What do you think of this aqua in real life?

[cian]

Hey, everyone. I was wondering what you thought of this aquamarine in RL. This is my first USA cut gemstone purchase and I had pretty high expectations. The actual faceting and polishing looks great, and the actual face up color is nice. However, does the fact that I can see my hand almost perfectly through the gem mean that it is windowed? Or, is this just how this cut is supposed to look. Will it look better set? Thanks!

 

[cian]

This is about the most color I could get with a picture. If you look at it VERY directly head on, the color is fully reflected back but it is difficult.

 

[cian]

This is with a flashlight shining through the gem. There is a circular shadow from the edges of the gem but the light seems to pass right through the center.

 

[LD]

I''m afraid that that is a very huge window

Several things spring to mind:-

1. There is a very slim possibility (although I''ve never heard of this before) that it''s been cut in an unusual manner and was meant to create an outer rim of colour. It''s not likely but you never know because this is definitely not the best way to show off a gemstone.

2. A setting may help but unless it has a completely closed back I''m afraid you''ll still be able to see right through it. Perhaps a white gold encased setting would reflect back a nice silvery pale blue colour? Do you have any silver tin foil (the stuff you use for cooking)? If so, you could try making a little case for it and see what happens to the colour.

3. You don''t sound very happy with it? If that''s the case then unless it was very cheap, is there a possibility to return?

Don''t keep a gem unless you''re really happy with it or it was cheap enough and would have added to the expense to return it.

 

[cian]

Thank a lot for your quick reply!

The gem was described as:

A very pretty and very clean medium blue aquamarine. This stone has a large table and is more brilliant around the edges than in the middle, but very nice overall.

It was $100/carat, which I would consider an about average price for decent aquamarine and good considering it was USA cut.

The color looks somewhat better with tin foil but for the most part I can just see the tin foil.

 

[LD]

You're welcome!

If the seller described that as medium blue (it's not - because that's only around the edges) and is charging $100 per carat for a gemstone with that cut, I'd definitely consider sending it back. I'm pretty sure you'd get a much nicer Aqua elsewhere for less (and one that actually looked blue).

I'm glad the tin foil trick helped. However, if you're still seeing right through then this is not a gem that will improve with setting unfortunately.

 

[Jim Rentfrow]

Some cutters will have large tables on gemstones and then "frost" some of the pavillion facets so a design shows through. This is intentional windowing to show the design. If your gem does not have any frosted pavilion facets then it is more than likely just a windowed stone.

 

[T L]

$100/ct is extremely expensive for a light toned aqua with a giant window, USA cut or not. I don''t think I would spend more than $20/ct on such a stone with such a large window.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 4/1/2010 3:34:33 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
$100/ct is extremely expensive for a light toned aqua with a giant window, USA cut or not. I don''t think I would spend more than $20/ct on such a stone with such a large window.

ditto

 

[Cind11]

It looks awfully washed out in the photos. Is it in real life?

 

[Burberrygirl]

Cian, I'm pretty sure I know where you bought this stone from. I've never heard anything bad about them, maybe you should contact them about the stone if you're unhappy. The vendor picture is really pretty, I've read that this vendor's pictures of stones are usually lighter than the color IRL. Can I ask how you took the pictures you posted, the color in your pictures look much, much lighter than the one I saw. Can you maybe go outside and take a clear picture in natural light, that might help the other PSers to evaluate your stone.

ETA: I just realized that you already posted a thread on this stone, I was right about the vendor.

 

[dzop]

I think I know the vendor too, and he does have a bit of a rep for making his stones look much more saturated in pictures then IRL. If it''s ugly, send it back.

 

[chrono]

From your description, it sounds like the stone doesn''t have a window but a HUGE tilt window. A large table coupled with the low RI of an aquamarine means you''ll probably see through the stone very easily at the slightest angle, which is why you are also only able to see colour and brilliance at the edges of the stone. I''m afraid I''m not seeing anything attractive about the cut nor colour from your pictures.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/1/2010 4:38:59 PM
Author: Chrono
From your description, it sounds like the stone doesn't have a window but a HUGE tilt window. A large table coupled with the low RI of an aquamarine means you'll probably see through the stone very easily at the slightest angle, which is why you are also only able to see colour and brilliance at the edges of the stone. I'm afraid I'm not seeing anything attractive about the cut nor colour from your pictures.

Went back to look at the vendor photo of that stone you posted, and yes, Chrono is correct. It has a huge table, and in aqua, and other low RI stones, this resorts in an enormous tilt window. The only time you wouldn't see a large window is if your line of sight was exactly perpendicular (90 degrees) to the table, which wouldn't happen very often. I would return it. The blue doesn't shout at me either.

The vendor recently sold a very pretty blue pear aqua, but this particular stone you have is not one of his best unfortunately.

 

[cian]

OK, thanks a lot everyone. I think I have enough information and I will return the stone. I did not want to mention the vendor since I have no intention of criticizing anyone who obviously does a lot of great work.

The color is about what is seen in my second picture. It''s actually kind of amazing since if I flip the stone over you can hardly see any color at all.

Thanks again!