Did a PS'r buy Gene's 3.17ct Purple Spinel???

[LD]

Like Chrono, it's way to dark for me but I appreciate the cutting. At the end of the day if you love it, keep it - that's what matters! It would be a boring world if we were all the same.

 

[ChrisA222]

Yes, definately keeping it..I love it! Maybe it is a "guy thing"...I dunno. After everyone is calling this stone very dark (which I dont agree with...its dark..but not VERY dark)...I started looking at others stones that have been mentioned with positive reviews.

I found something interesting....most of the stones are pretty light in tone. Stones that I would consider too light...are being highly regarded while stones that I find just right are being called dark.

I wonder though if it is a PS thing, where most of the members here prefer the lighter toned stones. When I was researching Tsavorites, for example, reading up on how to buy and what values are, the top stones were called very saturated, slightly bluish-toned, medium dark to dark stones. The medium ones were considered lesser valued stones, and this was backed by a conversation I had with someone highly regarded in the industry. Don't get me wrong--I like the medium toned Tsavs...I've owned a few...but, I tend to prefer the medium dark vividly saturated ones best, and (from what I learned) so does the market (outside of many on PS).

So the moral of the story is that we all don't have to love what the market values most...me with my darker blue Spinels, and many of the PSrs here with their medium-light to medium toned Tsavorites. Its all good!

For fun, I attached some pictures of what I would consider Very Dark...

 

[maccers]

I love this stone! And the purple is just...yummy!

As an aside, I've appreciated the discussion on 'dark' stones - while I'm new to CS, I have noticed that I tend to enjoy slightly darker stones than perhaps the majority of PSers. However I have noticed it's a VERY narrow edge, in looking for a ruby, most are too dark or too light - I can't seem to find ones that hit my sweet spot.

 

[chrono]

Chris,
Your interpretation of dark is different from the general consensus. What you see as dark is viewed as very dark. What you see as light is actually medium toned. It is not a PS thing; it is a market and trade desired preference. Your tone scale might need recalibration.

In correction, the trade desired colour for tsavorites is as follows:
Hue - green with a slight blue modifier
Tone - medium dark
Saturation - vivid to intense
Dark toned stones are NOT desired nor highly valued. Medium toned is not desired as highly as a medium dark BUT if well saturated, is still priced very highly. The important consideration also includes saturation or pop of colour.

The pictures of what you attached is beyond very dark - I consider those black.

 

[ChrisA222]

Ok...agree to disagree I guess..

Will Move on...I was just a little irked that people think I like unnattractive, greyish black stones, when that is not the case. But, whatever...to each his or her own I suppose!

 

[chrono]

Personal preference is understandable and I support an individual's likes/dislikes but when it comes to judging or evaluating a gemstone, knowing and recognizing what is medium, dark and very dark is critical. I call it making an informed choice.

Take a look at Pala's 4Cs guide on evaluating coloured gemstones, which is based on GIA's coloured gemstone scale.
http://www.palagems.com/quality_4cs.htm

I attached a picture from the link showing 4 different blue sapphires, all with varying tone and saturation.
Stone 1 - light tone and low saturation (not attractive)
Stone 2 - medium tone but with very good saturation. This is considered very close to ideal tone and saturation by the market and would be priced the highest among all 4 stones.
Stone 3 - I'll bet that you really like this one (ignoring the cut for now). Although it has better saturation than Stone 2, the tone is too dark and also shows too much extinction (black areas which to you, might not look black based on your interpretation in the above post). There is absolutely nothing wrong in preferring Stone 3 over Stone 2. Just know that it isn't the market desired colour and that it should be priced lower.
Stone 4 - It is so dark that one can barely see the colour (not attractive)

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I love it!! Not too dark for me as I see light blue/purple flashes in your photos. To me that makes the difference. Congrats!

 

[minousbijoux]

Chris: I too, have made comments about you liking darker, slightly less saturated stones. I want to apologize if that was seen by you as insulting. What I was trying to say is that you like what you like and there are no rights or wrongs. Personally, I wish I liked slightly darker stones too as the good prices seem to be in this segment. I love that you like darker stones. Sometimes, because the ones you choose are slightly darker, its harder to see that they are less saturated. Sometimes yours are quite saturated.

I get the attraction of this spinel. First off, you have Gene's amazing cutting. Second, even though its on the dark side, your photos demonstrate that is has life! I see the base color and then, even in the still photos, I see sparks and flashes of color. I can imagine that in many lighting situations, that stone would come alive and be full of scintillation.

Now my next goal is to take some photos of stones I have. I think turnabout is fair play, and I will post them so you can tell me they're too light, hah hah!

Oh one last thing - your night photo shows a fair amount of yellow/orange in it (I've completely given up on trying to take decent photos at night for this reason) and in that light, your stone still reads as purplish. Yes, it looks a little brownish in the photos, but I know that if you were to correct for the overabundance of that weird orangish light that low light conditions add to photos, you would have a really purple hue. This is all by way of saying that I bet its really purple at night and I commiserate that you can't get a good photo!

 

[LD]

Ok...agree to disagree I guess..

Will Move on...I was just a little irked that people think I like unnattractive, greyish black stones, when that is not the case. But, whatever...to each his or her own I suppose!

Chris I think you're taking the comments personally. Nobody has said you like unattractive stones and if you review all the comments you'll see that there isn't one negative comment about the cutting. It's superb, as is always the case with Gene. To try to justify "dark" or "very dark" and say that most PS'ers are wrong and you know better is quite frankly rude. In future, I won't comment on your stones which is obviously the easier way as I can't subscribe to saying "WOW" when I don't mean it.

 

[ChrisA222]

Minou,

Thanks for saying that, I misinterpreted your post in my thread about the BB Tourmaline. It came across to me that you were horrified by how you assessed the pic of the stone as being dark and lacking saturation, and were happy that I won it and that you did not, which perhaps I should not have taken personally. I appreciate the explanation as I was wrong. Moving on...

LD, I was not saying PSrs are wrong. I was not trying to be rude. It was brought to my attention that I like darker toned stones which are not to market ideals. When I researched Tsavorites, and read that the most valued stones are the medium-dark to dark stones (and many on PS covet the lighter-toned stones, which I also happen to like--and own) that not everyone has to like market ideals. That is all...if that is being rude, than I do apologize. I do not have a problem with whatever you say about my stones, me, or anyone else or their stones, as whatever you have to say is your opinion and not fact. Just like I have an opinion---I am not posting facts. As far as I am concerned, and this may be debated (but really.....) darkness and saturation can be subjective to a point. Pictures aren't always accurate either...but we do our best to read pics and be descriptive. It would be a shame if you didn't want to express your opinion, I enjoy reading who thinks what, but that doesn't mean that I am going to agree with it. But please don't take my post as being rude, because that is the same thing I did when I read Minous post about the BB Tourmaline, and I was wrong about her as well. Can we move on now?

 

[JewelFreak]

Chrono's observations on what the market prefers are necessary to know when evaluating pricing on a stone -- but all that means is that most buyers (the "market") want certain attributes, therefore their price is higher. There is nothing intrinsically better or worse about gems outside those criteria, as we all know. In fact, lucky people who like different traits; they can get what thrills them at a lower price.

Chris, your stone is really attractive -- as I wrote, I kept going back to look at it, debating whether to take a look IRL. The cutting is superb & I love the play of colors, which hold up in your photos, the best indicator. When I see pics of a lovely gem like this on the darker side like this one, I always think, "Yes, BUT...." in person, in real light on the hand, it could knock me over. You mentioned its scintillation -- that is impossible to photograph & is one element that makes your heart sing.

It's all a matter of what grabs each individual, as we all agree -- knowing what the market values is necessary to not overpaying, but otherwise, we buy for our own happiness. You did a good job & I'd love to see it set.

--- Laurie

 

[corundum_conundrum]

Some of the most beautiful things in the world are far darker than what is considered "ideal" for what they are.

 

[Upgradable]

Chris, I tend to lean toward darker stones too, and I love this one!! Per the pictures, I like the blue color best. I can't wait to see the home you create for this! I've also decided that PSer's are great to help me clarify the characteristics of a stone, but I always choose what I like!! You're the one living with it, you get to decide!!

 

[ChrisA222]

Thanks, Uppy! And JF, Lisa, and Maccers....I appreciate the kind words. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has the same likes and dislikes...and that opinions are what they are, opinions.

When the urge strikes, maybe I will do a ring with it--but I have others in line first Isnt that a great "problem" to have? Trying to decide what stones to set. LOL. I still havent decided between my Blue Zircon and Rubellite that I posted about six months ago. And there are other new aquisitions too, and some stones haven't even made their way to me yet. So Ill do things like take the stone to work with me in its little gem jar and sit it on my desk and look at it. Weird. But, I can't wear more than one ring at a time...without feeling like Liberace...so...that is what I do. LOL

 

[Shushinator]

I actually bought this a couple months ago. I was crazy excited because i have been wanting a blue/purple spinel for ever. someone else must have bought it after i did. it was gorgeously cut but just too dark, which was of course reflected in the price by gene, but i couldnt tell by pics alone. had a hard time replicating the photo color or flashes.

 

[Shushinator]

oops, just finished reading.

ive found that my taste can be alot different than the ideal runs as well. it doesnt bother me a bit since that just means those stones are cheaper to pick up!

 

[ChrisA222]

Slush,

Im sorry about my obnoxious post where I said how I couldn't understand how someone would return the stone...I do feel like a tool for saying that---I was just really, really excited when I saw this stone in hand. I find that I am a big, big fan of cutting, and in particular dispersion---which this stone has in spades--and to me that registers even more than base body color of the stone.

So I apologize for what I said about questioning why anyone would return the stone.

It all worked out in the end, though. You returned it (So as not to keep a stone that was too dark for you), and I was then able to buy it...and its perfect for me as I just love how it performs

 

[Shushinator]

Oh no worries at all! in my non expert opinion at least jewels really are art to an extent. i totally dont take it personally