Gems you have bought that you feel you were lucky to snap up

[Bluegemz]

Adding 2 more.

This hugeass natural red Burmite/Burmese amber that went into a ring for my mum. This colour is schlepped mostly to China and reserves are scarce and alr mined out in most places in the Hukawng valley. I've only come across this once as I'm still on the lookout for a piece for myself!

A 6.1ct Cuprian bearing tourmaline from Mozambique I found at a good price at this year's Bangkok gem fair. Complete with GIA memo. It's going into that convertible ring/setting custom made for it!

They are gorgeous, but my favorites are those star rubies!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Sooooo jelly! You ladies have scored some amazing stuff!

I am soooo late to the game! Will need to settle for a pink tourmaline

 

[steviedsgirl]

The Stone That Started It All (see below). I bought this stone off of eBay in the early days. Though it's not certed, it's been quoted to me by various jewelers to be approximately .75 of a carat, likely M-N color, and beyond clean even under magnification (no one can see any blemishes at all). And the FIRE. It's an exceptionally well cut stone for as old as it is. This is the stone that made me an "old stone or no stone" kind of girl.

Though I can't remember exactly what I paid for the ring, I know it was under $800 (and I bought it in 1996, I think). It came from Expressions by Edith out of NYC.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I have a few. But most recently is this sapphire from Barry. Love his cutting and the color of the sapphire is just beautiful.

 

[Sparkle_ruckle]

What a great theme for a thread! I'll play!

I feel lucky to have snapped up these 4.8mm Columbian emerald studs that are big enough for my liking and that fit my existing earring jackets for 5mm studs. I was looking for a piece of emerald jewellery last year but it hadn't been easy to judge the quality of emeralds without seeing them in person. I prefer earrings too, but there wasn't any suitable ones in terms of size and quality. Therefore, I couldn't be happier with these new studs!





I was also thrilled to have snapped up a fancy greyish-greenish-blue oval diamond some years ago. I had been on the lookout for a blue diamond that was blue enough, big enough (that is, big enough by the context of fancy diamonds) and within my budget. This gem popped up in the Leibish inventory one day and was made affordable with its secondary modifiers. It's still blue enough for me, so I upgraded my fancy light greenish-blue radiant for it. I'm still thinking of ideas on how to set it.

I also bought a very affordable fancy intense yellowish-green round diamond from an independent vendor. The best part is it looks green to my eyes all the time. Nothing describes the exhilaration of having found a diamond in one of the rarest colour!

My little family fancy coloured diamonds in indirect sunlight (no longer own the radiant):


In direct sunlight:


Finally, I'm in love with my antique diamond earrings from JbG that I managed to call dibs on (I'm usually appalling slow ). I absolutely love their elegance, sparkle and size!

ETA: Ops I just realized the thread probably refers to coloured gems only, but I hope it's okay to share these earrings!