Tsavorites purchased - opinions appreciated

[JLW05]

Traveled to Manhattan to see the stones I had previously posted. The 7.1 mm round stone was too light for my taste. We discussed different options and I ended up with a cushion stone and a different pair of 5mm stones. I am concerned about the cushion. It is a bit difficult when you have the setting prior to the stone as this limits your options considerably. There is a 15 day return policy. Also, I am finding it difficult to photograph the tsavs.
Thanks

 

[chrono]

How does the tsavorite look in real life compared to what is seen in the photographs? The colour and saturation look fine but I am seeing a lot of dark areas. Is that obstruction (shadow of you and the camera) or is it there or not there? From what is shown, the saturation and tone of the cushion is better than the round pair. My only concern is the dark areas which might not even be there IRL.

 

[JLW05]

Here are some more photos. Hopefully I took more care taking these so i didn't cast a shadow. I spoke to the vendor about whether the stone was too dark in places. I am having trouble evaluating the stone with my novice eyes because it varies qute a bit depending on the light.

 

[JLW05]

The first set of photos were taken under artificial light while the second set were taken directly in front of a window.

 

[JLW05]

Stone under bathroom light. As you can see, the lighting condtions really make quite a difference. Also, the 5mm stones have more sparkle and I usually prefer round diamonds over other cuts because of this but don't know whether the same applies to colored stones.

 

[SB621]

I personally really like it, but I have a soft place for green (greeny, greeny/blue) gemstones.

 

[JLW05]

I am getting obsessed- I must have taken 50 photos and had to photograph the back of my hand which turned out to be a not so attractive sight! These photos are representative of what I see under normal indoor lighting. Are there too many dark areas?

 

[Agneau]

Although I am still learning...
it looks like that dark area (in the corner) is in the same spot in all of the pictures (even when the stone is rotated)... which means it must really be there...

Do you see that when you look at it in real life?


The color is really nice.

 

[JLW05]

Without magnification it is harder to see but the overall stone looks a bit dark to me although prior to going to the vendor I had never seen a tsavorite in person and I know that there is a great range of colors, some more desirable than others.. My family thinks it is attractive but they know less than I do. I don't want to over analyze and pass over an acceptable stone but I don't want(out of a lack of knowledge) to keep a stone that has an unattractive flaw.

 

[tara3056]

Well, it's difficult to say, as so much of it is personal preference. The "trade preferred" color for tsavs seems to be medium-dark, but many posters here prefer medium-colored tsavs. There's also a bit of a gray area over where exactly the dividing line is between Merelani Mint and Tsavorite garnets, since they are both the same material.

In any case, I personally prefer medium-dark tsavorites, as long as they don't 'black out' in certain lighting conditions. Does your cushion look green (albeit darkish green) in almost all lights? Can you see the green, or does it look like an unknown blackish stone?

I like the medium-darks because it seems like you have a higher chance of getting that elusive hint of blue in those. The mediums I've seen either are pure green or sometimes have a titch of yellow. You can get a hint of blue in medium-toned tsavs, but I've only seen a few like that. From your pics, I'm seeing a lovely, lush color in your cushion, with that hint of blue, so I love that! Ultimately, though, YOU have to love it!

 

[JLW05]

The stone is a dark green in almost all lighting conditions (although it looked like a dark blob in a few photos that I did not post). I am concerned about some dark spots in the stone and am not sure whether this is more common in medium-dark tsavorites or is a problem with this particular stone. When I was at Prima the first time and looking at the 5mm stones for my IDJ jackets,I remember that to my eye it seemed that a number of the medium-dark Tsavorites I was considering had this going on and that is why I chose medium green colored earring stones. Today, I switched out the earrings I initially chose for slightly darker ones because they better complimented the pendant stone but they are still medium colored stones.
Being a first time colored stone buyer, I think I am really nervous about getting it "right". Years ago, I was thrilled with a pair of diamond studs I had picked out. After I became more knowledgeable about diamonds, I realized that although my studs were an excellent color they were not well cut and now I rarely wear them.
Again, thank you all for your imput.

 

[chrono]

Colour-wise, I think your tsavorite pendant has a lovely medium dark green with that hint of blue. Its saturation is also better than your 2 new rounds. It is normal for tsavorite to shift slightly under different lighting. I love it when the blue kicks in under indoor lighting which yours does. Like you, I am also concerned about the large areas of darkness. It is common in medium dark toned stones but those of very fine quality will show less of this. It is your choice of how much is acceptable to you. You can ask Prima if they have a similar stone with less dark areas. I'm not sure if this answers your question but I hope it helps.

 

[JLW05]

Chrono, I don't think Prima had another cushion this size although I will ask. Since this is my first foray into the world of colored stones, I really don't know enough to evaluate whether the attibutes of this stone outweigh the negative. I guess I am hoping for brutal honesty and am trying to encourage pricescopers who are experienced buyers to let me know whether they would even consider purchasing this stone.
Thanks

 

[chrono]

Personally, I would not. That said, I admit to having rather high standards coupled with the patience to wait months or even years for the right stone to show up. For others, if the price is right, they will consider it.

 

[JLW05]

Chrono, I appreciate your honesty. I do know (from being a lurker) that your standards are extremely high. I would be willing to wait months (but not years!) to find the right stone. However, I also feel pressue because I am limited to a certain size stone and I am uncertain just when that perfect stone in just the size I need will show up. Are tsavorites of very fine quality "easy" to obtain? An option is to have a larger stone of a better quality recut but I am nervous about going that route. Plus, the expense would be far greater than I had budgeted for.

I would appreciate other PS's feedback on whether they personally would find this stone acceptable. It would really be most helpful. No need to be polite as the stone is still returnable!

 

[chrono]

You have a size and shape limitation which can pose a challenge. If not for the shape, I am sure you'll find many fine oval tsavorites of similar carat weight easily. Of course, after that, it's also how much are you wiling to pay for it. Price per carat for tsavorite takes a large jump at the 2 ct, 3 ct and 5 ct marks so your idea of buying larger then recutting means a double loss. You'll have the $/ct loss, smaller stone, cutting fee and no guarantee that everything is going to work out.

 

[JLW05]

For sure, I have limitations and for that reason I am betwixt and between about what to do. More opinions please!
As for having a larger stone recut, for the reasons you stated, it would most likely be a mistake to do so.
Again, thanks.

 

[minousbijoux]

Okay, where to start! My first reaction was great hue, saturation, and tone. The thing that I still can't tell is the consistency of the color across the face of the gem, due to extinction and possible other factors such as inclusions. I believe you said somewhere that it is eye clean (maybe I'm making that up, but I suspect that's what it is) so I doubt that inclusions would be affecting the color coverage. In the first set of photos you have taken, indoor (perhaps night?) lighting, that is very close to my ideal color for tsav - it looks to be a deep, rich, saturated bluish green - and the unevenness of color, I attributed to the lighting, which is clearly coming from one side in the photo. So, I LOVED the color, and wrote off the darker areas of color due to the lighting conditions and operator error in getting good pics

I am a little quirky with gems, though, and the more I collect, the more I want there to be changes in appearance across the surface of the stone. A good portion of this comes from the scintillation of the stone, but I also don't mind some minor amount of dynamic extinction (I just made that term up to mean not extinction that is static in one area of the gem, but rotates based on how the light hits it) as the cause of these changes in appearance, as long as you can still read the body color of the gem in the (minor) areas of extinction. The reason I like this in gems is because the gems look less fabricated and more natural this way; uniform color often reminds me of something man made (and is a great reason why I'll never have to buy a Kashmir sapphire ).

Then along come the daylight photos of your gem, where the stone definitely looks more medium in tone and pure green - with little bluish modifier to the green. I like this less, but this is the reality of tsavorites and most other stones - they change their appearance based on the light source (mine do this too). Again, the sunlight appears to be coming from one side in the photos, so its hard to say if those are areas of extinction, or just the lighting. So all in all, I think the color is quite good. The amount of extinction is harder to tell because we can't see the gem in real life, so unfortunately, you have to be the judge of that.

But all of that aside, you said "the overall stone looks a bit dark to me" and that right there is the statement that makes the decision pretty clear. It doesn't matter if we tell you we think its highest quality and perfect, and even if there was no extinction, it sounds like its not quite right for you. In the purple spinel thread around here, there is a discussion of this very thing - how different individuals have different preferences for the tone. It doesn't sound like you fell in love the minute you saw it - which is often the indicator of whether the stone is meant to come home with you...

 

[JLW05]

Minousbijoux, your thorough post got me to thinking and since I live in an apartment building, I actually ran downstairs to catch natural light.sat down on a bench and must have looked qute a sight trying to balance the stone on my hand and snapping photos with my iPad. In each photo, the stone has been rotated 25 degrees .

 

[minousbijoux]

Do you feel that the new photos are accurate? From what I see of the color, I think you've found a lovely stone. Sorry to dwell on this, but what time of day did you take these? It still looks like shadow is falling across your fingers like the light is coming from one side. Try and get mid-day photos with the stone on a neutral surface (grey works really well). That way, you won't be blocking the sun at all.

But, that said, I kinda think that there must be extinction in the stone as it appears in every picture. Perhaps it really is that all of them have shadow falling across the stone, but at this point that seems a little unlikely. Still, I really like the stone and would probably keep it, but I'm not going to talk you into it.

Here's a thought: why don't you do a search for tsavorite garnets here and look for hand shots of other stones. It will give you a good indicator of what other stones can look like and what you like. Whatever your reaction, good or bad, I think it will help you. It is a very good stone. If you keep looking, I believe you will find a stone you like even better, but I believe it will take you time, especially given your size constraints. Could you think about finding another stone for the setting and wait until you find the perfect tsav no matter its size and shape? Just a thought.

 

[chrono]

Do you still see too much darkness outdoors or it looks fine to you? At this point, part of it is your tolerance level and how fussy you decide to be.

 

[JLW05]

The photo of the stone was taken between 10:30 and 11:00 am. I feel it accurately depicts the stone although the stone has more of a green glow than the photos would indicate. The dark parts of the stone confuse me because when I rotate the stone, the dark spots don't rotate with the stone for the most part, but stay in the same place as if the stone had not been rotated. Same thing under normal household light. Shadows? I don't know.
I do have really nice 5mm spessartite stones that I purchased from pre-loved so it would have been easy to put a spessatite in the pendant. However, I acquired the lovely pendant with the idea of putting a tsavorite in it and getting tsavs for my IDJ jackets. I have had a diamond/tsavorite pendant on my dream list for quite a while and when the pendant showed up on pre-loved, I jumped at the opportunity.

I did think that the stone had extinction going on and asked the vendor about it but he either said that it did not or that he felt it was minimal (can't remember which). I feel that he and his co-worker were doing their best to assist me and they were patient and extremely pleasant.

I have found some tsavs on this forum but most were lighter in color than my tsav.

I am leaning toward keeping it. The dealer said that I can always trade it if I am unhappy.

 

[Agneau]

The dealer said that I can always trade it if I am unhappy.

Wow! That is really nice of them.

 

[JLW05]

Honestly, Chrono, I was so focused on balancing that stone on my finger, holding my ipad with one hand while snapping a photo that I didn't focus much on looking at the stone with my naked eye, although I did notice that the stone had a nice glow that wasn't well reflected in the photos. I was terrified that I was going to drop the stone outside (I'm not the most coordinated individual) and either chip it or not be able to find it. At the time, I just wanted to take the photos and get the stone back upstairs.

 

[JLW05]

Yes and they have good feedback on this forum.

 

[tara3056]

Seeing more of your pics, I think it's a lovely stone and would be a keeper for me. But, like MB, I'm not going to try to talk you into something you don't love!!

 

[JLW05]

Thank you Tara. I think I am just really anxious about my first gemstone purchase and I value the honesty and evaluations of all the responses that I have received. Now, I am going to post photos of the earrings. I really didn't focus on them because I had already picked out earring stones on a prior visit and then realized that they did not match the
pendant stone. I had time limitations and so these stones were chosen in a hurry. They are 5mm stones and Prima had plenty so they can easily be switched out.

 

[stargurl78]

I think the cushion is gorgeous and it looks perfect in your setting

 

[JLW05]

Thanks, Stargirl. I also purchased 5mm tsavorite stones to place in my IDJ jackets. I know that you have the IDJ jackets as well. Unfortunately, unlike the cushion, there is no uncertainty in my mind about whether I like them or not. They will have to be exchanged or returned.

 

[LD]

Critical question: Is this stone for you?

If yes ...........

How do YOU feel about it?

It actually holds its colour quite well, does have areas of extinction but they don't overwhelm the stone (abd I thinkthe extinction is magnified by the angle you're photographing the gem from) has blue and not yellow. This isn't the same gem as in your other thread is it? If so, it photographs completely differently!

ALL GEMSTONES will look different under different lighting conditions. What must happen is that you like it in all lights because realistically you'll be wearing it in all lights!

Is the price good? If yes, then I would consider keeping it.