How is the cut on this umbalite garnet?

[Tessie]

I''ve been thinking of buying a garnet to make into a RHR and it''s been hard to find nice colors and good selections online. I did find this one and I love the color, but wasn''t sure if the dark areas meant that the cut wasn''t so great. Would that sparkle less?

 

[Tessie]

Here is another photo.

 

[zeolite]

The top picture has some dark areas for two reasons:

The light reaching it is coming from a narrow angle. Even welll cut stones will show dark areas, with narrow angle lighting. The same stone viewed on an overcast day (with very wide angle of incoming light), would reflect almost 100% of the gem.

The second reason is that this gem has a dark tone (it is absorbing more light than a medium toned gem).

The second picture shows light coming from a wide angle, and most of the gem is reflecting light back to your eyes. But there are small areas of blackness (also called extinction). This is quite normal from a well cut stone that has a dark tone.

There is always a trade-off in gem tone. A dark stone will have strong color but little brilliance. A light stone will have great brilliance but pastel color. The color in your gem is very fine and it is well cut. You should be proud to own it.

 

[Tessie]

Thanks for the detailed info. I haven''t bought it yet, those were the seller photos. But now I feel better about this stone, and want to purchase it even more!

 

[chrono]

Looks like a very pretty stone with excellent cutting. Some darkness/extinction in a stone is fine as long as it is very little, as this one is.

 

[GemRite]

Yes, this design has a high crown, which causes it to have a little more extinction. The cut is done with a 10x loupe and all meets come to their proper points. The angles are correctly done for the material being a rhodolite garnet . The photo was taken on cloudy day. It returns light nicely, you are correct about the extinction. The stone is sparkly, it''s just hard to photo a stone as the eye sees it. It is hard to capture the full flash outdoors, because putting the camera directly over the stone causes you to interfer with the light going into the stone. Taking the photo from the side as I did only allows light in part of the stone. It is a catch 22. It is a sparkly stone and I am certain you will like it. If not always return it.

Thanks

 

[marcy]

I think this stone would be a delight and I love the color.

 

[Tessie]

Oh I was too slow, someone snatched it up.

That''s okay, I just have to keep hunting for the perfect one for me! I''m excited though, hunting is the fun part.

 

[Kelli]

I really LOVE that one too! I wanted to buy it, but decided to go for a less expensive one right now (not that it''s a lot, but there are cheaper ones for my small wallet). If I had wanted to spend a little more, I would have bought it yesterday!!

 

[Tessie]

Oh Kelli, me too. I was looking at that one and wondering if I should spend the money.

Do you have a plan in mind for what you will do with it once you find your perfect one?

 

[Fly Girl]

Those umbalites are gorgeous in person. Looking forward to more pictures when you receive it.

 

[Kelli]

Date: 9/23/2008 11:11:36 PM
Author: Tessie
Oh Kelli, me too. I was looking at that one and wondering if I should spend the money.

Do you have a plan in mind for what you will do with it once you find your perfect one?

Not really. Thinking about putting it in an inexpensive ring setting. I''ve never bought a loose gemstone before, other than when I was very little and would go to rock and gem shows with my dad. We almost went last year, but somehow missed it. This forum has pretty much re-sparked an old interest, so I wanted to start a little collection. I will probably end up setting anything I buy, but not in anything extravagant, as I REALLY can''t be spending the $$$. That said, I just bought this about five minutes ago. It''s a malaya, not an umbalite, but it reminded me of my great-grandparents'' candy jar so I had to have it. Can you tell I''m a little sentimental?

 

[LD]

Oh guys I''m so sorry. I''m afraid it was me who bought it. I had been emailing John at Gemrite over the weekend and he very kindly took the outdoor photograph for me and loaded it up on Sunday because I wanted to see it with a normal background (other than black).

There is another on his site that is equally as lovely if you''re still looking for an Umbalite Garnet.

 

[Tessie]

Kelli, it''s gorgeous! I want to pop it into my mouth like candy. I like that it has sentimental value to you, it''ll be all the more special every time you look at it.


LovingDiamonds, congrats on getting this one! You''ll have to show us more photos when it''s in your hands.

 

[LD]

Date: 9/24/2008 4:24:37 PM
Author: Tessie
Kelli, it''s gorgeous! I want to pop it into my mouth like candy. I like that it has sentimental value to you, it''ll be all the more special every time you look at it.


LovingDiamonds, congrats on getting this one! You''ll have to show us more photos when it''s in your hands.

Kelli what a lovely reason to buy a gemstone.

Oh Tessie that''s so sweet of you.