Vendor pictures and owner pictures of PS stones

[LauraK]

My Picture


Vendor Picture


-A

Arcadian-

I join this website just so I could ask you where you got this BEAUTIFUL green-blue stone and what kind it is? Is it a sapphire??

 

[minousbijoux]

Hi Laura:

Welcome to the forum I'm not Arcadian, but I can help you out. Arcadian got the stone from Swala Gem Traders, and I believe its an Afghan tourmaline (its definitely a tourmaline; it might be Mozambique or Namibian though).

If you do a search for Arcadian's topics, you should be able to find a thread on this stone.

 

[LauraK]

Hi Laura:

Welcome to the forum I'm not Arcadian, but I can help you out. Arcadian got the stone from Swala Gem Traders, and I believe its an Afghan tourmaline (its definitely a tourmaline; it might be Mozambique or Namibian though).

If you do a search for Arcadian's topics, you should be able to find a thread on this stone.

Thank you SO much! I'm not familiar with tourmalines, but I'm in love with the color. I've been trying to find similar coloration with green-blue sapphires for an engagement ring. Are tourmalines tough enough to put in an engagement ring or should I keep searching for a bright green-blue sapphire instead since that is a harder stone? I'm new to all this but have a picture in my mind of what I want, typical woman huh?

 

[sallybernard]

Was not so much familiar with stone names and colors...This was great to read!!

 

[chrono]

Laura,
Generally, tourmalines are not recommended as e-stone rings as they are not as tough or durable. They do better as occasional right hand ring stones.

 

[maebelle]

Two Bob Kast stones: a 5mm purple sapphire and a 5.2 mm green tourmaline. The top is my photo and the bottom are the vendor photos. The purple is closer to my photo in real life and the green is closer to the vendor's. His descriptions of the stones were very accurate.

 

[Arkteia]

Tan's blue spinel - vendor's picture and video and my picture. I think his picture looks too dark.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251024758400?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648#ht_1887wt_958

My picture shows the saturation but IRL it is even slightly lighter. A very pleasant surprise.

 

[Arkteia]

and this is another photo and a video. A spinel I expected to be a stunner. IRL it is very pale.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251015535992?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648#ht_1980wt_958

Its "photo" on AIGS brief looks even paler.

My photo is slightly out of focus but it will give you an idea... I expected a lot from this stone... He charged me $ 45 for a cert. Oh...

 

[innerkitten]

Tan's blue spinel - vendor's picture and video and my picture. I think his picture looks too dark.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251024758400?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648#ht_1887wt_958

My picture shows the saturation but IRL it is even slightly lighter. A very pleasant surprise.

It's true. Your photo actually looks better than his video. The purple/lavender one is nice too but in his photo it looks more violet.

 

[Arkteia]

Innerkitten, the blue spinel is very nice. I had concerns because it looked very dark and did not expect much from it. The pale spinel is even paler in life, it is almost colorless, and at least he should not have described saturation as "strong".

 

[innerkitten]

If you have the time could you post another photo of them? I'd love to see more. The blue looks great. Sometimes people love those pastels but of course some pastels are more pleasing to the eye than others. What are the colors outdoors vs. indoors?

 

[minousbijoux]

I love your blue too, because it is highly saturated and seems to have no grey at all! How rare for a spinel! Good for you as I have all but given up buying on ebay these days.

 

[Arkteia]

I have but given up buying these days, I'd say, because I bought several stones already and spent the $$ intended for setting on something else (very important), but you know, it is like a horse who occasionally, per habit, takes an old road... it's me and ebay!

Innerkitten, you have to wait for a couple of days... I took photos but I need them.

 

[innerkitten]

Happy to wait

 

[ChrisA222]

Ark, thats one of the nicest blue Spinel's I've seen...I mean..drool! Thats amazing! LOVE it. But on the other hand..my God how could he get away with the video..let alone the picture of that second stone. Geez, what kind of editing/enhancing was going on there. I have bought from him before (color change garnet) and got a great stone/great deal..better in person in fact...but the second stone there is really dissapointing. It only adds to the frustration about the $45 invested in the cert. Would he work with you on that? I'm assuming you returned the gem (or did you keep it? Sorry if I wasn't paying attention). Often I see more of the vendors point of view when it comes to certs...but in this case, I almost want to say that is misrepresentation. The video and his description compared to your pic and calling it "almost colorless" is unnacceptable!! I am so sorry! But jealous over that blue Spinel!!

 

[Arkteia]

Thank you, Chrissa222, the blue spinel is very nice and the only way I know to get a blue spinel that is not greyish is to look for a color-shifter. This one was described as purplish-blue and indeed, it has purple secondary, mostly, indoors. And no, I did not return the second spinel because the stone arrived when I was traveling and I lost the time to return it. And then with the shipping cost and the certificate, it makes no sense. But in the future, I am not asking Tan to certify stones with AIGS. If I decide to keep them, I shall certify them here, with AGL.

Innerkitten, I finally made some photos, will need to upload them from my phone, though...

 

[Arkteia]

OK, Innerkitten, just for you...

top one - entering from outside into the building (low evening lights) in a very rainy and cloudy day, you can see purple flashes
next one - evening lights, very diffuse, you can see the purple shift
bottom one - outside, rainy weather, clouds. Nothing else was available that day, and today I do not have it handy for a photo session...

I tried to choose the regular photos, not the ones where it would look the most saturated. You can see the purple shift in the evening, and I think that is what saves it from being grey. It is very saturated, and in my office in the evening it looks stunning and much more blue, but the picture was not in focus. At daytime it is totally blue. The cut is not the best, but it would not bother me at all. It is a lovely color.

The picture in the previous thread was taken in my office. I do not know why it ended up looking so saturated with so little light. But you know how it is, when you open the package, and the first impression is, oh, it is a nice stone. Or, with the pinkish-lavender spinel, "it is not what I expected". The blue one is a very nice stone, it can look well in prongs, it can stand bezeling, it will look nice in a setting and will not be overly dark.

 

[innerkitten]

Oh goody! Thanks for posting more pics It is such a great color and looks good in various lighting conditions. I think you got lucky with this one! So will you go with prongs or a bezel?

 

[innerkitten]

P.S. As far as the cut, sometimes it doesn't matter so much when the color is really nice and when it's set you won't notice so much.

 

[innerkitten]

Here is my new yellow sapphire from Mastercut Gems. Dana doesn't think it's BE treated but it could be. He tested it to the best of capabilities and didn't find any evidence that it was but as we know it can be very hard to detect. However I'm not bothered in this particular situation. It fits my budget at this time and will make a very nice ring. Enjoying the sunny color and really loving the cut. I'm going through an oval phase right now. Last year this time I was all about square cushions. Anyway here are a couple of photos and a link to his photos.
BTW I don't know why we have cat hair on our outdoor plants ( see photo ). My cats are indoor only. The other photo shows it against a black background.

 

[innerkitten]

Another.

Looks very close to the vendor photos.
http://mastercutgems.com/viewgem.php?gemid=6489&id=24207

 

[NKOTB]

Nice one, inner kitten! I eyed that one many times, but I'm not in an oval phase. It does look like a lovely, sunny colour.

And Arkteia, I agree - good score on that blue/purple!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

From thegemtrader (ie Brad)

So far in my experience, the stones have been slightly darker IRL than in his photos, I'm very pleased with how this sapphire turned out though, I don't think his photo did it justice at all. His descriptions tend to be spot on however.

His photo:


My photos:

 

[txgreeneyes]

Here are two of my halo rings.

The green stone on the left is a Peridot Halo ring (from Sam's Club of all places!). It looks like a checkboard cut. It belonged to my Mom who sadly passed away in 2010.

The blue stone on the right is a natural Sapphire Halo ring (LeVian) from Jared. It looks like a regular round brilliant cut.

 

[txgreeneyes]

Oops! I realized I posted my picture in the wrong thread. Could a moderator help me move it to the correct one? (and then delete this post?)

Thanks!!

 

[bluebirrrd]

This is a 6.42mm untreated Umba Valley sapphire from Weblorn.

First, the photo from the ebay listing.


Next a handshot she provided by request. She pointed out that her camera shifts color, making her skin too pink and affecting the color of the gem.


Lastly, my photo taken outdoors in the sun.


The ebay photo doesn't capture the gem's brightness but it shows the violet that her handshot doesn't. At times, the violet is less prominent and there's more of a dark blue tone. Weblorn has been an absolute pleasure, but sadly the sapphire is going back. I think it's lovely and it was a great price, just not my "it" color for sapphire.

 

[Jeweljunke]

1.24 cts Mahenge Spinel, 7.9x5.5x4.3 from Beau-wy on ebay. He is a poster here as well.

Vendor photos.




My photos.








Consider my lack of photography skills and equipment. IRL, the stone looks alot more like Beau's photos. I can't seem to capture the hotness you see in his photos, but that I do see in person. It is SOOO lovely and my FIRST Mahenge! Ut-Oh, I think I am hooked AND it has great fluorescence, of which I am a devout fan.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Aquamarine side by side shot

JeffDVS101 on Ebay

 

[0-0-0]

Aquamarine side by side shot

JeffDVS101 on Ebay

Bravo. I would not have bought the stone based on his picture.

 

[innerkitten]

Barry Bridgestock cushion amethyst. 5.04 ct. 10 mm. This stone was very true to its picture color-wise. I've bought from Barry many times, and will continue to do so I've been nothing but happy with everything I've gotten from him. Vendor pic is the last one

Hey where's the photo