Remember Russian Diopside ?

[Brissles]

In the good old days when there used to be shows dedicated to specific gems i.e. smoky quartz, aquamarine, morganite, blueberry quartz etc. there was Russian Diopside, and I have a couple of rings and a pendant with this juicy green gem.

I'm now wondering if we were led to believe that these gems were worth more than they are. I know I paid around £70-80 for each of my rings - albeit 9ct gold, so a brilliant price compared to nowadays; BUT have just seen a Russian Diopside 3 good size stones set in a pendant - in s/silver for...... £8.99 on the jewellery channel !!!

I realise that most of the price I paid was for the 9ct gold, however I feel a bit cheated knowing that the 'gems' are probably worthless. I have also since discovered that any gold jewellery sold for meltdown, the stones are extracted first and are valueless unless they are first class diamonds. Anyone else know about this ?

 

[Julius]

In the good old days when there used to be shows dedicated to specific gems i.e. smoky quartz, aquamarine, morganite, blueberry quartz etc. there was Russian Diopside, and I have a couple of rings and a pendant with this juicy green gem.

I'm now wondering if we were led to believe that these gems were worth more than they are. I know I paid around £70-80 for each of my rings - albeit 9ct gold, so a brilliant price compared to nowadays; BUT having just seen a Russian Diopside 3 good size stones set in a pendant - in s/silver for...... £8.99 on the jewellery channel !!!

I realise that most of the price I paid was for the 9ct gold, however I feel a bit cheated knowing that the 'gems' are probably worthless.

Brissles TJC are full of garbage. Their stuff is largely substandard. Their gems are often low-spec and are treated with fissure sealants. I don't know how grading works for Russian diopside but like any stone it will have a natural variation according to the amount of chromium present and other factors. I understand it has a short mining season as the area it comes from is so freezing cold. Beware of that funny little Indian man Amit Agrewal and his sales patter! Better get gems from anywhere other than TJC with their annoying music and stupid "price plunges!"

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Oooh, yes, I remember Russian Diopside! Lovely colour, and looks gorgeous set in yellow gold. I never bought any, but I did like it very much.

 

[whitesnake]

Funnily enough l saw a beautiful Russian Diopside ring in my favourite local jewellers this week and thought how much l would like to own it. It's such a lovely green . l used to like Emeralds but they all seem so pale and wishy washy nowadays. I noticed it because it was the only Russian Diopside piece in the window and it really stood out. A friend bought an aquamarine ring from TJC and one of the five stones fell out while she was at the cinema never to be seen again!

 

[Anna]

I have a Russian diopside ring in gold, bought years ago from QVC. It is one of my favourites - very pretty design. I wish QVC would sell more gems and less diamonique.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I have a Russian diopside ring in gold, bought years ago from QVC. It is one of my favourites - very pretty design. I wish QVC would sell more gems and less diamonique.

I'm sure in the time I've watched QVC the variety has declined steeply. I started watching regularly in 2009, and they had Russian diopside from time to time in my earlier days watching, but so many jewellery shows have fallen by the wayside.

This is another example of where QVC are increasingly selling their own brand stuff rather than genuinely giving us real choice.

The bedding now seems to be completely sewn up - excuse the pun. A lot of kitchen stuff... Diamonique shows galore. I wonder how many of the jewellery brands they feature are part of the QVC "family" these days?

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Jewellery is my weakness and although I have nothing against zeek,indeed I have a good few pieces, but it seems to be the only darn thing they show. If it isn't that it's Lola Rose and IMO that is another brand where the quality has gone down the Swannie big time.

I am another one who misses the gem shows. Although I rarely watch IW they don't seem to do nice jewellery any more either. I always regret not buying the loose stones they sold at one time.

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I owned Morganite before I discovered shopping telly. When I saw the prices they charged I was horrified. My ring cost several times what they were charging. But having bought shopping telly morganite even I can see the difference. The colour isn't the same. Mine isn't heat treated to enhance the colour and most shopping telly morganite is. Mine is set in a solid 18ct gold setting with a halo of stunning diamonds. Anything I've seen that seems to come close, on QVC, is into four figures.

If you love what you have and were happy with the price at the time, it was the right price at the right time. You're unlikely to be comparing like with like. And its value to you is way beyond the price tag, its the beauty of the piece and the pleasure of wearing it.

 

[CallMeQ]

I have several pieces of Russian Diopside which I purchased from Q several years ago... absolutely love them!

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

It's a real shame they've pretty much given up selling gold now. They used to have some lovely 'gems' hours - that was what got me hooked on QVC in the first place.

 

[historymystery]

brissles, I don't think the extraction of the stones is a firm ruling - as I understand it, it depends on the piece itself. A decision's made on the merit of the piece, but certainly if the stones are poor/low quality or common gems (such as amethyst, say) then I believe they do just hit on the gold itself. TJC and Gems TV have "talked up" Russian Diopside for ages - then it disappeared for a little while, now it's back and it's all "we thought we'd seen the last of it...." yada, yada. They try to convince you that every gemstone is rare - only a few gemstones are, including very top, top grade diamonds. And have you seen how the price of Paraiba tourmaline has skyrocketed? Blimey, you used to think a piece at £399 was dear, now it's all well over £1,000 a piece, but I don't think they are selling it - OK someone puts it in their basket, but do they check it out? Don't forget that some of these cheap rings in silver will not be the good quality stones - and the colour will be dull or very dark. No way will they sell really good quality stones in silver for £10 or so, IMO.

In the good old days when there used to be shows dedicated to specific gems i.e. smoky quartz, aquamarine, morganite, blueberry quartz etc. there was Russian Diopside, and I have a couple of rings and a pendant with this juicy green gem.

I'm now wondering if we were led to believe that these gems were worth more than they are. I know I paid around £70-80 for each of my rings - albeit 9ct gold, so a brilliant price compared to nowadays; BUT have just seen a Russian Diopside 3 good size stones set in a pendant - in s/silver for...... £8.99 on the jewellery channel !!!

I realise that most of the price I paid was for the 9ct gold, however I feel a bit cheated knowing that the 'gems' are probably worthless. I have also since discovered that any gold jewellery sold for meltdown, the stones are extracted first and are valueless unless they are first class diamonds. Anyone else know about this ?

 

[historymystery]

loveall, don't forget Gems do loose stones on their Gem Collector channel.

Jewellery is my weakness and although I have nothing against zeek,indeed I have a good few pieces, but it seems to be the only darn thing they show. If it isn't that it's Lola Rose and IMO that is another brand where the quality has gone down the Swannie big time.

I am another one who misses the gem shows. Although I rarely watch IW they don't seem to do nice jewellery any more either. I always regret not buying the loose stones they sold at one time.

 

[Loveinamist]

Bought two Zultanite rings back in the day in yellow gold, dear enough but Q prices silly now. Russian Diopside shows were very reasonable, don't know if my assumption is correct but once the other channels started having Chrome Diopside shows Q shows became less and less to a disappearance act.

 

[donna255]

I have a lovely five stone ring in yellow gold. Gems also sell it BUT its rarely Russian, the proper name is Chrome Diopside and widely found world wide. The proper Russian is very hard to get and you will only see it a few times and much more expensive. TJC no doubt decided to big up their Chrome Diopside and call it Russian

Mine bought way back on QVC is a really deep rich green which does look like the best emeralds. I get asked if it is emeraldd and I must be rich to afford such good ones.:mysmilie_19:

I do have a pair of small emerald studs bought way back in the late 70s, I had to go in and pay for them by the week. Think they cost £70 something back then. The colour is paler than the Russian but matches the ring really well. Way better colour than what you see sold as good emeralds today.

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I was wondering if Russian and chrome diopside were the same thing. Thanks Donna.

I'm very much of the mindset that jewellery should be bought because you love it and not for its value or as an investment. All the shopping telly channels bang on about getting it valued and it'll be worth more than you paid for it. But that's funny money. What its valued at is about replacement cost and not what its "worth" if you decide to sell it. Jewellery is rarely worth what you paid for it in the secondhand market.

I've bought loads over the years but not so much lately. Largely because the choice and selection isn't there. Or perhaps its because I do have a lot and I've become sensible. I doubt its the latter somehow.

I'm now getting pieces I already own remodelled, repaired and resized. And my fruitless search for a smoky quartz ring in rose gold is over as I decided to get one made to order. That's now ready to collect. As is an antique gypsy wedding ring that has had a central Ceylon sapphire replaced and a Victorian ruby and pearl ring having had a missing pearl replaced.

 

[Jabbathehut]

I have a Russian diopside ring set in yellow gold , it looked better than emeralds that I have

 

[historymystery]

Donna, your RD jewellery sounds lovely, and I totally agree that the good stuff can't be mistaken. I bought a cheapy from Gems in silver a couple of years ago - the ring was only about £10 or less (probably similar to one brissles saw and mentions on previous post) - oh boy, is it different to my 9k Russian Diopside bought from TJC back in the day! The "Diopside" in the cheapy is dark and dull, too bottle green so that it's almost black - no way would you mistake it for jewellery like the items you describe, nobody on earth would confuse it for emeralds! But as it was cheap, in silver and I liked the design, there's nothing to complain about. Subject to her Mum's OK, I may give it to a little niece who is suddenly jewellery bonkers (at 6 years old!) and collects anything with gemstones in it to add to her 'hoard'.

I have a lovely five stone ring in yellow gold. Gems also sell it BUT its rarely Russian, the proper name is Chrome Diopside and widely found world wide. The proper Russian is very hard to get and you will only see it a few times and much more expensive. TJC no doubt decided to big up their Chrome Diopside and call it Russian

Mine bought way back on QVC is a really deep rich green which does look like the best emeralds. I get asked if it is emeraldd and I must be rich to afford such good ones.:mysmilie_19:

I do have a pair of small emerald studs bought way back in the late 70s, I had to go in and pay for them by the week. Think they cost £70 something back then. The colour is paler than the Russian but matches the ring really well. Way better colour than what you see sold as good emeralds today.

 

[historymystery]

brissles, you bought a few years ago and I'd bet your stuff is the quality stuff. Believe me, if you've bought a cheapy, you would be able to see the difference. No way is the look of the stone anywhere near like an emerald IMO. The low quality deposits go into the low priced items in my view.

In the good old days when there used to be shows dedicated to specific gems i.e. smoky quartz, aquamarine, morganite, blueberry quartz etc. there was Russian Diopside, and I have a couple of rings and a pendant with this juicy green gem.

I'm now wondering if we were led to believe that these gems were worth more than they are. I know I paid around £70-80 for each of my rings - albeit 9ct gold, so a brilliant price compared to nowadays; BUT have just seen a Russian Diopside 3 good size stones set in a pendant - in s/silver for...... £8.99 on the jewellery channel !!!

I realise that most of the price I paid was for the 9ct gold, however I feel a bit cheated knowing that the 'gems' are probably worthless. I have also since discovered that any gold jewellery sold for meltdown, the stones are extracted first and are valueless unless they are first class diamonds. Anyone else know about this ?

 

[mariecat]

Great idea getting jewellery you already have remodelled etc Tinkerbelle! Beats having jewellery you like, but don't wear, just sitting in your drawer or jewellery box unworn. As for getting a ring made to order - that sounds just perfect. Hopefully, these jobs didn't cost too much? I've been toying with the idea of getting a pair of earrings remodelled because they now droop on my ageing, thinning earlobes, and maybe I'll take the plunge!

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I'm happy with what I'm paying. I always get an estimate and my jeweller rarely goes over it. The pearls on the Victorian ring will be £45 for the two and fitting. They are only seed pearls but its a stunning band ring in 15ct (sorry I think I said 18ct earlier) gold that I can't wear as it is. The sapphire is about £50 but again its a band ring with diamonds either side of the sapphire. The ruby ring is dated 1868. But there is no point in owning pieces you like but can't wear.

I had a beautiful diamond bow/knot ring repaired recently. A diamond was missing. I think that was replaced for less than. £40. That's 18ct and platinum, again Victorian but its oddly very of the moment.

I'm lucky to have so many antique pieces, mainly inherited, but having them and not wearing them doesn't work for me.