New to forum with some questions regarding morganite

[ma re]

Date: 8/20/2009 5:41:48 AM
Author: Kashmira
Would a ''brilliant cut'' be considered as a cut with teeny tiny facets?

With most native cut morganites of that size, the answer is "yes". But if they''re precision cut, they might be more lively. A mixed cut (a step cut pavillion combined with a standard brilliant crown), might give some nice stones, especially if it''s a bit deeper than the usual round brilliant.

Barion cuts tend to be quite deep and suitable for these kinds of materials, but I''m not sure if there''s such a thing as a round barion - the whole thing about barions is that they allow a facet pattern similar to that of brilliant cuts to be employed on angular shapes such as squares etc. But if you already have a round stone there''s no point in cutting it that way I guess.

 

[Kashmira]

Date: 8/20/2009 7:13:25 AM
Author: ma re

Date: 8/20/2009 5:41:48 AM
Author: Kashmira
Would a ''brilliant cut'' be considered as a cut with teeny tiny facets?

With most native cut morganites of that size, the answer is ''yes''. But if they''re precision cut, they might be more lively. A mixed cut (a step cut pavillion combined with a standard brilliant crown), might give some nice stones, especially if it''s a bit deeper than the usual round brilliant.

Barion cuts tend to be quite deep and suitable for these kinds of materials, but I''m not sure if there''s such a thing as a round barion - the whole thing about barions is that they allow a facet pattern similar to that of brilliant cuts to be employed on angular shapes such as squares etc. But if you already have a round stone there''s no point in cutting it that way I guess.

As I haven''t seen the morganites I guess that I will have to trust my jeweller who said that teh colour/cut was nice.

Here is a link to the earrings I have in mind (it''s shown with diamonds but since they are hand made my jeweller of course can use morganites instead of diamonds- I hope to be able to replace the morganites with diamonds later on).

 

[ma re]

About the choice of cut explanation; hope you know it''s not all that simple. I was writing you about the importance of scintillation and depth of color in lightly colored materials of low R. I., but rules change for those with different characteristics. For instance, there''s not much point in focusing on scintillation of brightly colored gems with very saturated colors and low R. I.''s like a fire opal or an emerald. Cause with them, no matter how good the cut is, you won''t see all that much life in a stone, since the color masks a great deal of it (so it''s harder to distinguish individual sparks). There''s also no need to further enhance the vividness of color with the cut, at least not in many of stones from those varieties. Dark materials are another different story. The dark tone of color gives enough contrast to increase perceived scintillation, as it''s much esier to detect individual facet reflections. And they also don''t need further darkening of color, but quite the opposite - a shallower cut and a lot of facets that will make the stone brighter and more interesting.

And let''s not even go to cabochons, stars, refractivity, dispersion etc., or aspects such as transparency, size and clarity - it all makes a difference

 

[Gailey]

Date: 8/20/2009 1:36:20 PM
Author: ma re
About the choice of cut explanation; hope you know it''s not all that simple. I was writing you about the importance of scintillation and depth of color in lightly colored materials of low R. I., but rules change for those with different characteristics. For instance, there''s not much point in focusing on scintillation of brightly colored gems with very saturated colors and low R. I.''s like a fire opal or an emerald. Cause with them, no matter how good the cut is, you won''t see all that much life in a stone, since the color masks a great deal of it (so it''s harder to distinguish individual sparks). There''s also no need to further enhance the vividness of color with the cut, at least not in many of stones from those varieties. Dark materials are another different story. The dark tone of color gives enough contrast to increase perceived scintillation, as it''s much esier to detect individual facet reflections. And they also don''t need further darkening of color, but quite the opposite - a shallower cut and a lot of facets that will make the stone brighter and more interesting.

And let''s not even go to cabochons, stars, refractivity, dispersion etc., or aspects such as transparency, size and clarity - it all makes a difference

Ma Re, firstly I have to say I respect your opinions very highly - above all others in some cases. But I have to respectfully disagree with you about Fire Opal. Having said that no two are the same and I guess like all things in life, you get what you pay for.

I had never even given them a second glance prior to seeing one in person earlier this year. It was a large pillar box red stone. The colour led me to pick it up and give it a second look. I have to say it was quite the most mesmerising stone I have ever seen. The term "fire" is well suited. As I moved the stone from side to side and looked at it from different angles, the flashes of "fire" from deep within the stone were hypnotic - like watching the flames of a real log fire. Granted it was subtle and had I not think to pick it up, it would have been a fairly flat milky looking red stone. Understated, elegant and very enigmatic. Not a good candidate for on-line shopping I would think.

So when I get one later this year (hopefully), please help me decide what to do with it.

Sorry for the threadjack.

 

[ma re]

Gailey, I understand what you''re talking about and I have to say I wasn''t specific enough when I wrote that, but I didn''t want to overwhelm Kashmira with a truckload of information

I was writing mostly with a comparison to other stones in mind - those with different colors or grades of transparency. I know that some fire opals can look very lively, but I was talking about majority of those you can find, which are quite glowy and not cut to perfection (often far from it), so all they have is a very bright color, but not much else. That''s especially the case, like with most varieties, with small stones.

Anyway, thank you for your compliments, and I''ll be sure to check out your opal