| Garnets, which create the beauty of the leaves in the two brooches on the previous pages, come in a wide variety of hues. These include the reds of almandite and pyrope, the orange of mandarine garnets, the yellow-green to green colors of demantoid and tsavorite , and the purple-red of rhodolite. The tones of garnets also vary, with reddish garnets generally occurring in darker tones and greenish ones covering a wide range from dark to light. When a gemstone is used singly, tone of color has a large effect on quality, but when used in combination-especially when graduating colors-the balance of light and dark tones becomes crucial. |
The conception itself can create value where none originally existed, another component of the added value of jewelry. This chart shows photographs of garnet, tourmaline, amethyst, and sapphire arranged on a color wheel, with lighter stones in the center and darker colors toward the outside.
In the jewelry workshop, the mounting is made first, then the color scheme is decided on before the gemstones are placed in the bezels. Finding perfectly matching stones is extremely difficult. It is not uncommon for work that has been going on for a long time to be postponed because one or two perfectly matched gemstones cannot be found. |
Not only must the size of the gemstones being used match, of course, but factors such as the tone, brilliance, hue, thickness, and crown-to-pavilion ratio must also math. Matching stones is more than just a matter of how much time it takes. It is an important consideration that decisively influences the quality of finished jewelry. |
