Shh...

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/5/2009 1:45:15 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 1/5/2009 12:03:13 PM

Author: Linda W

Date: 1/5/2009 9:02:08 AM

Author: Ellen

And Deb, I always referred to these people as ''stoners''. ------- >

ha ha ha ha ha ha Ellen!!!! I was thinking the same thing. To me, that is what a stoner is. Someone who is smoking that certain ''something''

How are you miss?

What about colored stoners?

 

[Linda W]

Date: 1/5/2009 1:45:15 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 1/5/2009 12:03:13 PM

Author: Linda W

Date: 1/5/2009 9:02:08 AM

Author: Ellen

And Deb, I always referred to these people as ''stoners''. ------- >

ha ha ha ha ha ha Ellen!!!! I was thinking the same thing. To me, that is what a stoner is. Someone who is smoking that certain ''something''

How are you miss?

I am fine Miss Ellen and you??? Miss chatting with ya.

Coati: Yes, we are colored stoners,

 

[LD]

Well I''m stoned!

WHAT????? Oh, whoops - typo.

I am a stoner (despite my name on here)!

I adore coloured gemstones and find them alluring, appealing and heart stoppingly gorgeous.

However, I do like carbon too (coloured and white)! I have a number of white diamonds and wouldn''t be without them but ....... don''t you dare try and take my coloured gemstones away from me!!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/5/2009 2:01:14 PM
Author: Linda W

Date: 1/5/2009 1:45:15 PM
Author: Ellen

How are you miss?

I am fine Miss Ellen and you??? Miss chatting with ya.

Coati: Yes, we are colored stoners,

I''m good. Miss you too!



And coati, they''re all good in my book.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 1/5/2009 1:48:01 PM
Author: brendaman
The moment I saw Princess Diana's e-ring, I was hooked on blue sapphires. I think colored stones surrounded or flanked by diamonds just make their colors pop! So, I do like both, but prefer the center stone to be a colored stone.

With regard to diamonds and DeBeers, well, DeBeers is a very well run compnay, and going into one of their stores really is a great experience. But the fundamental fact is that a long, long time ago, diamonds were made into a controled commodity by the conglomorate later to be called DeBeers (named after the two South African brothers who sold their land so diamond-enriched cheaply). There is a geographic phenomena known as the Kimberley pipe which readily produces rough diamonds, so there is a steady supply, but this steady supply is controled by DeBeers. They dictate the price of the market. If you are a diamond supplier/wholesaler, you either take DeBeers' prices or you don't get your supply of diamonds. And don't get me started with DeBeers responsibility in the 'blood' diamonds market. Sure, they did try to change their processes (i.e., they no longer buy from the open market), but if it were not for the great outcry, DeBeers would have continued to purchase 'blood diamonds', albeit indirectly (e.g. it was well known that diamonds sold by Liberia -- a country with modest diamond supplies -- were really from Sierra Leone, a country financing its civil war through diamonds).

Sorry, the above is just maybe too heavy-handed and hard to fathom when you walk into a jewelry store. There must also be some stories for sapphires, especially when Sri Lanka had their troubles some years back.

If you are worried about 'blood diamonds' I wouldn't look too closely at the coloured stone industry... Burmese jade mines are notorious just for starters.

Regarding Sri Lanka, the area around Ratnapura where most of the gems come from is in the south of the island and is almost completely unaffected by the civil war in the north (which is very much on going at present - although hopefully coming to an end in the near future since the government has now ceased control of the rebels HQ in the last couple of days).

However, everything bought (officially, ie not in the street) in Sri Lanka is subject to a defence tax which pays for government armaments agains the LTTE (Tamil Tigers). As someone who has serious issues with the LTTE, I was more than happy to donate to the current government's military campaign (even if I do think their economic policies suck).

 

[Catmom]

Ummmmm........but.....but.....but.......I like both..........

 

[geckodani]

Date: 1/5/2009 3:23:18 PM
Author: Catmom
Ummmmm........but.....but.....but.......I like both..........

Me too...

 

[simplysplendid]

Date: 1/5/2009 9:02:08 AM
Author: Ellen

This has got to be THE most blasphemous thread I''ve ever read. Honestly, I am SHOCKED. Shocked I tell ya.

And Deb, I always referred to these people as ''stoners''. ------- >

LOL! Hee hee..

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 1/5/2009 12:09:03 PM
Author: Harriet
[snip]
OMC,
What 'nasty jewellers?'

I'm thinking of Van Der Bauwede...

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/buyer-beware-engagement-rings-or-watches-van-der-bauwede.100668/

I wish I could stone them (in the Biblical sense)

 

[violet3]

Date: 1/4/2009 10:33:58 PM
Author: Gypsy

Date: 1/4/2009 10:18:46 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
Hmmm....I like both equally, am I the outlier here???

Well, I like them equally as well.

Me too!!! What i have discovered is that as a main attraction in a piece, i really love colored stones, because they are so much more interesting to me than are diamonds.

But then again, i love the sheer sparkly nature of diamonds. I love pave and other types of diamond jewelry and i''ve noticed that the only piece i wear every day is a pair of pave diamond hoops.

And then there is one of my favorite combos....colored stones WITH diamonds

 

[icekid]

I think that I officially need to be added to the stoner club! I thought about this for a while, as I do still have an appreciation for diamonds, but...

what do I lust after, and spend my free time searching for constantly?! Absolutely colored stones!! sigh.. I am truly addicted.

I have my diamond e-ring, diamond studs... and I just don''t really have any desire for further diamonds at the moment. Though I do see myself wanting a five stone at some point (five year anni?), but that may very well be interspersed with tsav like AG''s!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/5/2009 12:09:03 PM
Author: Harriet


'Stoner' is Coati.

I am sure that you had to be there, Harriet, but can you expound any further or is that it? Are we now all supposed to call each other, "stoner" as seems to be the developing custom? If we do, what will it signify? What does it mean that Coati is the actual, "Stoner"? Is there a guide book?



Deb, seeking to get this right

 

[Matata]

Pffft. I''m a bi-stoner -- always tilted more to colored gemstones but the fire & scintillation of diamonds is something I can''t completely walk away from.

 

[innerkitten]

I like both. But if I had to choose it would be colored stones. I really have a thing for antique colored stone and diamond jewelry in general, and I like colored diamonds too.

If I had a big budget though I''d go for a top quality ruby ( or something similar) over a top quality diamond.

 

[Fly Girl]

Well, I love color and sparkle. Colored diamonds are my all time favorites, followed by colored stones and white diamonds. Right now I''m exploring the wonders of garnets, because let''s face it, they are significantly more affordable than diamonds of the same colors.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/5/2009 5:53:15 PM
Author: Fly Girl

Well, I love color and sparkle. Colored diamonds are my all time favorites, followed by colored stones and white diamonds. Right now I'm exploring the wonders of garnets, because let's face it, they are significantly more affordable than diamonds of the same colors.

Love the red ones from pinkish through deep red! I went through a phase of buying rhodolite garnets on eBay! I also had a red, faceted, fire opal made into a ring. I ended up giving that to a former Pricescoper .


Deb

 

[Harriet]

OMC,
Ta.

Deb,
I'm not sure how it happened, but Coati and I have started calling each other "Stoner."

Matata,
"Bi-stoner?" Haha.

I didn't mean to exclude diamond lovers. One can love two types of stuff, while preferring one over the other, non?

P.S. For the record, I've never been stoned and will never be.

 

[Cind11]

I have a diamond engagement ring, diamond tennis bracelet, diamond pendant, diamond huggie hoops and studs and I think I''m finished with diamonds. I''d really like to concentrate more on colored stones. I have to admit, they really are more unique. I get nervous about the thought of buying colored stones though. Even though I''ve been reading this forum for quite a while, I have a hard time understanding how to buy a colored stone. Buying a diamond seems so much more "foolproof" to me, with the branded diamond cuts that seem pretty much guaranteed to perform well. I know I could probably buy a colored stone from a vendor and send it back if I didn''t like it, but I don''t know if I would always recognize a fine gemstone from a poor performer. Maybe that''s where sending a stone to an appraiser to have an expert opinion would come in handy, but it sounds like a lot of trouble. I think I''m rambling here. Anyway, I do love colored stones!!!!!

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/5/2009 1:48:01 PM
Author: brendaman
With regard to diamonds and DeBeers, well, DeBeers is a very well run compnay, and going into one of their stores really is a great experience. But the fundamental fact is that a long, long time ago, diamonds were made into a controled commodity by the conglomorate later to be called DeBeers (named after the two South African brothers who sold their land so diamond-enriched cheaply). There is a geographic phenomena known as the Kimberley pipe which readily produces rough diamonds, so there is a steady supply, but this steady supply is controled by DeBeers. They dictate the price of the market. If you are a diamond supplier/wholesaler, you either take DeBeers' prices or you don't get your supply of diamonds. And don't get me started with DeBeers responsibility in the 'blood' diamonds market. Sure, they did try to change their processes (i.e., they no longer buy from the open market), but if it were not for the great outcry, DeBeers would have continued to purchase 'blood diamonds', albeit indirectly (e.g. it was well known that diamonds sold by Liberia -- a country with modest diamond supplies -- were really from Sierra Leone, a country financing its civil war through diamonds).


Sorry, the above is just maybe too heavy-handed and hard to fathom when you walk into a jewelry store. There must also be some stories for sapphires, especially when Sri Lanka had their troubles some years back.

Not heavy nor hard to fathom.

Many are versed in the history of De Beers. Debunking De Beers is a regular occurrence. De Beers no longer controls 90+% of the world's rough. What about Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton--and independent dealers like Lev Leviev? The diamond market is now multi channel as opposed to the single channel height of De Beers control.

just fyi:

Kimberley is a town in South Africa.

Kimberlite and lamproite are types of igneous rock that deliver diamonds to the earth's surface via a geologic process called emplacement.

You want to get ethical about diamonds?? Easy--buy Canadian and make sure it was manufactured there. You want to get ethical about colored stones? I'm afraid the waters are murkier. We can get into the topic of Burma, if you like, but that may be a bit heavy...

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/5/2009 6:14:03 PM
Author: Harriet


I''m not sure how it happened, but Coati and I have started calling each other ''Stoner.''

I believe that there is Pricescope precedent for this and that, being an attorney, you will appreciate that. If I am not mistaken, Maisie and Lorelei started to call each other, "Bruddah" for similarly undefined reasons. As we know, if there is precedent, no further questions should be asked .


Deb

 

[Harriet]

Date: 1/5/2009 6:30:09 PM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 1/5/2009 1:48:01 PM
Author: brendaman
With regard to diamonds and DeBeers, well, DeBeers is a very well run compnay, and going into one of their stores really is a great experience. But the fundamental fact is that a long, long time ago, diamonds were made into a controled commodity by the conglomorate later to be called DeBeers (named after the two South African brothers who sold their land so diamond-enriched cheaply). There is a geographic phenomena known as the Kimberley pipe which readily produces rough diamonds, so there is a steady supply, but this steady supply is controled by DeBeers. They dictate the price of the market. If you are a diamond supplier/wholesaler, you either take DeBeers'' prices or you don''t get your supply of diamonds. And don''t get me started with DeBeers responsibility in the ''blood'' diamonds market. Sure, they did try to change their processes (i.e., they no longer buy from the open market), but if it were not for the great outcry, DeBeers would have continued to purchase ''blood diamonds'', albeit indirectly (e.g. it was well known that diamonds sold by Liberia -- a country with modest diamond supplies -- were really from Sierra Leone, a country financing its civil war through diamonds).


Sorry, the above is just maybe too heavy-handed and hard to fathom when you walk into a jewelry store. There must also be some stories for sapphires, especially when Sri Lanka had their troubles some years back.

Not heavy nor hard to fathom.

Many are versed in the history of De Beers. Debunking De Beers is a regular occurrence. De Beers no longer controls 90+% of the world''s rough. What about Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton--and independent dealers like Lev Leviev? The diamond market is now multi channel as opposed to the single channel height of De Beers control.

just fyi:

Kimberley is a town in South Africa.

Kimberlite and lamproite are types of igneous rock that deliver diamonds to the earth''s surface via a geologic process called emplacement.

You want to get ethical about diamonds?? Easy--buy Canadian and make sure it was manufactured there. You want to get ethical about colored stones? I''m afraid the waters are murkier. We can get into the topic of Burma, if you like, but that may be a bit heavy...

Exactly, Stoner.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 1/5/2009 6:40:25 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 1/5/2009 6:14:03 PM
Author: Harriet


I''m not sure how it happened, but Coati and I have started calling each other ''Stoner.''

I believe that there is Pricescope precedent for this and that, being an attorney, you will appreciate that. If I am not mistaken, Maisie and Lorelei started to call each other, ''Bruddah'' for similarly undefined reasons. As we know, if there is precedent, no further questions should be asked .


Deb

Yes, where did "Bruddah" come from?
[Snort.] I was in Code-based areas for good reason.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 1/5/2009 6:53:07 PM
Author: Harriet

Date: 1/5/2009 6:40:25 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 1/5/2009 6:14:03 PM
Author: Harriet


I''m not sure how it happened, but Coati and I have started calling each other ''Stoner.''

I believe that there is Pricescope precedent for this and that, being an attorney, you will appreciate that. If I am not mistaken, Maisie and Lorelei started to call each other, ''Bruddah'' for similarly undefined reasons. As we know, if there is precedent, no further questions should be asked .


Deb

Yes, where did ''Bruddah'' come from?
[Snort.] I was in Code-based areas for good reason.

I know this one . . . "you are my bruddahhhh, best friends forevverrrrr"

It was some horrible audition on American Idol, and it just . . . caught on . . . around here.

Bruddah = brother, if it''s not as obvious to those who have heard that song.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

And I have decidedly fallen over the fence into the Coloured Stoners pool.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/5/2009 7:20:05 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
And I have decidedly fallen over the fence into the Coloured Stoners pool.

LTP!

Matata--I''m the same.

 

[brendaman]

I wanna be a stoner, too!! Colored stones, all the way!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have loved gemstones, and all jewelry for that matter, since I was a young girl. I received my first sapphire ring when I was very young (a tiny gold flower with a round sapphire in the center). I received a couple more as a teenager. I am traditional, though, and wanted a diamond e-ring. I went on to get another sapphire ring and a tanzanite ring after marriage. Unfortunately, all of those were before the internet and the ability to learn about quality. So I plan to give all those things to my daughters as I replace everything with better quality. I have some other rings, too, such as red garnet, but they are set in yg which I do not wear anymore.

So, we started over with my wedding set and got a great diamond set in platinum. The only other diamonds I have are studs and a bracelet. I enjoy pearls, too. Even though I love looking at all gemstones, I really have no desire to buy anything but sapphires (and I would consider spinel). I love their colors and durability. But as SurfGirl said, I really only want great quality (color, cut, and clarity..don''t care about the country they are from at all) if and when I buy. It is so much harder to find fabulous sapphires without paying diamond prices. I will say that the only diamond I would pursue at this point would be an OEC or OMC or maybe some little bezel studs for fun!

 

[platinumrock]

Date: 1/4/2009 10:51:53 PM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 1/4/2009 10:50:23 PM
Author: Harriet

Date: 1/4/2009 9:43:13 PM

Author: coatimundi

Date: 1/4/2009 9:20:26 PM

Author: tourmaline_lover

You mean to tell me that you''re not sick of looking at carbon copies (literally because they are made of carbon) of 10,000 RBC ACA stones? Ha!! I hope no diamond mavens are reading this, I''ll get whomped on the head. I did have a large white diamond once, I sold it. It bored me to tears.

We''ll fight them off!

Yes. Don''t mess with the Stoners.

Yeah!

LOL

 

[oldmancoyote]

Date: 1/5/2009 6:30:09 PM
Author: coatimundi
[snip]You want to get ethical about colored stones? I''m afraid the waters are murkier. We can get into the topic of Burma, if you like, but that may be a bit heavy...

Oh come on, it''s easy. Just buy benitoite... and Yogo Gulch sapphires.

Actually, it''s an odd thing, when you think about it. Many (most?) gem finds are in places that have severe human rights deficits... I wonder if there is a relationship?

Sorry for the threadjacking.

May I dive into the stone(r) pool? Even though I''m a bs? (bi-stoner, what did you think?)

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 1/5/2009 10:16:32 PM
Author: oldmancoyote

Date: 1/5/2009 6:30:09 PM

Author: coatimundi

[snip]You want to get ethical about colored stones? I'm afraid the waters are murkier. We can get into the topic of Burma, if you like, but that may be a bit heavy...

Oh come on, it's easy. Just buy benitoite... and Yogo Gulch sapphires.


Actually, it's an odd thing, when you think about it. Many (most?) gem finds are in places that have severe human rights deficits... I wonder if there is a relationship?


Sorry for the threadjacking.


May I dive into the stone(r) pool? Even though I'm a bs? (bi-stoner, what did you think?)

yah yah--I'm all about the US gems--love my Oregon sunstone, beni, and bixbite.

Many places in the world that harbor precious resources have severe human rights deficits--everybody needs the Spice right?

dive on in, bi-Stoner.