Whoa…thats a peridot!

Dear Arnold, Matt, Rung, et abla..

My mother got her peridot today. I thought maybe the flight scheduling with FedEx might have delayed things, or the weather. There were no delays. Its ironic how you in Bangkok can get a package through the same courier as a network out of Atlanta, and even though Atlanta is just a short distance, I can bet on a package from AJS Gems arriving faster than some network. So I got to give you guys recognition for shipping merchandise out in a very timely manner.

Where do I start on this peridot? Mom was hoping it was a little darker, but I figure when its mounted in a ring, it very well may. There are certain tell tale signs of that. However, she did compare this to her beloved Arizona peridot in a ring she bought from a local jeweler. This specimen is not your typical pale colored stuff. The Arizona stuff tends to be a paler yellowish green. Its not quite as saturated as this material. I am not going to say the Arizona stuff is bad, but its less per carat as a result. A few years back when we tried to find this same material from this locality, nobody ever heard of it.

This is just a slightly yellowish green as opposed to a strongly yellowish green color. This is a little more intense in color than what you typically see in most peridot. While I havent louped this yet, this stone is eye clean all day long. There can be no question about that. There is also an absence of brown. You have to have this thing in just the right light and view it from the pavillion, halfway towards the girdle to see a hint of brown. All and all, its medium tone. There is for the most part under normal grading conditions no eye visible brown tones.

Today, the cave isnt so dark as there was a nice thin layer of snow on the ground. Snow reflects a lot of diffused ambient sunlight-which is exactly what you want to view a stone in. From a distance, and at certain angles, this peridot has that tell tale rich deep green. When you look at it face up, and you rotate it, I saw something I was expecting that you couldnt readily see with the picture. There are these distinct candy green undertones. At an angle, you can see that more readily in the pavillion. So the color is about what I was expecting, and it can appear darker in some light. Just to give an example, the pavillion will exhbit colors comparable to top color demantoid at certain viewing angles.

Ive commented on the cutting of stones from AJS Gems before, and Ive been fond of those cuts. This one is no exception. The proportions are very good on this stone. There is no extinction or leakage. The more discriminating collector (as myself) would expect or demand that. However, this is a little bit more difficult to achieve with a pear shaped cut. Whoever cut this peridot did it right. Ive always been a fan of step cutting, and it works well with this stone. Another thing that is often overlooked and perhaps more important with a pear shaped cut is the symmetry. The symmetry in this stone is dead on perfect along the north-south axis. Theres no funky keel along the culet or anything of the sort. Some places cant even do that with an oval. This stone faces up nicely, but it also is over 4 carats. If you want a stone to face up nice and be brilliant as this, you need some carat weight. This stone has it.

I have seen peridot wane in abundance. I dont think Ive seen anything past 3 carats in at least a year. Other than that, I see some smaller accent stones, and things like that in traditional retail. I am not seeing this kind of material, and only the Arizona stuff. When I do see that, I think I am seeing it retail somewhere around the $250/carat mark. When you get to the 4 carat plus range, the prices tend to go up. This particular stone was about $65/carat. If you watch some of these networks, and they have something comparable in that size, $100-$200/carat all day long. Thats just for the stone.

It looks like my mother is going to end up changing the head assembly out on her existing peridot ring, or have it cloned with a head to support a pear shape. When she looked at in on her finger, her disease showed itself. She said after seeing how a 4 carat stone faces up, its not so bad. She said if she had known that, she would have gotten a 7 or 8 carat stone. It is nice, and I am sure there will be many a dealer green with envy when they see this stone-and mounted up at that.

Thanks.
-joe
AND On A Lighter Note:

PS. I thought Id share with you Moms visibility grading scale while not formally recognized by the GIA or any like institution, many women and collectors will agree.

2 carats+ This is almost accent size. This is the very minimal acceptable size. Examples include the canary yellow sapphire we first bought from you years ago. When you get into that 7mm and change in a round, thats borderline accent size. This is important in sapphires.

3 carats+ This is more acceptable size. This is also referred to as “visible”. This is the compromise size of most stones. A well cut 3 carat sapphire is OK. This used to be 2 carats, but thats a little small anymore.

4 carats+ this is reffered to as “seeable”. This is more highly desired. The problems with this size are that pending on what it is, the technical term budget comes into play. Now, with stones like tourmalines and such, you get something like that 9 x 11 range, now were talking. In a sapphire, that 8 x 10 range is getting into “seeable”.

5 carats+ or better-”very seeable”. This is seemingly a holy graile in retail. The price tag in retail sometimes invokes fear amongst the locals. They fear this size doesnt exist, and the denial of this size in stock invokes anxiety, dissappointment to Mom, and then there is the fear of insanity from the person behind the counter. Finding these stones from you guys isnt an issue. The mounting? Retailers scratch their heads. Then some say for certain ones, you cant work it a certain way because the stone is too big. Bah…too big my ass! There are exceptions to this. My star ruby, for a mans ring by Moms grading standard is not big enough. Acceptable size would be more like 20 carats. Right…20 carats, semi-transluscent star ruby. If I can find that link to the star of Katmandu, even though its 16 carats, I suspect it might work. LOL

6-10+ carats-”da boo ha ha”. This is the most pleasing size there is. It is also referred to as gargantuan. The 5.80 carat danburite is classified as very seeable and within range of this size. Opals within this range or the face up equal are highly desired-especially the pricey black ones. This is also the size that will get us dirty looks from the place that manufactures and wholesales stuff and makes buying trips to Tucson. This is also the shock and awe size of most retailers.

Now…for smaller sizes.

1.00-1.99 carats. This is accent size. You see a 4 x 6 or so sapphire, this is more or less accent size. This is often deemed as a sign of psychosis amongst retailers. When we say this is good for accent stones but we need bigger, eyes begin to dislodge from sockets.

<1.00 carats+ this gets the least desirable rating on the visibility scale. This is what is known as “little chippy whippy whippies”. If theyre included, then theyre bad little chippy whippy whippies. If theyre really good, theyre expensive. Then all of the sudden, the correct context evolves to “You want how much a carat for those glue chips?” NOTE: The beloved 1 carat diamond that every woman drools over gets this rating with expressions like, “Well where the hell is it?”. As such, well cut danburites of very seeable size are more desired.