Good buy? - tsavorite question

[stryeyes102]

I went into a local gem shop today and found a ring that was To Die for!

I was thinking at first it was a chrome diopside (as the ring next to it was) but the owner told me that its listed as a tsavorite.. a .90 oval tsav. surrounded by approximately 30 one pointer diamonds in a very petite halo and down the sides of the band. After looking at it, it did look like a tsav but i know looks can be deceiving. It looks exactly the same as catmoms in color Catmoms Tsav Also,it did look eye clean. unfortunately, i didnt have my camera on me..

Im just worried that it might not be a real tsav because he was only asking 1,000 dollars for the ring.. And told me he could do better on the price. Its a very good community shop and i have heard nothing but great things about them.

Is there anyway (by eye) to tell chrome diopside apart from a tsav? I know tsavs are very soft but is there another thing to look out for such as a certain type of inclusion or shading?

After all this, i believe i may have a new place in my heart for tsav''s; if it was infact one.. I can see why a few of you love them so much!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/14/2008 5:25:12 PM
Author:stryeyes102
I went into a local gem shop today and found a ring that was To Die for!

I was thinking at first it was a chrome diopside (as the ring next to it was) but the owner told me that its listed as a tsavorite.. a .90 oval tsav. surrounded by approximately 30 one pointer diamonds in a very petite halo and down the sides of the band. After looking at it, it did look like a tsav but i know looks can be deceiving. It looks exactly the same as catmoms in color Catmoms Tsav Also,it did look eye clean. unfortunately, i didnt have my camera on me..

Im just worried that it might not be a real tsav because he was only asking 1,000 dollars for the ring.. And told me he could do better on the price. Its a very good community shop and i have heard nothing but great things about them.

Is there anyway (by eye) to tell chrome diopside apart from a tsav? I know tsavs are very soft but is there another thing to look out for such as a certain type of inclusion or shading?

After all this, i believe i may have a new place in my heart for tsav's; if it was infact one.. I can see why a few of you love them so much!

Tsavorites are singly refractive, chrome diopside is doubly refractive. I have a couple of chrome diopsides and colour-wise they are similar to my tsav.

Tsavorites are a 7.5 on the Mohs, and have no cleavage.

Chrome diopside is a 5.5 on the Mohs (so much softer) and have good cleavage which means that the stone can split in two if it's hit in the wrong place.

Best way to tell is either using a dichroscope - the diopside will show 2 colours, the tsavorite only one. Or easiest of all, have a look through the table with a loupe and see if you see a doubling of the edges of the the back facets - meaning that the stone is doubly refractive. If you can it's not a tsavorite. Garnets, being singly refractive don't show this effect.

It could of course be chrome tourmaline, which is a beautiful stone - and pretty rare. They are also doubly refractive - you'd need other tests to tell if it's a chrome tourmaline or diopside.

If it is a tsav or a chrome tourmaline (7-7.5) I would consider it - if it's a diopside I probably wouldn't, too soft for a ring IMOH.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh Pandora - I was thinking - do you think tsavorites need to be set with diamonds to best show off the green? Is it commonly done with diamonds? Probably it would make the green look brighter, yes?

White or yellow? White would make it look brighter, I guess. Yellow make the green look richer?

When I browse at Multicolor and AJS, they are what I look at nowadays. Much too many ovals, though. Ovals just don''t work for me. They look "old" to me and not in a good way.

 

[stryeyes102]

Thankyou very much pandora!

Im gonna have to grab my loop and go take a closer look!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/14/2008 8:18:46 PM
Author: sonomacounty
Oh Pandora - I was thinking - do you think tsavorites need to be set with diamonds to best show off the green? Is it commonly done with diamonds? Probably it would make the green look brighter, yes?

White or yellow? White would make it look brighter, I guess. Yellow make the green look richer?

When I browse at Multicolor and AJS, they are what I look at nowadays. Much too many ovals, though. Ovals just don''t work for me. They look ''old'' to me and not in a good way.

I like them with white diamonds - I''d be wary about using yellow. Yellow is not something that I personally would want to emphasis in a tsav.

I wanted a forest green colour that tended towards the blue and so wouldn''t put it near yellow for anything!

A good tsavorite can stand alone though - they have plenty of sparkle.

They are rather addictive! Cushions are my favourites, although the oval I got for my friend''s e-ring was beautiful too. I

''m not a round fan at all and pears don''t really bring out the best in coloured stones IMO. I do like some of the less common cuts though. I''d be more likely to go for a chrome tourmaline than a tsavorite if I was looking at a step cut stone though.