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How would you spend $500?

nojs

nojs

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
338
This is my first post here, so please be kind :) I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologize for any mistakes.

I have a mare 500 USD to spend (at most) on a CS and I would greatly appreciate your thoughts. What would you choose given the following specs:

Cut and type of stone:
- nice cut, no windows
- a bright, highly "reflective" stone

Color: greens (preferably lime, turquoise or "emerald green"), all blues, possibly a very nice pink. I'm ok with lighter tone, if there is a lot of saturation.

Size:
- a stone suitable for a everyday ring (Sapphire, Spinel, Chrysoberl), size at least 5 mm round, 6 x 4 mm oval/pear/emerald
OR
- two matching stones for a pair of earrings, size at least (each) 5 mm round, 6 x 4 mm oval/pear/emerald
OR
- a stone suitable for a pendant, size at least 8 mm round/trillion, 10 x 7-8 mm oval/pear/emerald OR 10 x 10 mm

Treatment:
- I'm ok with standard treatment for each stone (heat with sappire, radiation with blue topaz, preferably none with tourmaline etc)

I'm not too picky about shape, but I don't fancy marquise or heart shape.
 
I'd totally get a chrysoberyl. I feel like you can get a very nice quality one for that price, where you won't have to compromise
 
I recommend Barry's stones for beginners, $500 could get 2 or 3 from him depending on sizes. Spinels, garnets or tourmalines. All lovely. Barry's cutting can really give you a joy.
 
I'm on a cabochon blue sapphire kick at the moment, cheaper than faceted stones but a more vibrant colour in my opinion.
 
You said lime so I'm going to go out on a limb here. This is from Gene and his cutting is amazing - I'm sure this would sparkle. Plus, it's a sapphire and within budget. Might be worth seeing in-person if you like the picture and how he describes it. I'll keep looking though! :)

1.52 ct Kenyan sapphire
6.484mm
Unheated
$304
http://precisiongem.com/Gemstones/rapidcart/sapphire.html

_25858.jpg
 
welcome to the wonderful world of color stones!

honestly, though, i'd take more time and get more educated which would also allow time to save more $.......

why? well, most of us have "learner" stones and i'm going to say i'd rather have fewer of them.......
yeah, not as much fun in some ways but the $ spent on a "learner" stone is $ that could have gone towards buying a better stone.

yes, I've gotten practical in my old age.....and if you really can't resist i'd suggest cabochons for value.
 
They are $644, but I think it's a great deal. The blue appears to have a green secondary, so they're not considered top color by the trade, but they're a nice size and definitely blue.

il_193.jpg
 
Thank you all for your insightful replies!

DK: fabulous stone :) For some reason violet does not look good on me, but I find the color in the video nice, just a bit dark (?).

OTL: who is Barry? :)

SparkliesLuver: a really pretty stone! I'd go for it, but I'm trying to stay away from yellow :)

movie zombie: I really appreciate your comment. I have to ask though, are you saying this (partly) because of the stone sizes and the low budget? I'm a Finn, and people here have really modest tastes regarding jewelry. My slightly over 0.5 carat (AGS000) engagement ring is considered huge :D :D So I really don't mind ringstones to be small. I have been lurking around this forum for quite some time, although I have a lot to learn, I have some idea what I like in CS. Do you think it is not possible to get a nice "not-learner" stone within those specifications for 500 dollars?

I make my own jewelry as a hobby, so if not anything else, I might have to get some blue topaz (inspired by this tread https://www.pricescope.com/communit...or-an-affordable-5-6mm-sky-blue-topaz.209523/ ) :)
 
Nojs,
I don't think MZ meant learner stones in that it is small but finding out exactly what you will love in the long run. When "learning", everything looks great but over time, one develops very specific likes and dislikes as to colour, shape and gem type. In taking the time to learn the pros and cons of each gem type as they behave differently, you may come to love garnet over tourmaline as an example. You may also develop the need for a mind clean stone (aka no treatment) or some such.

Barry is the owner of ACStones and a good lapidary as well.
 
I agree with Moviezombie, but I also think it depends on your priorities. By learner stones I think MZ was referring to the fact that this is one of your first purchases (is it?) and not your budget -- 500 dollars is not a low budget IMO considering gems are luxuries after all.

Some people like to collect gems that appeal to them and look pretty that they can wear. Some like to delve deeper into their preferences and try to learn a lot before considering a purchase. There are many types of collectors, priorities and preferences and none of them are wrong.

I have a couple learner stones (I'm new to CS), I spent far below 500 dollars all together, and I'll never regret them because they were inexpensive. Through them I understood more clearly what people meant by tone, saturation and hue. And tilt windows, how different lights affect colour, and silk. So now I have a few preferences. If I spent 500 dollars on a silky sapphire, then 4 months after realized I don't like the silky look as much as I thought I did, I'd regret buying it.

I'm not trying to discourage you but keep in mind that we don't always know what we will like long term, especially as we learn and find out more things. On the other hand, if you simply want something pretty to look at, go ahead, that's also a valid form of collecting.

Now, if you are just new to PS and not CS in general, feel free to ignore the above :)

Btw Barry is acstones.com. His newly cut stones sell very quickly.

If I had a $500 budget I'd go with a greenish yellow chrysoberyl. But I'd wait until I found one with great colour and cutting. I like asschers and that is a hard shape to find, so I guess I'd reach out to a cutter and commission one if they have the rough.

Eta: Noticed Chrono's post right now. It's worded better than what I meant to say.
 
movie zombie|1420680721|3813242 said:
welcome to the wonderful world of color stones!

honestly, though, i'd take more time and get more educated which would also allow time to save more $.......

why? well, most of us have "learner" stones and i'm going to say i'd rather have fewer of them.......
yeah, not as much fun in some ways but the $ spent on a "learner" stone is $ that could have gone towards buying a better stone.

yes, I've gotten practical in my old age.....and if you really can't resist i'd suggest cabochons for value.
Click to expand...

Excellent words of advice, especially the bolded point above.

Here's a good start.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/[/URL]
 
Thanks again for wonderful insight!

I have previously bought several tourmalines in various colors, few (dark) red spinels, a golder beryl, a greenish beryl, several blue topazes, quarts, a citrine and a few amethysts :) Some stones have been nicer than others, but all have been inexpensive (from 4 to 100 dollars each). These stones have "commercial cuts", so I would like to get something with a nicer cut and a lot of brilliance. I have also learned that I like crisp colors and the stone should be as bright as possible. I do understand the limitations of the budget in this regard :)

At the moment I'm leaning towards finding a nice and light green chrysoberyl :)
 
If it was me, I'd go for a golden-greenish mali garnet. :)

There's a few on gemfix in your price range, but they are more golden/yellow than green
 
nojs|1420732630|3813482 said:
Thanks again for wonderful insight!

I have previously bought several tourmalines in various colors, few (dark) red spinels, a golder beryl, a greenish beryl, several blue topazes, quarts, a citrine and a few amethysts :) Some stones have been nicer than others, but all have been inexpensive (from 4 to 100 dollars each). These stones have "commercial cuts", so I would like to get something with a nicer cut and a lot of brilliance. I have also learned that I like crisp colors and the stone should be as bright as possible. I do understand the limitations of the budget in this regard :)

At the moment I'm leaning towards finding a nice and light green chrysoberyl :)
Click to expand...

What you also have to be careful of is that most gems do shift in color and/or saturation and/or tone in various lighting situations. It can be very disconcerting to see a gem look bright, saturated and beautiful in one lighting situation, and then you head into another lighting situation, and it can look dead, dull or dark. The types of lighting I'm referring to are mainly sunlight, fluorescents (if you work in a standard office, this can be an issue), and incandescent. Therefore, someone mentioned Mali garnet above, but many of them turn very brown in some lighting, which isn't an added bonus if you want something bright as brown tends to be a non-hue, and what is called a "modifier." It decreases saturation, as does too much grey (brown and grey are the two "modifiers" in gems). One should always ask a vendor and/or lapidary about changes in saturation, hue and tone when considering a gem from them.

I highly recommend you look up information on hue, saturation, tone to understand how these fundamental characteristics of colored stones work, otherwise, like MZ said, you're going to be buying a lot of "learning" stones that you may regret you purchased later. A fabulous cut cannot always help either if you have very poor color.
 
Thank you TL! Must remember to ask for performance in the different lighting conditions.

The "New to coloured gemstone buying? Read this first!" threat was the first (and most helpful) threat I read when I first discovered CS in PriceScope. I definitely don't want any brown or grey in my stone. I'm happy with lighter tone, if the saturation is good.
 
nojs|1420740599|3813570 said:
Thank you TL! Must remember to ask for performance in the different lighting conditions.

The "New to coloured gemstone buying? Read this first!" threat was the first (and most helpful) threat I read when I first discovered CS in PriceScope. I definitely don't want any brown or grey in my stone. I'm happy with lighter tone, if the saturation is good.
Click to expand...

Note that a little brown or grey is okay (although I prefer the latter myself). If you don't want any brown or grey (browns are in hotter colored gems, and grey in cool ones), then you will either have to buy a highly treated gem or a synthetic, or spend a fortune on a natural untreated stone. Typically the greater the saturation, the higher the cost. I have gems with some grey in them that I still love, but the grey isn't overwhelmingly there. For example, here's a ring of mine with a greyish blue sapphire, but the stone is a medium light tone, bright and I really love the color, although it may not be saturated enough for others.

Please also note that some people in this forum love pure grey gems too, but if they're educated about color, tone, saturation, etc. . . then that's perfectly fine. It's about what YOU like, but the difference is that you should be educated enough to understand the nuances of what makes up color.

_25873.jpg
 
And the sidestones to the blue sapphire are chrysoberyls. Hint hint. :bigsmile:
 
Thanks again TL! Perhaps I should have said no obvious brown/grey (to me at least). Your ring is lovely! That blue is fantastic!

I have gone through every page of the Show us your Chrysoberyls -tread, and members of PS sure have some drool worthy stones! :)
 
I love mint garnets and also of course demantoid but you may not reach your desired sizes for the 500 (mint yes but probably not demantoid).

If it was for myself I would either try to find a nice Montana sapphire, or an untreated precious/imperial topaz that had some pink/orange to it.
 
OP, be warned, CS is VERY additive!

Good luck with your search.

DK :))
 
dk168|1420843368|3814292 said:
OP, be warned, CS is VERY additive!

Good luck with your search.

DK :))
Click to expand...

Yes, I totally agree!!!
 
Thanks again everyone! I'm still looking for the gem :) Mainly a chrysoberyl or a spinel. In the meanwhile, I got some more inexpensive "learner" stones from eBay :) They haven't arrived yet. I realized I might as well, since I can set them myself in silver and give them as gifts or whatever. When I get my gem, I'll have a professional set it :)
 
Oh wow, that sure is pretty! Thank you SparkliesLuver! I really like that. Don't know what I'd do with it though :) Oval is not my favorite shape for a pendant, and as a peridot (and that size) that would probably be the way forward.
 
Sure thing. I know it's not ideal but I like tossing things in the ring for consideration anyway. You never know.

True, true. I'll keep looking ... :D
 
I'm happy to inform you that I seem to already have a chrysoberyl :D I checked my registries, and the yellow oval I have from 2010 is indeed a chrysoberyl and not a golden beryl as I remembered. It is the nicest of my "learned stones", very clean, bright and yellow :) It has a small window though, but I put it over my husband's wide yellow gold band, and if I manage to set it that way, the window should close. If a find a suitable semi mount, I'll set it. The stone is 5.96 x 4.74 mm. If anyone knows a place that sells semi mounts that close windows :D I sure would appreciate that :)
 
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