Any jewelry designers out there?
Seeking opinions on the best prices for semi-precious stones.
Comparisons sure are difficult!

Not a designer, but a science teacher who loves sparkily things and has lots of jewelry because of it.

Comparisons are hard to make, because one of the biggest things towards price is the color. Some love the deeper color of stones, but others love the softer colors. And since it was discovered that you can put radiation through stones and deepen their color, you have some people pushing off irradiated stones as natural.

If you can get a natural stone of Blue Topaz or Amethyst, you are doing okay. Make sure it is not cloudy (Amethyst has a problem with this sometimes, more than the Topaz), and that it doesn't have any inclusions of other materials.

Aquamarine is becoming more expensive and harder to find bigger stones that are clear and shine well.

As a rule of thumb, I will spend more money on a stone that I set in a ring than those I will set in Earrings or a necklace. Reason is that people will grab your hand and put that ring right up to their eye to look at it. I've never had anyone pull my ear or neck to within inches of their face (not counting my hubby, that is...) to look at my jewelry. It is easier to get by with cheaper stones there. (Diamonds included! My earrings are about 3/4 carat diamonds each, but I paid less than what some 1/3 carat earrings cost because they have slight inclusions that you can't see without a loop.)

Oh, and beware Tanzanite. Only buy it from a reputable dealer. Some are passing off Amethyst as Tanzanite and people are buying it. It's hard to tell the light Tanzanite from Amethyst. Darker Tanzanite is much better and much more expensive.

HTH

I didn't know that about the color. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with me. :multi: :multi: :multi: