Alexandrite Help - Engagement Ring

[Darkwind]

Hello, I've new to the boards. I came across them because just a few days ago I started looking for an alexandrite for my girlfriend. My search began on ebay (naturally!) but luckily thanks to these boards and a few other sites I've come to realize that it really isn't a good place to buy an alexandrite stone - particularly for a beginner like myself. It's a bit overwhelming

I've read some articles online so far, including the sticky threads in these forum. Mostly I want to avoid getting "ripped off" aka I want a real/natural alexandrite and also get an amazing stone. From what I've gathered so far David Wein and the site multicolour.com is a fair and comprehensive resource for getting what you pay for. Correct? Still I'm quite the beginner, so if anyone feels like giving me some pointers or suggestions on some picks I'd be very open to receiving advice.

Buying an item online presents it's own challenges from a colour/image perspective as well so figure those of you who already have experience in alexandrites might have some suggestions as well.

Cost is a limiting factor, I'm looking at something $4000 (Canadian) max, and less is definitely ok too...it sorta pains me to write that! (edit - a more comfortable range would probably be around $2500 but well you know nice things cost money ). Am I correct in assuming that I'd want to get something under 1 cts for that price range? My girlfriend has green eyes and is a June baby so I suspect she'd want one with a strong green colour. Anyhow I'll be searching the multicolour site for awhile, I'm open to ideas/suggestions and thanks in advance,

Gordon

 

[LD]

Hello and welcome!

I'm so pleased you've avoided Ebay - that wouldn't have been a good idea, especially for an Alex.

You're right, David at multicolour is one of the best to go to. He's seen more Alex than probably most people worldwide and has a great "eye". His pricing is very honest and if something is cheaper then there's a reason. So basically if something is expensive, it's probably because it's good. He also makes jewellery and if you are limited by cost then have a look and see if there's something that catches your eye here http://www.davidwein.com/jewelry/list/181/10/0 My personal favourite out of the rings is the one called Annushka because just look at the incandescent colourway! W W That's what you want to see from an Alex!

When buying Alex, bear in mind that unfortunately photographs of alex can't be trusted because they are the most difficult gemstone to capture. You do really have to see Alex to judge the colourways (both daylight and incandescent). I'm pretty sure that David accepts returns (although you will need to check - I've never sent anything back to him yet ).

Just one thing you need to bear in mind ....... you mentioned your GF's eyes are green - most Alex is a bottle green rather than a vivid green. The colours in the rings in the link I've provided is pretty much what you'd see during the say. If that's the colour you're looking for you're on the right lines!

Good luck!

 

[LD]

I ran out of time to edit the above post but did a double check on the colour grading of the stone in Annushka. The incandescent colour has been graded by David as r/P 5/3 which is reddish/purple. One I own has exactly the same grading for the incandescent colourway and was also graded by David so I thought you might want to see what one looks like in real life.

 

[Darkwind]

Thanks for your response LD! Even getting confirmation that the seller is reliable is a huge relief

Thank you for providing the david wein ring link as well - definitely some great looking pieces. Love the deep red colour of your ring! Unfortunately, my girlfriend has made it clear she doesn't want diamonds so I might be stuck going the I'm going the Alexandrite stone only route and go from there. Still it's exciting stuff!

What I meant earlier about the green comment is if possible I'll try to get one that is a bit more green than blue notice a bunch are blue greenish.

I'll be in the situation that I'll never see a natural Alexandrite until I buy one (probably from multicolour) online. So it's hard to get a real perspective of size - I've never bought a ring before or worn one with a stone in it.

LD (or anyone else that wants to chip in!), is there a size in which the stone becomes too small for a ring? I guess I'm wondering if I'm better off going with something half a cts or less or slightly more than 1 cts considering my prince range? If half a cts is fine I was looking at this one:

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1855747207 it has the nice GIA red tone you linked above and seems like a quality piece?



Gordon

 

[LD]

Gordon

Unfortunately Alex looks smaller than it's carat weight The stone you've linked to is beautiful BUT it's tiny. It's 4mm round. If your GF has tiny tiny fingers it may be okay but will look very small without a surround. Do you know your GF's ring size? If this is not a surprise and you can involve her in the search it would be best to cut out a 4mm paper round and then put it on her hand to see how it looks.

 

[minousbijoux]

Gordon: the one you linked to is a lovely stone, but at 4mm, it really is small, particularly if she doesn't want any diamond embellishments. A couple of questions for you to think about. First, what size fingers does your gf have? Is she petite? have very large hands? Next question: what is her style like? Does she like big and flashy or understated? The answers to these questions will help you with sizing and figuring out what stone/setting would look great on her. Somewhere, there are charts that show different size fingers and how stones of varying mm size look. This would help you - sorry, I don't know where they are, but I'm sure someone will be along soon that can point you in the direction.

Personally, especially if was going to be a simple ring like a solitaire, I would want it to be at least 6.5mm in width.

 

[chloeishere]

I agree that 4 mm is probably too small (and I'm a petite woman with very small hands who prefers moderate (some here would definitely say SMALL) sized stones!) Of course, taste does vary so she might prefer it, but it's hard for us to say because we don't know her. (I've attached a picture of my engagement ring, which is a sapphire measuring 5.6 mm across. I wear a size 4 ring which is fairly small, and the bezel adds some finger coverage as well. I'd wager the stone with the added width from the bezel is in the 6mm-- or slightly bigger-- range).

I did a quick look and thought this one looks nice, though it looks like it may have a small window. I think pears make beautiful solitaires, but again, this varies widely by personal taste. http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?1367158575 Keep in mind I'm not an alex expert, but it seemed maybe worth a mention.

 

[LD]

If you go into any jeweller near you and ask to look at a 0.25ct diamond (which will probably be 4mm) you'll be able to get a better idea of the size. Amazingly 1-2mm can make a huge difference! For example, a 1ct diamond is around 6mm.

The stone that chloeishere has linked to is beautiful and a good size. BTW don't worry about windows etc., you're unlikely to find a precision cut Alex, most have some cutting issues but this one doesn't. It's really lovely. If you like it, I'd suggest speaking with David ASAP (please be aware that lurkers often snap things up after they're featured on this forum).

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Just curious, is your gf the one who wants the alexandrite or do you want one for her for a specific reason?

I'm just asking because there are so many options for beautiful green stones that might give you better bang for your buck. For example, green garnets (drool)

http://precisiongem.com/Gemstones/Gemstones/rapidcart/GreenGarnet.html

 

[Darkwind]

Ahh ok, thanks for the responses all! My girlfriend is Dutch and fairly tall at 5 foot 9.5". She has large hands as well, I've borrowed one of the rings she wears on her ring finger and I'm taking it to a local jeweller to figure out her ring size. Hopefully tomorrow if the snow isn't too bad. As for style she grew up as a farm girl, the rings she indicated her liked were as follows:

That style in my mind seems a little underwhelming but it is what she suggested. I know better than to argue much

I'll follow the forums suggestions and look for some larger pieces...

Any additional input I'm certainly interested!

Gordon

 

[chrono]

Before we get into the topic of size, why alexandrite? Does she like it or hinted at it, or was that your choice? If you want a really good green, there are better options, which is why I'm asking.

 

[Darkwind]

Just curious, is your gf the one who wants the alexandrite or do you want one for her for a specific reason?

I'm just asking because there are so many options for beautiful green stones that might give you better bang for your buck. For example, green garnets (drool)

http://precisiongem.com/Gemstones/Gemstones/rapidcart/GreenGarnet.html

Hi there, it was her request mostly because she was born in June, has green eyes and likes the history of the stone and I suspect the fact that it changes colours in different light.

Certainly have been noticing some other options such as colour changing garnets but for now going to explore the alexandrite route. I think I was daydreaming earlier today that she was born in August for a Peridot

 

[Darkwind]

Before we get into the topic of size, why alexandrite? Does she like it or hinted at it, or was that your choice? If you want a really good green, there are better options, which is why I'm asking.

Hi Chrono, it was totally her choice. The green eye thing would just be a nice novelty if it happens to work out.

 

[chrono]

Have both of you seen any alexandrite in person? Most are unattractive, with colours that bleed in mixed lighting. A combination of red and green at the same time often looks muddy or yucky. Only the very top quality alexandrites fare well in those conditions. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, just sharing a caution. Rarely will you get a full incandescent or full sunlight condition, so be prepared for a lot of mixed lighting.

 

[Darkwind]

Have both of you seen any alexandrite in person? Most are unattractive, with colours that bleed in mixed lighting. A combination of red and green at the same time often looks muddy or yucky. Only the very top quality alexandrites fare well in those conditions. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, just sharing a caution. Rarely will you get a full incandescent or full sunlight condition, so be prepared for a lot of mixed lighting.

Hello again Chrono, I'm positive neither of us have seen an alexandrite in person. None of the local shops have any which in turn kick started the online route. As I mentioned I'm open to suggestions as I realize I'm certainly the newcomer. Are there other alternatives you had in mind?

Gordon

 

[chrono]

Let's not rule out alexandrite quite yet. I'm sure there must be videos posted where you can view both good and less good quality alexandrite changing... This might take me a while; a few hours as I cannot spare time to do a search at the moment.

 

[LD]

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

If the OP is going to spend a nice amount of money and is already picking out nice stones then there's no reason why he will end up with a duff Alexandrite. Let's not forget please that Alex is a durable gemstone and one of the very few that on this board we recommend for an e-ring. Garnets and other green stones are typically NOT suitable for everyday wear.

So, Gordon, you do have other choices for green but they are exceptionally limited i.e:

1. Sapphire - green sapphires are typically not great looking - do an internet search to see what you come up with. Sometimes you will see a good one but with sapphires you have to be careful of how they've been treated or whether they're natural. You can get green/purple colour change sapphires but this colourway is very difficult to find and when you do, it typically costs a lot of money.
2. Garnet - yes you can get ones with a similar colour change to alexandrite BUT they are really not durable enough for everyday wear - even more so if there will be no protective diamonds around the stone. Tsavorite is another form of garnet that has a deep green. They are also not durable and for a nice green may cost a fair amount of money. A forum member, Pandora, has a lovely Tsav as an e-ring BUT she's a gemologist and wears her ring sparingly. Most women would prefer to wear their e-ring all the time so you have to bear this in mind.
3. Emeralds - of course this is the stone that everybody thinks of when you say a green stone! Emeralds are gorgeous and wonderful but not inexpensive AND there are the same issues with Garnets (ie not durable enough for an e-ring unless you're happy to be extra careful).

Personally I think there is no other intriguing stone like an Alexandrite - but I'm biased! I own a few AND I've seen lots! Good ones are truly beautiful and not many people have seen them (which adds to the allure for me). To give you an idea of how green they can look, I was in a jewellers about a year ago and one of the sales assistants asked me if my stone was an Emerald. When I told her it wasn't and that it was an Alexandrite, she grabbed my hand, called everybody around and they all stared at it! Apparently they had had classes on the gem but never seen one!

At the end of the day Alex is not everybody's cup of tea so I would very much say to get one for a look (the best one you can afford) but please go to David (give him a call, he's a lovely man) because he can guide you and I doubt whether a jeweller can do the same locally to you. This is the downfall with Alex in that you will need to buy online sight unseen.

 

[chrono]

Slow down, LD. I'm asking to make sure the OP truly wants and understands what he wants. Some people have a romanticized notion of wanting a cc stone, thinking the colour-ways will be 100% emerald green and 100% ruby red and that's just not going to happen. Even supposing an unlimited budget, I've only found a handful of alexandrites that attract my eye. Perhaps I'm a cynic but I find it extremely difficult to find engagement worthy alexandrite. Perhaps David might have something nice, who knows, but since the OP has never even seen one before, don't you think it's a good idea to at least see a video or two of alexandrites?

 

[michellechan2211]

Just chipping in on the size issue: I generally wear rings on my middle finger so my ring size on that finger is 6.25, and I do have small hands. 4mm without any sort of halo would be too small in my opinion ^^; In fact, I (kinda) insisted on at least a 6mm length for the center stone for my next ring should it be an oval (a shorter width doesn't bother me if its an oval and set E-W) since that is my sweet spot for finger coverage.

 

[chrono]

Maybe it's just me but I find 6/2 just too unsaturated for me. Is this considered good colouration for alexandrite? If it is, then that might explain why only a handful catch my eye. I have purchased cc stones with this colouration from Multicolour in the past and found them overly gray. For an alex to be mistaken for an emerald, the green colour-way must be quite vivid and at least in the 6/5 range.

 

[LD]

Maybe it's just me but I find 6/2 just too unsaturated for me. Is this considered good colouration for alexandrite? If it is, then that might explain why only a handful catch my eye. I have purchased cc stones with this colouration from Multicolour in the past and found them overly gray. For an alex to be mistaken for an emerald, the green colour-way must be quite vivid and at least in the 6/5 range.

I understand what you're saying and actually it explains why you may not like Alex. The ring of mine, (mistaken for an Emerald) is a 5/2 daylight and 5/3 incandescent. What I have found is that a 5/2 in a colour changes can appear different from a normal un-changer (if that makes sense). I personally don't think it looks like an Emerald BUT others see green and make that assumption - it really does look green and the grey is really driven out in some lighting conditions.

GIA grading for a top Alex is as follows:

In daylight:
G 5/2 (medium slightly grayish green) and vslbG 5/2 (medium slightly grayish very slightly bluish green).
Incandescent light:
R 5/3 (medium very slightly brownish red) and slpR 5/3 (very slightly brownish slightly purplish red)

I agree that the OP should see some IRL. Looking at videos might help but there's no substitute for seeing a good one and that's what I suggested further up this thread. It's THE most difficult stone to evaluate unless it's in your hand. That's what makes it so difficult and why I always suggest relying on David's eyes! I just get frustrated that every time somebody is looking for an Alex, people are steered away from it (not pointed at your Chrono - it's a general observation). Why? This doesn't make sense to me! It's such a romantic stone! Admittedly bad ones are bad and unattractive but then you get that with all stones!

 

[Darkwind]

Decided to involve the gf on the discussion and we went to see a local jeweller today to get an idea about sizes. Apparently she's a size 6 - it was cold out though so going to get her to confirm that when we go back on Thursday. Chrono you make a good point, I'd welcome the opportunity to see some alexandrites in person but due to my location (Eastern Canada) I'm not sure if I'll get the opportunity. I've called a number of local jewellers none of which have any. We're going back to a shop on Thursday and can see if they will be ordered some in the new future. If you do have a chance at some point in future I'd welcome the chance to see the contrast video's between a good vs a mediocre alex. I've looked at what I can on youtube so far. LD mentioned earlier that R/P 5/3 is an ideal colour and I do like the picture of her ring.

Thanks for the tips michellechan2211, chloeishere, minousbijoux and LD regarding ring size when we went into the jeweller today we looked at different sizes and concurred that 4mm is really a little on the small size for the type of style she'd prefer - namely the picture below (which is a repost).

http://i50.tinypic.com/2ldwv8z.jpg

She was in the store today and confirmed that's her ideal and has been for quite some time. So have a bit more to go on now. Will have to think of some secondary stones to get for the sides. Open to suggestions and we'll take a look at the gem store on Thursday also.

LD does the stock at multicolour.com change frequently? Also are there a few other vendors I should be checking out? I have more of a sense of what style cut I should be looking for now - princess/emerald/custom aka squarish. It'd be good to review more inventory if possible. I guess like I mentioned before, I just don't want to get "duped". Didn't think I'd experience this but it's actually pretty fun looking at all the pretty stones!

 

[michellechan2211]

In my humble opinion, I think you might be good with going with clear sidestones because...well, they're clear and would probably go with the center stone in almost, if not all lighting.

I am not familiar with Multicolor, but you might want to call David (who presumably owns the site. XD; ) and ask since he might not have listed his entire inventory there.

Good luck on your search! I hope to own an Alexandrite someday and am looking to see what you got ^_~

 

[LD]

The problem is that Alexandrite really is difficult to get hold of! There are so few mines that are actually extracting Alex at the moment. I think only one or two and the amount that comes out with top colour is minimal. David has most of his stock on Multicolour but do give him a call. An alternative is Pala International BUT I've not bought Alex from them and so don't know what their "eye" is like (if that makes sense).

Emerald / square cut - not common. You don't often see these. When you do, they may not be best colour.

Cushions/ovals - much more likely. Cushions can look lovely.

One thing to bear in mind with side stones is that your central stone will be a colour changer. Sooooooo, matching side stones is VERY difficult because they have to look good with the Alex all the time. My preference is either to use all Alex or diamonds (sorry, because I know that's not what you want to hear).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgrd31hm62U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYE8g-rcKI8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f86t50LoEL0

The top two don't show the daylight green (which in my opinion is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to capture!). The bottom link does a better job of almost showing it but it's still not right. The photo below was photoshopped for me by another forum member to get the green colour correct. This shows you probably a fairly accurate day/nightime look.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Do you know why she doesn't want diamonds? Is it because of the look, because of the political and humanitarian issues or because of environmental impact?

If it is the first, then I would skip side stones altogether. It is going to be hard to match colours. However, if it is the second, then perhaps you can look into alternatives. Canadian diamonds, for example, and other stones that come from nations where the workers are not exploited (mining is never going to be an easy job and conditions are always harsh, but it can be a lesser evil and not slavery). There are also stone dealers that work with fair trade guidelines. However, if the environment is the main issue, then no diamond is going to be acceptable (a diamond mine is not a pretty thing, no matter how much is done to minimize the impact. I may be wrong on this one and I would love to be corrected). Other stones may or may not be ok and this will depend on origin and how they were mined.

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm just realizing we have two important LDs among us! Lady D, you make excellent points. Perhaps if it is a "mind clean" thing, then you may want to consider obtaining second hand diamonds and recycling them...

 

[Darkwind]

Do you know why she doesn't want diamonds? Is it because of the look, because of the political and humanitarian issues or because of environmental impact?

If it is the first, then I would skip side stones altogether. It is going to be hard to match colours. However, if it is the second, then perhaps you can look into alternatives. Canadian diamonds, for example, and other stones that come from nations where the workers are not exploited (mining is never going to be an easy job and conditions are always harsh, but it can be a lesser evil and not slavery). There are also stone dealers that work with fair trade guidelines. However, if the environment is the main issue, then no diamond is going to be acceptable (a diamond mine is not a pretty thing, no matter how much is done to minimize the impact. I may be wrong on this one and I would love to be corrected). Other stones may or may not be ok and this will depend on origin and how they were mined.

Hello Lady_Disdain, thank you for your response. My girlfriend likes colour, she's an interior designer by trade and the lack of diamonds is a personnel preference which she's made clear to me. So mostly a style thing although I'm sure she'd also agree with some of the other concerns you list.

LD - thank you for posting the video of your alexandrites, really is a nice colour to it. I may take up your suggestion about side alexandrites, as after hours of searching on multicolor I believe I've found 2 small pairs that match at least according to David's description. Still searching for the main that would match those 2 though. Whether or not to have side accents is still up in the air. Going to figure out the main first hopefully.

I was chatting with customs today and I'll probably take the approach of buying the stones separate rather than a complete ring as there's no duty on the stones vs 6.5% otherwise.

I do have another question, this one about the main stone. I was curious about depth size. Some members on the board were kind enough to alert me about length and width considerations, but I was wondering if depth matters much? Because of costs I'm taking the approach so far that it'd be better to get a small but high quality stone rather than larger and mediocre. So curious about depth for that reason, and if it isn't a major consideration I'll opt for something long and wide but on the thin side.

Thanks again to the members of this forum for their input,

Gordon

 

[chrono]

Do not worry about the depth at this point in time - it is the overall appearance that should be the main concern. The reason this was brought up in the past is that if too shallow, the stone is likely to be windowed (see-through in the middle) and if too deep, that is carat weight bought but not seen (stone faces up smaller than it should). The "problem" here is that alexandrites are uncommon to start with so to limit yourself by saying it must be with X and Y depth would be shooting yourself in the foot before the search even begins.

 

[michellechan2211]

Darkwind, just a thought that came up to me for the setting: I believe that there are settings which can help an oval stone look like a cushion/emerald cut. Are you open to those? It would make your hunt easier.

 

[jstarfireb]

Would you consider white sapphires as sidestones rather than diamonds?