Advice/Opinion on Garnet, Pretty Pls

[alexah]

Happy Mother''s Day everyone!

I''m looking at getting my mom a garnet (her birthstone) as a pressie (not for Mother''s Day, don''t worry, I already took care of that!). I''d like it to be a demantoid and not more than $1000, which is my max budget.

I''m trying to decide between these two; what do you think of them? I''m not crazy about the oval''s pic so I put a hold on the cushion. But I wonder if it''s just a bad pic? It looks kind of blue-ish (on the left side) and I''m looking for a nice bright green. I asked for more pics but they said there weren''t any. I''d really be interested to hear what you all think?

oval is the last one on this page (bottom right): http://www.gemfix.com/garnet_demantoid.html

the cushion: http://wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/13025

Thanks so much!!!

 

[ma re]

I think it''s quite difficult to compare from these photos, cause oval seems to have been photographed in less direct/sharp light than the cushion. The blue spots that you see in an oval are IMO probably some kind of reflections, it would be really strange if they''d be a part of the stone. I don''t know what to advise you except to buy the stone which to you seems to be better looking in general terms, not just in color. So look for the balance of cutting, color, shape, size, and maybe even consider a future jewellery project with that stone, if there is one. I know this isn''t much help, but it''s the best I can do in this case

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I would definitely check out Litnon.com (Gemline inc), they specialize in Russian demantoids (which are considered more valuable I think than the newer African material) ,and Michael is a doll to work with. He'll send you extra photos, and his return policy is excellent. He also offers a discount if you mention you are a Pricescoper.

Nothing in his current inventory really catches my eye right now (his best ones go fast), but you can ask if he has any that hasn't been listed yet that might meet your criteria.

This one would be about 1k after discount, Russian origin. It's kind of too yellow to be ideal, which is probably why it's not priced much more highly. However, since the color is lighter and less saturated, it does mean you'll see more of that infamous dispersion that demantoids are known for, a silver lining for it's lack of saturation I suppose.

Link

This is what I would call an ideal green, and you can see the price reflects that, it's already sold.


linkLink2

 

[alexah]

Thank you both very much!!

I looked at Linton but I didn''t see anything there & I''m under a bit of a time constraint. I''m not so concerned with whether it''s Russian or African; I''m most interested in a fiery one, so long as it''s a nice green color (not limey though).

I guess if there are no ''red flags'' with the cushion one, I''ll go ahead and see how it looks IRL. Thanks again!