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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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Tag Archives: unique
Strange and unique, possibly chrome green emerald cut.
Well here is another gemstone hot off the dop stick. The rough had a natural table that was obvious and the tables outline looked rather like a “D”. It had a moderately strong degree of dichroism with a very nice … 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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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
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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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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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
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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The only triangular cut in the collection pink.#166
This triangular stone with the tips cut off is the only time I have made this style of cut. It is a fine little stone that would need a custom setting because of its shape. It is eye clean and … Continue reading
Smallest round in the collection and a green dot of color.#109
This is as low as I have ever cut a small gemstone. This standard round brilliant only weighs .11 carats, but it is a chrome tourmaline and probably has as good a green as there is in the collection. If … Continue reading
A bit of mint covered in chocolate, dichroic round. #88
When I came to this small round that was cut years ago, it made me pause. I have written golden green on the back of its storage box ,but I am seeing a more complex picture than that. This standard … Continue reading
A Blue/Pink/Gray colored mess of a standard round brilliant. #77
My father use to tell me one of his few stories about his college days, that centered on making tuity fruity ice cream, over again many times. He always smiled and it was good that he had at least one … Continue reading
A most unusual pastel yellow orange round.#73
It is hard to tell exactly what is going on in this unique gemstone. It is a standard round brilliant that from the back appears not to be zoned. Therefor the flashes of pastel orange and pastel yellow must be … Continue reading
Unique faceted watermelon pink center, green rind, emerald cut. #69
Everyone seems to love watermelon tourmaline,(a crystal with a pink core that runs down the long axis of Elbaite tourmaline that is coated with a green rind.), but it is rare that this distribution of color is useful to the … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Etc.
Tagged bicolor, emerald cut, outstanding, unique, watermelon
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Lightly toned, not dichroic, deeply cut, watery blue green, emerald cut.#386
This lightly toned, non dichroic, emerald cut does not look like a classical tourmaline. If you did not do an index of refraction test on it and find that it has a much higher index than beryl, I would guess … Continue reading
Posted in Verdelite
Tagged aquamarine, blue-green, green, non-dichroic, pale, unique
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One lost baguette in the collection, small blue.#355
I decided to cut a baguette to see how I would like it. I decided that I much preferred emerald cuts so this medium blue one was the only baguette I have cut. It has a nice medium tone and … Continue reading
Cuprian, light yellow, round#644
I did not buy the rough for this gemstone as cuprian and I did not know it was cuprian until I check it out with my spectrometer. I have no idea whether the copper content effects the color of this … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc., Yellow
Tagged cuprian, Mozambique, unique, yellow
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A gray sweeps in to save the day, droplet of color.#640
Now the droplets take pride in having every hue (color) and I try to help them all I can. But a true gray in tourmaline is not common. Having colors that are grayish is a piece of cake. But this … Continue reading
Magnificent bicolor with yellow crown and rust culet, orange round. Del Delgato#791
I have put together a general post about Del Gado and other sources of rough that peaked at different times in my time of collection building. Still it should be said here that Del Gado, which is the most northern … Continue reading
Smallest round I ever made, blue color dot.#779
It looks like a little sapphire and deserves a note as the smallest stand round brilliant I ever cut. (and any other style of cut). It has a nice medium toned blue and weighs a spectacular .11 carats. (That is … Continue reading
Smaller round with rind of blue and a heart of pink.#528
I purchased the rough for this standard round tourmaline as a bit of cuprian color, but my spectrometer said no copper. It is still interesting, even if it has moderate inclusion that inhibit the flash. They are at least spread … Continue reading
A heavily included experiment in the round.#510
The standard round brilliant that is heavily included was just an experiment. I had purchased some Brazilian “salad”(low grade faceted gemstones) to try and see if I could get something different.(I did get a couple of grayed purples that are … Continue reading
Make way for a little red round that shouts Rubellite.#504
It is my opinion that Rubellite (varietal name for red tourmaline) should be used with the reddest most intense color that tourmaline is capable of producing. Not pinks or reds that desaturate to brownish off color gemstones. Smaller gemstone usually … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Etc., Rubellite
Tagged droplet-of-color, red, rubellite, unique
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Something different a maroon emerald cut.#501
With all the rough I have bought to enlarge the spread of color you would have thought I would have more maroon. Now maroon has a part of me since it was part of my high school colors. Maroon and … Continue reading
An emerald cut with a greened bronze color.#713
Now a collection of tourmalines that wants to be inclusive can not only go for the eye candy in the world. Besides I wouldn’t have a lot to cut if every stone had to have great commercial potential. This dichroic … Continue reading
Fascinating green to golden brown color changing oval.#300
This tourmaline is unique in the collection. It is a color changer from golden brown in incandescent light and green in daylight. Neither color really grabs you, but the color change is hard to miss. I looked at the stone … Continue reading
Large Exquisite Purple Round, One of the Best Tourmalines in Collection#291
When I started faceting again after a long hiatus, one of the colors I wanted very much was bluish purples. I could get purples as shades of pink and red, but to go to the blue side was unattainable. Then … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc., Laurellite
Tagged blue-purple, cuprian, laurellite, outstanding, purple, unique
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A wild side yellow with a long body, oval
I kept this yellow piece of rough for a long time because I wanted to cut this rare color in tourmaline with as little loss in weight as possible. But that meant I would have to cut a very long … Continue reading
Medium Gray Oval
I obtained the rough for this medium gray oval from Thailand. It has probably been heated and my principal interest was to see if I could tell the difference between heated and unheated tourmaline. I could not tell there was … Continue reading
An amazing GEM green emerald cut.
To be a GEM (highest quality gemstone) in the world of green tourmaline is saying a lot. The competition from chrome tourmaline and cuprian tourmaline is intense. Now I am not saying that this gem can match the level of … Continue reading
Posted in Etc., Verdelite
Tagged emerald cut, green, non-dichroic, unique, verdelite
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What can I say about gray, dark emerald cut.
I really don’t know how much dark gray tourmaline is out there to be faceted, but this is the only example that I have. It is not just a dud to be kept as an example of the range of … Continue reading
Green and Pink make yellow all in pastel, round
This is another example of a tricky tourmaline from Nigeria. It is really a combination of pink and green that is mixed by the standard round brilliant into almost a completely uniform blend, that produces a creamy yellow. There is … Continue reading
Important red, eye clean, cushion
When I retired, I put my money into tourmaline rather than the stock market or the bank. The rough for this 21.4 carat, red, Barion cushion with a three step crown was purchased with some of that retirement money. It … Continue reading
Lavender purple without copper droplet
This standard round brilliant is a welcome guest because it is pastel purple without copper content. One of the complexities of color in tourmaline is the production of similar if not exactly the same color by different chromophores. In this … Continue reading
Posted in Droplets of Color, Etc.
Tagged droplet-of-color, lavender, non-cuprian, purple, unique
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Rich Reddish Orange Round#1044
The tourmaline the jester has brew up a good one this time. Not only does this tourmaline have a garnet color, but a tone level that is very believable for garnet. It is not too dark, but has a … Continue reading
Melon color in round gemstone.#1038
Now I am probably splitting hairs to distinguish a fruity melon color from a Pad (a variety of sapphire) from pink orange, but it is close to dinner and this stone looks delicious. It is mostly orange with a … Continue reading
A salmon that is a bit fishy oval#1016
I always smile when I am obviously looking at a gemstone under different conditions than when I put the gemstone’s official color on the back of the boxes they live in. Today under a yellowish light on a gray … Continue reading
White bread sort of wheat oval#1001
A bright clean oval that is so pale that I have to look at it closely to call it wheat. Now this is not your whole wheat variety, a bleach look that has very little brown and might even … Continue reading
Nigerian pink-green makes yellow round#983
The piece of rough that became this standard round brilliant came from the giant find of tourmaline in Nigeria over 20 years ago. The overall appearance of the round is that of a yellow, but it is easy to … Continue reading
Surprising mint green droplet#974
This droplet tried to make the big time in a piece of custom jewelery, but I ran out of money. When it came home I tested it with my new spectrometer and I finally understood why I really liked … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Droplets of Color, Verdelite
Tagged cuprian, droplet-of-color, green, unique, verdelite
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Large Dravite wins ugliest award#968
This large standard brilliant round weighs in at 23.4 carats, which makes it a heavy weight contender. It came to me preformed to be a round and I did not have any qualms about going with the shape. I … Continue reading
Achroite with a secret#966
There is always a danger in seeing what you want or expect to see in a pale colored stone with tourmaline. Many to most tourmalines have two colors (a/b and c axis) and those colors can be quite sensitive to … Continue reading
Posted in Achroite, Cuprian Tourmaline, Etc.
Tagged achroite, blue, cuprian, purple, unique
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A Great Fake Peach Round
True or False. Pink and green light mixed together with the right level of tone makes YELLOW. True and the story goes on. In the tray this large round with a pavilion consisting of eight split mains and … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Cutting Tourmaline, Pink
Tagged bi-color, green, Nigeria, peach, pink, unique
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Laurellite and a gray day in Mars.
My best Laurellite under florescent light. (5.69 carats) Small oval Laurellite under florescent light. (5.39 carats) Large oval Laurellite under florescent light. (27.13 carats) I have a tray of stones home because I am writing posts about them. This … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Laurellite
Tagged blue, bruce fry discovery, color change, cuprian, laurellite, Mozambique, purple, unique
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Moderately included Laurellite round#947
This round is more included than I like and is part of the collection because it is a color changer and a rare color, I call it Laurellite. (see other post for more of the story of Laurellite. It is … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Laurellite
Tagged blue, bruce fry discovery, cuprian, laurellite, purple, unique
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An Orange that thinks it would be a peach of an idea to be a Pad.#904
Now one of the reasons to spend time showing my collection is to let people see the beauty of tourmaline and for me, to get this “semi” precious gemstone some respect. Now the color of this nice sized (4.29 … Continue reading
Duo-blue/green, A portrait of a star in the tourmaline heaven#942
The rough for this exceptional gemstone came as an after thought with the most outstanding purple piece of tourmaline I have ever seen. (the name Duo-blue/green coming from being one of two pieces in the lot) The purple … Continue reading
Posted in Cuprian Tourmaline, Indicolite, Verdelite
Tagged bi-color, blue, blue-green, cuprian, green, round, unique
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Queen Ecru Different Cut
This is one of my favorite gemstones. She is big and bright with a different,subtle color that is not common. I call the color ecru which is a term used with wool and can have many tone levels, because … Continue reading
Uniquely oriented watermelon emerald cut
This smaller emerald cut looks like it consists of bands of bluish green on either side of a pinker band running the length of the emerald cut, where the ends have a much more intense pink color. Except for … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Etc.
Tagged bi-color, blue, emerald cut, pink, unique, watermelon
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Bi-color emerald cut with a secret
I love this gemstone. It has a lot going for it. It is well over 5 carats and flawless. The balance of the two colors in the emerald cut is good and the demarcation between the colors is crisp. … Continue reading
ring sized tri-color red-golden-green
This pretty tri-color is flawless and weighs a couple of carats, a nice size for a ring. It is the best example of of color combination of green to red with a narrow band of yellowish between them that I … Continue reading
Posted in Cutting Tourmaline, Etc.
Tagged flawless, ring stone size, tri-color, unique
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Thin intense blue capped crystal leads to interesting stone
This is not the prettiest tourmaline in the collection and the way I cut the rough crystal, which had a thin, bordering on the opaque, blue cap, was frankly an experiment. When I first received the rough from Africa … Continue reading
A face-up beige with a split personality.
Watermelon is a great term for describing a classic color distribution in tourmaline. The most famous combination of colors is pink/red in the center with a pale color band separating it from a green skin, but it comes in … Continue reading
Posted in Bi-Color, Cutting Tourmaline, Etc., Yellow
Tagged beige, bi-color, emerald cut, unique, watermelon
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