Aquamarine engagement ring on a budget. Any suggestions?

[chrono]

Barrett is teasing both you and TL with his comment. The PS regulars know TL's opinion with regards to aquamarines as a whole so I am doubtful you'll see her here.

 

[vito89]

Barrett is teasing both you and TL with his comment. The PS regulars know TL's opinion with regards to aquamarines as a whole so I am doubtful you'll see her here.

Oh ok, i see. Anyone who can help me with the price? How much would you pay for it? I mean, what is its actual value considering the size the colour and cut?

 

[chrono]

Actual value = how much he obtained the aqua rough for + time spent cutting and polishing + overhead costs and a bit of profit.

Can you get the same colour for less? Yes.
Can you get the same cut for less? Maybe but unlikely. He cuts very unique patterns so ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether it is worth his asking price.

 

[pregcurious]

Uli's cutting is world class. I don't think you can compare it to other stones. If you must, however, I would look at aquas from precision cutters under the "recommended vendor" thread.

 

[Lula]

Precision-cut aquas are typically quite a bit more expensive than traditionally cut aquas. Still, I think it is worth paying a premium for precision cutting in a light-colored stone like aqua that is prone to windowing. Good aquamarines have a beautiful silver shimmer to them -- Peter Toracca gave me the name for this quality and I can't remember it! -- that good cutting emphasizes. Sorry, I just can't give you an exact price or even an estimate, because I'm not familiar with Uli's pricing or how European prices for gems would compare to stones cut and sold in the U.S.

 

[movie zombie]

i'm going to be rude but what else is new?!
I have an aqua emerald cut that I've had since I was 16.
I am now 65.
being my usual blunt self i am going to say i have yet to see anything that compares to it in this thread.
even with the chip i put into it in my 30's. sigh. nasty big chip.

the inclusions in the stone in the last link is going to make that particular stone even more prone to damage.

Uli's cutting is world class and he has world class stones. however, i don't think the included picture is one of them.

 

[Lula]

If you are unsure about Uli's stone, perhaps movie zombie will sell you her chipped emerald cut.

 

[movie zombie]

no, i have held it for an additional 30 years...why? well, despite having been bought by my father at a small local store in the 1960's I've yet to see finer w/o having to give an arm and a leg. re the chip: having it re cut would remove too much of the size. sigh. no, its a keeper after all these years.

to bad you didn't know me in my younger years: i gave an aqua ring away to a woman in a bar one night because 1-it wasn't as good as my first one and 2-i had divorced the man that gave it to me. that one would have worked as an e-ring very well indeed.

 

[T L]

Barrett is teasing both you and TL with his comment. The PS regulars know TL's opinion with regards to aquamarines as a whole so I am doubtful you'll see her here.

Aquas are okay. It's my birthstone, and I have a lot of them, and have seen a lot over the years, so they don't make me giddy anymore. My very first ring was an aqua. I will just say that if you do buy an aqua, try not to buy a very pale one because they tend to get very cloudy/dirty, which is the case with most pale stones.

I will also say that I like the aquas that have a seafoam green color, like the one shown on the prior page (very pretty). I like those more than the bluer ones, but they can be very pretty, and blue is a very very popular stone color. Here's a very pretty blue aqua.



Here's another seafoam green one, again, very pretty.



Whatever color you choose, and whatever cutting (precision or not), I would just caution to not get a very pale one, or one with lots of sharp corners, as it can chip easily.

 

[movie zombie]

loving that #2 seafoam, TL!

 

[T L]

Yes MZ, it's very nice.

Also, here's a dark blue aqua next to a seafoam green one (old old picture), just to get an idea how they look next to each other. Ignore the orange spessartite on the right.

 

[pregcurious]

MZ, can you post your aqua? I don't mean to threadjack; I think it would be helpful to this thread and the OP.

I love the seafoam aqua that TL posted, and a PSer sold 2 amazing aquas (one set, one loose) on preloved in the last year that were very saturated. Those were my favorites. I am going to look for a pic of her ring.

 

[vito89]

So, as far as I understood from reading in between the lines, most of you wouldn't buy the aqua I posted right? I'm sorry but I just need a direct opinion and not a vague answer that tries not to "upset" Uli...
Also, you have no idea on how much you would consider as an "acceptable" price for tgat stone?? What is the maximum amount you would pay for that in an ideal world?
You must have at least a vague idea...

 

[chrono]

Vito,
The reason you are getting "vague" replies isn't because we don't want to upset you or Uli but because this is a decision only YOU can make. Liking a particular colour (or not) is a very personal preference. As you can tell, most of us prefer a stronger coloured aquamarine but your significant other strongly prefers a lighter almost palish blue green aquamarine so get what she wants, not what others prefer. As for pricing, the aquamarine isn't inexpensive and neither is it expensive. Such light coloured material is inexpensive so the bulk of the cost is in the highly skilled cutting. Again, this is a decision only YOU can make. Rest assured, you aren't getting ripped off but you are paying for his cutting skills.

 

[carmen1]

I know zilch about aquamarines, but based on the pricing I've seen elsewhere my totally uneducated opinion would be that if this stone is within your original budget of EUR 300 it seems like a reasonable price.

Do you think your girlfriend will love this stone, because regardless of whether we would buy it or not, the only person's opinion that matters is hers, correct? If it is within your budget and it is what she wants, then go for it. If not, keep looking!

 

[Lula]

vito, looking back to the beginning of this thread, I see that your girlfriend prefers lighter aquas, and that she wears a small ring size. Uli's stone appears to be pale in color. I can't tell from the photo whether it will be more blue or green in real life. And it may appear bluer or greener under various lighting conditions. And as others have said, color preference is personal. You should put your girlfriend's color preferences above ours. I like greenish aquas, and I like square cuts. Others prefer the deeper blues and round or oblong shapes, like the photo TL posted above. Same with precision cutting. I am more than willing to pay the premium for a precision cutter because I consider cutters like Uli to be artists. So my advice is to put your girlfriend's preferences at the top of your list. Do you think she'd like the stone Uli cut? I have no idea if the inclusions (which I can't see, but I'm pretty tolerant of inclusions) will increase the risk of the stone's chipping in the future. That's something you should ask Uli about, just to be on the safe side. I also don't know much about Uli's pricing, so I can't even give you a ballpark figure. Aquas can be purchased from under $100 to many times that. For example, John Dyer, another precision cutter, has aquas on his website that range from a few hundred dollars to over $20,000 http://johndyergems.com/catalog_pages/gemstone-stone-Aquamarine.html. Gemstone pricing is all over the map.

movie zombie isn't willing to part with her aqua; however, if you are looking for a more traditionally cut aqua, I did see one for sale for a good price here http://diamondbistro.com/category/1...35611/610ct-Aquamarine-step-cut-(Brazil).html (I can't remember if links to the other forum are permitted; if not, mods please remove this link). This seller is a reputable seller.

And, yes, MZ, please post a photo of your aqua! I couldn't find one in the PS archives, but, as we know, the PS search function is not optimal.

 

[pregcurious]

To be blunt, you are going to pay for cutting when you go to a precision lapidary. If you didn't want to pay for cut, you should not have gone to Uli.

 

[vito89]

Ok, thank you very much for your answers. I'll get the ring since the cut is beautiful, she will definitely like it, and I have 14 days to return it in case, for any reason, I don't like it.
I did't want to know if you would buy it, I just said that, from what I read, you probably wouldn't do it, but that is completely fine. I just wanted to know if there was an accepted pricelist that I could refer to, such as the one I posted on the previous page from 'gemval'. Unfortunately, there isn't.

Again, thank you for your time!

 

[Venti25]

See if you like it if not return it. It was also cut especially for her so that's another bonus.

 

[chrono]

There is a price list book that is updated every so often for all types of gems but unless you understand how to "read" colour, it is easy to mis-categorize the stone. For the most part though, a vendor will sell the stone for what the market will bear.

 

[Lula]

vito, I'm not sure where you are located, but I'm sharing this link for a Helsinki designer who creates beautiful colored gemstone jewelry.
http://www.annettetillander.fi
Please post photos after you receive your aquamarine!

 

[movie zombie]

Lula, you have posted some great pictures of aquas!
that page of john's covers the board that there is something for any budget!
I even like the large emerald cut on loop.
but that website you posted?! well, her jewelry is divine.
I think i'm getting an aqua bug because of you......