Best shape for a spinel?

[beaujolais]

Spinels are supposed to be very sparkly. What would be the better shapes to show this off? I don''t like ovals - so skip that. The cushions are nice. Does the emerald/octagonal cut also show off the sparkle of a spinel or is that not the way to go?

Best sites for decent priced spinels?

Thanks.

 

[Pandora II]

You will definitely minimise sparkle with an EC - to be honest I only really like them for emeralds that are beautiful for qualities other than sparkle.

Honestly, I would stick with a cushion if you don't like the ovals - unless you plan to go with one of the more unique cuts or a concave or similar.

You could have a look at multicolour.com - they are reasonably priced. I have a look there once in a while - but you need to really search for the good pieces.

I'm one of these people who only wants a very few pieces of jewellery, and so whatever stones I buy have to be the best I can get my hands on, so I am VERY picky, and will sacrifice a lot in terms of size to get the colour/clarity/cut.

If you just want a pretty stone, but aren't looking for the best of the best, you may well find something there.

 

[marcy]

Sorry to hear you don''t like ovals, I like that shape in colored stones. The emerald / octagonal cut shows color well but doesn''t really sparkle a lot. Well cut rounds are great for spinels and maybe trillions might appeal to you.

 

[Clio]

I have a round spinel that sparkles like crazy. If you can get a well-cut round, I''d go for that in a heartbeat. Cushions are nice, too.

 

[chrono]

If you don''t like ovals, then cushions and rounds are best. Modified cuts like the barion are pretty too. I would not do EC for spinels if I wanted sparkle. That said, I did do an asscher cut spinel but I did so because I love the cut. The sparkle is diminished since the trade off is the lovely step cut of the royal asscher cut. The stone did retain its wonderful colour and its fantastic dispersion quality.

 

[RevolutionGems]

I would have to vote for a trillion. It seems to be very bright in just about any colored stone.

The others make good points though. You just can''t go wrong with a nice round or tasty little cushion.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks all.

Chrono, your asscher is beyond words from the photos in other treads.

Found a color spinel that I like, however, it is in a pear. I suppose round and cushion would give better sparkle than a (wider) pear?

(I don't care for trillions (I think) and I must go look up what a barion is.)

 

[chrono]

Pears tend to be a little tricky because the colour tends to concentrate on the pointy tip. So the tip might be very dark while the rest of the stone has a pleasant colour, or the tip will be a nice colour while the rest of the stone is too light.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks Chrono. Makes sense regarding more color at the tip. I think I knew that at one time but forgot. The plans are to make a spinel into a pendant. (I like small, so a bit over 1 ct. is fine.)

FYI, this is the one I was looking at:

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-987751764

or this one:

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1858047077

Now, they list them as pears, step cut. I never realized that pears are step cut. (Are they really?)

 

[chrono]

Both look to be quite similiar in colour. They both have a small window but I think once set, it will not be noticeable. I see that the stones are from Tunduru so it might colour shift a little under different lighting, a fun thing to have in my opinion. The first stone is fatter and the second is more of a traditional shape. I''d probably pick the second one because it''s easier to find settings for it.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks all & thank you Chrono for your great knowledge once again.

I may wait as the color (light/med. blue-violet) is not there in the shape (cushion) and size (at least 1.5, more like 2) doesn''t seem to be out there right now (in a decent price, that it).