need some honest opinions - rhodolite garnet

[trinity911]

OK, so I''m about to break my coloured stone duck with a rhodolite garnet from finewater that I''ve put on hold. But, being a nervous chicken about such things, I wanted to get some opinions about the stone. To explain, although i know most rhodos tend to be raspberry purply-red, I was looking for a red-red-pink stone and didn''t have quite enough budget for a spinel.

Here''s Gary''s pic from the site (I hope he won''t mind me using it)

 

[trinity911]

Gary also kindly sent some additional pics - here''s a shot under fluoro light

 

[LittleLovely]

I don''t know much about rhodolite garnets, but it sure is pretty! The color is so rich. I love it!

 

[StonieGrl]

I love rhodies and I like the stone you show.

The most important thing though is whether YOU love that stone. If you would rather have the spinel, my advice is to hold off until that spinel finds you. This rhodie might always be an also-ran for you?

 

[trinity911]

here''s one under outdoor light

 

[trinity911]

and finally under incandescent

 

[trinity911]

wow, littlelovely and stoniegirl, you''re too fast for me! I think I would love a garnet and wouldn''t see it as a poor second cos I''d just set my sights on a blue spinel or sapph in the future

I guess what I''d really like opinions on are

- is this stone too dark - I know coloured stones are notorious for showing up darker IRL than vendor pics
- is there a slightly brown tinge to this stone, esp in outdoors lighting
- this stone''s price is a steal...how do I know it''s not priced so low because it''s not a great stone?
- based on everyone else''s experience of Gary, are his pics generally accurate?

Sorry, more questions than I originally planned. Any help much appreciated! thanks

 

[blithesome71]

Hi trinity911

I think the outdoor light photo looks dark (that''s in my own opinion). But I think the cut/shape is pretty.


Remember: Buy what pleases your eyes (& your pocket

)

 

[AustenNut]

I think the question really is whether or not you love this stone. But I am very interested to see that the stone is appearing so much darker in the IRL photos that Gary sent to you than the vendor shot from the photo. If you like that color as it''s seen in the other photos, go for it. If not, don''t bother.

 

[Arcadian]

The outside pics look a bit dark to me as well. I have a rhodolite that I adore (of course I set it!) but in certain lights, it just dosen''t look that good.

If you can see what it looks like in person and in all your lighting situations, then go for it.

-A

 

[D&T]

I do see it a tad on the darker side, but again, it doesn't matter to me, if you like it, then you should get it- I definitely want to own one of Gene's stone one day as I see and hear so many wonderful things about him. I usually buy stones that I think others don't quite see an appeal to it but me though

 

[StonieGrl]

Rhodies can be considered on the ''dark'' side, for sure. I like this rhodie you posted, I would buy it myself. I also think the shape and cut are beautifully done and additionally, if that is your hand it looks really good with your skintone.

Rhodies are not an ''expensive'' stone, so it may seem inexpensive to you---that is because they should not be very pricey to start with.

 

[packrat]

I think it''s really pretty. I like the cut and color and think it''s worth it to take a look at it in person and see what you think!

 

[haagen_dazs]

i think the fluoro photo is pretty close to the vendor''s photo
the daylight photo make look dark but its a very angled view so perhaps it might not count?

what i want to know is if this gemstone has extinction (based on the vendor''s photo - black specks) and supported by extra photos from him...

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I think it''s really pretty too - very rich color. I am concerned about how dark it looks outside but I think it''s worth getting to check it out.

 

[T L]

Date: 11/7/2009 7:13:48 PM
Author:trinity911
OK, so I''m about to break my coloured stone duck with a rhodolite garnet from finewater that I''ve put on hold. But, being a nervous chicken about such things, I wanted to get some opinions about the stone. To explain, although i know most rhodos tend to be raspberry purply-red, I was looking for a red-red-pink stone and didn''t have quite enough budget for a spinel.

Here''s Gary''s pic from the site (I hope he won''t mind me using it)

That is not what I would consider a fine rhodolite garnet. It looks more like an inexpensive pyrope garnet. Those are the darkish brownish red garnets you see in Victorian jewelry quite often. If you want a red-pink stone, I would continue looking. Umbalite garnets also have a nice pinkish red tone as well.

 

[Stone Hunter]

The cut looks very nice. For me the stone is dark, but I think that''s true of alot of Rhod Garnets. Good luck deciding!

 

[T L]

Rhodolites can be dark, but my big issue with the stone is that it absolutely has no hint of pink or purple, and shows a great amount of brown. It looks brick red. If that''s what you want, that''s fine, but you seem to want a pink-red stone, and this does not fit the bill.

 

[ma re]

Have to agree with TL, this stone is quite dark, and if you wear it in dim light it''ll look almost black. If you want a stone that''s this dark and red, no reason to go for a rhodolite, cause you can have a pyrope garnet for less. And if the price of this one is a steal, that''s not because it''s a really fine stone, more because it''s too dark and too brownish red for a rhodolite - steals in the gemstone world are rare, mostly you get exactly what you pay for, and sometimes not even that (talking about scams here).

 

[gemgirl]

I love well saturated colors, so for me it would be perfect (except my Rhodis tend towards the slightly red/raspberry side). I tend to fall in love with any color that translates well into velvet. That stone fits that criteria. I like it!

 

[Porridge]

I think that is a stunning colour!

 

[T L]

Date: 11/8/2009 8:18:30 AM
Author: gemgirl
I love well saturated colors, so for me it would be perfect (except my Rhodis tend towards the slightly red/raspberry side). I tend to fall in love with any color that translates well into velvet. That stone fits that criteria. I like it!

It's not saturated in color, it's just very dark in tone. It's actually very unsaturated in color, and has quite a bit of brown and extinction. I'm really surprised that Gary spent the time to cut this stone. If I were a precision cutter, I would at least try to find material that is a little finer. In garnets, I think that should be easy to do. You can find very inexpensive rhodolite garnets on ebay in decent native cuts for very little. If he's charging more than $10/ct on this stone, I wouldn't bother. Even with the precision cutting, you still have a reddish brown stone.

I actually prefer larger facets on dark toned garnets because they tend to lighten the stone and make it flashier as far as light return. I bought a 5 carat rhodolite on ebay with a distinct purple secondary in a precision cut with large table facets for $20. It was nicer than the one depicted here. I'm sure Gary has some very nice stones, this one is just a bit of a disappointment from his regular stock.

 

[D&T]

Date: 11/7/2009 9:42:19 PM
Author: D&T
I do see it a tad on the darker side, but again, it doesn''t matter to me, if you like it, then you should get it- I definitely want to own one of Gene''s stone one day as I see and hear so many wonderful things about him. I usually buy stones that I think others don''t quite see an appeal to it but me though

ooops.. just noticed that this is Gary''s not Gene'' nonetheless, still dark, however I still love his precision cutting stones, Have two and love them both

 

[ma re]

Date: 11/8/2009 12:01:34 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

I actually prefer larger facets on dark toned garnets because they tend to lighten the stone and make it flashier as far as light return.

Slightly off topic (sorry), but I have to say that trillion is also a great cut for dark tones due to less depth, especially when it comes to high R. I., singly refractive materials - like garnets. It can result in real fireworks.

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 11/8/2009 12:01:34 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 11/8/2009 8:18:30 AM
Author: gemgirl
I love well saturated colors, so for me it would be perfect (except my Rhodis tend towards the slightly red/raspberry side). I tend to fall in love with any color that translates well into velvet. That stone fits that criteria. I like it!

It''s not saturated in color, it''s just very dark in tone. It''s actually very unsaturated in color, and has quite a bit of brown and extinction. I''m really surprised that Gary spent the time to cut this stone. If I were a precision cutter, I would at least try to find material that is a little finer. In garnets, I think that should be easy to do. You can find very inexpensive rhodolite garnets on ebay in decent native cuts for very little. If he''s charging more than $10/ct on this stone, I wouldn''t bother. Even with the precision cutting, you still have a reddish brown stone.

I actually prefer larger facets on dark toned garnets because they tend to lighten the stone and make it flashier as far as light return. I bought a 5 carat rhodolite on ebay with a distinct purple secondary in a precision cut with large table facets for $20. It was nicer than the one depicted here. I''m sure Gary has some very nice stones, this one is just a bit of a disappointment from his regular stock.

i]Saturation simply means more of a color. Tone is the lightness or darkness caused by the saturation of the primary hue and additional hue components from other impurities.>>>

I looked it up just to be sure, but my opinion remains the same in the case of this Rhodalite. I think it''s well saturated in color. If you look at the first photo from Finewater, I think the tone is influenced by minor flashes of pink. But then everyone''s monitor register color slightly differently.

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 11/7/2009 7:30:34 PM
Author: trinity911

- is this stone too dark - I know coloured stones are notorious for showing up darker IRL than vendor pics

- is there a slightly brown tinge to this stone, esp in outdoors lighting

- this stone''s price is a steal...how do I know it''s not priced so low because it''s not a great stone?

- based on everyone else''s experience of Gary, are his pics generally accurate?

No, I don''t think that this stone is too dark. The first picture is obviously as good as this stone gets since the lighting is diffuse and surrounds the stone completely. It does show that this stone does not display any extinction due to it''s cut. The rest of the pictures look pretty accurate to me and probably show the stone looking less attractive than it is IRL. The reasons are that the light in the hand shots is directional and so any reflections from the stone will also be directional, making it look darker than it really is. Secondly the camera only has one eye...you have two eyes and your brain mixes the reflective areas from the images generated by both eyes into a single composite image making the stone look better IRL.

I see just the faintest brown tinge to the stone and this is to be expected, since rhodolite garnets are a mixture of the Pyrope and Almandine garnet. A touch of iron from the Almandine portion will lend nearly all of these garnets a brownish overtone to some degree in some lighting conditions.

Price is the key here. You aren''t buying a museum piece, but a well cut stone that probably looks better than the pictures indicate at what you think is a bargain price...what''s not to like about that ?

I don''t know Gary, but his pictures look good to me. His hand shots even look like he didn''t modify them to get them closer to how they really look and so I would think that you could remove some of the yellowish/brownish hue and be closer to how this really looks.

I am a bit surprised at this thread since it seems like final decisions about getting something are made based on pictures... which can never be as accurate as having a stone in your hand. These pictures should only be used in a rough way to determine if a stone is worth looking at in person and not to make final judgments about how it looks. Likewise, comparisons to what is being sold on EBay are not very accurate comparisons, since most of what is available on EBay is either very poorly cut or has pictures which are heavily modified, making am accurate decision about whether to even look at the stone impossible.

 

[LD]

I love the cut of the gemstone but the colour (for me) has too much brown and is on the dark side. I prefer my Rhodolites to be a deep damson jelly colour with hints of pink.

However, the cut (I would assume) will make the gemstone lively. If you love the colour and cut then get it for a look.

Michael - unfortunately due to locality and the lack of return policy from some vendors, we do have to make decisions based on photos. It's not the best way to evaluate a gemstone by any means but sometimes the only thing we have! This forum is good because you can post up pictures and gather people's thoughts but at the end of the day, the decision should be made with eyes wherever possible. It can be a very expensive business getting gemstones for a look and then having to return them so it's best to only get those when there are very few doubts in the first place don't you agree?

 

[T L]

While I do think the photo that Gary took does make the gem look it''s absolute best, the photos on the hand seal the deal for me. I''m pretty familiar with these stones to make a judgement call based on those photos. I do think you can find a much nicer rhodolite for less money. JMO. Like LD said, photos are the best we have, and that is a dark brick red garnet, not very attractive. That''s my honest opinion, but the OP has to make the final decision, and she did want honest opinions.

 

[trinity911]

thank you everyone who responded and I really appreciate all your opinions. I think it''s confirmed the doubts I originally had about the stone - i.e. a bit dark and more brown than desirable so I''m going to take it off hold with Gary. I''ve already started a new hunt for a blue or red stone...

''

 

[oddoneout]

Personally I love the colour. I''m on the search for one similar.