Paging Pandora

[LD]

Not sure if you're familiar with this Vendor but they have some interesting Rainbow Garnets. They're based in Japan and if you click on one of their auctions they have a link that takes you to their own website.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/kitsuneyahn/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

After seeing your wonderful pictures, I've taken the opportunity to order two from this Vendor. I'll post up photos when they arrive for you to see. It's a fascinating find isn't it?

 

[Pandora II]

Yes! I don't ususally buy stones from eBay, but I'd been looking for so long and when I saw these and the price I thought I'd take a chance and see what they were like.

 

[LD]

The price is very good isn't it? Has yours arrived yet?

 

[Pandora II]

Not yet - but then the post is awful over Christmas and especially bad here in London.

Did you buy yours last night? If so I think I had them book-marked. I'm thinking of getting a few of the rough crystals and will probably donate one to Gem-A as they only have the Mexican. The Mexican ones are a bit greener looking and don't have as much play of colour as these seem to.

 

[LD]

One last week but that was a floater and then one yesterday that looked very interesting. There's another that looks just as good and I was sorely tempted but that's closing on the 5th and I want to see how these measure up first!

That's a lovely idea to donate a crystal to Gem-A. I wish I were back in London sometimes as you're so lucky to be nearer to the hub of things! Eric Emms runs classes in London and I would be sorely tempted to go.

 

[Pandora II]

I think the Scottish Gemmological Association seems to run the best events - plus Alan Hodgkinson is there who is a bit of a legend...

There is the gem club here but it's a clash with my FGA course so I can't attend yet, but will once I've finished. You ought to come down for the conference one year - it's well worth the trip in my opinion, I was very impressed with this years. Sadly I didn't get on the list in time for the private view of the Crown Jewels. John Benjamin did a whole day on antique jewellery which only cost £15 - I've been to some of his lectures in the past and he's very good. Ted Themelis also did a day on treatment in sapphires and rubies that I heard was excellent. Sadly with a kid I had to choose which I wanted to go to as I only had one day sans.

I've looked at Eric's courses but they don't cover anything that isn't in the FGA. Gem-A also do short courses which are worth looking at. I'm going to be very sad when I finish in June - I'll miss seeing my classmates and the getting out and learning something not to do with babies! I'm debating whether or not to do the DGA - I really like the girl who teaches the class (she's taken our classes a couple of times when my tutor is at Tuscon), but not sure whether diamond grading is that useful if I really want to concentrate on coloured stones... plus it's another full year.

 

[LD]

A private viewing of the crown jewels would have been awesome! What a shame you couldn't make it.

Like you, I have a little one (albeit she's at junior school now) but it's still difficult to get time to do hobby type things - especially working full time. I will most definitely register though because you never know, I may be able to get a few days to myself. Thank you for the information. I agree about the Eric Emms classes and I'm not entirely sure how much I'd learn but it's always good just as a refresher.

I understand your reticence about the diamond grading classes. I think they're more for those who will want to work with diamonds so if you want to concentrate on coloured gemstones then it's probably not worth the year it'll take to complete. However, if you've nothing to do one year (!) then it might be worth it! With a little one in tow though I can't imagine ever having a year where there's nothing to do!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Pandora & LD.

Pandora,
I have noticed an upsurge in interest in colored diamonds, as shown by the interest in this forum. I think that you could easlily become an expert in colored diamonds in England if you took an interest in that. I see that as an opportunity as I don't think we have many experts in colored diamonds.

LD-- I would like to ask you if all your small diamonds have lab reports. I have started collecting them but only one came with a lab report, and I sent one yellow diamond to GIA. I have 2 others .64 yellow, .38 champage and one I am expecting tomorrow at .76.
I don't want these for rings, but would like to someday make a necklace from them.
You posted about your bracelet and soI thought I would ask you.

Of course anyone is free to answer.

Thanks,
Annette

 

[LD]

Hi Annette

To answer your question, some of my coloured diamonds have lab reports and others don't. Once you've been collecting for a while, you get a very good feeling as to which have been treated and which haven't! Treated diamonds are normally easier to spot because of the colour BUT there are some that could easily fall into either camp! Where I'm unsure, I most definitely send for a report or (normally) ask the Vendor to provide one at the point of sale. What you do have to be careful about is that irradiated and coated diamonds can look almost identical AND even more worryingly I have recently seen very pale pinks (melee size and above) that have been coated. Those didn't look coated and could have passed as natural untreated.

I would suggest to protect yourself to ask each vendor to provide a lab report but this does have a cost attached but conversely gives you peace of mind! Champagnes and browns are normally natural and untreated and therefore I'd save money on a lab report with them! If you buy a yellow and it's pale then chances are it's natural. The irradiated yellows tend to be very strongly coloured - but of course that's just a benchmark rather than a 100% absolute rule!

In terms of coloured diamonds in the UK, if you have the time/inclination, it's always worth getting friendly with a few jewellers who make jewellery and are used to buying diamonds because you can often pick up items at a huge discount!

Hope that helps!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
It helps alot. Thank You. I will have to wait for the stone tomorrow. He had it listed as a brown, but if his video is accurate, I have compared the color to some stones on Rockdiamonds site and his are GIA , (brown, yellow, orange diamond) It is not the color of your orange diamond, but I thought there was a lot of orange in it. If I see much orange, I think I will send it to GIA. They have a short form, but it doesn't give clarity grade on the short report. This is an I1, but I am a price point person, so I accept that grade.

Thanks a lot.
Annette

 

[LD]

Annette - photographs don't often compare well! What I would say is that if something is sold as brown then it probably is. A brown with secondary oranges can be gorgeous but unfortunately doesn't command big bucks! I picked up a 1ct one for very little (nothing even close to the prices on the sites you've been looking at)! They are out there and take a bit of seeking out but worth it if you find one.

A pure orange (or an orange with only a tiny modifier) will be very very very big bucks. Not many diamonds are graded as being pure orange. Unless you're going to sell on I don't know whether I'd send a brown to the GIA. If it's incredibly orange then I would! Just my 2p!

Hope it's lovely - please post up photos tomorrow won't you?

 

[Pandora II]

Hi Annette - I know quite a few dealers in coloured diamonds here in London. It would need a big outlay in capital and since I don't really want to do end-customer sales I will most likely stick with coloured stones to start with. But thanks for the suggestion!

LD - have your rocks arrived? Mine turned up on Saturday and it is truly beautiful, I'll try and take some photos but I think it will be hard to really capture it. Each side is a rainbow of colour but with a different dominating one - one side mainly blue, another mainly red, another golden etc.

They also sent me some freebies including a beautiful thumbnail specimen with lovely crystal formations.

All in all, very pleased - I don't think they are wearable though - mine is on the large size at 8.6cts and would be very hard to facet without losing a lot of weight and much of its beauty.

 

[LD]

Mine haven't arrived unfortunately. Yours sounds gorgeous and I'd love to see some photos. To be honest, you picked an incredibly good specimen and the vendor did say they were hard to photograph so I'm not surprised you're thrilled. Are his photos accurate or does it look much better in person?

I'm not planning to facet mine because, as you say, I think you'll lose too much in the process. However, I've been known to wear rough, wire wrapped. It might be too scratchy though!

Thanks so much for the update.

p.s. Hope the family are fully recovered now.

 

[ericemms]

"I've looked at Eric's courses but they don't cover anything that isn't in the FGA."

I do not agree with your comment. I have no wish to advertise my courses in this forum but it is important to get facts correct. I am happy to answer any questions any forum member has to ask.

Kind regards

Eric

 

[Pandora II]

"I've looked at Eric's courses but they don't cover anything that isn't in the FGA."

I do not agree with your comment. I have no wish to advertise my courses in this forum but it is important to get facts correct. I am happy to answer any questions any forum member has to ask.

Kind regards

Eric

Eric, I apologise profusely if it seems that I have denigrated your courses in anyway. I must say that I have heard nothing but good things about them - and the new ones that you have added look extremely interesting and definitely aren't offered anywhere else that I know of.

My comments were written knowing that LD has known me for several years and would understand certain things - such as my not having an interest in diamonds and that the FGA gives you a good grounding in the same gems that you cover and the same use of instruments. After a fair few years posting on these boards and knowing people it's easy to sometimes say things forgetting that this is not a private forum and that comments should be qualified.

Every course has it's own 'extras' to add so that I am sure that people with the GG or FGA would certainly add to their knowledge even if they do have the basics that are also offered in yours. You are also, I believe, the only person in the UK offering courses on assessing quality and on buying - something that is very much missing in courses like the FGA and is extremely important.

So I do hope that you will accept my apologies - and I am more than happy to say to any lurkers out there that I have never heard anything but positive comments about Eric's courses.

ETA: Having spent a few hours this week with a couple of people who have recently completed the FGA and attempting - probably badly - to explain what a window is and what a good cut looks like, something on premium colours and what the market likes and that typical inclusions, whilst very welcome when IDing, are not always popular with the buying public I can safely say that there is a definite gap in the market for this. A course designed for people who know how a refractometer works and who generally look through the right end of their dichroscope on these kind of topics would be very, very useful especially for people who don't work in the trade or who haven't spent years learning the long hard way with a box of duds to show for it. It's not something that could be incorporated into the FGA easily but would be a great add-on. Ditto for intensive in-depth short-courses on the latest treatments.