It was originally a gift from an ex-borfriend. It was actually his brithday ring, a garnet ring that he designed and made. He was born in Jan and Garnet was his birthstone. On the 1st anniversary, he gave it to me for keepsake. Well, the person is now history but the ring still stands. He said it was inspired by the Byzantine Empire, the Imperial Roman Empire in the middle ages.
This piece was originally a tri-garnet ring. A table cut garnet with two identical pear shaped garnets of a slightly different colour flanking it. Unfortunately, one night while washing my hands, I knocked the ring against the sink and it chipped! A week later, we broke up.
I kept this ring locked away with my memories for the longest time. It was only till last year after I met a mutual friend of ours that I replaced the centre stone with a green tourmaline and started wearing it again.
Tourmalines: A favourite of CiXi - The original Tai Tai
Ci Xi was known to have favoured tourmalines and only a specific shade of tourmaline, the pink tourmalines. She apparently bought huge unimaginable quantities from the new himalayan mines located in San Diego County in California! At her time, she was already shopping trans-nationally! What a lady!
A semi-precious stone, this is yet another versatile stone that comes in a variety of different colours. Green, Maroon, Pink, Blue, Teal, Yellow, White and Black. Amongst all of these colours, the coveted colours are Pink, Blue or the Paraiba Tourmaline.
A semi-precious stone, this is yet another versatile stone that comes in a variety of different colours. Green, Maroon, Pink, Blue, Teal, Yellow, White and Black. Amongst all of these colours, the coveted colours are Pink, Blue or the Paraiba Tourmaline.
Tourmalines: Colours and more Colours...
Tourmaline Treatments:
Tourmaline are commonly treated to improve their colour. Panic not, it does not impact the value of the tourmaline but the treatment is called Irradiation. This means that tourmalines are exposed to radiation to enhance their colour. Sometimes, the rubelite tourmalines and the paraiba tourmalines that are heavily included are clarity enhanced.
Now, there are different species of tourmaline and they come from different places.
Dravite species: (from the Drave district of Carinthia in Germany)
Dark yellow to brownish black—dravite
Schorl species:(Germany)
Bluish or brownish black to Black—schorl
Elbaite species: (Italy)
Rose or pink—rubellite variety (from ruby)
Dark black—schorl (from indigo)
Light blue to bluish green—Brazilian indicolite variety
Green—verdelite or Brazilian emerald variety
Colorless—achroite variety
Tourmaline are commonly treated to improve their colour. Panic not, it does not impact the value of the tourmaline but the treatment is called Irradiation. This means that tourmalines are exposed to radiation to enhance their colour. Sometimes, the rubelite tourmalines and the paraiba tourmalines that are heavily included are clarity enhanced.
Now, there are different species of tourmaline and they come from different places.
Dravite species: (from the Drave district of Carinthia in Germany)
Dark yellow to brownish black—dravite
Schorl species:(Germany)
Bluish or brownish black to Black—schorl
Elbaite species: (Italy)
Rose or pink—rubellite variety (from ruby)
Dark black—schorl (from indigo)
Light blue to bluish green—Brazilian indicolite variety
Green—verdelite or Brazilian emerald variety
Colorless—achroite variety
(Credits: www.wikipedia.com - Photos and information)
Green Tourmaline Ring from Tiffany's Legacy Collection!
This was a fellow tai tai's present from her husband for popping a son. It is a green cushion cut tourmaline ring pave with diamonds in the signature Tiffany's Legacy Collection Style! Its lovely!
Garnets! The Pomegranate Stone!
Again, Garnets can be found in many different colours but red is the most common. Like the colour of pomegranate. In chinese, this stone is name Pomegranate Red.
Again, Garnets can be found in many different colours but red is the most common. Like the colour of pomegranate. In chinese, this stone is name Pomegranate Red.
Ironically, the rarest colour of Garnets is the Blue garnet! The blue garnet was first found in the 1990s in Madagascar but it is also found in USA, Russia and Turkey. Apparently the colour changes, from blue-green in daylight to purple in incandescent light.
Other varieties of colour changing garnets also exist and their colour changes from green, beige, brown, grey and blue in daylight to reddish or purplish pink in incandescant light.
It would be nice if I had real examples to show you... I shall start looking for some... but please do not mistake a colour changing garnet for an Alexandrite! Though rare, the value may be different.
Other varieties of colour changing garnets also exist and their colour changes from green, beige, brown, grey and blue in daylight to reddish or purplish pink in incandescant light.
It would be nice if I had real examples to show you... I shall start looking for some... but please do not mistake a colour changing garnet for an Alexandrite! Though rare, the value may be different.
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