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Recent Comments
- Romeo48065 on Laurellite a reverse color change tourmaline is unique.
- toadandspur on Outstanding Achroite with a Mystery
- Bruce Fry on Welcome to a World of Color in Tourmaline
- David Walsh on Paraiba/paraiba type tourmaline and treatments.
- rexguo on Laurellite a reverse color change tourmaline is unique.
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Monthly Archives: November 2013
I wouldn’t call this anything, but mahogany or maybe golden brown, oval#299
Brown was suppose to be brown and then I got into mahogany. Now I am seeing storage boxes with golden brown on the back and I see the most wonder rich sultry mahogany under my yellowish florescent light. I check … Continue reading
A medium tone level brown to brownish orange oval.#298
This oval has a normal depth and lighter medium tone level than most of the dravites in this tray. It goes more orange brown from brown in my yellowish light, but it doesn’t reach beyond a rather watery presences. It … Continue reading
Golden brown to brownish orange either way it is still beautiful. oval#297
This long ratio oval is cut as shallow as the pavilion can be made with good optics and with a respectable crown. Its color slides around brown and can be golden or quite orange, but still a dravite. It appears … Continue reading
Posted in Dravite, Orange
Tagged brown-orange, dravite, golden-brown, orange, orange-brown
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One tall order of pure peach pink delight. oval.#296
When an oval is as deep as this gemstone is, you get pulled right down into its flashy depths. And this is no tall tale either. The proof is in looking at the pavilion and seeing a “super nova” cut … Continue reading
It has never been prettier riding the edge of red, oval.#295
This oval has a rather self effacing personality. She has too high a tone level, with its reddish implications, to be a hot pink and not quite enough size or tone level to be a red. Still she rides the … Continue reading
Darker pink with a touch of purple, oval.#294
This nice sized, medium plus tone level, pink has a purple wash. It is slightly included in the pavilion, next to the girdle. The inclusion does not flash and with this ovals rich tone level, I can not see it … Continue reading
Big Red is my name, Red is my game, Nigerian Rubellite Oval.#292
I will give you a hint. This large, 9.98 carat medium dark oval is red. It originated in Nigeria and made a trip to South Africa before showing up in Mars. Never needing to offer itself on the inter net, … Continue reading
A golden dichroic oval that is eye candy.#290
I like bright medium gold, like this oval has, in the tray. It doesn’t need bright light or even being that awake to pick it out and appreciate it. This oval has a significant amount of dichroism. The paler … Continue reading
A tourmaline for those who like chocolate diamonds, oval#288
Now I haven’t looked at a large number of “chocolate” diamonds, but this dark flash driven golden brown beauty seems to fill the bill for me. The oval appears to be eye clean and with its table, cut perpendicular to … Continue reading
Mixing yellow and pink for a peach oval.#287
This oval has a tender balance of color that I like to call dynamic. Depending on the light some tourmalines certainly shift and even change color. I think that it has not gotten the big play that Alexandrite gets is … Continue reading
The steam has been building and this is a hot pink oval.#286
This hot pink oval is in the zone and ready to grab you eye. It appears to be eye clean and has fine crystal. It is probably was part of a terminus since I see some parallel banding, when I … Continue reading
A classic Rubellite, inclusions and all.#285
This oval is a pure Rubellite, a treasure trade name for truly red tourmaline. It has the inclusions, which in this case make little difference in the appearance of the gemstone. It has the dark tone level, but in this … Continue reading
Medium dark tone level pink with a touch of purple, oval.#284
This oval appears to be very slightly included. Again the inclusion have no effect on the beauty of the gemstone. It has fine crystal, but its medium dark tone level and touch of purple moderates the stone’s flash. It is … Continue reading
This slightly included oval is in the red and doing well.#283
This is a great red tourmaline. It has the color and still has a medium dark tone level that is not too dense to flash and sparkle. This is nice and rare, Between the flash and the medium dark tone … Continue reading
A medium toned purple with significant flaws.#281
This standard round brilliant is typical of the type of cuprian tourmaline that became available after the world was introduced to its beauty. About half of it is clean and flashy while the rest is so included that it obstructs … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc.
Tagged cuprian, medium, Mozambique, outstanding, purple
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Dichroic orangish pink oval with a bright clean look.#280
This is a nice bright flashy oval that is some combination of pink and orange. It is not dominated by brown and appears to be eye clean. The dichroism shows up as slightly darker ends, but is not that important … Continue reading
Brown did you hear me, I said brown, but not dull, oval.#279
I think this good sized oval is one of only two gemstones in the collection that deserves to be just called brown. It is obviously dichroic with its table being cut perpendicular to the principle axis (c). The a/b axis … Continue reading
Desatured orange I call mahogany, oval.#278
I usually don’t go too far over the edge when it comes to naming tourmaline’s colors and I have brown on this stone’s storage box, but the gem is too nice for such a bland term. This desaturated brownish orange … Continue reading
Dichroic orangish pink oval#277
This oval has darker ends and is obviously cut from dichroic material. Still the medium tone level does permit any problems with flash. The pink tends to dominate the richer toned ends while the orange tends to dominate the middle. … Continue reading
peach and pink with a dark modifier oval.#276
I guess because of the complexity of generating orange in tourmaline, nature has produced many desaturated hybrids that are not particularly attractive. I have been told that titanium is the cause of many of the less than desirable shades with … Continue reading
This oval is a bit of a raspberry, but not a thorn in my side.#275
Pink to red in tourmaline comes in the full array of shades probably only matched by lipstick colors. I hope to use my spectrometer to get a better understanding of its nuances. This darker, raspberry pink has just a touch … Continue reading
Dichroic medium toned pink with purple enrichment, oval#274
This pink is more complex than the average highly saturated pink gem. Its purple shade both darkens it and makes the color more dynamic. The ovals medium plus tone level and touch of purple reduces the flash level to a … Continue reading
Medium light pastel pink with great transparency, oval#273
The radiating flash of this nice pink oval seems to be very far from the table due to the gems great transparency. The gem has a medium light tone level and the pink might have just a speck of peach … Continue reading
A pink with the brawn to make a statement oval.#272
This moderately toned pure pink oval has a slightly flatter crown than usual. This makes a greetings that draws you into a wonderfully flashy and pure well of color. And for those lovers of tourmaline and those who would like … Continue reading
Copper and Manganese made a Lady of Her, round#271
I am not a great believer in luck, but there are times when you’re game plan works out. My game plan with the collection was not to secure the best investments or even the prettiest tourmaline, but to chase color. … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc., Laurellite
Tagged color change, cuprian, laurellite, lavender, Mozambique, outstanding, pastel, personal story, purple
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Eye candy alert, orange tang on the menu, oval beauty.#270
Some colors do not need much to get me going. Orange is one of them. An influential tourmaline expert once wrote that he questioned whether orange was a naturally occurring color in tourmaline. It certainly has not been a big … Continue reading
A bit of a brown shade on this richer golden oval.#269
This golden oval is a rich medium color with a wash or two of brown on it. Still it is not dominated by brown, but I would call it a dravite. It appears to be eye clean and with fine … Continue reading
Brown, long ratio oval, table perpendicular to principle axis. cuprain #268
I like this oval’s color. It is the closest to a pure brown in the collection. I does approach brown from the yellow side, but it has no pretenses of having a fancy name. It has a nice even color, … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Dravite, Etc., Orange
Tagged brown-orange, cuprian, dravite, orange, oval, unique
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More gold in them thar hills, slightly included oval.#267
I am impress with the level of saturation of the gold in this oval. Not a touch of brown or green anywhere to be seen. It is slightly included, but is still a bright sparkling gemstone. It does not … Continue reading
Slightly included oval of medium toned pink glory.#266
This oval has a well saturate pink color in a medium tone level. It is slightly included without damage to the beauty of the gem. Its brightness is definitely above the normal, but not quite hot, but I am pretty … Continue reading
Nice sized oval in a fine medium tone level pink.#265
After looking at pink after pink because of the way my son organized about half the trays in the collection, it is surprising to think how rare a fine pink is in the world of gemstones. Put that on top … Continue reading
A pink oval with a touch of purple punch.#264
This bright sharp pink oval looses nothing from its touch of purple. I realize that violet overtones in pink tourmaline is not as highly esteemed as the pure pinks, but I like the little bit of different look. The oval … Continue reading
A shield cut with whole wheat goodness.#263
Wheat is a good word to describe a pastel, slightly brownish, yellowish, peach color because it covers such a large range of colors and sounds nutritious. This large shield cut is certainly tasty. It is not dichroic at all and … Continue reading
Medium pastel pink round that can carry its weight.#262
I really like my lightly toned pastel tourmalines. They aren’t expected from tourmaline and I love to surprise people with their beauty. But they must be kept clean in jewelery because they can not carry the piece by their color … Continue reading
Hot red round with a flatter crown.#261
Some stones I have cut are certainly more memorable than others. This one grabs my eye every time I look at this tray so it is easy not to forget the compromise I made in cutting it. Two thirds of … Continue reading
A deeper richer golden yellow oval that demands respect.#260
This golden oval is a darker breed of golden yellow, but it is still very open with its medium tone level. It is not dominated by drown and I would still not call it a dravite, but I am sure … Continue reading
Simply a great sparkling golden oval.#259
This stone will not brook with anything to do with color shifting or changing. It has a pure 24 karat, golden heart. It also appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. Since it does not have even a … Continue reading
Golden brown shaded with orange oval.#258
This oval has a flatter crown and a nice open look. Looking into it gives a fine flashy view that appears to be eye clean. There is enough red in the golden brown that it drifts toward orange, which probably … Continue reading
Light toned pastel peach oval.#257
This oval has a lightly toned pastel peach color that is stable. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. Nice properties lead to a bright flashy gemstone. It weighs .82 carats. Bruce
Medium toned purple pink that shifts to orange pink droplet of color.#255
Don’t pigeonhole me cried the purple pink to orange pink with a desire to be a red droplet of color. The effort to attain individual attention and independence continues in the ranks of the orange red tribe. They have become … Continue reading
Posted in Pink
Tagged color-shift, droplet-of-color, medium, orange-pink, pink, purple-pink
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Pastel baby pink, sharp oval.#256
This pink oval appears to be eye clean and could not have a better, sharper crystal like appearance. It has a light tone level and weighs 1.34 carats. Bruce
A fine medium light oval with three rows of steps.#254
It takes a bit of effect to climb the three rows of steps that lead up to the table on this larger oval. But went you get there, you see a great pool of pink with just a little scatter … Continue reading
Nice oval with fine properties for a middle of the road pink.#253
Out side of a somewhat flatter crown, this oval is straight down the pink runway. When it landed, it came out eye clean and with a fine sharp look. It weighs1.10 carats. Bruce
Another peach to pink mascaraed, sliding color, round.#252
I ran into many more blue to green sliders in the collection than I ever expected, but the variety that is really spooking me is the unstable pink/red to peach/orange. This is another gemstone that does not agree with the … Continue reading
Peachy pink and ready to roll, round.#251
This one of those troopers that never expects to be notice, but it is a little joy. It is mostly pink with a touch of peach, but the main interest in the stone is its sharp, high quality crystal look. … Continue reading
Gold to Green color changer, Dravite the species oval.#300
In my opinion this is a true color changer. I have run into a few on the inter net, but this is the only one in the collection. I did not realize that I had a another type of color … Continue reading
A fine orange round that is lightly toasted and brilliantly brewed.#950
Need new picture This orange standard round brilliant has an impressive substantial look to it. This is not a watery drink filled with sugar, but a brew that deserved to be sipped. You can see right to the bottom of … Continue reading
An exceptional, red purple emerald cut with punch.#949
I have not been particularly enamored with many of the purple reds that I have seen. The purple cast seems to produce an overly dark tone level that limits flash. Well this emerald cut stands above all that. It is … Continue reading
Posted in Etc., Rubellite
Tagged emerald cut, Nigeria, outstanding, red, red-purple, rubellite
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Deeply cut, brilliant, medium pink round.#948
This is a beautiful gemstone. It appears to be eye clean and has exceptional clarity. I cut it with horizontally split mains on the pavilion that both darkens its medium tone level and produces a nice flash. This pink is … Continue reading
Significantly included, Laurellite, cuprian, round, Mozambique#947
This standard round brilliant has a nice purple color in daylight, but its flash is significantly lessened by it feathers. I say daylight with the purple, because it is a Laurellite. Laurellite is a name I gave to a new … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc., Laurellite
Tagged blue-purple, bruce fry discovery, color change, cuprian, laurellite, Mozambique, purple, round
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Great blue pink bicolor from Afghanistan.#947
This emerald cut is a beautiful gemstone. It has a body that is a little over half pink with the remainder blue. Both pastel colors have a great medium light tone value. It appears to be eye clean and of … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Etc.
Tagged afghan, bicolor, blue, emerald cut, outstanding, pastel, pink
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Included, Oval, Laurellite, Cuprian, Elbaite from Mozambique.#945
This oval was actually the first Laurellite that I cut. It is not as colorful as her sister #944, since her color change goes from purple to more of a grayed blue, but she set me up to take action … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc., Laurellite
Tagged blue-purple, bruce fry discovery, color change, cuprian, laurellite, Mozambique, oval, personal story, purple
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Mahogany, brown orange, droplet of color.#940
Now what is in a name. Too much I am afraid. This standard round brilliant is a pretty gemstone. It appears to be eye clean and has fine crystal. Its medium dark tone value still permits the stone to be … Continue reading
Posted in Dravite, Droplets of Color, Orange
Tagged brown-orange, dravite, droplet-of-color, mahogany
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Bright slightly included baby pink round Afghanistan#746
This is a nice round with a medium toned baby pink color. It is slightly included and weighs. .68 carats. It came from Afghanistan. Bruce
Bright pastel baby pink round. Afghanistan.#741
This bright baby pink round is slightly included. It came from Afghanistan and has fine crystal. It weighs .86 carats. Bruce
Achroite it is by a hair, oval.#740
Voting on whether an almost colorless tourmaline is an Achroite of just a member of the IceT group can get political. This very nice eye clean oval might just have enough to be a very very weak wheat, but the … Continue reading
Lightly tone baby pink round from Afghanistan#739
This round is slightly included and comes from Afghanistan. It is bright and sparkly. The lightly tone baby pink is very nice. It weighs .89 carats. Bruce
Slightly included baby pink round, Afghanistan#738
Nice sharp and bright slightly included baby pink round. It came in a lot from Afghanistan and I have cut quite a few of them. They work well in jewelery as long as you keep them clean. It weighs .91 … Continue reading
Slightly included non dichroic blue green oval#737
This is a very nice and rather different blue green oval. It has a medium tone level and has a uniform color and tone level because it is not dichroic. It is slightly included beside the girdle, which has no … Continue reading
This is a bright flashy pastel orange or peach oval#236
This is a beautiful pastel orange that I call peach. It has a richer medium tone level than many peaches. The oval has a longer ratio and appears to be eye clean. It appears to be eye clean and has … Continue reading
Eye clean pale blue round from Afghanistan.#735
This round is one of the better blue pieces that I got in a lot I bought from Afghanistan. It is not only visibly blue, which is better than most of the blue halves of bicolors that broke apart, but … Continue reading
lightly toned baby pink tourmaline round, Afghanistan#734
This baby pink round is slightly included. Its light tone value makes a bright sparkly gemstone. It is from Afghanistan and weighs 1.03 carats. Bruce
Lightly toned baby pink, slightly included round, Afghanistan.#733
The rough for this round came from Afghanistan in a lot I purchased years ago. It started out as part of bicolors that broke apart and I also got some very pale blue/achroite pieces in the same lot. This slightly … Continue reading
Lightly toned, baby pink, included round#732
This is a very nice piece of baby pink tourmaline from Afghanistan. It is very flashy and came in a lot with many other pink and pale blue pieces of rough that use to be bicolors, but broke apart. This … Continue reading
A yellow green bi color that appears to be eye clean, emerald cut.#450
I love this stone. It is a wonderfully subtle, but effective mixture of about 2/3 medium toned green and 1/3 quite pale yellow. It is as bright as an emerald cut can be with superior crystal and the complete lack … Continue reading
Flawed, medium light, non dichroic, pastel blue green emerald cut.#449
This is a nice sized emerald cut that is not dichroic and has a medium light tone level. It has fine crystal, but a couple of residual radial flaws spoil the stone clean flashy look. When I see this amount … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, emerald cut, green, non-dichroic, pastel, verdelite
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Green IceT all around for this highly transparent emerald cut.#448
This pale green emerald cut is not dichroic and without any problems with its cleanliness or crystal. I would honestly think this was a beryl or maybe even a greened quartz before I would guess a tourmaline. With successful polishing … Continue reading
Hexagonal cut, lightly tone level, vegetable juice green#447
I have seen a light tone and this rather flat green before and I have shied away from calling it a vegetable juice green, but this stone color is filled with the juice, in my mind. I tried to bring … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged celery juice, green, hexagonal cut, light green, verdelite
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An eye opening golden green emerald cut.#445
I knew there was something “funny” with this emerald cut as soon as I focused on it. It has golden green on the storage box, but color was not that big a deal with this mostly green emerald cut. I … Continue reading
This is a GEM, exceptional gemstone, sea foam, emerald cut.#444
Now I knew that this was an exceptional gem, but it was in a different tray than the other sea foams, so I never really compare it with them. Now, thanks to this effort in posting (2013), I have all … Continue reading
Posted in Etc., Verdelite
Tagged afghan, emerald cut, green, outstanding, seafoam, verdelite
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closed ended with poorer crystal, flash driven blue emerald cut.#443
The emerald cut is an Indicolite, because its blue flash does not drift toward green. It has decent flash that seems to be inhibited by poorer quality crystal. Having closed and steeply cut ends doesn’t really effect the stone. It … Continue reading
Well saturated, medium dark tone level, blue green emerald cut, Namibia#441
This solid, established member of the tourmaline community appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. The emerald cut has steeply cut ends because they are closed. Its well saturated, medium dark tone level, blue green color does shift … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, color-shift, emerald cut, green, medium dark, Namibia, verdelite
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Open ended medium tones blue green emerald cut.#440
This is the type of emerald cut that is not rare in the collection. It probably came from Afghanistan and is very pretty without being overtly flashy. It is completely open and is probably eye clean. There really is nothing … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged afghan, blue-green, dichroic, emerald cut, green, medium green, open-c, verdelite
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Bright, medium tone, pastel blue green emerald cut.#439
This emerald cut is only slight dichroic and has a nice, evenly bright, medium pastel blue green color. It appears to be eye clean and has fine crystal. Even with all of this going for it, the stone is fine, … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, emerald cut, green, medium green, pastel, verdelite
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A very bright, non dichroic, medium toned, emerald cut. cuprian.#438
This pastel green with a touch of blue, emerald cut stands out in the tray of green emerald cuts. It has a great medium tone and a very bright eye clean look. I discovered that this gemstone has copper in … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, cuprian, emerald cut, green, Mozambique, non-dichroic, pastel, verdlite
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Golden green, olive medium plus tone level emerald cut.#437
This closed ended emerald cut has a nice medium plus tone level. Its color is golden green on the storage box, but I would probably call it an olive green. It appears to be eye clean and have fine crystal. … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged bronze, emerald cut, golden green, green, olive green, open-c, verdelite
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Rather dull yellow green closed ended emerald cut.#436
This stocky emerald cut has closed ends, but has a good amount of flash. In the daylight its color definitely has a bronze, brownish cast in the medium dark plus toned, yellow green color. But this is a gemstone that … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged bronze, closed-c emerald cut, color-shift, green, verdelite, yellow-green
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Smaller emerald cut with dichroic green and yellow green color.#434
This emerald cut has normal angles and an open yellowish green c axis. The a/b axis is a medium green and the overall tone level is moderate. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. It came from … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged dichroic, emerald cut, green, Mozambique, open-c, verdelite, yellow-green
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Semi open ends with a flatter crown, green emerald cut.#433
This stone appears to be open on the ends and I cut it with the normal angles. Still the c axis ends lack the expected transparency. The flatter crown gives the stone a wide open look. It appears to be … Continue reading
Completely open, bright blue green emerald cut, Afghanistan#432
This is another winner from Afghanistan. Its yellower c axis sparkles in the end and the bluer a/b axis dichroic color makes for a touchdown. As usual the stone has great transparency. It appears to be eye clean and weighs … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged afghan, blue-green, emerald cut, green, open-c, yellow-green
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Open ended bright, medium toned, green emerald cut, Mozambique#431
Looking at this bright medium toned emerald cut reminds me of my problem with propagating flaws in the green Mozambique material I got about ten years ago. This gemstone has a quite visible, residual, radial flaw flashing at me. I … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged dichroic, emerald cut, green, medium green, Mozambique, verdelite
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Straight lace blue with open ends, emerald cut.#530
Many of the blues that I have and love have either a rich sapphire blue look or sing of the tropical waters. This straight laced blue follows a more stalwart path to success. It does not play with green much … Continue reading
Bare dichroic, medium toned, slightly bronze, green emerald cut.#429
This emerald cut is oriented with the c axis and its bronze color across the stone rather than in the ends,like the vast majority of emerald cuts. Since the stone is barely dichroic in tone values, the bronze color and … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged bronze, dichroic, emerald cut, green, medium green, verdelite
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Barely dichroic, medium toned, blue modified green, emerald cut.#428
This emerald cut has a sophisticated green that plays a bit with blue. It is completely open and barely dichroic. Still it is not eye candy and it may have just a touch of gray to keep it in line. … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, dichroic, emerald cut, green, open-c, verdelite
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Open ended flashy emerald cut with a bit of olive in the color.#427
This is a nice smaller emerald cut with normal ends and a good amount of flash. The c axis is sort of a olive bronze that gives the stone a below average color. It does appear to be eye clean … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged bronze, dichroic, emerald cut, green, olive green, verdelite
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Beautiful completely open dichroic green emerald cut. Afghanistan#426
Now I love a great green in a closed ended, emerald cut, but when you see the true potential of green tourmaline in a completely open gemstone with mixing dichroic colors, it is big step up. Afghanistan again claims the … Continue reading
Semi closed ended, spicy green emerald cut#425
This spicy emerald cut with semi closed ends is pretty flashy for an emerald cut. It appears to be eye clean and have fine crystal. It has a medium tone level and weighs 1.24 carats. Bruce
Slightly included average green emerald cut with closed ends.#424
This smaller emerald cut is slightly included, but has fine crystal and is unaffected by the inclusion. It has closed ends and with steep angles. It has an average, medium dark tone level, green color and weighs 1.20 carats. Bruce
Average green, closed ended, emerald cut.#423
This gemstone is a middle of the road green emerald cut with closed ends. It appears to be eye clean and has nice crystal, but the color is not exceptional. It weighs 2.89 carats and has a medium dark tone … Continue reading
Hexagonal cut green tourmaline.#422
This gemstone was an experiment in cutting a “hexagonal cut” in a moderately toned, bluish green tourmaline. The shape of the gemstone and its crown are the same as an emerald cut, but the pavilion is angled toward a culet. … Continue reading
Great green, closed ended, medium dark, emerald cut.#421
This stocky emerald cut looks rather like an octagon with the corners cut off so much, because of the steep angles on the ends of the stone. But it seems to produce a great showing of this gems superior flash … Continue reading
Usambara effect, chrome chromophore, green emerald cut.#420
I will be posting more on the usambara effect in tourmaline, but I will focus more on this specific gemstone in this post. It is always a pleasure to discover something new about tourmaline and then to discover something unexpected … Continue reading
Posted in Dravite, Etc.
Tagged chrome, dravite, emerald cut, green, umbasara, unique
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Lightly included, pastel yellow washed with green, oval. cuprian#419
This is another gemstone that I did not buy as cuprian, but my spectroscope uncovered the proper absorption curves. It is very clean for a cuprian tourmaline from Mozambique, with only a very few light inclusions that do not effect … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc., Yellow
Tagged cuprian, green-yellow, Mozambique, oval, pastel, yellow
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Sharp crystal like clarity, green, closed ended emerald cut.#418
I stopped a moment to try and come with a better description of what this stone looks like (including other eye clean and well saturated greens.). Just saying that it is probably eye clean or with fine crystal doesn’t seem … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged closed-c, crystal, emerald cut, green, medium green, verdelite
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Very bright bronze and green, dichroic, emerald cut.#402
The posted stone, emerald cut, 1.13 carats. Older cut stone, round, .83 carats Same material. I like a stone like this very bright emerald cut. It has a very good green c axis color and a more muted bronze a/b … Continue reading
Closed ends with normal angles, green emerald cut.#415
This small emerald cut has normal angle even though it has closed ends. It does show darker areas at each end of the emerald cut and the flash is different. It still has a nice green flash and can be … Continue reading
Closed ended with classic yellowish green color, emerald cut.#414
This emerald cut is an excellent representative for its class of tourmaline. It has the following properties. 1, Strongly dichroic, with a closed c axis. 2, Well saturated slightly yellowish green a/b axis. 3, Cut with steep ends to minimize … Continue reading
Medium light tone, blue green color with significant flaw, emerald cut#412
This bright open blue green emerald cut has sparkle in the ends. It has a more shift in its color than the more common yellow greens which is pleasing. Unfortunately this gemstone appears to have failed and there is a … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged color-shift, emerald cut, green, open-c, verdelite, yellow-green
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Well saturated green with a touch of blue, closed ended, emerald cut.#411
If I was an emerald, I would want to look like this green with a touch of blue tourmaline. (like many synthetic emeralds). The tone level of medium dark along with being eye clean and with fine crystal blows many … Continue reading
Well saturate, eye clean, closed ended green emerald cut#406
This emerald cut is the best you can cut from the world of small highly dichroic green tourmaline crystal that nature has produced. It has the typical well saturated yellow green in a medium tone level, which is good for … Continue reading
Closed ends but a great green emerald cut.#410
This emerald cut has steeply cut ends, but that doesn’t stop the a/b color from being exceptional. Its beauty is helped by being eye clean and with fine crystal. It medium dark tone is very rich and smooth. It weighs … Continue reading
Small emerald cut saturate green color and open ends.#409
This is about as small as I have ever cut an emerald cut. It weighs .33 carats and is a dandy little open ended and well saturated green gem. It also appears to be eye clean. Bruce
Fine, medium toned, green emerald cut that is not visibly dichroic.#408
This is a beautiful, well saturated green emerald cut that is not visibly dichroic. It appears to be eye clean and with excellent crystal. Its completely open ends with the same color and tone values as the sides of the … Continue reading
Dichroic medium light yellow green emerald cut.#407
The ends of this emerald cut are a deeper yellow green, while the body of the gemstone is a medium toned green. It is a nice open gemstone that is only moderately dichroic. It weighs .60 carats. Bruce
Steeply cut ends on a well saturated green emerald cut.#406
The emerald cut has normal ends because it has open ends. Its well saturated green color is is bright and flashy. It appears to be eye clean and with great transparency. It weighs 1.20 carats. Bruce
Steep ends on a semi closed, well saturated, medium toned green emerald cut#405 cut.
This emerald cut has steeply cut ends because it has semi closed ends. Its well saturated medium tone a/b axis color is very nice. It weighs .72 carats. Bruce
Well saturated, eye clean, green emerald cut.#404
This green emerald cut has a well saturated color. It appears to be eye clean and has almost open ends which helps make it flashy. It weighs .64 carats. Bruce
Included green emerald cut with closed ends.#403
This face up visibly included green emerald has a nice clean color. It has a medium dark tone level with closed ends. It weighs 1.18 carats. Bruce
Snappy green classic green emerald cut with semi closed ends#402
This small emerald cut is quite flashy considering that its ends are semi closed. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. The medium toned, snappy green a/b axis is what really makes this gemstone. It weighs 1.13 … Continue reading
Almost square, completely open, green emerald cut, Afghanistan.#401
This is a beautiful almost square emerald cut from Afghanistan. Its medium tone level is a little high for sea foam, but it is in the same blue green family. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. … Continue reading
Included, medium light toned, blue green oval.#1200
This is the last of the four ovals that I cut from a large included piece of rough. I have written about cutting this stone on another post about cutting included rough, if you would like to read more about … Continue reading
Posted in Cutting Tourmaline, Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, cutting tourmaline, green, medium green, oval
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Peach pink, eye clean, oval#1199
This oval appears to be eye clean and has fine crystal. It medium light toned pink with a touch of peach color is bright and flashy. It weighs 1.48 carats. Bruce
Slight included, bright golden yellow, droplet of color.#1198
This standard round brilliant is slightly included, but still bright and flashy. It color is a joy and its body has very good transparency. It verges on to an orange in some lights. It weighs .74 carats and is a … Continue reading
Long ratio, narrow, blue emerald cut.#1197
This long ratio and slender emerald cut has closed ends. Still the long ratio minimizes the darkness and the stone has a medium toned blue flash. It appears to be eye clean and weighs .64 carats. Bruce
Spicy yellowish green medium plus tone level, emerald cut
The long ratio of this narrow emerald cut minimizes the closed ends and put forward a nice medium plus tone level of spicy green. It appears to be eye clean and weighs.1.32 carats. Bruce
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged closed-c, emerald cut, green, medium green, spicy, yellow-green
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Pink touched with orange droplet of color.#1195
This standard round brilliant appears to be eye clean. It is bright and flashy and has just a touch of orange in its pink world. It weighs 1.72 carats and is a fine addition to the droplets of color. Bruce
Bright medium light sea foam oval from Afghanistan.#1194
Sea foam is another color variety that will go out of my way to try and get as much out of it as I can. This small oval is too small to really get the full effect of the lightly … Continue reading
Small oval Namibian blue#1193
I don’t cut this small an oval very much anymore. For most colors a simple standard round brilliant and a ticket into the droplets of color is enough. But with a nice piece of Namibia blue, I go for the … Continue reading
Included purple oval with blue areas, Mozambique, cuprian#1192
This oval is pretty heavily included and the inclusions do effect its crystal quality and flash. Still it has the rare color purple and the added interest that it has blue areas in the gemstone. This stone pushes the cleanliness … Continue reading
Nice medium toned slightly included emerald cut.#1191
This emerald cut is dichroic with semi closed ends. It has a good amount of flash, but is not eye clean. It has a slight radial feather that is on one side of the table, on the long side. The … Continue reading
Pale pink oval with frisky yellowish spot.#1188
This rough for this gemstone is from Nigeria and I have seen quite a bit of it. The body is a nice pink, but some faces of the crystal have a yellowish green layer on them that appears to have … Continue reading
Included, dichroic, medium dark green trilliant cut.#1187
Now I am not saying the I prefer included stones, to the pure joy of bright, flashing, eye clean perfection, but some inclusions don’t bother me as much as they use to. This trilliant has a great dichroic green. But … Continue reading
Posted in Cutting Tourmaline, Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, dichroic, green, trilliant, verdelite
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Longer ratio pink oval, with sleek look of three rows of steped facets crown#1186
Sometimes all the parts add up to more than any individual part is valued. This oval appears to be eye clean with fine crystal, nice medium pink color and a longer ratio cut with a crown of three rows of … Continue reading
Gray with blue flash round, Mozambique#1185
The purchase of the rough for this standard round brilliant shows a bit more discipline on my part than my earlier days. The dealer had gotten a lot of a tourmaline with a different color that is never stated. It … Continue reading
Posted in Etc., Indicolite
Tagged blue, dark blue, gray-blue, indicolite, Mozambique
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Included, long ratio, bright blue green, medium toned, oval.#1184
This is one of the ovals that I cut from a large piece of included rough. This stone has a moderate amount of inclusions, but is still bright and flashy. I have posted about cutting this oval in a post … Continue reading
Really sharp pastel yellow oval has been claimed by the IceT group.#1183
It was a close call, but the official ruling is that this yellow is both free enough of green, to be just a pale yellow and at the same time an IceT pledge. The stone has three rows of step … Continue reading
Baby pink is slightly included but sharp, droplet of color. Afghan.#1182
This is a nice example of baby pink this is slightly included, but with great crystal. It is well saturated and has broken the ranks of the droplets of color. So another baby pink is crown with the droplets blessing. … Continue reading
Medium light tone blue green dot of color#1181
This blue green dot of color is bright and has a medium light tone. It wished that it was bigger at .20 carats. Bruce
Medium toned blue green dot of color#1180
This standard round brilliant is a very nice medium tone level, pastel blue green dot of color. It appears to be eye clean and bright and weighs .20 carats. Bruce
Chrome green dot of color#1178
This chrome tourmaline has a nice flash driven green color. It weighs .20 carats. Bruce
Blue green pastel dot of color.#1179
This standard round brilliant is a nice medium pastel dot of color. It is quite and bright and appears to be eye clean. It weighs .18 carats. Bruce
Chrome tourmaline, flash driven green round.#1177
This dark green dot of color has a flash driven green color. It is called chrome tourmaline despite the fact that it is probably colored by vanadium. It weighs .20 carats. Bruce
Dark green chrome dot of color.#1176
This dark green dot of color has some flash driven color. It is called chrome tourmaline despite the fact that it is probably colored by vanadium. This standard round brilliant weighs .17 carats. Bruce
Emerald green dot of color.#1175
This small standard round brilliant is cut from chrome tourmaline. It has a bit better tone values than the other five green dotes of color on the same tray. It weighs .20 carats. Bruce
Chrome green dot of color.#1174
This small dark green, but with good flash, round is called chrome tourmaline. It has a different feel to it than green Elbaite the most common form of green tourmaline. This dot of color weighs .16 carats. Bruce
Green dots before your eyes, chrome dots of color (6)#1173
Dark, but with a very nice flash driven emerald green color. This chrome tourmaline is one of six rounds that I cut from the last of a dealers inventory. Chrome tourmaline has a different presence than green Elbaite and you … Continue reading
Included medium toned pastel blue green oval.#1172
This is one of four ovals that I cut from a large included piece of rough. I describe the work in another post that discusses the cutting of included rough. I hope that you would read that for more details … Continue reading
Included medium toned pastel blue green oval.#1171
This oval was cut along with three other ovals from a large piece of included rough. I have gone into quite a bit of detail about their cutting in a post discussing cutting included rough. So I would see that … Continue reading
Lightly toned, icy blue and eye clean droplet of color.#1170
This is one cool stone of icy blue without a gray cast. It appears to be eye clean and of fine crystal. I think that few people would think that it is an indicolite because it not dichroic in the … Continue reading
Fully open, slightly dichroic, spring green emerald cut.#1169
Over the years of cutting green tourmaline with every degree of darkness down the c axis, I have really come to appreciate an emerald cut like this one. It is slightly dichroic, but the c axis is wide open and … Continue reading
Really a tourmaline? Purple green bicolor, round.#1168
First of all, cutting a round out of a bicolor is not the “normal” way of bring the best out it. But the rough was unbalanced and so stubby that to cut an emerald cut would not show the colors … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Etc.
Tagged bicolor, green, horizontal split mains, purple, unique
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Another round of blue from Namibia for everyone, dot of color.#1166
This is a pretty little blue standard round brilliant. It appears to be eye clean and came from Namibia in a lot that proved to be unstable. The dot of color has a medium tone level and weighs .27 carats. … Continue reading
Achroic, colorless round from Afghanistan#1167
This standard round brilliant is colorless and without inclusions. It came from Afghanistan and really does produce some of the purest tourmaline in the world. The biggest draw back to colorless tourmaline, as a gemstone, is its lack of dispersion, … Continue reading
A bright tang orange trilliant with zoning.#1165
This bright orange trilliant with a crown made with two rows of step cuts, looks like it was cut from a terminus because of its triangular zoning. It has a great bright tang orange without brown overtones. It is a … Continue reading
Included and flawed, but still a laurellite, cuprian, Mozambique#1164
The list of problems in the title makes this stone sound worse than it looks. The flaws are not under the table and the inclusion/poor crystal is not bad enough to stop the standard round brilliant from flashing. So this … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Laurellite
Tagged color change, cuprian, laurellite, Mozambique, purple
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Another blue dot special from Namibia#1163
If you can keep dots of color on the dop stick, they can be fun to cut. I went to a diamond dopping wax years ago, that is just about pure shellac and have never regretted it. I now use … Continue reading
Exceptional Rubellite Unique to the Collection Round.#1162
Deeply cut bicolor, colorless crown, red pavilion, 6.60 carats. Nice longer ratio emerald cut with bright red c axis, 4.51 carats This is a GEM, an exceptional gemstone. It has everything including a secret. But first a question. How do … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Etc., Rubellite
Tagged colorless, horizontal split mains, outstanding, red, rubellite
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Deeply cut round with a sparkling yellow green glow#1161
This is a pretty little gemstone. The split horizontal mains on the pavilion of this eye clean round give an added bunch to the great medium toned yellow green color. As usual this yellow green seem particularly bright when compared … Continue reading
Pink center and blue ends makes a different oval.#1160
A unique gemstone in this collection must have a interesting story. I cut away a good part of this oval’s story, when I preformed this oval. It had been a rather flat section of a watermelon tourmaline with a pastel … Continue reading
Closed ends does not make a dull green tourmaline, emerald cut#1159
This emerald cut is alive with nice flashes of classic yellow green color. It does have completely closed ends, and is cut with steep ends, but it never was too dark or dull. It appears to be eye clean and … Continue reading
An included round from the sea.#1158
This is an old stone that is so included that it sat away from the collection for years. Still when I was getting the collection in order for this website and photography, I looked it over again. And I still … Continue reading
Dichroic, but open ended snappy green emerald cut.#1157
This emerald cut has a little less than a medium tone level to set off a yellowish green to bluish green, flashy, color. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. It is only mildly dichroic and has … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, color-shift, dichroic, emerald cut, green, verdelite, yellow-green
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Long ratio oval in peach.#1156
This long ratio oval has that modern look of three rows of step cut facets on the crown. It appears to be eye clean and have fine crystal. Its pastel peachy color is quite pale and drifts into straw in … Continue reading
A Namibian blue reaching to be a droplet of color.#1154
My principle dealer out of Africa usually does not offer individual tourmalines that are less than 5 carats in size. He offers the smaller material in lots. The posted bright blue that is going to be just big enough to … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Indicolite
Tagged blue, droplet-of-color, indicolite, Namibia
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Small, closed ended, blue to blue green emerald cut.#1153
This is a pretty emerald cut that has a very nice medium dark toned blue to blue green color. It has closed ends and steep angles on the ends. It weighs .72 carats. It appears to be eye clean. Bruce
A black that is dark green emerald cut.#1152
This is a stone from the old days that I decided to store with the collection. Then thinking about it, if I want as broad a sample of color/intensity/tone as I can get, I should include it as a permanent … Continue reading
Part of the lot of Namibia blue dots of color#1151
Small rounds are fun to cut, but you work for what you get. There are not too many colors that I would push a round down this small, but a great medium toned blue, like this dot of color, is … Continue reading
Moderate pale green droplet of color from Brazil#1150
This standard round brilliant is moderately included. Its minty green body produces a reasonable amount of flash. I bought the rough in a lot from Brazil and it was some of the first material I cut, when I was getting … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Verdelite
Tagged Brazil, droplet-of-color, green, mint, pale, verdelite
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Included peach pink droplet of color, Brazil#1149
This round was not permitted into the collection for many years because of its heavy inclusions. I had purchased the rough from Brazil when I started cutting again and loved the color, but couldn’t really cut a clean stone. The … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Pink
Tagged Brazil, color-shift, droplet-of-color, peach, pink
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Best blue in the house goes to Namibia, droplet of color#1148
Now it is the policy of the house is that the judging of color be done without regard to size, cleanliness or country of origin. This standard round brilliant won the coveted title of best blue on its own merits. … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Etc., Indicolite
Tagged blue, droplet-of-color, indicolite, Namibia, outstanding
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Moderately included spring green droplet of color.#1147
This standard round brilliant has a nice , spring green, look despite its moderate inclusions. Its medium tone level is much in demand with the droplets of color. It weighs 1.36 carats. Bruce
Posted in Droplets of Color, Verdelite
Tagged droplet-of-color, green, spring green, verdelite, yellow-green
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Namibian blue dot of color.#1146
Another fine stable blue from Namibia that is a dot of color. It appears to be eye clean, but may not be stable enough to set. It weighs .35 carats. Bruce
Long ratio, semi closed ends, spicy green emerald cut.#1145
I went to college in Colorado in the late sixties from New Jersey. Besides being introduced to many delicacies of western fare, I ran into Mexican food for the first time. When I asked my “friends” which salsa I should … Continue reading
Rolling in dots of blue Namibian tourmaline.#1144
Namibia gets my vote for blue in tourmaline. It may not have the neon look of Paraiba, but I keep finding room in my collection for it. This dot of color is bright blue and stays blue even in my … Continue reading
Open ended and medium toned, green emerald cut.#1143
This emerald cut appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. It has open ends and a fine medium tone level. It green color is interesting as it is a bit different than most green tourmaline. Just another example … Continue reading
Heavily included pale green emerald cut. Brazil#1142
When I first got back into faceting after a long hiatus, I bought mostly small sized, inexpensive, cutting rough, much of which was junk. The lot that the posted gemstone came from was Brazilian and had tourmaline with three distinctly … Continue reading
Slightly included pastel golden orange emerald cut.#1140
This tourmaline looks a lot like a topaz I cut years ago. The emerald cut has a nice medium light tone level with darker, but not closed ends. It flash very nicely and is only slightly included. And the color … Continue reading
Blue toward green color shifter, closed ended, emerald cut.#1139
This longer ratio emerald cut is blue in day light, but makes a strong sift toward green in my yellowish light. It appears to be eye clean and has good crystal. It dark tone level and closed ends makes the … Continue reading
Posted in Indicolite
Tagged blue, closed-c, color-shift, emerald cut, green-blue, indicolite
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Great blue green with a few visible growth tubes oval.#1138
I really like this medium plus tone level of bright blue green color. The gemstone has one fault. There are a few quite visible growth tubes deep in the culet that parallel the sides of the oval. I remember thinking … Continue reading
Included pale gray oval#1137
This gemstone is just another little step to cover the world of color in tourmaline. Its pale gray color is rich enough to keep it from being achroite, but doesn’t give it much life. It is noticeably include in one … Continue reading
Darkly toned, dichroic blue green oval.#1136
The ends of this long ratio oval are darker than the middle of the oval because it is dichroic. Both colors work together well and are nice shades of blue green. The gemstone has a number of faint inclusion and … Continue reading
Included, rich, hot pink, oval#1135
This is a great piece of eye candy. This oval is hot and even if a bit more than the hoped for level inclusion are there, they just do not come threw the rich pink flash. It is surprising that … Continue reading
Pure tourmaline magic, Blue capped pink bodied round.#1134
Blue cap round from face up. Blue cap round, more from the side. I set out to cut a different stone from a different piece of rough this time. Blue capped tourmaline crystals are some of the most beautiful and … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Cutting Tourmaline
Tagged bicolor, blue, cutting tourmaline, horizontal split mains, pink, unique
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Medium toned, blue green, dichroic gemstone is a droplet of color.#1133
This standard round brilliant has an interest mixture of the two dichroic colors of blue green and yellow green. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. It weighs .54 carats and is a droplet of color. Bruce.
Posted in Droplets of Color, Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, dichroic, droplet-of-color, green, verdelite, yellow-green
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Dark blue with limited flash blue dot of color.#1132
This dot of color is as small as I have cut them. It has a rich blue color, but seems to suffer from a lack of transparency that I have seen in other blues. Still with its small size of … Continue reading
Included pink dot of color.#1131
This standard round brilliant is included. It has a nice medium toned pink color that is enough to be a dot of color. It weighs .26 carats. Bruce
Another unstable pink peach oval has been sighted.#1130
Even before I set up my yellowish light and let the natural light into where I am posting, pinks, peaches, reds and oranges have been betraying me. I examine them after they have been cleaned and placed in their storage … Continue reading
Add two thirds pink and one third gray together and you get a nice bicolor.#1129
This emerald cut is pure tourmaline in its bicolor nature. About two thirds of the length of the long ratio emerald cut is a nicely saturated, medium toned pink and the rest is a balancing patch of gray. It makes … Continue reading
Something different for my last bit of strawberry, round.#1128
One advantage of practically running out of rough to cut, is the discovery of stray bits of past accomplishments with the interest and time to cut them. This small round is NOT a standard round brilliant. The stray bit of … Continue reading
Included, medium toned, blue dot of color.#1127
Sometimes I can tell when a stone has been a real problem and this is one of them. It is pretty included and such a small size that i am sure that its destiny did not start out that way. … Continue reading
How many Namibian blues does it take to make a lot, as many as I can get#1126
I think that doing all the posts for my new web site has caused me to reflect on some of my purchases. I seem to have a selective memory or lack of it, when it comes to how many small … Continue reading
A nice medium toned green dot.#1125
Now what does it take to be a fine dot of color besides a determinative size? The rich enough tone level to be seen and a fine color. This standard round brilliant has both and has been accepted. ( Since … Continue reading
Summing up the parts, beautiful yellow green shield cut.#1124
With all the difficulty and expense of getting natural tourmaline rough, it makes me wonder sometimes why I just don’t cut synthetic. I don’t believe in any mystical force of nature or the healing power of natural gemstones, but I … Continue reading
Posted in Etc., Verdelite
Tagged green, outstanding, shield, verdelite, yellow-green
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Another winner, pale yellow green, deep round.#1122
I feel a growing acceptance of a new force in the round world. It the tourmaline rough meets the following criteria, it may end up being cut with a split horizontal main pavilion and a modified step cut crown. 1, … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged green, horizontal split mains, pale, verdelite, yellow-green
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Slightly include hotter pink oval#1121
This medium toned pink oval is hotter than most, but I would not call it a hot pink. It is lightly included which is typical of tourmaline in the hotter richer pink range. It is still a bright flashy gemstone … Continue reading
Medium toned blue, dot of color, Namibia#1120
This is a pretty medium toned blue standard round brilliant. It is from Namibia and makes a fine dot of color, It weighs .22 carats. Bruce
Classic blue green emerald cut tourmaline.#1118
There, I have brought up the fact,in the title, that this beauty which screams tourmaline when you look at it, is a tourmaline. I think you may have been surprised by the world of color in tourmaline as you brows … Continue reading
Posted in Etc., Polishing Tourmaline, Verdelite
Tagged blue-green, emerald cut, green, outstanding, polishing tourmaline
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Lavender without copper, grayed and slightly included, emerald cut.#1117
I love purples derived from copper and manganese in tourmaline, but I never wanted them to be my whole purple world. Therefor I have set sail many times on the quest for any purple with a challenge, are you out … Continue reading
Peach with a pink shadow, dichroic emerald cut.#1116
This is a classic tourmaline gem. An emerald cut with richer ends and a blend of two colors peach and pink. I confess that I would cut emerald cuts even if the rough wasn’t ideally suited for them, at times, … Continue reading
Namibian blue, classic dot of color.#1115
There are not many colors that I would cut in such a small round anymore. But I go the extra mile with a great Namibian blue. A combination of medium tone levels and great transparency helps my beloved blue, just … Continue reading
Medium light toned, two step on the crown, oval.#1114
This middle of the road pink oval does have a bit of a modern twist. It has two rows of steps for the crown. I have begun to cut more of these because they have been well received. It is … Continue reading
This pastel oval is in the pink and should be babied.#1113
This medium lightly toned baby pink oval is a nice size. It appears to be eye clean and has fine crystal. Now all this could indicate a gemstone from Afghanistan or Nigeria, but that can not be proven by its … Continue reading
Deeply cut medium pastel green round.#1111
This delightful gemstone owes much of its interest to the increased depth and bright flash created by a different cut, than the standard round brilliant. This cut consists of eight horizontally split mains for a pavilion and a modified two … Continue reading
Posted in Cutting Tourmaline, Verdelite
Tagged cutting tourmaline, green, horizontal split mains, pastel
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Darker blue green round with reasonable flash. Droplet of color to be.#1110
This standard round brilliant appears to be eye clean and has reasonable flash for a darker gemstone. One that likes the sun and an intimate glance. The blue green components of the stones hue are well balanced. It weighs .86 … Continue reading
Eye clean and hot enough to flash, round.#1109
This very flashy standard round brilliant has a nice pink color that is pretty hot in my yellowish light, but calms down a bit in the light of a new day. It appears to be eye clean and without chipping … Continue reading
Limited flash in a blue green round.#1108
This standard round brilliant has a darker tone level and nice color, but limited flash. I don’t see a lot of heavy inclusions, but I don’t think it has very good crystal. Also I think that this stone may be … Continue reading
peach pink medium lightly toned emerald cut.#1107
You can see that this gemstone is a slight dichroic peach pink. The ends of the emerald cut are slightly darker than the sides, but the gemstone is very open. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. … Continue reading
Slightly included baby pink droplet of color.#1106
Needs picture 1106 This medium light toned baby pink is bright and flashy. It is just slightly included and came in a lot from Afghanistan years ago. I have cut many of them between working on bigger projects. This one … Continue reading
What can I say, I like even gray, in the color world of this round.#1105
I was once looking threw a list of gemstones and their colors presented by the Gem Institute of America GIA. I always like to see which colors are not included in the list of colors for tourmaline. The most notable, … Continue reading
Long ratio, hot pink pool with sparkles on the ends, oval#1104
This oval has as long a ratio of the length to the width (1.5 times) that I cut. The oval cut that I use,which is a lazy oval meet point design, although I don’t cut it in a completely meet … Continue reading
There is no cure for the Namibian blues, beautiful, small, emerald cut.#1103
Do I like to cut, large length to width ratio emerald cuts? Not really. Do I like to cut skinny emerald cuts? Not really. But when it comes to desiring top quality blues from Namibia I gladly go the extra … Continue reading
Posted in Cutting Tourmaline, Indicolite
Tagged blue, cutting tourmaline, emerald cut, indicolite, Namibia
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Deep, well saturated, pastel yellow, round.#1102
I have posted enough of the collection by now for my loyal readers to realized that yellow is a passion of mine and probably the scarcest well saturated primary color in my collection. I am talking about yellows that have … Continue reading
Nice, middle of the road, eye clean, Nigerian, pink round.#50
This is the type of gemstone that needs to be on its own, to impress someone. It is at least eye clean and very bright in its garb of medium toned, average pink pastel color, but that is not enough … Continue reading
Flatter crown and a richer tone level purple pink, round.#48
Well looking at this gemstone closely for flaws/inclusions has brought back a memory. It was soon after I started cutting gemstones after a long hiatus and I was new to the inter net. I dealt with most American dealers that … Continue reading
Bright, eye clean, medium toned pink round.#46
This standard round brilliant is a nice large pink that really has not problems. It probably came from Nigeria and my yellowish light really ignites it into a spice pink. In sunlight it is a much more of a medium … Continue reading
Eye clean darker pink with purple highlights, round.#45
A flatter crown helps this standard round brilliant stay flashy with a darker toned pink with purplish highlights, color. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. It weighs 2.72 carats. Bruce
Dark pink with a bit of purple cast, low level flashing round.#44
Need picture 44 This dark pink with a purple cast, that does not come from copper, appears to have a transparency issue. This is probably because the standard round brilliant was cut with its table perpendicular to the principle axis … Continue reading
Medium toned purple with a bit more pink round cuprian.#43
The rough, for this standard round brilliant, was probably heated to lighten its original dark reddish purple color. The heating gradually reduces the reddish component in the color. This medium toned, lavender pink round is eye clean and with fine … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline
Tagged cuprian, Mavuco, Mozambique, pink-purple, purple
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A medium tone purple with pink passion, round, cuprian#42
This standard round brilliant was probably heated to lighten its original, dark reddish purple, color. The dark reddish purple tourmaline was the only really clean material, originally found at Mavuco, Mozambique. This excellent example of purple tourmaline with a … Continue reading
Lightly toned well saturated lavender oval, cuprian#41
The rough for the lightly toned lavender was cut from a large dark purplish red nodule that had been heated to lighten it. It would have probably gone completely light blue if the heating continued. The blue is from … Continue reading
A baby pink round with a white feather in its crown.#40
This is baby pink round from Afghanistan that I have produced in quantity from a lot I bought years ago. It has a nice color, but it is always included. This 1.85 carat standard round brilliant has a much more … Continue reading
Medium dark pink soup with an orange shadow, round.#39
This gemstone is part of my first tray in the collection. My son organized it after the last show the Carnegie Museum ever gave with gems and minerals. He brought together many red/pink rounds from over the years. Many of … Continue reading
Medium dark tone , a close call, but its a red, round.#38
This is the type of red/pink tourmaline where it depends on the size of the gemstone, whether it is red or pink. A one carat size stone would certainly be a rich pink while a 10 carat size would be … Continue reading
A red world to explore, included round.#37
It is easy to see the mission that I accepted when I started to cut this flash driven, dark red round. Cut a standard round brilliant with the proper angles on the pavilion, but a lower crown while keeping the … Continue reading
Just you average hot pink standout, round#36
Sometimes it is hard for a great stone to show its stuff in the collection. Surrounded by a lot of competition is hard on the ego. It can also make the decision about what is a reasonable choice for a … Continue reading
A hot rich pink round that is a real flasher.#35
This hot pink rides on the edge of red without needing more than a medium tone level. It is included as you would expect, but I can only see a small area of white non-flashing inclusions close to the girdle, … Continue reading
A touch of purple goes a long way dark purple pink round.#34
This standard round brilliant appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal, still it is not a flashy gem because of its dark tone level. The case grows stronger that whatever causes pinks to get a purplish cast, it … Continue reading
Another hot pink on the color screen, round#33
Now declaring a hot pink or not a hot pink is a personal matter that I have to make. I actually return a lot of pink rough years ago because I did not think that the pink was that hot. … Continue reading
A prize from the past, middle of the road pink round.#32
I can tell from the markings on the storage box that this standard round brilliant was cut in the early stages of my rebirth in lapidary. It is a fine trooper, with a decent medium toned pink that is eye … Continue reading
Eye clean baby pink round from Afghanistan.#30
The rounds keep rolling around the collection. Pink comes from every large area of tourmaline production in the world. This baby pink, medium light toned stoned is classic Afghanistan. They have really pure, brightly colored tourmaline there with very few … Continue reading
A round with a flater crown, average included pink.#29
This is a nice stone, but not exceptional when compared with the rest of the collection. It does have a flatter crown that makes it a bit different, if you know what you’re looking for and look close enough. (You … Continue reading
A red sails in and interest rises in this round.#28
Yes we yet have another standard round brilliant that has won the jackpot and been declared a red. It has the dark tone value of the usual red, but is missing the inclusions so there is a good chance that … Continue reading
A hot one in the hole, slightly included pink round.#27
I am sure that it takes a variety of factors (known and unknown) to make a great hot pink round. I can do my best, but some pinks are hot and some are not. This is one of those hot … Continue reading
A flatter crown helps open up a darker pink round.#25
This darker average pink is helped to flash with a flatter crown. Its broad flashes are a decent color that is helped by an eye clean body. Even with all this the stone is not a particularly flashy gem because … Continue reading
A dark sultry pink that wants to be red droplet of color.#24
It is dark enough for a pink to sink into red, but it keeps floating above the color level. It appears to be eye clean and seems to have a slight overtone of purple. This would help explain why this … Continue reading
Eye clean and with a richer medium toned pink, round.#23
If this was the first richer medium toned pink round I had seen with such a good cut, I would be very pleased to expound on it. But it is not, and this average beauty has learned to roll with … Continue reading
A unusally light toned purple pink round.#22
This medium lightly toned round is a purple shade different than the abundant pinks all around it. The standard round brilliant appears to be eye clean and with good crystal, yet it is not exceptionally flashy when compared with similar … Continue reading
Hot pink with a couple of growth tubes round.#21
I love this stone. Every time I check out this tray, the stone jumps out at me. It has a very clean body except for a few growth tubes. Growths tubes form inside a crystal of tourmaline when something interrupts … Continue reading
A clean baby pink wrapped in crisp flash, round#20
It is nice to see a pink that is both a baby hue and clean of inclusions. This soft pastel sparkles, but has a limited ability to handle bright lights like all pastels. It weighs .88 carats. Bruce
Medium light tone, average pink round#19
This standard round brilliant misses the eye clean goal with just a couple of touches of inclusions. They are completely innocuous and only fit to show that this medium light toned pink is genuine. The pink hue is well saturated … Continue reading
Surrender pinks a slight included red round steps forward.#18
Well I have drawn the line in the sand and this nice standard round brilliant red has been confirmed as a red. Its commonly occurring flaws are light and really just make a little of the body a bit hazy. … Continue reading
Medium plus tone level and slight inclusions droplet of color.#17
The droplets of color have been waiting a while for a nice richer pink to fit into their group. This slightly included standard round brilliant is just such a stone. As usual this variety of tourmaline is at least slightly … Continue reading
Slightly included bit darker medium toned pink round.#16
This standard round brilliant has a nice pink color that is only slightly darker than a medium tone. It has a slight inclusion next to the girdle that doesn’t effect the beauty of this 2.08 carat bright, flashy stone. Bruce
A moderately included, average pink that is really not average, round#26
When I label a tourmaline a moderately included, average pink, gemstone, I am comparing it with my collection and not with what is available commercially. I think that my collections level of cleanliness is much better than commercially grade stones … Continue reading
Dark toned pink that appears eye clean, round#15
Most pink reds that slide into red are darker toned like this standard round brilliant. But this moderately flashy round is still very pink even though it has a dark tone. It appears to be eye clean and have decent … Continue reading
Nice, eye clean, average pink droplet of color#14
Where would the collection be without a multitude of troupers, small stones with reasonable properties, but nothing different. It would be much smaller and I would have run out of material to cut a long time ago. This is one … Continue reading
A pink trouper for the droplets of color.#13
This is a pretty average standard round brilliant. Its color is a bit redder than average, but not much. It has the expected inclusions, but the cut is still a bright pleasant medium pink. It weighs 1.09 carats the places … Continue reading
Purple pink with a nice medium tone level, droplet of color.#12
I have seen problems with a lack of transparency in pinks that have a purplish cast. So it is really nice to have this beautiful standard round brilliant that is completely open and eye clean with a spicy color. It … Continue reading
Medium toned, lightly included lavender droplet of color, cuprian #11
I love lavender tourmaline and can turn a very deaf eye to their inclusions. But with this standard round brilliant I don’t have to. It has some fine scatter, a but it is pretty transparent and flashy. The color has … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Droplets of Color
Tagged cuprian, droplet-of-color, lavender, Mozambique, purple
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Slightly included pink pastel round from Afghanistan.#10
This standard round brilliant is one among many rounds that I cut from a lot I bought from Afghanistan years ago. The lot included both very pale blue and a more moderate, light pink, haves of bicolors that all broke … Continue reading
Bright medim toned pink droplet of color.#9
This standard round droplet of color is a little fireball. It is very transparent and appears to be eye clean with fine crystal. Its bright, flashing, medium level properties would present a pretty face in any piece of jewelery. It … Continue reading
Well saturated rich pink with slight inclusion, droplet of color#8
This standard round brilliant has a slight inclusion that does not effect the beauty of the stone. It is brighter than many pinks and has a better more saturated color. It weighs .77 carats and is a fine medium toned … Continue reading
Red/Pink, how little it takes to sway me, great droplet of color. #7
If you have read many of my posts about pink tourmaline, you will see that pink is the most common color, by far, that is suitable for making rounds. So I am a bit jaded when it comes to many … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Pink, Rubellite
Tagged droplet-of-color, pink, red-pink
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richer toned medium pink droplet of color.#6
This standard round brilliant is a nice ring size. Its tone level is a bit higher than medium because of its larger size. It appears to be eye clean and with fine crystal. This makes a flashy gemstone, but not … Continue reading
Hotter slightly inclued pink droplet of color.#5
This standard round brilliant pink is getting hotter. It is only slightly included and with good crystal. That, along with a medium tone level makes a bright flashy stone. It weighs .79 carats and shines in the pool of the … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Pink
Tagged droplet-of-color, hot pink, medium-pink, pink
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Good saturation in a medium dark toned pink droplet of color.#4
In working with color, the word saturation is not how deep the color is, but rather how pure the color is. That is how much gray hinders the color. Most if not all of my pinks have a good saturation, … Continue reading
Average darker pink droplet of color.#3
It appears that this medium dark pink droplet of color is eye clean. It still does not reach the flashing heights of the hot pinks, but would stand up better to bright lights and bit more soiling than the pastels. … Continue reading
Included medium pink droplet of color.#2
This pink standard round brilliant may have a touch of purple in its color. I see one feather between the table and the girdle, but there are probably more light inclusions, because this is a color that is generally included. … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Pink
Tagged droplet-of-color, medium-pink, pink, purple-pink
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Eye clean with good crystal, lavender droplet of color, cuprian#1
I usually don’t advertise the gemstones cleanliness in its title, but with cuprian tourmaline it is a question with every stone, no matter how small. I am sure that I purchased the rough and finished the standard round brilliant before … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Droplets of Color
Tagged cuprian, droplet-of-color, lavender, purple
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Cutting a flawed but not an impossible dream.
In the world of my dreams, the tourmaline runs large, colorful and clean. This is certainly not the world I live in and I am not sure that I would want to cut in it either. I remember a documentary … Continue reading