last year for a full week in order to get samples from all the mines and make a good mapping of the area with a GPS.

In Namya we can find besides these incredible hot pink spinels very fine rubies that can march the best of Mogok. Most of these rubies are in the pinkish red or in the very dark red type and very few of the perfect tone... There are also very fine blue sapphire (rare).
The geology of this place is very strange: All the stones are alluvial and the crystals are completely different from the Mogok type as they show typical "tiger claws wounded like surface..."

Wonderfull place at only 40 kilometers from the Jade mines of Hpakant.
And guess what: I Have heard stories about 2 diamonds that were found in these gravels along with rubies and spinels. The same story comes also from an other small ruby, sapphire and spinel deposit in Kachin state in the Tanai area.... But there its not 2 diamonds that were found but many: To my knowledge its the fist time I hear about fine rubies, spinels and diamonds found in the same place!

All the best,

 

[winyan]

Oh my gosh, what would these look like faceted?

WOW!

Thanks mogok!

win

 

[Jennifer5973]

After diamonds, it's hot pink sapphires. I especially love some of the designs where the pink sapphires are set in black rhodium.

 

[diamondcut]

I love all gemstones. It's just something personal about them,
something unique, apart of good profits

. Maybe big story
or something really cool like going to Ilakaka or bloody and nasty, - like buyng rough sapphires
on the minefield near Palin in Cambodia. And I don't like pure
crystallized carbon, also known as diamond. Maybe because "it's not
personal, it's business". Or perhaps because there are too many myths
and lies surrounding this object of female desire.

 

[glitterata]

Mogok, are those incredible stones rubies or spinels? I suppose I ought to be able to guess by their shape, but I don't know which one comes in octohedra.

Amazing.

 

[mogok]

Hello,
The 3 photographs are showing spinels. Spinel is isotropic as diamonds and garnets. It has very good red fluorescence as ruby or pink sapphire. This is may be the reason I call spinel sometimes the "perfect red or pink stone": It can be nearly as saturated as the best rubies but the fact it is isotropic does give it a sharpness and a brilliancy superior to them. Then Fine red or pink spinels are much more rare than rubies and there is not treatments on them to improve their color. So you get what the earth produce...
All of these little things make this stone a very special stone to me!

I join a little present for Winyan who wanted to see what these Namya "rose" spinels looks like: These 3 stones are all from Namya. The center one is Russian cut in Bangkok while the first and the third as native cut probably in Mogok.

 

[diamondcut]

Hi Mogok,

What do you mean by "Russian cut"?

 

[AGBF]

----------------
On 2/14/2004 4:45:27 PM strmrdr asks:


"Your favorite gemstone?" and then goes on to say,

"mines Ruby but several others are close.

red spinel

honey zircon

blue sapphire

London blue topaz has caught my eye recently and I was looking at some awesome looking samples and the price is great too.

There was a red fire opal ring on tv last night that was totaly yummy also."

----------------

Although we do not agree on home schooling, we are extremely simpatico about colored gemstones, strmrdr! Extremely!!!!

I would have to say, "ruby", too. It isn't that I have seen very many beautiful ones, except in photographs. It is because they *are* rubies. I have wanted an unheated Mogok one with some silk (but not too much) for years now!

I own a stoplight red Mogok spinel and I also own a cherry red fire opal from Mexico. I really didn't think anyone else would care for them. (The cherry red opals.) They aren't terribly rare or precious, and opal can dry out. But my stone is, in my opinion, beautiful. It is now in a ring made by Juan Lozano. I think I once posted pictures of the rings he made for me here. If I can find one I will post it in this thread.

Like others who posted answers here, I also like garnets, but not all of them.

And I like aquamarines and topaz. Juan also made me rings with blue and green topaz in them.

I am supposed to be running a contest for a garnet in my spinel thread. I had better get back to tend that!!!

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

This is a picture of my cherry red fire opal. It was, indeed, in another Pricescope thread, but I have not yet mastered the art of making a clickable link.

 

[AGBF]

Here is another view of the same ring.

 

[AGBF]

Besides the opal I sent Juan three other stones to set. All are topaz in different shades: green, teal, and blue. The topaz stones cost about $10 apiece on ebay. The opal was a bit more (around $100? $200?), but also from ebay.

 

[strmrdr]

yummy I love that opal!!

Red is my favorite color!
:}

I like the teal topaz also.

Those pink stones above remind me of Pepto-Bismol which just the smell of makes me puke.
Real bad childhood association with it.

 

[valeria101]

I tried to stay away from answering the question of this thread, but my restraint worked for only one week!

My favorite gem is Turquoise (of all and any, shade, type and source). I enjoy any kind of stone, as you might know by now, but nothing comes close to my enjoyment of this lasting favorite.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Hi Mogok,

I just wanted to drop you a quick line that those photos are stunning. I am so glad you find time to contribute to this forum and bring your wealth of knowledge and more importantly experience in which you see first hand in the field. Sounds like your in a place where adventure surrounds you and hopefully you are rewarded seeing first hand beautiful color nature has to offer..

Aspiring Alaska Gemologist..

 

[mogok]

----------------

What do you mean by 'Russian cut'?

----------------

Hello,

Well sorry by "Russian Cut" I mean "not native Mogok cut", this stone was bought in Burma and then recut in Bangkok by a Russian cutter... So Russian cut...
The central spinel is 0,75 carat. Even for this size everypiece is a challenge to get!

 

[garfield]

I love pink and blue Sapphires

I like Ametrine and Amethyst for its color and affordability

I start to develop a dangerous interest in TANZANITE - color is irresistable for me.

 

[winyan]

Hi Mogok!

Thanks for posting those pictures of the spinels after they were cut!

They are incredibly beautiful. I only own one red spinel, and it's not set yet. I'm thinking of making it into the planet 'Mars' for a piece I am designing that celebrates the planetary conjunction of Mars and Earth last year!

win

 

[Nicrez]

Ooooh! I LOVE colored stones, but don't know SQUAT. Anyone have a good reference site or book to find out more and learn different colors/types? YAY! More jewelry!!!