Purists... how far do you go?

[vintagelover229]

I wont buy print of artwork. I have an artist friend and i adore her work and somehow now have 3 of her originals. I got a print made of one she made for memory of my son Josiah for my midwife and when it arrived while beautiful i compared to the one on my wall-the original-and its just not the same. I am similar with jewelery. Dont give me fake stuff, i do appreciate a good sim and the artwork of it all but i like um real and untreated. Dont mind the crazy hair and make up in the 1 with her-she quickly popped by during my 80s themed bday party to drop off her coffee book as a surprise <3

 

[Sunrises Sunsets]

I don't think the point of this thread has much to do with having a "purist perception of life". It's about how much tolerance we have for gemstone treatments that are mind clean enough for us. Keep in mind most of us here on the CS forum are gemstone fanatics and are passionate about gemstones, not just jewelry in particular. We each and all have our own little quirks and that is totally fine and normal.

I'm not unhappy or torturing myself because I can't like LGDs enough to own one. That being said I do like that it gives people more choices that are budget friendly, and I absolutely admire other pser's beautiful LGD jewelry.

I buy jewelry and gemstones simply for my own enjoyment and don't care much for what others think. Nor do I care at all if other people's jewelry and gems are "pure" or not. As long as it makes the other person happy.

To each their own

I understand that this addresses the jewelry facet of purist. But I think the same guidelines are there in that one can wear their only acceptable type of jewelry but no one else notices or cares. Therefore, they have limited their experiences and fun with other pieces of jewelry. And you are correct, there is no right or wrong for the purist, just limitation.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I'd go this far.

Padparadscha Sapphire Tazza Ring in 18kt Yellow Gold

Padparadscha Sapphire Tazza Ring in 18kt Yellow GoldMade by McTeigue & Co Round Padparadscha Sapphire 2.21cts GIA: Natural Padparadscha Sappohire, No HeatBezel set and finished by hand with a modern and comfortable round shank. Size 6 - SIZABLE

www.mctandco.com

cheers--Sharon

 

[Demon]

I understand that this addresses the jewelry facet of purist. But I think the same guidelines are there in that one can wear their only acceptable type of jewelry but no one else notices or cares. Therefore, they have limited their experiences and fun with other pieces of jewelry. And you are correct, there is no right or wrong for the purist, just limitation.

I don't think whether anyone else notices or cares has anything to do with it. It's what we value in our own jewelry. If someone wants to wear costume jewelry, that's perfectly fine - it's just not for me.

 

[CBianco]

I understand that this addresses the jewelry facet of purist. But I think the same guidelines are there in that one can wear their only acceptable type of jewelry but no one else notices or cares. Therefore, they have limited their experiences and fun with other pieces of jewelry. And you are correct, there is no right or wrong for the purist, just limitation.

Just realized this is hang-out and not the CS forum whoops.

Anyways, personally speaking I do not care if anyone else notices or cares. And I'm sure the majority of others who think like I do feels the same way.

And I don't see jewelry/other things that I'm "missing out" on as limitation. I simply do not get enjoyment out of them.

 

[icy_jade]

but to limit myself to those only would make me a unhappy. Life is short, believe me, go for the gusto. Try to break out of the ties that bind.

I don’t think you get it. Most of us aren’t unhappy or feel limited. No need to feel sorry for us.

 

[dk168]

Not a purist by any means!

I am fine with heat in CSs - colour is king for me!

There is a limit of what I would pay for pearls, and at the moment, I am not going to spend $$$ on a strand of top grade Akoya that comes with a certificate!

However, I am quite specific when it comes to colour, cutting and shape.

I have only bought one pair of mis-match pearl drops as I liked their shapes and being very well-matched.

I have yet to find a pair of WSS and a pair of Tahitians that are well-matched, and have been looking for them for years.

It took me years in order to find the right tiny huggies in LA in 2016 that I like without making me look like a frog or a chameleon.

So, in short, I value certain qualities over others.

Each to their own at the end of the day, and there is no right or wrong when it comes to personal preferences, in jewellery or otherwise, IMHO.

DK

 

[Avondale]

The reason I prefer natural coloured stones to lab grown ones is the uniqueness of the former compared to the uniformity of the latter. There's an expression, "mother nature cooks in a messy kitchen". As a result the gemstones she produces are in general one of a kind. Patterns, colours, inclusions, different combinations of trace elements... Each one is its own little piece of uniqueness and there's nothing else in the world that's quite like it. Labs with their strictly controlled environments can't achieve the same. Only nature's imperfection can.

The widely applied and accepted treatments I don't mind, as long as they're properly disclosed and reflected in the price.

Diamonds I do not care about. Gasp! I know! Blasphemy! But diamonds have one major problem - most of them are colourless and the ones that do have some colour are still pretty meh. The only thing I value diamonds for is their toughness so I'll use them for melee and won't even ask if they're EM or LG. Frankly, I couldn't care less.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@Avondale my motto is: Diamonds exist to serve as melee

I looooove sparkly diamond melee and I personally feel that every CS ring I own must have diamond melee but I had to make peace a few years ago that I just don’t enjoy white diamonds as a feature stone.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I understand that this addresses the jewelry facet of purist. But I think the same guidelines are there in that one can wear their only acceptable type of jewelry but no one else notices or cares. Therefore, they have limited their experiences and fun with other pieces of jewelry. And you are correct, there is no right or wrong for the purist, just limitation.

I think the difference here is that you are saying that no one else notices or cares. That is probably very true. She is saying, along with others including myself, that we don’t want to or can’t live with having less than natural stones. It isn’t about what others think; it is how we think and how we feel about them. Limitations come in lots of ways and thoughts and being able to embrace your own limitations is actually freeing.

These discussions are interesting, honest and forthright. It may be that someone takes something away from any one of them that resonates with them in some way. We are just speaking honestly about how we feel without inviting judgment in any form.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

To this I would say, 'I'm your huckleberry'.
Pragmatism necessitates otherwise.
Not too much of a purist it turns out.
If it fits, I sits.

Minor heat is fine for CS for me, other treatments are a no go.
If they ever make a lab CS that actually rocks my socks, I'll probably buy one. Emerald to start.
I find I just don't value diamonds in quite the same way. I love that sparkle though, yes I do. I just love the sparkle and shape of an antique cut.
I didn't know how I felt about moissanite really, until I had them put into my set in place of EG oecs because I was impatient. I love them, and haven't really thought about it since.
LG and EG are mostly synonymous in my eyes. Unless it's an antique, then I get squirrely.
I do find it fascinating that EG is it's own very interesting individual subset of sunk cost fallacy and unconscious pernicious societal conditioning in action, as all jewelry in the end is to whatever extent. It's all illogical if you think about it, diamonds being the most illogical of them all. Shiny rocks. It applies to everyone.
We know this, and yet, we're all here.
So, yeah for us!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Can we work out why most of us are ok with minor oil in emeralds?

Is it the risk that it would dry out and look vastly different at moderate/significant? But with minor we that that's unlikely?

I was looking at a few stones the other day and also their lab counterparts. The lab stuff just looked super weird to me. It was huge and perfect but oddly so. It was as if the cookie cutter perfection became an imperfection itself. One that I couldn't get over.

 

[SparklieBug]

I haven't seen any IRL, but what about lab emeralds that have inclusions? Do they look authentic? I confess that I don't know much about the CS world, although I do like to go into that forum and admire the beautiful jewelry.

I've only seen one sizeable emerald IRL that I thought was beautiful, and it was a friend's ring. The emerald was set in high-carat yellow gold, and it glowed from within. It had visible inclusions which made it fascinating to look into.

So would inclusions make a lab emerald look more like a natural emerald?

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

"Nature's imperfection." That's it, I love this.

 

[Starstruck8]

The reason I prefer natural coloured stones to lab grown ones is the uniqueness of the former compared to the uniformity of the latter. There's an expression, "mother nature cooks in a messy kitchen". As a result the gemstones she produces are in general one of a kind. Patterns, colours, inclusions, different combinations of trace elements... Each one is its own little piece of uniqueness and there's nothing else in the world that's quite like it. Labs with their strictly controlled environments can't achieve the same. Only nature's imperfection can.

I was looking at a few stones the other day and also their lab counterparts. The lab stuff just looked super weird to me. It was huge and perfect but oddly so. It was as if the cookie cutter perfection became an imperfection itself. One that I couldn't get over.

My thoughts exactly. The perfection of lab CS just makes them look dead. There's a sort of inconsistency here, because I look for the cleanest natural stones my budget allows. But I think that even the cleanest natural stones have subtle zoning, silk and other tiny inclusions. This gives them glow and life and magic that lab stones lack.

I feel for those limited with the "purist" perception of life. It eclipses so much joy and fun. When they hit the streets, unless they're wearing a tattoo, bracelet or tee shirt that claims they are a "purist", no one notices and even if they notice, don't care. When it comes down to it, a beautiful piece of jewelry is admired and not tested for it's origin.

We CS lovers (mostly) aren't seeking for our stones to be noticed or admired. If we were, we would soon be disillusioned. Ask me how I know... Outside PS, most 'normal' people know almost nothing about CS and care even less. We CS lovers buy them and wear them for ourselves. That's why rings (as opposed to pendants and earrings) are so popular.

 

[yssie]

Can we work out why most of us are ok with minor oil in emeralds?

I'm not.
But my wallet isn't okay with me not being okay with oiled emeralds.
So I don't have an emerald.
Now here's a first world problem LOL.

 

[Avondale]

Can we work out why most of us are ok with minor oil in emeralds?

My guess would be in two parts.

1. Minor oil means few surface reaching fissures. Cleaner stone.
2. Oil can be easily removed. You want an unoiled emerald, free of treatment? Soak it in acetone and you'll have one.

 

[icy_jade]

My thoughts exactly. The perfection of lab CS just makes them look dead. There's a sort of inconsistency here, because I look for the cleanest natural stones my budget allows. But I think that even the cleanest natural stones have subtle zoning, silk and other tiny inclusions. This gives them glow and life and magic that lab stones lack.



We CS lovers (mostly) aren't seeking for our stones to be noticed or admired. If we were, we would soon be disillusioned. Ask me how I know... Outside PS, most 'normal' people know almost nothing about CS and care even less. We CS lovers buy them and wear them for ourselves. That's why rings (as opposed to pendants and earrings) are so popular.

Actually I’ve seen labs with inclusions that look rather real. So no one would suspect it’s not natural unless you tell them. But then I know it’s a lab stone so I can’t wear it. Heck at this point even if I wear a large lab CS I think people around me wouldn’t doubt that it’s real. But that’s not the point. I buy and wear CS for myself and not them. So I’ll rather wear a small, unheated ruby than huge glass-filled one. Apart from being slightly sad that I can’t afford a huge ass 8 carat unheated Burmese PB ruby, I am totally happy with the stuff that I can afford.

 

[rubyshoes]

Complete purist here. Only earth-mined and unheated, no treatment. I do have a heated sapphire but I bought it ten years ago and couldn't afford anything unheated back then. I still love it a lot but when I bought my ruby I specifically wanted an unheated one.

I'm a purist to the point that I do not consider gold below 18k worth buying. In my culture, only 22k or 24k is considered actual gold. 18k is considered acceptable only for setting diamonds/rubies and anything below that purity is considered unacceptable. This cultural mindset makes setting things very expensive for me because the minute I see a setting being 14k I will not buy it. My brain simply refuses to call it gold.

Ultimately jewelry is personal and a luxury so I'd rather buy stuff I think is perfect rather than buy something as a compromise and then get all grumpy about it, because knowing me I will be dissatisfied once the novelty wears off. But yeah, being a purist is expensive.

 

[lambskin]

No lab or simulated gems or diamonds for me. Cultured pearls are beautiful and I prefer saltwater over freshwater cultured pearls. Won’t buy lab diamonds as price volatile and can’t help but think about how expensive those digital watches in the 70s were until mass produced and marketed And then the prices tanked. I believe that , like CZs, lab diamonds will become way cheaper the more they are produced. I Have some costume jewelry set in sterling with CZs which are worn more frequently as urban safety is an issue.

 

[AGBF]

Complete purist here. Only earth-mined and unheated, no treatment.

(snip)

I'm a purist to the point that I do not consider gold below 18k worth buying. In my culture, only 22k or 24k is considered actual gold. 18k is considered acceptable only for setting diamonds/rubies and anything below that purity is considered unacceptable. This cultural mindset makes setting things very expensive for me because the minute I see a setting being 14k I will not buy it. My brain simply refuses to call it gold.

Ultimately jewelry is personal and a luxury so I'd rather buy stuff I think is perfect rather than buy something as a compromise and then get all grumpy about it, because knowing me I will be dissatisfied once the novelty wears off. But yeah, being a purist is expensive.

I have the same response to gold and am a purist about diamonds and colored stones. I have only had jewelry made in 24K gold in recent years. The result has been that my jewelry is in my safety deposit boxes rather than on me.

 

[Catmom]

I guess I'm a mix. I must have natural/untreated in my "good" pieces. I would never do lab grown diamonds for those pieces or lab or fake colored stones. I've been on the hunt forever for an Art Deco diamond and emerald bracelet. There are so many with simulated emeralds. But no can do, must be real ones. Of course, those are very few and Costly with a capital C! Very much a mind issue. With colored stones, they must be earth mined. I seem to be ok with minor heating of sapphires and zircons but that is basically it on the treatment side of colored stones. That being said, I do have lab grown and simulated stones that are set in silver or at least 14kt gold that I wear when traveling or otherwise. Sometimes I will see a piece that I will get as a placeholder of sorts until I can find the right "good" piece to take its place. I just consider those fun pieces that will eventually be replaced. Pearls are a whole different matter, LOL.

 

[acaw2015]

How would you feel if it turns out that lab and mined have been mixed, at least re melee..?

 

[hardwear]

No lab or simulated gems or diamonds for me. Cultured pearls are beautiful and I prefer saltwater over freshwater cultured pearls. Won’t buy lab diamonds as price volatile and can’t help but think about how expensive those digital watches in the 70s were until mass produced and marketed And then the prices tanked. I believe that , like CZs, lab diamonds will become way cheaper the more they are produced. I Have some costume jewelry set in sterling with CZs which are worn more frequently as urban safety is an issue.

Exactly! going forward as prices drop now the fear of jewelers adding in lab diamonds and trying to pass off as real or mixing as someone mentioned...going to be difficult to navigate. Hard to tell as you need special machinery for testing LG vs EM which is probably not available at every jewelers, might be expensive or not in demand, etc...
Time will tell I suppose.

 

[rubyshoes]

(snip)


I have the same response to gold and am a purist about diamonds and colored stones. I have only had jewelry made in 24K gold in recent years. The result has been that my jewelry is in my safety deposit boxes rather than on me.

Hehe I don't own any 24k. But I wear my 22k stuff daily.

 

[seaurchin]

I have a mix of mined, lab, and below (CZ and/or sterling silver).

I prioritize appearance, size and cost. And I like the fun of being able to keep getting new goodies, so prefer to limit what I spend on any one item.

I have large hands and don't care for stones that are so small I can barely see the details in them anyway. Usually about 5 carats minimum for me and half that for diamonds. And I want them to be pretty. On my jewelry budget, that rules out a lot of mined gems, before even getting into details like heat and oil. I do want any treatments to be stable, though.

I especially like lab sapphires because they're durable and come in many colors. I also like how humans can create them from the same substance as the mined ones. And of course there's the environmental aspect.

But mainly, I just get a far larger, prettier lab stone than I could even begin to approach in an equivalent mined stone. It seems a lot of people think lab stones look homogenous and boring but I don't. I love the way my lab sapphires look under different lighting.

I have a couple of larger mined diamonds and plan to get a lab diamond this year.

I also like mined stones but many of those that meet my other requirements above are on the softer side. I decided to add more mined colored stones to my collection anyway. But I'll probably have the settings made with prongs rather than bezels so I can replace any damaged stones with lab stones.

14k gold is my preference. 10k seems too costume jewelry-ish to me and I worry that 18k might be too soft. 22 and 24k look strange to me, like brass or something. I know that's hilarious since it literally IS pure, or nearly pure, gold. But I'm not used to seeing it, so it looks "off" to me, aside from the softness issue. And I don't like gold plating for costume jewelry because it's never lasted very long when I've tried it in the past.

I haven't bought any super expensive earrings because I tend to lose them (and I can't see them when I wear them anyway). Mine are either pearls, 14k yellow gold or sterling silver, with various colors of CZs. Those can be small.

I have lots of pearls, but none are dyed.

I've also realized that very expensive jewelry is kind of stressful to me ("very expensive" is a relative term, I know). The worry about losing them, etc. I guess overall my sweet spot is somewhere between what's considered "fashion jewelry" on PS and "fine jewelry." All JMO.

 

[MMtwo]

Actually I’ve seen labs with inclusions that look rather real. So no one would suspect it’s not natural unless you tell them. But then I know it’s a lab stone so I can’t wear it. Heck at this point even if I wear a large lab CS I think people around me wouldn’t doubt that it’s real. But that’s not the point. I buy and wear CS for myself and not them. So I’ll rather wear a small, unheated ruby than huge glass-filled one. Apart from being slightly sad that I can’t afford a huge ass 8 carat unheated Burmese PB ruby, I am totally happy with the stuff that I can afford.

Ha, this! never going to happen, but wouldn't it be nice?

 

[autumngems]

Tyty's thread (which I do not want to thread-jack) about earth mined vs. lab grown got me thinking (again) about how far one is willing to go. I am a purist... and it is a real mind clean PITA. For instance, I only want earth mined non-enhanced in any way diamonds. And colored stones... so unheated sapphires and rubies, untreated/unoiled emeralds. And everything else (spinels for instance). But not just big stones, little ones also! So bands... melee. And other small stones too. Even period pieces where sims are the norm... I just can't do it. It's a real bummer -- mentally and on the wallet! But my brain is all about the realness. The rarity. The real-ity, if you will.

Am I alone? Pleas tell me I'm not alone...

I am exactly the same!

 

[autumngems]

I don't think the point of this thread has much to do with having a "purist perception of life". I think it's about how much tolerance we have for gemstone treatments or whatnot that are mind clean enough for us. We each and all have our own little quirks and that is totally fine and normal.

I'm not unhappy or torturing myself because I can't like LGDs enough to own one. That being said I do like that it gives people more choices that are budget friendly, and I absolutely admire other pser's beautiful LGD jewelry.

I buy jewelry and gemstones simply for my own enjoyment and don't care much for what others think. Nor do I care at all if other people's jewelry and gems are "pure" or not. As long as it makes the other person happy.

To each their own

Agree, I know it's earth-mined and not lab, that is what matter's to me, I don't care what others may think.

 

[autumngems]

Just realized this is hang-out and not the CS forum whoops.

Anyways, personally speaking I do not care if anyone else notices or cares. And I'm sure the majority of others who think like I do feels the same way.

And I don't see jewelry/other things that I'm "missing out" on as limitation. I simply do not get enjoyment out of them.

Agree, not limited at all