Green gemstone help for new project idea

[cpster]

Hello everyone,

I''m a colored gemstone newbie. I''ve been thinking of getting a custom five stone diamonds by the yard style bracelet with green gemstones made to match my diamond one. I want the stones to have an equivalent diameter to the 8 pointers in my diamond one (round brilliants)

Can you all recommend a green gemstone that will be both beautiful and durable? Are tsavorite, chrome diopside, and green sapphire good choices? Are there others?

I appreciate recommended vendor sources too!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Elmorton]

I''m definitely no colored stone expert, but the tsavs that have been posted lately are just droolworthy. I''m sure someone will chime in though about hardness - since the DBTY style leaves a lot of the stone exposed, you''ll probably want to go with the hardest option.

Sounds like a great project!

 

[Pandora II]

Green sapphire is the hardest, but you may have a problem finding them in a good enough colour.

Tsavs are only a 7.25 on the mohs and chrome diopside is a 5.5 to 6.5 and is also very brittle.

If it's something you only plan to wear once in a while and you are very careful with your hands, I would go with tsavorite if I couldn't find a nice colour of sapphire. But it's not a 'durable' stone without a considerable amount of care. I wouldn't want to smack a tsavorite off a surface or anything like that - they chip quite easily. Chrome diopside would be a no no in my opinion.

My tsavorite came from Wink Jones - www.winkjones.com. He'd probably be able to get what you are looking for. Tsav prices have gone shooting up recently just so you know in advance...

 

[Fly Girl]

I recently saw a green diamond half eternity ring at a local jewelers. It was irradiated stones, so relatively inexpensive. Very sparkly, and would work great for your project.

 

[Dogmom]

When I was sourcing a stone for my Krementz ring project, I wanted a tsav, but the prices have really gone up and were out of my budget after I had splurged on the setting. I contacted Dan Stairs and he recommended I try a green tourmaline. He cut a Congo Tourmaline for me that I have been very pleased with. I don''t know about their durablity for a bracelet, however. In the photo, it looks lighter than it does in RL. It''s a very lovely stone and I highly recommend Dan.

 

[cpster]

Hmm...since the culets will be exposed durability is a big worry. May I ask how sapphire, tourmaline, and irradiated diamonds compare on the mohs scale? Are irradiated diamonds as durable as normal ones?

I hadn''t even considered irradiated diamonds. Do you think I should go with platinum to match my other bracelet or yellow gold to compliment the green stones? They may be worn together on the same wrist.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Elmorton]

I''m pretty sure irradiated diamonds are just as hard. I took a liking to blue ones a while back, but got turned off pretty quickly. Since not many people would treat a nice white diamond, most of the irradiated diamonds I saw were very badly included and/or poorly cut and weren''t necessarily cheaper than a nicer, white diamond. I think you would be much happier with the green sapphire.

YG or plat is a personal pref, but I think the green actually pops more in white (Pandora''s ring in her av is a lovely example of this). Maybe it also depends on what colors in the green you''d like to pick up - I like red and orange stones in yg because I think the yg compliments the golden tones, but I prefer greens and blues in wg because I''d rather see the bluer tones more.

 

[Fly Girl]

Irradiated diamonds are natural diamonds that have been treated to improve the color. It is possible to get pretty, sparkly, well cut ones, because I have seen them. They will be just as durable as regular colorless diamonds.

I love mixing metals, but it depends on your taste. I recently had a jeweler comment that both yellow and white look good with my skin tone, which may be one reason I have never preferred one metal to another.

 

[marcy]

Tourmaline is 7 to 7.5 on the mohs scale. I see someone already answered the hardness or irradiated diamonds. I would go with green sapphire; they aren''t as expensive as diamonds but very durable.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 3/24/2008 9:37:20 PM
Author: marcyc
Tourmaline is 7 to 7.5 on the mohs scale. I see someone already answered the hardness or irradiated diamonds. I would go with green sapphire; they aren''t as expensive as diamonds but very durable.

Ditto to this if they can be found!

 

[Missrocks]

Date: 3/24/2008 10:48:54 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 3/24/2008 9:37:20 PM
Author: marcyc
Tourmaline is 7 to 7.5 on the mohs scale. I see someone already answered the hardness or irradiated diamonds. I would go with green sapphire; they aren''t as expensive as diamonds but very durable.

Ditto to this if they can be found!

Depends on what shade of green you are into. The green sapphires tend to be more on the desaturated side, so may not be preferable if you are looking for an intenser shade of green.
If you prefer a brighter shade of green I love the idea of tsavorite. True they may not be as durable/ hard. But I have seen many garnet bracelets / rings that hold up well enough for my standards over time. They have the most droolworthy and eyecatching shade of green, IMO.

 

[cpster]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I do prefer a more intense shade of green. I have a request into WF to see what is possible through them. I think I''m going to go with the platinum if I can find a good saturated green.

 

[RevolutionGems]

Just make sure you get the stones from a reputable dealer. These days it is very common to find diffusion treated sapphires that are very pretty but the treatment is not accepted in the industry. If it is disclosed and you are aware of it, thats fine. Just know what you are buying.

Good Luck!