Why are matched pairs of gemstones so popular and sought after in the fashion industry? The matched pairs are not only hard to blend, but also difficult to cut. A little flaw in either gemstone can send the whole idea to the dumping ground. It requires a lot of precision to produce matched pairs.
How are gemstones paired?
The matched pairs are carefully sorted out from a list of gemstones. The top aspects that lapidartists seek when pairing up gems are as follows.
The two gems should be harmonized eloquently so that there is no dearth of radiance in the pair. Colour coordination is important when it comes to pairing smaller sized gems. It is a challenging task considering the clarity each gemstone radiates when matched together. Poor colour coordination can expose flaws and haziness in the gemstones.
- Faceting along the same angles
The angle at which the matched pairs are cut should be same. Even a degree of deviation can cause mismatched coordination. Moreover, it can cause disparity in the brilliance expected from the final pair. The matched pairs are always cut from a single piece of rock, sawn into half.
For example, a sapphire weighing 1 carat is faceted with a complementary stone of equal weight. It is always preferred that two smaller stones have a better colour coordination.
- Specific properties that make it hard to match
Some gemstones are very hard to match. The gems that exude subtle colour variations are very tough candidates in the matched pair portfolio. Tourmaline and Alexandrite are two gemstones that display pleochroism and colour zoning.
Watermelon tourmalines are one of the hardest pairs to match as no two gems are same. When viewed from different angles, they exude distinct colour shades.
- Good price is always guaranteed
The cost of matched pairs per carat is always higher than the individual rock cuts. Rarity of matched pairs depends on the colour, clarity and cut. Since it is hard to match, there is considerable amount of cutting involved. Since the bigger rock is scrapped to smaller size. To recompense for the material scrapped off, the price per carat of the matched pair is kept higher.
The matched pairs weigh between 1 carat and 2 carat. Larger matching pairs are not preferred for many reasons. The gemstone market deals only in calibrated weight and sizes of matched pairs.
The gemstones that are popularly matched and dealt in are listed below.
- Spinel matched
- Tanzanite
- Topaz
- Tourmaline
- Morganite
- Garnet
- Aquamarine
- Green Beryl matched
- Yellow Beryl matched
- Citrine
- Kunzite
- Amethyst
- Peridot
- Zircon
- Matched rubies
- Matched emeralds
Special matched pairs
There are some gemstones included in the list of special matched pairs. They consist of large sized Aquamarine. The dainty pair weighs 1.85 carats while bigger ones weigh 15 carats.
The special sets are:
- Dichroic Tanzanite
- Trichoic tanzanite
- Calibrated Amethyst
- Red Colour Spinel Pair
- Cinnamon Zircon at 7 carats
- Fancy Spinel in Rose
- Lemonish Yellow Colour Sphene at 3 carats
435baffc-56e6-4fb6-9ba8-3ecd54f2bbde|0|.0|27604f05-86ad-47ef-9e05-950bb762570c
Tags
: