Who would you go to?

[WishfulThinking]

Hello colored gem gang!

Perhaps you remember my adventure into this forum a few months ago when I purchased a pair of Rhodolite garnets to make into a pair of patching rings. I purchased from AJSgems, and I was very happy with the purchase. I then had both garnets set into matching rings. Unfortunately, now that they are set, one of the garnets has a clarity that I don''t think I can accept for what is essentially an engagement ring. Before it was set I didn''t think the inclusion was hat noticeable, but now that it''s set, I can see it all the time, and it bothers me!

I am now looking for a replacement for the garnet. The original one was a Portuguese round-cut rhodolite garnet approx 5.70 x 5.70 x 4.10 mm in dimensions. They are a beautiful deep red color.

I started my search for a new one at AJSgems where I bought the original pair, but they don''t have anything that matches what I want. I emailed them asking if they could source one for me, but they didn''t seem like they were going to do anything other than let me know if they got anything similar in. I''ve looked through the inventories of every single colored gem vendor that I could find even briefly mentioned on this site, and no one seems to have anything matching the description of what we need. I am hoping to find someone who is willing to seek out a stone like this for me. Are there companies that are willing to do this?

I really do want it about the same size, no more than 6mm max or 5.5 mm min [unless folks here could persuade me that going larger or smaller would not be noticeable- keep in mind that we have two rings that are essentially identical, and we want them to match!]. It''s SUPER important that the garnet is a Portuguese cut, as that is part of the significance of choosing these stones. It needs to be eye-clean from all sides.

This is such a huge purchase for us, and there is a lot of symbolism behind it. We just want it to be perfect! I know that a rhodolite garnet purchase in this size isn''t a horribly lucrative endeavor for a vendor, but I would love recommendations of people who might be willing to help us out with this important task.

Any ideas? Who would you go to if you wanted a specific stone?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pandora II]

Rhodolite garnets.... easy

Contact Richard at www.artcutgems.com

I'm buying a 'Royal' Rhodolite from him as soon as we have finalised all the details in the next day or so.

I'm just downloading some photos of a kunzite and neon-apatite that I bought a couple of weeks ago from FI's camera. The kunzite is super-spectacular.

Apatite is gorgeous too but the kunzite is soooo sparkly!

 

[WishfulThinking]

Thanks for your reply, Pandora!

I will definitely contact him. I hope your Royal Rhodolite turns out amazingly, and look forward to seeing pictures of your other gems soon.

 

[chrono]

For something in a specific shade and size, yes, I'd rather have the vendor looking for me as it can take a while. Here's a few other options:
1. www.winkjones.com Wink can access Pala stones and more
2. www.diamondexpert.com Gary Dutton also has his own sources

www.multicolour.com usually has a lot of stones but sifting though their inventory yourself can be quite a pain. I prefer to let the vendor help me look.

 

[RevolutionGems]

Not to be a wet blanket, but rhodolite is one of those stones that might be a little hard to match color-wise. Since it has such a wide range of colors and tones it will be nearly impossible to match without having the other stone in-hand for comparison.

That being said, it is pretty widely available and anyone who would be willing to do the work should be able to track down a nice clean replacement.

Good luck!

 

[desertgem]

I would consider having the vendor look for a Matching Pair of rhodolites in the size,cut, and clarity you wish. Perhaps the first pair could be made into ear rings or pendants, or other less significant pieces. There appears to be a lot of nice rhodolite on the market at most reasonable prices. Trying to find a matching single replacement for the first pair would involve a lot of visiting shops in person, or being ready to exchange a lot of stones. The price of a new pair would probably be offset by the time and frustration involved otherwise.

Jim

 

[WishfulThinking]

Thank you Chrono, Revolution, and Desertgem!

I appreciate all of your thoughts on this dilemma, and your advice has been taken to heart. We''re going to start over again looking for a new pair, and either replace both the rings with the new stones, or cross-match them by leaving her ring as-is and replacing my garnet with one from the new pair, while saving the other two stones for pendants down the line. If that makes sense.

Thanks for the extra links to folks who might be able to help source me stones!