Tanzanite for engagement ring

Hi, everybody,

Dilemma: I have a client who wants a Tanzanite on his future wife’s
engagement ring. I know Tanzanite is 6.5 - 7.0 on Mohs andthik that
would make it inappropriate for daily wear and tear. Am I right or am
I being overcautious and should I let the man have his whim?

Thanks for the time you took reading this,
Dana

Hi Dana,

Yes, it’s relatively soft. I have a 2.5 ct very nicely oval cut
piece for sale: $2500, if you’re interested. Old stuff, deep purple
blue. I’ve had it for 30 years. Nicer than the more current stuff
coming out of the mines.

Michael

Dana,

At a former place of employment the evil bosses wife had a 5 ct
tanzite in a fake well protected bezel with claws from behind.At
least once a year one of us poor jewellers got to pull the stone for
re-cutting. Probably down to 4.5 ct by now and the woman sure didn’t
do any manual labour :slight_smile:

Pretty stone but NOT for everyday wear even in very protective
settings.

jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand

Hi Dana;

I strongly recommend that you discourage the customer from that
choice. Tanzanites scuff up real easily and they’re not cheap. I
seldom put one in a ring unless a customer wants that, and I tell
them, this is a ring you’ll have to be conscious of wearing. If you
want something you can wear without worrying too much about it, there
are some really beautiful sapphires in all kinds of exiting colors.

David L. Huffman

Don’t do it. Or if your client insists, make him buy several stones
so that you can replace the first one within a year or so of
wearing. Or better yet, sell him a lavender sapphire. More money to
him, more money to you.

Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
www.timithywgreen.com

Dilemma: I have a client who wants a Tanzanite on his future
wife's engagement ring. I know Tanzanite is 6.5 - 7.0 on Mohs
andthik that would make it inappropriate for daily wear and tear.
Am I right or am I being overcautious and should I let the man have
his whim? 

Well, to put plainly, it depends on the design, on the stone, on the
wearer, and on the goldsmith.

The issue is not in hardness, but stone fragility. Properly cut, in
protective setting, which was designed to absorb shocks; 18k yellow
is a must, or even 22k; given conscientious wearer, the ring can last
and last. But remove even a slightest bit from this equation, and you
have an irate client and a hapless goldsmith. Not a good situation.

Leonid Surpin

We’re here to serve and part of the service is sound advice. I would
explain that Tanz is unsuitable for extended wear and could result
in severe damage or total loss which would not be the supplier’s
responsibility since the supplier(you) have warned him about it. If
he’s still full tilt for a Tanz anyway, you have fulfilled your
obligation so sell him the thing or someone else will.

Put your warning in writing, keep a signed copy.

Don’t even think about it. Tanzanite is subject to minor abrasion
even through handling with rough hands during the setting process,
and once set, it’s all downhill from there. We won’t set tanzanite in
a ring, period, not for love nor piles of money. If the client is all
about the color, there are sapphires available which are fairly close
to the color of tanzanite, and they will go the distance in an
engagement ring.

www.davidkeelingjewellery.com

At a former place of employment the evil bosses wife had a 5 ct
tanzite in a fake well protected bezel with claws from behind.At
least once a year one of us poor jewellers got to pull the stone
for re-cutting. 

My cousin has a tanzanite and diamond engagement ring, and it looked
absolutely beautiful when she first got engaged, but about six years
down the line, and with only occasional wearing (as per the
jeweller’s recommendation), it looks extremely dull and lifeless due
to the edges being worn off the facets. I knew it was a problem, but
I was really shocked at the extent of the wear, when it’s only worn
for special occasions. It doesn’t look at all special anymore. I
have a tanzanite and diamond ring myself and I’m very careful with it
as a result of seeing my cousin’s. I also have a lovely piece of
trillion cut tanzanite which I was going to make into a ring, but I
will find another use for it now.

Helen
UK

Hello,

The Tanzanit section of the story is done, the client no longer
insists on it and wants a princess cut diamond. What I was thinking
was I’d like to set the princess cut upside down, a little pyramid
sticking out the ring. What should I beware of? Or are there stones
cut specifically for this?

Thanks and have a fabulous week,
Dana

What I was thinking was I'd like to set the princess cut upside
down, a little pyramid sticking out the ring. What should I beware
of? Or are there stones cut specifically for this? 

I have tried it once. Not with single stone, but in the cluster.
Came out absolutely ugly. I didn’t even showed it to the client.
Problem is that pavilions have different depth, many of them off
center and it is very much visible in upside down position. Yellow
and brown in diamonds become very prominent. Besides, optical
performance is severely diminished. I did it because I wanted to tone
down accent stones to match it better with quartz center, but all the
cutting irregularities are much to obvious.

Leonid Surpin

Dana- Congratulations on your diamond sale.

If you set the princess cut upside down your customer will run the
risk of chipping the culet as well a scratching herself and others
with the sharp point. I’d recommend that you sell her a rose cut
diamond instead.

Aesthetics aside, having the culet straight up will be a practical
problem. The culet will scratch whatever it comes in contact with.
If that whatever happens to be the wrong material or a blow, the
culet may break.

faceted stones are cut so that the light enters through the table
(top) and then is reflected/refracted within the gem and out through
the table making the stone sparkle. putting any stone upside would
defeat the cutting and would be a lifeless looking stone.

john

DON’T DO IT. Tanzanite is fragile and chips very easily. I guarantee
that the tip of the pyramid will chip within a couple of months
(weeks, even). As others have already stated, Tanzanite is not
suitable for an engagement ring that is worn continually.

Regards, Gary Wooding

DON'T DO IT. Tanzanite is fragile and chips very easily. I
guarantee that the tip of the pyramid will chip within a couple of
months (weeks, even). As others have already stated, Tanzanite is
not suitable for an engagement ring that is worn continually. 

This is a good general recommendation as far as general
recommendations go.

I do want to mention that a lot of Victorian jewellery was made with
glass imitations. It was a specially formulated glass containing fair
amount of lead, which made it exceptionally soft and brittle.
Nevertheless, some of it still survives todays.

Tanzanite is a fragile stone, no question about, but so are many
others. Tanzanite shortcomings can be overcome.

Leonid Surpin

Dear all,

Thanks for the advice!

I’ll pass the pyramid setting this time, but I’m intent on trying it
out sometime. There are some Middle Ages rings with raw diamond
crystals set pointing towards the sky and I’ve always wanted to do an
interpretation. I’ll talk to a cutter first and see if maybe he can
cut a stone specifically for this so it doesn’t look like a piece of
broken bottle :slight_smile:

But maybe an engagement ring is not the best place for this.

Have a fabulous weekend, everybody,
Dana

sorry for the late chime in… I have a tanzanite in my engagement
ring and it was scuffed badly after a year. Love the ring, but will
take it apart, reset the stone in a necklace.

Amery Carriere Designs