Any other loyal one-stoners here?

[kenny]

While I love and am interested in other stones, especially emeralds, certain hues of sapphires, rubies and garnets, so far I've only bought one stone, diamonds.

Any other one-stoners here?
If so, which stone are you loyal to?

Do any of you multi-stoners wish you'd just stayed with a varied collection of one stone?
Conversely, do any of you multi-stoners think we one-stoners are crazy and missing out?

 

[chrono]

I am definitely not loyal to one gem species although I do limit myself to a small group due to wearability, refractive index, and other such factors. I have never regretted not staying with just one type but if I had to, it will be a tough choice between garnet and spinel. Even then, I count myself fortunate that there are so many subgroups within the garnet and spinel family. If my budget is healthy enough, I'd love more FCDs but I find myself wanting them to be at least 0.3 ct and upwards, preferably over 0.5 ct with a minimum of intense saturation and as pure a hue as possible. Basically, I want it all but my wallet disagrees. I think given time and experience, together with some gentle nudging, the one-stoners will eventually step a toe out into the great wide world of coloured gemstones.

 

[FrekeChild]

I'm mostly a spinel girl, but I've been known to fall in love with a random tourmaline, garnet or sapphire. I tend to stick with those 4 though. I've delved into beryl, zircon, etc but just.can't.seem.to.commit and ended up selling them after a while.

 

[iLander]

Does it count if I only have one of each type?

One ruby, one sapphire, one emerald, etc.?

Some people have 3 sapphires, 5 tourmalines, 6 garnets, etc.

I just pick one good one and that's it. I don't have the attention span for more than one.

 

[movie zombie]

garnet is my true love.
i have been unfaithful and have a few other "things".
not a tourmaline fan.

 

[JewelFreak]

Variety for me. Color & cut make my decisions. I love the many colors of tourmaline. Generally I go for blues & greens, yellows if they're without brown, & peach colors. Amethyst, blue zircons, chrysos. Plus my blue spinel in my avatar. Even bought a pair of oval malachites from Barry for earrings. I love malachite, so smooth it could make worry-beads & beautiful stripes. Generally pinks, reds & oranges don't turn me on enough to buy, though some are wonderful. I'd adore to have a nice big yellow sapphire to set w/diamonds, but in my dreams....

FCDs are breathtaking, but I can't afford anything big enough to see without a microscope!

--- Laurie

 

[Jereni]

I am the exact opposite of a one-stoner, I think My longterm goal is to have a collection of most any type of stone that can be faceted and used in jewelry, haha.

If I had to pick, it would probably be garnet. The range of colors and amount of refraction cannot be beat

 

[lambskin]

For important jewelry, I am loyal to diamonds, emeralds, rubies and blue sapphires.
For semiprecious-opals and aquamarines. But I would love just one gorgeous deep purple amthst. 5-10 ct.
Pearls-pinky white a round or baroques.

 

[Kim Bruun]

I couldn't limit myself to just one stone... My first big coloured stone love was tanzanite, but colour is the primary objective for me, so any natural gem that does a subjectively attractive colour well is desirable to me.

 

[erinl]

I like them all-- as well as they are sparkly, saturated and well cut!

 

[yssie]

Another OneStoner here - for whatever reason diamonds are the only stones that are "mind clean" for me to actually buy, own, and set. It doesn't really make sense, even to me, since I certainly can and do admire other stones!

Actually probably more of a OneColourRangeOneStoner - while I'd love to sport an FCD collection like Kenny's realistically the colours I'd want in the sizes I'd want ain't ever gonna happen, so I content myself with D-Z. I don't even particularly care for variety in shape - though I do love unusual cuts like larger rose cuts and briolettes...


ETA: I lied - bluebirrrd's octagonal opal set by Sally puts me in the TwoStoner category
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-octagon-opal-ring-is-finished.176177/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-octagon-opal-ring-is-finished.176177/[/URL]

 

[distracts]

I'm definitely NOT a one-stoner. Though I'm an "under $500"-stoner right now. If I HAD to pick just one type, it would be either corundum (if I had to narrow it down further, fine, sapphire) or garnet.

The one thing I don't do is amethysts... I've learned from experience that no matter how much I love purple in clothing, I hate it in gemstones. I WANT to like it, but I just don't.

 

[Kim Bruun]

The one thing I don't do is amethysts... I've learned from experience that no matter how much I love purple in clothing, I hate it in gemstones. I WANT to like it, but I just don't.

I know they're technically two different colours, but saturate purple/violet gems are among my favourites - sapphires, tanzanites, that superb spinel I'm hoping to find! However... I have mixed feeling about amethyst. I have one of a gorgeous bluish purple with red flashes, but for some reason, it seems to pick up dirt/oils very easily. I don't know if it's the size, if quartz is particularly piezoeletric, or what, but the stone's lustre is obscured by the slightest touch.

 

[NKOTB]

Hmm, what kind of stoner am I... Definitely a multi-stoner, though have mostly spinels, corundum, garnets and tourms. I do like the variety. I would be all over FCDs if I was loaded and could afford the sizes I wanted.

 

[Enerchi]

I kind of "stone around"... but not just with any stone! I'm not that kind of PSer...

I love love LOVE diamonds - they are and will always be, my first love. However, I have been known to hang out and dabble in the sapphire corner (its a deep, dark, quiet and mysterious crowd...) and I have a few flashy rubies - they are just such show offs - "LOOK AT ME! I'm BRIGHT RED!" - but after an evening of hanging with the wild and crazy cool kids, I like to come home, settle down and snuggle up to my main stone... while I may have a slightly wandering eye, I always come home to you...."I love you, my little diamond sweethearts!" MUAH MUAH MUAH!

 

[0-0-0]

I aspire to be a one-stoner, when I can afford to buy diamonds of the color and size that I like.

 

[jstarfireb]

Not me! I'm all about variety. Off the top of my head, I can name these as the stones I have set in jewelry: diamond, alexandrite, zircon, spinel, sapphire, tanzanite, many types of garnet (grossular being my favorite), many types of quartz, aquamarine, tourmaline, apatite, sphene, peridot, topaz, jade, pearl, opal, moonstone, and labradorite.

Of these, my favorites are garnets, spinels, zircons, and alexandrites.

I do tend to stick with certain colors, for what it's worth. I'm a cool color person, with most of my collection being green, blue, and purple. I have very few stones that are red, orange, yellow, or pink. My other tendencies are that I will universally pick a faceted stone over a cab or a precision cut stone over a commercial cut. I almost always choose eye-clean stones and don't like "sleepy" stones either. I will pass up a stone with great color because the inclusions or sleepiness bother me.

 

[LD]

1,000,000,000,000,000% NO!

Goodness me, the world of coloured stones is such a rich and varied one, limiting to one variety is like asking me to sit in a room in front of a chocolate eclair for a day without touching it!

 

[colorluvr]

1,000,000,000,000,000% NO!

Goodness me, the world of coloured stones is such a rich and varied one, limiting to one variety is like asking me to sit in a room in front of a chocolate eclair for a day without touching it!

I'm with you LD.

 

[Arkteia]

I do not think I am a one-stoner, although I am probably a blue-and-orange-stoner, with one exception. After I saw photos of "Chrono spinel", I got this bug and ended up with many smaller stones which I think I eventually may put into a necklace. (A PS-er once posted a beautiful necklace made of smaller Mahenges made by HOW. Sorry, I do not remember who it was.) Otherwise, I like variety.

 

[distracts]

The one thing I don't do is amethysts... I've learned from experience that no matter how much I love purple in clothing, I hate it in gemstones. I WANT to like it, but I just don't.

I know they're technically two different colours, but saturate purple/violet gems are among my favourites - sapphires, tanzanites, that superb spinel I'm hoping to find! However... I have mixed feeling about amethyst. I have one of a gorgeous bluish purple with red flashes, but for some reason, it seems to pick up dirt/oils very easily. I don't know if it's the size, if quartz is particularly piezoeletric, or what, but the stone's lustre is obscured by the slightest touch.

I enjoy bluish-purple and purplish-blue, but straight up purple and reddish-purple are not my scene. I mean, I like LOOKING at them, but I never want to wear them, which makes them pointless for me to buy. That asscher amethyst on DB currently is gorgeous, but I know that if I bought it I'd just be like "meh." I do have one amethyst ring and a pair of earrings that I keep for the random days when my interests are being more flexible. But I think both of them I like for the style more than the color.

I used to think I wasn't into emeralds... but then I saw some really nice ones.

 

[FrekeChild]

1,000,000,000,000,000% NO!

Goodness me, the world of coloured stones is such a rich and varied one, limiting to one variety is like asking me to sit in a room in front of a chocolate eclair for a day without touching it!

Noooooo!!!! It's like asking someone to sit in front of a fully stocked pastry case for a day and only eat chocolate cake. There's eclairs, cream puffs, fresh fruit tartlets, cookies, creme brulee, palmiers, white cake, petit fours, etc.

WHY WOULD YOU ONLY EAT CHOCOLATE CAKE?!

Variety is the spice of life!

 

[marcy]

I used to be only a sapphire girl but now I like diamonds, garnets, spinels, rubies, emeralds, aquamarines and tanzanite.

 

[AN0NYM0US]

I'm a one stoner, diamonds, but it's not because I dislike colored stones, it's because I find them intimidating. So much knowledge is needed for each kind. I'll stick to diamonds for now and admire everyone else's from a distance.

 

[LD]

1,000,000,000,000,000% NO!

Goodness me, the world of coloured stones is such a rich and varied one, limiting to one variety is like asking me to sit in a room in front of a chocolate eclair for a day without touching it!

Noooooo!!!! It's like asking someone to sit in front of a fully stocked pastry case for a day and only eat chocolate cake. There's eclairs, cream puffs, fresh fruit tartlets, cookies, creme brulee, palmiers, white cake, petit fours, etc.

WHY WOULD YOU ONLY EAT CHOCOLATE CAKE?!

Variety is the spice of life!

Amen to that!

 

[chrono]

Hey now, you all are making me crave some rich desserts late at night and my refridgerator has none!

 

[FrekeChild]

Hey now, you all are making me crave some rich desserts late at night and my refridgerator has none!

Whose fault is that? Everyone knows you need to have rich desserts in your fridge at all times!

 

[kenny]

I'm a one stoner, diamonds, but it's not because I dislike colored stones, it's because I find them intimidating. So much knowledge is needed for each kind. I'll stick to diamonds for now and admire everyone else's from a distance.

I identify with that too.

Reading here on CS forum I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge some of you have about so many types of stones, and how important that knowledge is to making a wise purchase.
Not to say there isn't much to learn about FCDs, but I think they are one of the easier stones to learn about.

I think one thing that makes FCDs easier to buy confidently relates to their high cost.
So much money is at stake that GIA reports are often used to support that high value.
A reputable lab report ensures a degree of safety when FCD shopping.
A $150 lab fee is nothing to a $10,000 purchase, but may be unreasonable for a $1,000 one.

Ungraded FCDs require more risk-taking and expertise, but if you do well you can get a better value than with a GIA-graded FCD.

 

[corundum_conundrum]

I personally think that the GIA near-monopoly on diamond grading has lead to a helpful standardization in white diamonds and FCDs. Despite the impact of his "Secrets of the Gem Trade" book, Richard Wise's grading system didn't take-off. For reasons either inherent to gemstone characteristics or because there is no monopoly, gemstone evaluation for better or worse is left to impressions rather than some grading system.

Most importantly, Kenny, does this thread mean you are considering dipping a toe into the water of non-diamond colored gemstones?