Surprised at beryl and grebe

[Steadyguy]

I was a bit surprised to find 'beryl' as a common word and 'grebe' classed as rare. Anybody else foxed with beryl?

[pat]

'Beryl' didn't jump out at me, but 'grebe' as a rare word did. It's obviously well-known to me as a bird lover so I'm probably not in a position to judge if it's common or not, but I would think that most people who have even only a rudimentary knowledge of birds would have heard of grebes.

Linda?   (Not to imply that your knowledge is rudimentary!)

[Linda]

Imply away, Pat, because it is ... rudimentary that is!  However, even I have heard of a grebe!  It's a sort of pointy beaked thing ... or perhaps not!! 

Beryl did jump out at me because I love the names of stones ... odd, I know .... perhaps I'm shaping up to become an eccentric old woman ... I do hope so! 

[Steadyguy]

I did check out the ubiquitousness of 'grebe', and the species does exist in Europe, America, Asia and Australasia. I like birds (feathered variety) but am not an expert. Even I had heard of it. We await the view of Alan.

[technomc]

Lesser, or greater, spotted...

Crested even.....

Birdy will know....

I like beryl too LL...pretty stone..

[anonsi]

I knew beryl. But I'd never heard of grebe.

[birdy]

Pied-billed, red-necked, Clark's, western, eared, horned... 

I know the word beryl but didn't have much of a feeling for what it was until I googled it.  Here's an interesting site:
http://www.galleries.com/minerals/SILICATE/BERYL/beryl.htm

To my surprise, I did know two of its forms:  the green form is emerald, and the blue form is aquamarine.

[Steadyguy]

I think most of us have heard of aquamarine and emerald, but beryl is a new one. One lives and one learns. Part of the ChiLex experience!

[a non-amos]

As one of our resident lapidarists (lapidaryists?  O.K., I cut rocks), I might offer some comment on the subject.

There are many varieties of this mineral, most all of which can be cut to very good effect and most of which are overlooked.  Have you seen a well cut morganite?

When cutting a stone, there is usually a tradeoff between brilliance and color.  Cuts with greater brilliance tend to wash out the color.  Cuts that accentuate the color are frequently dull.

For most beryls, I choose a reverse scissors cut.  This is not something you will find in your local jewelry store, but I find it works rather well.

There is a story behind the last aquamarine I cut for my duaghter, but I have rattled on enough for the time being.  That story should only come if someone requests it.  I really don't know if I am boring you.

- A

[Steadyguy]

That is not at all boring and I would welcome the rest of the story. Whilst I do not wear any jewelry save a £25 watch with a grotty leather strap encrusted in soggy washing-up liquid, I feel the immense skill, knowledge and experience you have will be most interesting. So please finish your tale.I understand there can be mind-boggling risk when making a cut.Have you ever made any expensive mistakes?

[birdy]

I'd like to hear the story too.  One of my favorite parts of the American Museum of Natural History is the mineral/gem collection.  Obviously, considering my ignorance of the various forms of beryl, I don't read the signs well enough, but I do love looking at all the beautiful colors.

[a non-amos]

Beryls are not incredibly brilliant, with a somewhat low refractive index, but the most important thing in a colored stone is the color.  The reverse scissors cut adds a fair bit to the brilliance without washing out the color.

I cut an aquamarine for my daughter several years ago, as a Christmas present.  Instead of packing it in the usual round plastic container that is designed for cut stones, I put it in a fancier box carved out of soapstone and velvet lined.  Bad idea.

She unwrapped the package, shrieked in delight, grabbed the box with the aquamarine in it, and took off runing at full speed out the front door to show our neighbor (ignoring the other presents).  She returned a few seconds later, sobbing uncontrollably and unable to speak.  The aquamarine had fallen out somewhere in the grassy lawn between here and there.  When she got to the neighbor's house all she had was an empty box.

I got out my optivisor, asked everyone to stay indoors, and proceeded to inspect every inch of soil and every blade of grass along the most likely path between the two houses.  It took a while, but I found it. 

It had bounced off of the concrete driveway and into a grassy area.  It developed a small crack, but only visible from the back side and at exactly the right angle so that it wouldn't mess up the optics.

I hope to provide a photo of the finished necklace at some point, but my daughter has it.  She has married and moved out, but the aquamarine is still her favorite piece.

Since I cannot provide a photo of the aquamarine, here is a ruby I cut for Mrs. A.  It is a triangular barion cut.

Cheers!

A

[birdy]

wow!

[Toni]

Oh that's beautiful!

[a non-amos]

This ruby is a rule breaker.  The barion cut is normally used on uncolored stones with a high refractive index.  This cut maximizes brilliance but sacrifices color.

This particular stone had a deep color, and the corundum family does have a relatively high refractive index, so I thought I would gamble on a cut that would reduce the color but add brilliance.  Everything is a compromise.

I have not yet figured out how to photograph a gemstone.  The stone doesn't really doesn't look much like the photo.  The stone's color is more of a deep red, but with lots of sparkle.

SG asked if I made any expensive mistakes.  You bet.  In faceting you can usually go back and correct your mistakes if you catch them in time.  In cutting opal you usually do not have this luxury.  Opals frequently have only one band of fire, sometimes quite thin.  If you cut through it, the stone is dead.  It is quite common to get some fire, cut a little deeper and get more fire, cut a little deeper and be left with only rubbish.