how to choose the right stone?

[upgrading mama]

I am sorry for the redundancy of this question (if it is so).
I am looking for a pear shaped stone for either a ring or a pendant. I am curious about hardness of different colored gemstones and average cost. I know sapphires are a 9 on the hardness scale, but I have sapphires (my birthstone) and would like to try something different. Does anyone know anything about the following stones:
Tourmaline
Spinel
garnet

I am leaning towards a pinkish brown or champagne color. Are there other stones besided the above mentioned that come in those colors that would be suitable?
I like this color...

TIA,
Sophie

 

[strmrdr]

zircon for a pendant.
It is almost as sparky as diamond.

 

[strmrdr]

btw that Tourmaline is very badly cut and badly color zoned.
Its that price for a reason.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/24/2005 1:11:55 AM
Author: strmrdr
btw that Tourmaline is very badly cut and badly color zoned.
Its that price for a reason.

Dunno about cut.... ''seen worse.

But... color combination is valued in tourmaline. Try a search for ''parti color tourmaline''. These are not the same as those with 2-3 colors lined up and neatly separated - these are ''patchy'' stones. The brighter the colors the merrier. The one in the picture is at most priced as is because of the very light pasted shade, not the multicolor look.

These are pretty unusual, I am not aware of any hard ''rules'' of how to evaluate them - mostly some gut feeling about the colors and definitely the way the cut takes advantage and showcases the natural kaleidoscope.

Try this link for some nicer multicolor tourmaline. And more here. There''s surely more elsewhere.

These are not terribly expensive anyway. But the multicolor look is a well known and desirable thing. How popular? No idea. Every gem guide mentions it. The jewelry shop next door may not have parti color tourmaline... the usual story.

Hope this helps

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Sophie: I think the pinkish brown or champagne color your looking for can be found in Imperial Topaz. Brazil has some very fine Topaz, particularly in Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Topaz can occur in colorless and brown colors. The most sought after colors is the golden, orange, pink, and red colors which carry the imperial or precious designation. Some of the most sought after pieces being the pinks..
The impurity chromium produces the colors ranging from pink to red. A mixture of 2 different color centers and chromium produces the orangey topaz.

Other hues include reddish Orange with sherry Red, deep Pink, and a beautiful salmon or light sherry color...

True, Fine Imperial Topaz is very expensive. The dark-peach (reddish-orange) Topaz from Brazil which exhibits that "cocktail: red hue is the darkest rarest color in topaz which demands a premium.

A lot of the material is heat treated, usually to enhance (not change) the color. Material can have distinctly reddish hues as it comes out of the ground, but the heat treatment just deepens them. Quite often, some of the oranges will turn pink , some of the larger orangey colored crystals can have fairly deep red tips.....

Hi Val:

In reference to your remarks on the multi-colored effect of tourmaline...It is a dichroic gem which usually exhibits a strong multi-colored effect. In tourmalines which display lighter hues I think it is important to note if you like the stone and it is attractive and the multi-color effect doesn''t detract from the stones appearance, cut well and looks good in both the day and evening, it could be worth considering...