Fashion

[Nonametoday]

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@Pearlee wrote:

Turquoise is a semi-precious stone.  It is more fitting for a crown for a royal to have precious stones. What next? Garnet..quartz..., etc. ?   

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@Pearlee   There was a time when they quit finding turquoise in Turkey and they were as precious as any jewel at the time due to the rarity.  However, within a certain time frame (I cannot recall how long) turquoise was being found in Mexico and the southwestern USA.  I wrote a paper and gave a speech on this to a study club years ago, but I cannot recall all the details. 

Our speaker who was an expert on vintage and antique jewelry had to cancel the engagement and it was my time to acquire a speaker and our club ladies were looking forward to hearing and seeing this. 

He gave me the jewels (scared me to death) for show and tell (sotospeak) and I feared for my life or my bank account all weekend long.  I was afraid I would be robbed or forget them and leave them soemwhere unattended.  He alluded to the rarity of turq at some period and I did my own research because I knew ladies would be interested in turquoise since we were then living near the Tex-Mex border.

[Sooner]

Persian turquoise is rare and has quite a history.

[stevieb]

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@Pearlee wrote:

Turquoise is a semi-precious stone.  It is more fitting for a crown for a royal to have precious stones. What next? Garnet..quartz..., etc. ?   

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On this one. we'll have to disagree, which is fine... Different opinions make the world go 'round... As far as it goes, garnets, pearls, amethyst and other semi-precious stones are, in fact, featured in a number of royal pieces and, I believe, even in some of the crown jewels... Also worth mentioning that one of the queen's oft seen tiaras is the beautiful aquamarine tiara gifted to her by Brazil... Aquamarine is, of course, a semi-precious stone, while it's beryl 'cousin', emerald is considered precious... When it gets down to it, quality gemstones of all ilks are highly desirable and often worn by royalty... I would also note, as have others, that Persian turquoise is not synonymous with most turquoise mined today in other parts of the world...

The aquamarine tiara...

[Sooner]

@stevieb @Pearlee  The Prince's "ruby" in the Imperial crown is a spinel cab.  It is I think above the big diamond in the crown.   They have had it a long long time.  

[alicedee]

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@stevieb wrote:

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@Pearlee wrote:

Turquoise is a semi-precious stone.  It is more fitting for a crown for a royal to have precious stones. What next? Garnet..quartz..., etc. ?   

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On this one. we'll have to disagree, which is fine... Different opinions make the world go 'round... As far as it goes, garnets, pearls, amethyst and other semi-precious stones are, in fact, featured in a number of royal pieces and, I believe, even in some of the crown jewels... Also worth mentioning that one of the queen's oft seen tiaras is the beautiful aquamarine tiara gifted to her by Brazil... Aquamarine is, of course, a semi-precious stone, while it's beryl 'cousin', emerald is considered precious... When it gets down to it, quality gemstones of all ilks are highly desirable and often worn by royalty... I would also note, as have others, that Persian turquoise is not synonymous with most turquoise mined today in other parts of the world...

The aquamarine tiara...

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I think this gorgeous aquamarine tiara is more beautiful than any I have seen!  

[Pearlee]

@stevieb. I didnt post that they are never used; I know they are and that they can be if better quality than a poor quality precious stone. In my own opinion though, turquoise and various other semi precious stones don't belong in a crown worn by royalty.

[Trinity11]

PRECIOUS VS SEMI-PRECIOUS
Do you know which gemstones are classified as semi-precious these days? The answer is none. CIBJO removed the term from the Gemstone Blue Book’s accepted terminology two years ago, but it’s clear that many jewellers and suppliers have yet to catch up.

The Blue Book calls the term “misleading”, and Bauer says this is because “everything costs money these days – it just depends where you set your dollar value point”. For example, he explains, “A demantoid garnet can be infinitely more valuable than a poor-quality diamond. So to call it ‘semi-precious’ demeans the quality of the gem – it makes for a ‘them and us’ attitude.”

[Pearlee]

Yeah yeah yeah. It'll be many years before the distinction is no longer made. It's always been the case that many semi precious stones can be more valuable than not-good-quality precious stones.

[lmt]

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@stevieb wrote:

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@Pearlee wrote:

Turquoise is a semi-precious stone.  It is more fitting for a crown for a royal to have precious stones. What next? Garnet..quartz..., etc. ?   

---

On this one. we'll have to disagree, which is fine... Different opinions make the world go 'round... As far as it goes, garnets, pearls, amethyst and other semi-precious stones are, in fact, featured in a number of royal pieces and, I believe, even in some of the crown jewels... Also worth mentioning that one of the queen's oft seen tiaras is the beautiful aquamarine tiara gifted to her by Brazil... Aquamarine is, of course, a semi-precious stone, while it's beryl 'cousin', emerald is considered precious... When it gets down to it, quality gemstones of all ilks are highly desirable and often worn by royalty... I would also note, as have others, that Persian turquoise is not synonymous with most turquoise mined today in other parts of the world...

The aquamarine tiara...

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@stevieb  I've always LOVED aquamarine. This is one gorgeous tiara!!  

[stevieb]

@Trinity11  And speaking of the whole precious versus semi-precious condundrum, a few years back I had the pleasure of attending a jewelry 'trunk show' at one of the most 'tony' jewelers in my area. Nothing was within my reach, but it was fascinating that the show offered mostly emeralds and pariaba tourmalines... First, as a long time emerald lover I was sort of floored by how they 'suffered' in comparison to the tourmlines and was also astounded that of the 'best of the best' the tourmalines were commanding significantly higher prices... Of course 'value' often changes with the marketplace, supply and demand, so on and so forth...