Making a three stone diamond engagement ring.

Step 3 Gemstones

Ideally I wanted the center stone to be a Paraíba Tourmaline (an extremely beautiful, and rare, turquoise/teal colored gemstone which is often more expensive than diamond due to the fact that there is only one 'true' source for them in Paraíba Brazil). Needless to say I can't afford such a natural stone.

But, that's where mankind steps in to save the day again. Chatham Gemstones create all manner of gemstones in their labs, and sell loose stones to authorized dealers (or any one with a credit account).
After talking with a dealer she found me an experimental lab created garnet (which they no longer produce) which has the same color as the Paraíba Tourmaline and the hardness of a garnet (7.5) making it ideal for setting in a ring.

I bought a 1.3ct VS Pariba Tourmaline colored garnet, 7x5mm emerald cut from them.

Comments

[amir22]

GenuineTourmalines of this rare Paraiba type color,gem quality,and loop clean are being mined in Namibia.

[sockless]

I see that there is a tiny crack in the stone. Or is that just a trick of the light?

[edwatkins]

No crack, just a tiny fibre from the cotton wool pad it was resting on.

[spylock]

Looks kinda like London Topez,very rich blue,it could also pass for a couple of more expensive stones.