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- The blue ones seem to be Lapis Lazuli (http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/lapis-lazuli) because it has white veins and yellow spots which are normally seen in Lapiz Lazuli.
- The red one seems to be ruby (http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/ruby) as it has horizontal striations and trigonal strcuture.
You can also go for a Diopside (color is chrome green) or Dioptase (color is similar to emerald) which is a semi-precious natural green gemstone; a cost-effective alternative of Emerald. Most Diopside from Thailand are color enhanced i.e. treated with either heat or diffusion with mostly glass filling to enhance clarity, so be sure to get a gemstone certificate which mentions its treatments as well.
You can check out following sites for Diopside:
- http://www.gemrockauctions.com/auctions/chrome-diopside/ (I would prefer this website as it will give you competitive price, though you have to make payment in USD on both the websites).
- http://www.ebay.com/sch/Diopside-/110794/i.html
It is hard to find a cut Dioptase gemstone. Mostly they are sold in rough. However, price Dioptase is expensive than Diopside.
Please consult with Srinivasa, if you can wear Diopside as an alternative to Emerald.
Just for clarification, “Kaka Neeli” is not a black shade of blue sapphire. It is actually a natural semi-precious blue gemstone known as Iolite. However, people in trade wrongly sell “Kaka Neeli” as kyanite which is another natural semi-precious blue gemstone. And mostly, “Kaka Neeli” is sold as real blue sapphire but actually it is a cost-effective alternative of blue sapphire.
I have written a post on how to identify blue sapphire at http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/forum/identification/455/how-to-identify-neelam-blue-sapphire#comment-113 (please go through it if you want to know).
Whatever gemstone you buy and from whom-ever you buy, always get it ccertified from a reputed gemological lab. It hardly costs around Rs. 1,000 to 1,500 to get it certified which is beneficial in the long run and for one’s statisfaction.
Just for infromation, we are based in Jaipur (gemstone hub of India) and deals in gemstone. In case you require ceritified natural gemstones at reasonable price then do contact us at http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/contact
It is useless to buy a natural pearl and it is very difficult to find one. Even if you find someone selling natural pearl, I am sure it won’t be; because it is absolutely rare and maybe sold in auctions only.
There is almost no difference in natural and cultured pearl. Cultured pearl is not a synthetic pearl, it is also a natural pearl but it has been cultured i.e. grown with an oyster (organic molluscs that live in marine) with intervention of man. I think you are still unclear about natural and cultured pearl so I will explain you in simple language so that you will be able to better understand its differences.
Oyster is a mollusc which lives in marine (sea/ocean). When a dust enters into the mouth of molluscs accidently (naturally) without intervention of a man and after sometime a layer after layer is created on the dust forming a natural pearl. However, when that dust is put intentionally by a man inside the mouth of molluscs and then a pearl is formed it is known as cultured pearl. There are cultured pearl farms in different parts of the world; one of the best pearl culture farming is done in Japan. That is why one can get cultured pearl (or you can say natural pearl but made with intervention of a man) in all possible fancy colors. However, for astrological purpose it is suggested to use white pearl only set in sterling silver.
There are basically two types of pearl. Natural pearl (http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/natural-pearl) and cultured pearl (www.gemstonebuzz.com/cultured-pearl). 99% of the pearl in the market are cultured pearl and they comes in all colors (white, yellow, red, green, black, gray etc.). The process of manufacturing cultured pearl through oyster is same as natural pearl – the only difference is that, cultured pearl is formed due to the intervention of man while natural pearls are formed without intervention of man. However, cultured pearl will be as beneficial as natural pearl for astrological purpose.
Cultured pearls are cheap. You can get a good shape (almost round) at around Rs. 150 – 200 per cart. Also, it is not required to get it certified unless you’re buying from an unknown source as certification would be costlier than gemstone itself.
Mostly, around 95% of the times, Yellow Sapphires/Blue Sapphires/Ruby from Bangkok are heat treated/diffusion treated/glass filled/color enhanced. However, sapphires from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) are generally untreated but they can also be treated when required. So, it is best to buy gemstone that are certified from GIA/IGI/GTL etc. to be sure that the gemstone that you’re buying is treated or not.
Welcome to GemstoneBuzz, Raunak.
We will try our best to give your proper suggestion regarding gemstones.
Thanks!
“Natural” was not mentioned above with Zircon. So, as per the normal term “zircon” is considered as CZ, Synthetic Cubic Zirconia in trade. Natural White Zircon (Zircon comes in almost all colors) is definitely a subsitute for Diamond, way better than CZ.
To tell some insider information, it is easier to sell gemstone at twice or even thrice or four times the price as end user has no knowledge about it. Because there is no MRP, no standard or un-standard price chart or anything. Only traders know it. I have seen traders selling gemstones for as much as 10 to 15 times the price it cost for them. I am sure GaneshaSpeaks (a big company) cannot run unless they sell it at double or triple the price of gemstone as it is the only way they make good money as I have been to there website and tried some service to check what they are doing. 🙂
Our foucs is not in selling gemstones here, but to help people and get more people like you at forum to make it a good community on internet.
@Anirban,
Diamond of 1, 2 or 3 carat would be very costly if you buy them in one piece (known as solitaire); 4 or 5 carat diamond would cost millions of ruppes as they are very very rare. Even, 1 carat diamond would cost lakhs or rupees. To give you an idea a 0.10 carat (also called 10 cent) real diamond can cost around Rs. 4,500 – way cheaper than pointer or solitaire diamonds. I am a gemologist and I deal in small diamonds (less than 15 cent). So, if you require a small good quality diamond set in gold or silver ring as suggested by astrologer then I can make it for you. Let me know if you’re interested.
Regarding the subsitute “white zircon” mentioned by astrologer; it is actually a synthetic gemstone made by man, popularly knonwn as zircon in the market but its real name is Synthetic Cubic Zirconia (also known as American Diamond, CZ, White Zircon in market). A 0.10 carat American Diamond would cost just Rs. 10 or less.
An advice – go with a real gemstone even if that is small rather than a man-made synthetic stone. You can get a diamond ring made with small diamonds (5/6/7 cent) with multiple piecies of around 16 so that would make it around 1 carat and it will still work for astrology and would be way much cheaper than a single 1 carat diamond.
However, I (http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/user/himanshu) also deal in Blue Sapphire and all rashi ratna. If you require one let me know.
As per the picture posted at http://www.gemstonebuzz.com/forum/astrology/607/blue-sapphire-confusion#comment-528 , it definitely looks blue sapphire (cannot confirm if it is treated or not). It is an average quality which generally costs between Rs. 5,000 to 7,000 per carat. If they have also sent you a scanned copy of blue sapphire certificate then please post it here as well or ask for it.
The price of Blue Sapphire starts from Rs. 500/carat to Rs. 1,00,000/carat which depends on color, clarity, cut and origin too.
Mostly all sapphires including Blue Sapphire coming from Bangkok are treated with heat, diffusion, glass filling etc. so comparatively they are cheaper than Sri-Lankan sapphires. However, sapphires from Sri-Lanka are now also being treated to enhance color and clarity so one has to be cautious when buying.
For example: Heat or diffusion treatment can transform a white and yellow sapphire into blue sapphire enhancing color. Glass filling treatment fills the cracks, spots and inclusions inside a gemstone through laser hole drilling process enhancing clarity. Regarding origin of gemstone, it is very difficult to conclude origin even by good gemological lab so most of the time it is not mentioned in certificate and one has to solely trust seller on this case. Many local lab don’t even mention treatment (also known as “enhancement” to confuse) maybe because they are not able to detect it. So it is advised that one should get a certificate from a reputed gemological lab. The best gemological lab at Jaipur (GTL) charges around Rs. 1000 for a test of blue sapphire.
Grade of gemstones are different for each firm and market; as there is no international or national grading system for gemstones other than diamond. So, I will not able to ascertain quality of blue sapphire unless I have multiple pictures of all different grades of blue sapphire.
Ask GaneshaSpeaks:
- To email few “close-up” pictures of each grade if you are planning to pay that good amount for it and upload them in this thread.
- If gemstone certificate will contain information about treatment and origin? And incase if mentioned information on gemstone certificate provided by them does not match when certified with another reputed lab by me then will you take it back and make refund or exchange?
- If price given by them are best in the market for that specific quality?
For Rs. 10,000 per carat one can get “very good” and decent quality of blue sapphire for astrological purpose. I generally recommend people to go for range between Rs. 5,000 to 8,000 per carat for blue sapphire as it will get them quite good quality. I have been dealing in gemstones for quite sometime and from my experience I can tell you that there is no fix price/margin in gemstones, so many times seller charges unnecessary price!
Regarding blue sapphires being sold at eBay, I can say that most cheap gemstones there are treated and are from Bangkok however they should not be fake unless seller intention is to cheat. One can also find some good deals there if searched thoroughly. I had also recommended eBay to other visitors earlier but don’t know if they bought from there. If you need any more information or help you can directly reach me through website contact form at http://www.GemstoneBuzz.com/Contact.
Note: Always get your gemstone certified by reputed gemological labs like GII, IGI, GTL (GJEPC) etc.
Wish you all the best!
Himanshu
As per gemology, synthetic gemstone has the same composition, chemical, physical & optical properties like lustre, refractive index, specific gravity etc. The only difference is inclusions.
As per astrologers; synthetic gemstones made in lab do not have same astrological powers maybe because it didn’t take thousands of years to develop naturally but took only few days or hours to get it made in lab.
Even being a gemologist and knowing all those things, I personally would like to wear natural gemstones instead of synthetic gemstones for astrological purpose.