Another Tsavorite

[Pandora II]

Date: 12/29/2008 3:35:44 AM
Author: oldmancoyote

Date: 12/28/2008 5:05:00 PM
Author: Harriet
Lovingdiamonds,
I don''t like to correct people, but I''m afraid you''re mistaken on this count. Sorry.

Harriet, it looks like LD may be right - according to Palagems and Richard Hughes (http://www.palagems.com/tsavorite_bancroft.htm - towards the bottom of the article)

Palagems.com Tsavorite Garnet Buying Guide
By Richard W. Hughes

[...]
Color. While the color of tsavorite never equals that of the finest emerald, an emerald-green is the ideal. The color should be as intense as possible, without being overly dark or yellowish green. The color of tsavorite is believed to be due to vanadium, at times with a trace of chromium. [my emphasis]
[...]

Other net sources also quote V and/or Cr; the Palagems one seemed the most authoritative - unfortunately my reference gemmology books are all in storage, so can''t check on academic-level references. Whether this makes any difference in terms of real or perceived rarity/value, is a different question altogether.

Pandora II: thanks for the suggestion. Will give Richard M a call - there was nothing on his site, but with the holidays and the lack of liquidity I understand people may not be willing to keep this kind of stone in stock just in case a crazy Coyote turns up.

Marcyc: thank you. And Happy New Year to all!

LtlFirecracker: thanks for posting the link. I can''t make up my mind if I like it more when set (where a blue tinge seems to come out) or unset (where it''s brighter).

Don''t worry about what is or isn''t on the website - the only stone I have bought from the website was a piece of chrysoprase (it was gorgeous). Normally I will email Rick to see if he has something I''m after - or he will email me if he has something he thinks I might be interested in. None of these stones have ever been on the website.

 

[LD]

Date: 12/29/2008 8:37:48 AM
Author: Harriet
Harrumph...I had the Chromium info on sound authority, but am happy to be corrected. Sorry, LovingD!

No problems at all!

Thanks for the confirmation OMC. Any luck with the search?

 

[oldmancoyote]

No news yet - had a gruelling day at work (just finished - and I''m on EST+6), so no energy left for kryptonite. Will have to call tomorrow.

 

[LD]

Date: 12/29/2008 3:11:55 PM
Author: oldmancoyote
No news yet - had a gruelling day at work (just finished - and I''m on EST+6), so no energy left for kryptonite. Will have to call tomorrow.

You know the remedy for that? Put your underpants on outside your trousers!

 

[Harriet]

I didn''t need that image of OMC!

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 12/29/2008 10:22:10 PM
Author: Harriet
I didn''t need that image of OMC!

hahaha!

 

[oldmancoyote]

Don't worry Harriet. Coyotes don't wear underpants. Or trousers.

Here's me in a recent photo.

 

[Harriet]

Worserer and worserer.

 

[LD]

Handsome devil!

 

[stepcutnut]

OMC-both pairs are gorgeous!

My vote is the cushion pair, they would make a wonderful pair of pendant earrings!

May I ask where you are sourcing these from- I would love a smaller pair for an empty setting I have had waiting for some tsavs?

 

[oldmancoyote]

Hi Stepcutnut, give me a couple of days to close everything, and I''ll reveal all. My apologies if this sounds too much like cloak and dagger, but I''ve seen too many things disappear right from under my nose. Not that you would do it, but there''s no PM facility here, so everything is public - for better or worse.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Hello All - happy New Year!

Well, not entirely. Due to changing circumstances, the tsav purchase is postponed. The stones are at www.lapigems.com - in case anyone else is interested. Thanks to you all for your help; in another six months or so I''ll be back on the hunt... older, wiser and with a gleaming new tooth.

 

[LD]

Sorry to hear that OMC but in the grand scheme of things a shiny new tooth is probably the better way to spend money (although one of those cushion Tsavs might have looked rather fetching)!

 

[steph72276]

cushions!

 

[PrecisionGem]

Here''s the pricing information per "The Guide" for tsavorite. I''ll only include Find and Extra Fine quality.

.5 to 1 cts Fine $400 to $600 Extra Fine $600 to $750
1 to 2 cts. Fine $600 to $825 Extra Fine $825 to $1200
2 to 3 cts Fine $900 to $1400 Extra Fine $1400 to $1900

Oval, Emerald, Square, Cushion prices as above.
All other shapes: 0 to 5% premium for fine, 5 to 10% for extra fine
Round and Trillion 15-20% for fine, 20-30$ for extra fine.

 

[Harriet]

That''s a bummer, OMC. Sorry.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Oh well, based on Gene''s info from the Guide the stones weren''t all that well priced either (yeah, sure, and I bet those grapes are really sour, too).

There''ll be others. One good thing is I have designed the earrings, and got approval from the boss...

 

[Harriet]

[Double post.]

 

[Harriet]

Date: 1/3/2009 6:06:43 PM
Author: oldmancoyote
Oh well, based on Gene''s info from the Guide the stones weren''t all that well priced either (yeah, sure, and I bet those grapes are really sour, too).

There''ll be others. One good thing is I have designed the earrings, and got approval from the boss...

Ooh. May we see the design?

I don''t know which edition of the Guide Gene''s using, but Tsavorite prices have shot up. Also, do remember that the Guide''s prices are at the wholesale level. We can''t buy at that level and the retailers can''t sell at that level. They need to eat too.

 

[PrecisionGem]

The Guide I''m using is the Fall 2008/Spring 2009, came out about a month ago. Expect a retail price to be around double these prices. I posted this to give an idea of what the difference would be in the prices as the sizes go up, and also any change in shape.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 1/3/2009 6:06:43 PM
Author: oldmancoyote
Oh well, based on Gene''s info from the Guide the stones weren''t all that well priced either (yeah, sure, and I bet those grapes are really sour, too).

There''ll be others. One good thing is I have designed the earrings, and got approval from the boss...

Hmm, I had a look at the site and all the stones this morning and thought the prices were actually pretty much spot on.

The pear shaped stone is a steal at the price they have it as.

 

[Harriet]

I thought the prices were pretty good too.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Yeah, so did I - hence my reference to sour grapes. Gene - I really appreciate the info.

Here is the idea for the earrings; roughly to scale total length 30-35 mm. Top RB diamond is about 0.5ct; articulated platinum knife edge to RB 0.25 ct; articulated platinum knife edge to pendant with 10 0.15 ct baguettes and 2 0.15 ct RB, oval (or round, or cushion for that matter - but then probably only 8 or even 6 bag) coloured stone in the middle. It's actually a Mauboussin design from the 1960 for a ring, minus of course the two links and RB stones.

 

[elmo]

Hey, where do you get the drawing tool with the stone outlines like that? I'd like to play with that, very cool. (You could substitute tsav with spess and call the design "Solar"

.)

According to Gene's numbers, if those stones are really extra fine as they appear to be in the photos, some of the prices are outstanding (along the lines of 50 back), as those prices are per carat. As Harriet says the seller has to eat but it costs a lot less to eat in Kenya, and the level of risk buying from Africa and Asia is orders of magnitude higher than buying from your favorite NYC dealer. In fact without some alternate arrangement with the seller I couldn't buy from those folks because they say returns have to be via insured Fedex however a consumer without something like Parcel Pro can't send loose stones via Fedex with insurance.

 

[LD]

I have bought a few gemstones from Lapigems and they have always been top quality. I''ve had them appraised and the appraiser was in agreement. Although the website looks expensive, the prices are very competitive. All gems come sealed in a metal box and certified by a Kenyan authority (apologies can''t remember which).

 

[elmo]

Sure but how do you return something to Kenya if the way they tell you to do it simply isn''t possible?

 

[PrecisionGem]

It''s very difficult to mail things back to Kenya, and I don''t think you could insure the package.

I''ve heard that Tsavorite near the major hotels in Kenya sells for more than it does in the USA, since tourists come and just assume they are getting a good deal. Because of this, the price of tsavorite rough is very high. The rough dealers realize they can sell a cut stone at these prices to the tourists, that they want almost as much for the rough as the cut. I''ve seen the price of good rough tsavorite double in the past few years.

 

[LD]

They say to return by FedEx. I''m pretty sure that FedEx ship to Kenya from the UK but it may be different from the US. Luckily I''ve never had to return anything but they''re a good company so if there are difficulties with returns from US then I''m sure they know how to overcome them.

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 1/4/2009 10:38:02 AM
Author: elmo
Hey, where do you get the drawing tool with the stone outlines like that? I''d like to play with that, very cool. (You could substitute tsav with spess and call the design ''Solar''

.)

According to Gene''s numbers, if those stones are really extra fine as they appear to be in the photos, some of the prices are outstanding (along the lines of 50 back), as those prices are per carat. As Harriet says the seller has to eat but it costs a lot less to eat in Kenya, and the level of risk buying from Africa and Asia is orders of magnitude higher than buying from your favorite NYC dealer. In fact without some alternate arrangement with the seller I couldn''t buy from those folks because they say returns have to be via insured Fedex however a consumer without something like Parcel Pro can''t send loose stones via Fedex with insurance.

I''m afraid it''s just PowerPoint wireframes and some patience to create a round brilliant and a baguette outline, then stretch the round to do oval. Need to do EC and Radiant next, somehow...

Happy to post these somewhere where they can get picked up by others; unfortunately can''t upload them as an attachment here.

 

[Harriet]

omc,
The design is vieux Mauboussin, right?