Cat's Eye Scapolite & Matrix Opal - Photos

I was interested to see the Cat's Eye Scapolite and it arrived today.

Plus points:-

1. If you like warm chocolate/honey brown gemstones then you'll love the colour of this.
2. The cat's eye in strong direct light is good (almost centered) and a lovely honey colour.

Negatives:-

1. The opening of the cat's eye (i.e. when it's opening) is incredibly faint and difficult to see.
2. When the cat's eye opens, you should see two distinct lines. One of the lines on mine is non existent for about 30% of the line.
3. Looks very small for the carat weight which (from memory because you don't get info with the jewellery - very annoying) is around 4ct.

Overall? Not for me but if you like chatoyancy and brown/honey coloured gems then it might be for you.

Thrown into the same parcel (just because) was a Matrix Opal. A whopper. I can't remember the carat weight but they seem to have come down in price from when they were originally shown (or is that my imagination)? This one is £99 - is that good for those of you regular viewers?

Plus points:-

1. Great play of colour to the opal. It looks like a mini galaxy.
2. Nice design - I like the Egyptian feel with the snake.
3. Diamonds are sparkly (but tiny )

Negatives:-

1. The goldwork to the rear of the pendant is dreadful. My 5 year old could hammer out a smoother look!

Overall? It's a keeper. Since it's the back of the pendant that's awful, it won't be seen.

Love the look and colour play of your Matrix opal Meesh, but sorry to say the Cats eye Scapolite is not my thing at all. That said i'm not the biggest fan of cabouchon (sp) gemstones full stop.

Enjoy your Matrix Opal hun x

meeshoo i see excatly what you mean by the back of that pendant but it looks good in the pics

Can't say the cat's eye scapolite does much for me personally.
However,the colour play in the matrix opal looks fab

I got a ring last year in matrix opal but I sent it back,mainly becaus I think it would get damaged to easily wearing it on the finger.....well my wave around a lot fingers anyways The colour play was no way as good as yours either so I think you've got a good'un there,and much better being in a pendant too which is the conclusion I came to after trying the ring.

Striking design also I have to say........Enjoy!:1:

Love your opal!
Hate that brown thing - looks like something out of the litter tray...
Sorry, I'm not a fan of brown stones at the best of times - probably just me though!
Enjoy!

Lovely unusual opal pendant it is very Egyptian looking, i'm with the majority not into brown gems either.

Just wanted to add that I'm not a fan of brown gems either! I only got this because the chatoyancy looked so good on screen and they kept describing it as a raspberry/chocolate. I think the raspberries were eaten from this one before it got to me!

Sorry to hear the Scapolite was disappointing Meesh and thanks for posting a review, I was interested to hear what you thought about it.

I agree, the one John showed us did seem to have raspberry as well as chocolatey tones and the cat's eye effect was very defined. But as ever, I suspect they always 'cherry pick' the best pieces from the vaults to be shown on telly! :2: So, on reflection I shall give this one a miss and hang out for the Pink Danburite......whenever that will be! :54:

Don't know much about Matrix Opal, but this one does look profuse with colours. If you go into your Order History in 'My Account' page, you can click on More Info to get full details of each piece bought. Also on the hompage they've introduced a new facility called 'eCertificate' where you can print off your authenticity cert. HTH x

You've got a great one there in the Matrix Opal Meesh - I've lost count of the number I've bought and sent back because of disappointing colour play. Only one of them had a teeny bit of red in one corner, all the rest were just blue and green so none of them have been keepers.
I wear quite a lot of brown, so I do quite like brown gemstones and love the simplicity of the ring - I'm sure the quality of the cat's eye varies from stone to stone, so sounds like yours doesn't quite cut the mustard even if you'd liked the stone.
PQ, lucky you to have a cat that sh*ts gemstones - do you also have a goose by any chance? :53:

Sweetpea and Jacqualina - Thank you for the feedback on the Matrix Opal. I had thought that most had a good play of colour so I'm surprised to hear that's not the case. It was always a keeper but it's definitely not going anywhere now! I hope that this has renewed your search for a Matrix Opal as clearly Rocks do have some with decent colour play.

The scapolite is rare because of the color and the cat's eye on most pieces are perfect. On the eye opening part yes there may be a couple of differences. But the actual value is noted on the full CE line.

Hmm, I might have to give the Cab Scap a go, because I do like cabs and am a fan of brown too.

I got my daughter a matrix opal ring, but while the colour play is so-so, it works well in incandescent light (it's rather dull in daylight and definitely has more blues and greens than reds), and she loves it, so a deal's a deal. I didn't pay much for it, so I got what I paid for.

I've seen the big Matrix pendants Rocks sells and they do seem to have great colour, better than the rings. I agree about the gold work, though, which is my big quibble with Rocks most of the time. Their stones can be good, so why ruin the look with thin/badly fashioned gold work? It's like putting Liz Taylor in a boiler suit!

onestepup said:

The scapolite is rare because of the color and the cat's eye on most pieces are perfect. On the eye opening part yes there may be a couple of differences. But the actual value is noted on the full CE line.

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I don't buy for value. Being unusual doesn't mean it will actually have a value. Very few gemstones hold their value and even less, increase in value. I buy because I love something. I don't love this irrespective of how it performs!

Scapolite isn't actually rare - this colouring may be unusual but then again, cabochons and those that exhibit chatoyancy do usually have a different colourway from normal faceted stones. In terms of the eye opening, even if there are differences which would be acceptable in a natural gemstone, to struggle to see either line is not great!

Hello Everyone:

Once again, it is always interesting to learn your opinions and preferences.

While chatoyancy is most visible in a direct, single beam of light, a well-cut cat’s eye gemstone is typically regarded as having a distinct straight ‘eye’ positioned in the centre of the gem as well as an attractive smooth dome with desirable symmetry (shape and proportion). In nature you rarely get everything perfect together and for me, judging a cat’s eye gem based on its opening and split is not as important as its placement and distinctiveness. Assessing any gem is always about adding up the pros and cons then making a decision based on marketplace paradigms and personal preferences, which can vary from individual to individual.

In my experience, gem quality Scapolite is a rarity (especially with respect to calibrated gems necessary to produce lines of jewellery) and this certainly gels with what I have read on the species. To put this in context, in almost a decade working in the gem industry, I have only been involved with this gem in lines of jewellery five times. Although very attractive, Scapolite is not well-known, mainly due to the geological scarcity of gem quality specimens and cutting difficulties (i.e. Scapolite can splinter during cutting and polishing making them difficult to fashion). I am very impressed with the wonderful lapidary of our Cat’s Eye Scapolite, particularly with how their distinct ‘eyes’ contrast with their mahoganies and raspberry chocolates.

Lastly, you can print certificates or get the details of any Rocks & Co. jewellery by simply entering the item number at either of these webpages: http://www.rocksandco.com/service/ecertificate.aspx and http://www.rocksandco.com/service/search.aspx.

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes,

Gav

Interesting thoughts on Scapolite Gav. Here's a top quality Asscher cut Scapolite that I own. It's 1.68 carats and precision cut - please excuse the photograph it's impossible to capture the scintillation of this gem.

Gorgeous stone Meesh, does it show the shades of purple and blues in the flesh?

Tabs said:

Gorgeous stone Meesh, does it show the shades of purple and blues in the flesh?

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Yes and pinks! My only gripe with it is that it has a grey hue - to be expected with this gemstone BUT I've got an aversion to brown or grey hues! However, I bought this knowingly and the cutting is wonderful. Better than the photos show and also it looks like it has some extinction, it doesn't!

Meeshoo said:

Interesting thoughts on Scapolite Gav. Here's a top quality Asscher cut Scapolite that I own. It's 1.68 carats and precision cut - please excuse the photograph it's impossible to capture the scintillation of this gem.

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That's a beautiful stone Meesh, cut and colourwise.


My Scapolite is........ YELLOW !!

Where did I go wrong? mysmilie_1476

Gorgeous stone Meesh, deserves a setting...

Like Sacha, I thought scapolite was yellow! Must not have read my bling guides well enough!

White, yellow, peach, green, silvery blue, purple, brown - I can't remember what else now! The colour generally found is yellow.