please help me choose a gemstone!

[Pyro008]

Hi, I''m a guy and I''m new to the board. (Just distinguishing gender to help the gemstone process) Anyway, I want to get a gemstone ring soon, but I will probably only get one, so I have to choose between several different gemstones. I want the gemstone to have a good color as well as a good meaning to it. I''m also a scorpio if that''s important for gemstones (which I''ve heard is true.) Anyway, here are the following stones I''m deciding between:

Ruby: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/ruby.html

Emerald: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/emerald.html

Tsavorite Garnet: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/tsavorite.html

Demantoid Garnet: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/demantoid.html

Aquamarine: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/aquamarine.html

Amethyst: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/amethyst.html

Tanzanite http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/tanzanite.html

Now, I'' ve also looked at this site and this is how I get the sort of "color meanings."
http://www.crystal-cure.com/color-meanings.html

Here''s the thing, each color has something which I wish to convey.
Red is good because I want to show confidence.
Green is probably the best because I want the ring to represent a sort of maturity or growth.
Blue is probably the least important meaning of peace and tranquility for me.
Purple is as good as green because it promotes imagination, re-balance and removing obstacles.

Here are some concerns; Ruby: I''m not a really in your face kind of guy, and I don''t really like the color that much. Actually, I think I should just forget Ruby.
As for garnet, I suppose I favor Demantoid for no obvious reason. I guess it just looks a little better to me.
Nevertheless, my two favorites are probably aquamarine and amethyst. Really, I can''t find anything wrong with aquamarine. Beautiful color, it''s a november stone, a scorpio stone, has good meaning, but there are so many other stones.
Same with Amethyst and Tanzanite, except for the november part. My only concern is that it may look too feminine on me (once again, I''m a guy.) Although I think the color does add a sense of mystery, plus tanzanite is really an awesome color.

P.S.: These are some of the rings I was considering, please tell me if you think they are good.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002RS0US/sr=1-13/qid=1107507135/ref=sr_1_13/104-6632220-2598320?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=3888171&s=jewelry&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002RI40E/sr=1-4/qid=1107507203/ref=sr_1_4/104-6632220-2598320?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=3888171&s=jewelry&v=glance (this one''s a bit too light personally)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002RI3K0/sr=1-15/qid=1107507249/ref=sr_1_15/104-6632220-2598320?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=3888171&s=jewelry&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002RNC6U/sr=1-8/qid=1107507769/ref=sr_1_8/104-6632220-2598320?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=3888171&s=jewelry&v=glance

Sorry about the long post. Anyway, with all of that information, it''s easy to see why I have such a hard decision to make. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ymanda]

Hi,

As mentioned lately in another post: your computer screen is not a good way to apraise the color of a stone.
1) your screen setup
2) some website use photoshop to enhance the color
3) they can even combine 2 photos of the same stone and move the light source. So they get a 100% brilliance. (lightning the to halfs of the stone and then patching the best half of each image of the same stone)

So be carefull and look for good descriptions (text writing).

Good luck

 

[Matata]

Pyro,

Aquamarine would look gorgeous and masculine set in dark metal like the black titanium below. Just wanted to show you another option.

 

[innerkitten]

Maybe you should go with tsavorite. I read you said green is probably best. Personally green is one of my favorite colors. Whats the birth stone for Scorpio?

 

[Hest88]

I do agree that deeper colors seem more masculine, and if you prefer green it''s not all that difficult to find a deep green stone.

 

[valeria101]

What kind of ring do you have in mind ? That might limit choices one way or another (for hardness, size, cost...).

There are lots of ways to add meaning to a gemstone or piece of jewelry, believe me

How about origin ?
At some point, I wanted to wear a piece of rock (preferanbly precious) from my homecountry...and learned quickly that mine was no odd wish - US states even have their "official" gems and most have several sources and types of material to choose from. Even without such official recipe, it is not out of the question to address the closest gem deposit to some location you find meaningful.


Otherwise,

I am not too aware of which birthstone list is most in use - Pala Gems lists a couple HERE

Another traditional recipe to pair person & gem belongs to Indian astrology. Unfortunately, the modern concepts of gem valuation come from the same source - so their prescriptions are darn expensive if followed ad literam !

You might want to take a look for fun at jyotish gems and one competitor.


Obviously, if a piece has to have meaning, only you can attach one to it. Otherwise... what sense does it make

Just my 0.2 opinion, of course

 

[velouriaL]

That''s interesting, V, about the national gemstones. Any links?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/4/2005 7:59:32 PM
Author: velouriaL
That's interesting, V, about the national gemstones. Any links?

I am not sure every US state has one (never counted), but many do - you may want to look up "Official State Gemstone" to find the proper source for each. One Wikipedia Page gathers those established by legislation in the US and Canada.

I don't think each country has an official gem though, if this is what you mean. In some cases there isn't any gem material mined locally.

 

[lonewoodminer]

Date: 2/4/2005 8:47:20 AM
Author: Ymanda
Hi,

As mentioned lately in another post: your computer screen is not a good way to apraise the color of a stone.
1) your screen setup
2) some website use photoshop to enhance the color
3) they can even combine 2 photos of the same stone and move the light source. So they get a 100% brilliance. (lightning the to halfs of the stone and then patching the best half of each image of the same stone)

So be carefull and look for good descriptions (text writing).

Good luck

Hi yamanda
You must also understand that some of us make a great effort to try and photograph stone as accurately as possible, even to the length of trying to highlight any tiny inclusions! We certainly dont use any computer tricks as it is more of a hassle for us if customers are disappointed with their purchase and return it for a refund - much easier for everyone if customers are happy and not misled in the first place. But I agree that accurate photography is difficult. We can spend lots of time matching up colour of our stone with the photograph on our screen but this doesnt help if someone else''s screen is setup differently and displays the colour differently - not sure how to solve that problem except to use some kind of universal colour description system.

cheers
Andrew

 

[northstar_78]

I''ve been toying with the idea of getting a colored gemstone as the center stone for my engagement ring too. Here''s my advice...

-I''d definetly go "see" the stones in question in person...as someone posted earlier the colors on monitors tend to be different. Also, "carat" weight is different i.e. sapphires weigh more than diamonds. I went to visit a natural sapphire company in New York not being aware of this and all the stones that I liked, which were around 1-2 carats looked small...I ended up liking them in the 3-4 carat range!

-Make sure you do your homework on durability...natural zircon which comes in a variety of colors is a very fragile stone even though it has a high hardness...

-I''ve heard that emeralds are not a good stone for everyday wear

-I love spinels! They are quite nice (especially the pink color) and are a nice alternative

-The price of a high quality unheated and certified sapphire especially in a blue color is very expensive...but worth it!

-Tourmaline is also a lovely colored stone. Some of the best mines are actually located in the USA, in Maine. They come in a variety of colors and are quite durable.

Good luck!

 

[NyssaLynne]

If I had to choose between aquamarine, tanzanite, and amethyst for a man - I would have to say a more blue than clear aquamarine. Demantoid garnet would be a good choice too. Also, I thought the November birthstone was topaz. Topaz, either the golden or the blue, would be another good choice for a man.

Of the pictures you posted, I like this one best and agree it should be a darker stone - which may be hard to find in aquamarine. Much easier to find it in blue topaz since blue topaz has so many color hues available. A golden topaz would look great in this style too.