Question about Rhodolite Garnets

[WishfulThinking]

Hello everyone,

I posted a few weeks ago about purchasing some sort of pretty gem for a set of matching rings I was thinking of doing. I decided on Rhodolite garnets for the stones, and I found a beautiful pair from AJS. They came in the mail today, and I am soooooooo excited!!

They''re absolutely gorgeous, the cut is superb- I realize now that I have likely never seen a well-cut stone of any sort in person before. That''s what PS is for, I guess.

I do have a question about the color, however. The color looks AWESOME. I bought non-enhanced stones, as it was very important to me to have the stones be natural and perfect, since this is an important and meaningful project.

My question: When I turn the garnets upside down on a piece of white paper so that the table is face down and the pointy part is pointing up, the edges of the stone seem to be significantly darker all the way around. This likely has something to with some concept I have no comprehension of

, but could all of you reassure me that the stones I purchased are not, in fact, clarity enhanced? I know some of you have purchased from this company before, and I''ve only heard good things, so I assume I''m just being paranoid.
Could this ring of darker color around the outside mean they were enhanced? Or am I just a crazy person?

Hopefully I explained that all right... I am not up to par with knowledge of gemstone anatomy, so forgive me!

I should note that this look doesn''t at all take away fromt he beauty of the stones- they''re amazing and I love them.

Anyways, thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[jeffwhite]

Hi Wishful,

I don't think you have anything to worry about. AJS is a reputable gem dealer. Also, garnets are rarely enhanced in this manner. I believe what you are seeing is a phenomenon caused by the angled facets on the crown reflecting light (or the absence of light) from the room around you while the center of the stone (which is resting directly on paper) is transmitting light bouncing off the paper. This will often cause the pattern you're seeing. I've attached a screenshot of a "simulated" garnet round I've thrown together using DiamCalc. I've flipped it upside down, with the culet pointing up. Is this similar to what you are seeing? If so, I think you can rest easy - just a little physics trickery going on

Jeff White

 

[WishfulThinking]

Thank you so much!!

Yes, that image looks very similar to what mine look like. They''re lovely. I suspected it was some physic-y thing going on that my law student brain couldn''t wrap itself around.

Thank you so much for taking the time to put my overactive imagination to rest. I am so please by the stones, and AJS was excellent to work with- answered my questions fast and shipped them out right away.

I''ve managed to take some awesome pictures of the stones, and when I have a chance I will start a thread to post them.

 

[movie zombie]

one of the joys of buying a garnet is that they are very very rarely ever treated........ hope you will post a picture of your matched pair.

movie zombie

 

[marcy]

Since your questions are answered I will only add I can''t wait to see them. I love rhodolite!

 

[WishfulThinking]

They are SO gorgeous in person! I am so thrilled with this.

Thanks everyone for all of your kind words. I have been learning more and more about the macro on my digital camera and have a few nice pictures. I plan to get more creative with settings and props in the near future, and there will surely be pictures to come! ... enough to bore you all, I''m sure!

Hopefully I''ll be able to post them correctly- I''ve never done it before. I''ll find the tutorial, though.