Alexandrite Advice Please! Which stone would YOU choose?

[T L]

Opinions on these?

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?1425520970

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201216878335?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I live outside of Minneapolis. I'm stumbling as to where to purchase a stone. I haven't found much on Google as to dealers or jewelers around here with expertise. I continue to research.

Again thanks for the help! I've read through all the threads, valuable information indeed.

On the ring, do you think she'll like that style? I don't think it's a bad price, and it comes with a GIA report. The color to incandescent looks like a muddy eggplant color, but with alexandrite, it's so hard to find a top quality one and they're $$$$$.

If you buy, do you have to commit to the whole ring, or can you just buy the stone (unless she likes that style of course).

The MC.com one seems nice too, but a little touch sleepy (included), but not a distracting amount though. I would consider that one too.

 

[minousbijoux]

This might be a long shot, but there's an Intergem show coming up in the Spring in St. Paul. That means that the Twin Cities is on its regular rotation, so you might want to see when else they come. If you contact some of the vendors before hand, they will for sure bring alex for you to see.

 

[chrono]

MC
As you see in the video, the colouration is not as strong as the pictures so alexandrite is best viewed in person. Overall, the colourways are not intense but they are still pleasant. Not too muddy under mixed lighting too. My only concern is the silkiness or haziness. You either like it or don't. I oftentimes find myself rubbing this type of stone all the time in an unconscious effort to remove the "oily film".

EBay
The green is nice but the purple is rather gray. Did you see the mixed lighting source as he/she walked from outside to inside?

 

[liao]

perhaps we have different definition for "vivid"? when it come to alex, I called saturation of 4 in GIA gemset as vivid.

I saw
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?1425520970
in person as well. This alex is not for everyone. As others have mentioned, it has the 'sleepiness' of Princess Aurora it need a connoisseurs to appreciate its beauty. Actually, the stone is not as bad as the one in the video

 

[Marlow]

Saturation 4 is moderately strong - VIVID is 6.


http://www.thebrazilianconnection.com/giacolorgrading.html

 

[liao]

Saturation 4 is moderately strong - VIVID is 6.


http://www.thebrazilianconnection.com/giacolorgrading.html

Well, I did said "when it come to alex"
The best I have seen is saturation of 5. 6... I agree, no alex that I have seen reach saturation of 6. However, who knows? Everytime I said something is impossible; eventually someone proves me wrong

 

[Marlow]

Sorry, Liao but this is misleading....

The OP wants informations and not an interpretation.

We should help him to find a nice alex and/or "teach" him to judge alexandrite offered by other vendors.



OP:

The GIA color grading system is valid for ALL colored gems.

http://www.thebrazilianconnection.com/giacolorgrading.html

 

[juxtaposed]

This might be a long shot, but there's an Intergem show coming up in the Spring in St. Paul. That means that the Twin Cities is on its regular rotation, so you might want to see when else they come. If you contact some of the vendors before hand, they will for sure bring alex for you to see.

That's fantastic information. I've been googling "alexandrite dealer, rare gem specialist/expert, gemologist" all sorts of stuff but haven't found much information as to beginning of an in person search.

Saturation 4 is moderately strong - VIVID is 6.


http://www.thebrazilianconnection.com/giacolorgrading.html

This is very helpful as well! Thank you.

What do you think of these stones? I was under the impression that one would not be finding legit Russian Alex.

I am apparently terrible at spotting windows. While searching on MC I saw what I thought was a window but when I looked at the description it described the stone has having none.

 

[Marlow]

I know this vendor - very expensive....

( Please understand that I am the " as cheap as possible" guy here!! )

I will take a look - they offer several russian alexandrites...

I'll be back....

 

[chrono]

I know this vendor - very expensive....
( Please understand that I am the " as cheap as possible" guy here!! )

Agreed and same here. Not only that, none of the lab reports state the origin and In-house reports are a conflict of interest.

 

[T L]

Also, one vendor's defiition of "vivid," certainly isn't always the same as someone else's definition of "vivid." I tend to think MC.com is a bit generous with their GIA color grading.

 

[Marlow]

Agree with Chrono!

I expect much much better pics - they want several thousand Dollar for these gems and offer this quality....do they have something to hide???

Many know the "quality" of my pictures - shot with a old and used and know "death" Nikon.... but better then this.

Look at Thegemtrader - you get pics with a fantastic quality - no matter whether he offers a 50 or 5000$ gem!!! This is professional!

 

[Marlow]

Also, one vendor's defiition of "vivid," certainly isn't always the same as someone else's definition of "vivid." I tend to think MC.com is a bit generous with their GIA color grading.

 

[digdeep]

Have you contacted any vendors in the USA? Gary at Finewater had one for sale that is now sold........but sometimes putting the word out will get you somewhere. A collectible top of the line Alexandrite isn't what you will be getting.........but as is often stated here: "If it makes your heart sing"........is the criteria after all the education you've been giving. I'd suggest checking with

Gary here: http://www.finewatergems.com/other-gemstones.html Recently sold alex.
Brad here: http://www.thegemtrader.com/Aug14CEAlexPage.htm He has a catseye alex for sale right now..........

Try contacting these vendors and others if they can show you alexandrite they can access or have available.

On a different note, I tried to find the exhibitors list for the St Paul Gem Show but there is no one listed yet............so while it's fun to go to I'm not sure you'll do better than you can online. Not all vendors go to all of the locations............but that exhibitor list should be built in a few months time.

Good Luck!

 

[liao]

Have you contacted any vendors in the USA? Gary at Finewater had one for sale that is now sold........but sometimes putting the word out will get you somewhere. A collectible top of the line Alexandrite isn't what you will be getting.........but as is often stated here: "If it makes your heart sing"........is the criteria after all the education you've been giving. I'd suggest checking with

Gary here: http://www.finewatergems.com/other-gemstones.html Recently sold alex.
Brad here: http://www.thegemtrader.com/Aug14CEAlexPage.htm He has a catseye alex for sale right now..........

Try contacting these vendors and others if they can show you alexandrite they can access or have available.

On a different note, I tried to find the exhibitors list for the St Paul Gem Show but there is no one listed yet............so while it's fun to go to I'm not sure you'll do better than you can online. Not all vendors go to all of the locations............but that exhibitor list should be built in a few months time.

Good Luck!

the one from finewatergems is kinda expensive, and 'grayish'. The one from thegemtrader is a typical alex from india. great fluorescent color, and not so great incandescent color

I wonder if that awesomegems are able to sell anything. if walmart can sell their product with similar profit margin, they not only able to pay off US debt, but also end the world hunger in a month!

 

[juxtaposed]

I haven't contacted any USA vendors yet. I e-mailed DW about a month ago. He responded seeking my phone number and a time to chat. I gave him this information but have not yet received a phone call.

We'd love to attend that gem show if Alex will be available. I'll be attempting to sort that out.

That website always raised my eyebrow. a site called "awesomegems.com"? yah.

This website seems so expensive too... Hoping to put a carat + on that finger.
http://www.africagems.com/alexandrite-5to1carat.html

pleasingly bright, am I right?
http://www.africagems.com/emerald-alexandrite-g2k-855322.html

 

[Marlow]

I haven't contacted any USA vendors yet. I e-mailed DW about a month ago. He responded seeking my phone number and a time to chat. I gave him this information but have not yet received a phone call.

We'd love to attend that gem show if Alex will be available. I'll be attempting to sort that out.

That website always raised my eyebrow. a site called "awesomegems.com"? yah.

This website seems so expensive too... Hoping to put a carat + on that finger.
http://www.africagems.com/alexandrite-5to1carat.html

pleasingly bright, am I right?
http://www.africagems.com/emerald-alexandrite-g2k-855322.html

Very Expensive and photoshopped.....

 

[LoversKites]

I haven't contacted any USA vendors yet. I e-mailed DW about a month ago. He responded seeking my phone number and a time to chat. I gave him this information but have not yet received a phone call.

We'd love to attend that gem show if Alex will be available. I'll be attempting to sort that out.

That website always raised my eyebrow. a site called "awesomegems.com"? yah.

This website seems so expensive too... Hoping to put a carat + on that finger.
http://www.africagems.com/alexandrite-5to1carat.html

pleasingly bright, am I right?
http://www.africagems.com/emerald-alexandrite-g2k-855322.html

Way too expensive.

 

[juxtaposed]

This ring caught her eye, other than the yellow gold and the channel diamonds. I was wondering opinions on it or any other stones this vendor has... also this vendor.

http://www.khazargems.com/Jewelry/Rings/Original-Pharonic-Natural-Alexandrite-Ring/prod_82.html

Online
I haven't been seeing much in the colorways most pleasing that are close to the 10K allowance. Most are dark and a bit bluish rather than the brilliant teal green.

IRL
She used to have an alexandrite described as over .5 but under 1ct (doesn't quite remember)princess cut. Vibrant teal to vibrant purple. $1,700.
We have yet to head out to jewelers.

Thanks.
Hope everybody's having a great day!

 

[LoversKites]

ha, what a coincidence. I read this thread yesterday that mentioned that same ring but without the pave.....[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/what-color-gold-for-alexandrite.118882/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/what-color-gold-for-alexandrite.118882/[/URL]

The quality of the alex is not great. Unimpressed.

 

[minousbijoux]

Please do not even consider buying an alex without a lab report from AGL - that has got to be a condition of sale for any alex of value (or, for that matter, almost any stone of value)!

 

[liao]

Please do not even consider buying an alex without a lab report from AGL - that has got to be a condition of sale for any alex of value (or, for that matter, almost any stone of value)!

I will add Gubelin and SSEF to the list

 

[LD]

I hope you don't mind but I'd like to add more to this thread because some of the information has been a little difficult to decipher if one hasn't seen an Alex in person.

The primary consideration when buying an Alex is the strength and percentage of colour change. Not many dealers will tell you the percentage - or will say that it's 100% or some such thing but Multicolour do tell you. This is from the Alexandrite Gemstone Collectors Guide:

"The AGL (American Gem Lab) endorses the percentage of color change system. Alexandrite with a 100% color change shows complete color change on every axis - all facets change color. If half of the facets change color, the gem is classified as a 50% change and so on. Most highly priced alexandrite has a color change percentage of around 85-95%. Stones with a 90% shift should be considered fine. For example, a stone that is teal green in daylight should become purplish red under the light bulb, with little green left when the lighting is changed."

So - you need to look for a stone that has a strong colour change and also the percentage of change.

Next - it's important to understand what is considered a "fine" Alexandrite. In this thread people have been saying that the ideal isn't dark (which is correct) and that it should be vivid. Mmmmm, well therein lies the problem. Do you want vivid in both colourways? This is exceptionally unlikely. You may be able to get vivid in one colourway but not in another. What you want to see however is a bright, clean stone that has been as well cut as it can be to show off its beauty. You need both colourways to appeal to you. I have never had an Alex where I consistently see a mixed colour. I know people have said theirs do but my fine ones don't. Now that could be because I live in the UK where our natural daylight is different but I still only ever see a mixed colour when I move from daylight into incandescent and then it's never like that for long! Even when it is mixed it's not "muddy". Parts of the stone will be green and part will be purple pink and then the dominant colour (for the lighting) will take over. They don't mix so you get a weird colour!

Again, written by David of Multicolour - this helps to identify what hue/tone and saturation he believes best in Alexandrite:

"My own feeling is that both the daylight green and the incandescent colors should be nice and hightly saturated if possible. The srength of the color change change is the most important factor affecting the value of alexandrites. The GIA grades the following colors as top in daylight, G 5/2 (medium slightly grayish green) and vslbG 5/2 (medium slightly grayish very slightly bluish green). Under incandescent light, R 5/3 (medium very slightly brownish red) and slpR 5/3 (very slightly brownish slightly purplish red) are considered to be the best colors. Some stones may only look good in daylight or only under incandescent light and they should be less expensive. Finally, it is the buyer that will wear the stone so the colors he or she likes are the most important."

To give you some insight as to what colours are close to this, here is one of my Alex. It is graded as:

 Color grade 1: G*4/2 (medium light green)
 Light source 1: cool daylight
 Color grade 2: PR/RP 5/3 (medium red-purple [pink])
 Light source 2: Incandescent light

So you can see - the incandescent colour is almost perfect. Interestingly, the green colourway has been assessed differently on two occasions and once it was G5/2 and I'm not sure which would be correct! This chart from the Multicolour website is very good at showing you what all the numbers mean!

http://www.multicolour.com/catalogue/source/clg.html

I hope this has helped and hasn't confused you

 

[LD]

Oh and numbers 1, 3 and 7 from your first post are ones that I would consider. I can't see them well enough in the small photo but they all look to be promising. The cut of 3 attracts me - and the size - but I'd like to see a bigger photo of the daylight colour! If you can get over 1ct it's always more desirable than sub 1ct.

 

[juxtaposed]

LD,

thanks for that information. That is very insightful! We're still on the search to find a stone. I believe I shall be sending DW another e-mail soon. While I have never seen an alex in person my girlfriend has. There is a jewelry store here with an alex listed on their website but it's not very attractive. http://www.wixonjewelers.com/jewelry/040798/

I wanted to include the links to the stones that you mentioned. 1, 3, and 7 so that you may take a better look.


1 http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1927625947

3 http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1740720551

7 http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?752897927

Are there any on MC currently that you think would be appropriate for the $10k budget?

Thank you!

 

[LD]

LD,

thanks for that information. That is very insightful! We're still on the search to find a stone. I believe I shall be sending DW another e-mail soon. While I have never seen an alex in person my girlfriend has. There is a jewelry store here with an alex listed on their website but it's not very attractive. http://www.wixonjewelers.com/jewelry/040798/

I wanted to include the links to the stones that you mentioned. 1, 3, and 7 so that you may take a better look.


1 http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1927625947

3 http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1740720551

7 http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?752897927

Are there any on MC currently that you think would be appropriate for the $10k budget?

Thank you!

Thoughts:

1. This is a winner! Well cut for an Alex (in fact very well cut). This is a little on the dark side in it's daylight colourway but with a nice open setting and diamonds I think it would look good. Definitely ask David for a video of this one (if there isn't one already - sorry forgot to look)! I've made some further comments about the photography of this gem in a post below but for ease, you'll see that the daylight colourway photo appears to have both colours in it. That's because, I suspect, the gem has such a strong colour change that it's virtually impossible to photograph or video accurately. This is a VERY good sign!

3. I really do like this one BUT that's because it's a very unusual cut for an Alex. The smokey appearance however will be a problem for some people so this isn't a gem for everybody). I have one like this and always want to rub the smokey bits off lol! On the plus side, the smokey bits for some reason enhance the colour change and so I know when I see that that generally it'll be a good colour changer. There's also a small inclusion but at arms length it may not be noticeable. I think this is one more for collectors because of the shape than for somebody who wants a beautiful piece of jewellery (my opinion only of course).

7. This pear is very lovely. It's small in carat weight but at 6mm in length if you had a similar design to the ring I posted of mine above, it'd be about 10mm top to bottom which might be a good size. This stone has everything apart from the size but it does mean you have setting options. One thing to check is how noticeable the bow tie is. It's 3mm in depth and you can see a suggestion of it but I don't think it'd be too bad. Again, I'd ask for a video.

I haven't honestly looked at the website at other stones and may not have time to do so but have you looked at David's jewellery website? He makes jewellery from his Alex and you might be able to get a ready made ring. Here's a link: http://www.davidwein.com/jewelry/list/181/10/0

Don't be put off by the photography on that website (as it's not very good) but I've seen the finished products and the ones I've seen are gorgeous!

 

[LD]

Just had a very quick look at his website. These two rings offer good quality Alex but all are sub 1ct but it might give you ideas on what you could do with that little pear linked to above.

http://www.davidwein.com/jewelry/alexandrite-white-diamond-and-white-gold-ring-00103480/overview/181/10/8

http://www.davidwein.com/jewelry/alexandrite-white-diamond-and-white-gold-ring-00110938/overview

If you look at that last link, you'll see the price is just over $6k and has .75ct of Alex. To demonstrate the difference in quality, here's another ring with a much poorer quality Alex. You can see it's 3.5ct of Alex but with a horrible colour way/change. It's for sale at $5k! So you really get what you pay for! http://www.davidwein.com/jewelry/alexandrite-and-white-diamond-gold-ring-00108690/overview

 

[LD]

A really really really quick look at MC has brought up this stone. I don't think you've linked to this one before. This is a really lovely stone.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/alexandrite/yax769aa/&930512007

What you can see in both this one and the oval one you posted as (1) above is that the daylight photo shows a mxed colour. I would think that's because the colour change is SO strong that it refuses to be photographed in daylight (as most Alex do). I don't think David photoshops his photos at all so this is a very good indication that these are exceptionally good stones.

Another goodie but it's a small carat weight although faces up larger.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/alexandrite/yax759ad/&930512007

 

[minousbijoux]

A really really really quick look at MC has brought up this stone. I don't think you've linked to this one before. This is a really lovely stone.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/alexandrite/yax769aa/&930512007

What you can see in both this one and the oval one you posted as (1) above is that the daylight photo shows a mxed colour. I would think that's because the colour change is SO strong that it refuses to be photographed in daylight (as most Alex do). I don't think David photoshops his photos at all so this is a very good indication that these are exceptionally good stones.

Another goodie but it's a small carat weight although faces up larger.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/alexandrite/yax759ad/&930512007

LD: thank you for solving this puzzle for me! I have an alex that I recently photographed for another thread and was surprised when the daylight photo looked so different than I anticipated - I ended up having to take it out of direct sun into a shaded but bright area to get an accurate photo of the daylight colorway. It will not be a surprise when I tell you that the AGL report has it listed as a 90% - 100% color change. OP: here are some photos so you can see what I'm talking about - and sorry for the threadjack, but I thought it would help explain things a bit more.

 

[minousbijoux]

As an added thought I wanted to say that LD really knows her alex and her approach of looking at his already set stones makes a lot of financial sense, as they seem to be very good quality stones and they seem comparatively cheaper than his unset stones. (That is, if you like any of the settings).