written by VJ
A Buyer’s Guide to Finding the Right Morganite
Hey, welcome! You’ve landed on this blog likely because you’re considering a gemstone for your engagement ring. Everybody talks about sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. But what about morganite?
What about the beautiful peach stone that can be set in your ring?
Today, we’re gonna discuss everything you need to know about morganite:
- Color saturation
- Clarity
- Things to look out for
- What gives it its value
- How to best set it to optimize the stone’s beauty
So what is morganite?
It is a beautiful gemstone commonly found in South America and some countries like Mozambique in Africa. It ranges anywhere from a peachy color to variations of pink. The pink is a bit harder to find, though, but it has a unique color palette that you’re not going to usually find in other gemstones.
While morganite is its own gemstone, and there isn’t really an official grading system, we use a framework like the 4Cs that many people are familiar with. So we always want to explain and help you explore these beautiful gemstones. And also give you our take on it with some buyer tips that you want to look for when choosing a morganite.
Morganite Color
Morganites can range in a peach, blush tone to a more bubble gum pink variety, which is rare to find. It’s also essential to consider the saturation of color that you like for morganite. Do you like it peachy, or do you like it more with a white palette and just hints of peach?
In speaking of saturation, we like to break the gemstone’s color into two broad categories: the base color and saturation. So base color is what you’re looking at. It can be either towards a peachy hue or a pinker shade. Meanwhile, saturation talks about how deep those colors are.
There is almost a direct correlation between saturation and size. So to those who prefer a deeper saturated color, go for a larger size. For example, there are two rounds; one’s a 5 and a 10 millimeter. If you’re looking for a deeper peach color, it’s almost impossible to find it in a 5-millimeter. Whereas you’re more likely to find it in the 10mm.
It’s connected to how these stones grow. Therefore, it’s easier to see deeply saturated morganites in larger sizes.
Morganite Clarity
Clarity refers to how clean or dirty a stone is. Morganite is classified as a Type 1 gemstone; it’s completely eye-clean. So what does that mean? Throw clarity out the window. You don’t need to consider it. These are all clean stones; the crystal grows clean. So, we’re considering other characteristics, and we’ll keep talking about that.
Morganite Carat
As we’ve mentioned in other videos, carat is not size.
It 👏 has 👏 nothing 👏 to 👏 do 👏 with 👏 size 👏
It has nothing to do with what your eyes can see.
It is the most meaningless concept that is out there. And the simple reason is that there’s no standardized way a morganite is cut. So you’re gonna have multiple morganite in the same size but wildly differ in their carat weight.
So when it comes to size, we’re going to recommend focusing on measurements. Therefore, when there’s a rough size that you like, just fixate on its dimensions. That’s what you want to stick with, not the weight.
Morganite Cut
Although there is no standardized way to do it, the cut is essential for morganite. It really does come down to the art of the cut. So you can have multiple stones in the same shape but are faceted entirely differently.
The color’s important, yes, but how it’s faceted will often determine how well that color shows through. So if it’s cut really well, you’re going to get a nice sparkle. A lot of the color shows through. On the other hand, if it’s not cut well, you may see something like a windowing effect, where you don’t see color that almost looks see-through. In some cases, you might even be able to see your finger underneath it. In that effect, you lose all the allure you get from the morganite.
the hidden 5th C: Cost
Undoubtedly, you’re going to pay a premium based on the quality of the cut and the stone’s size. So, the quality of the cut is essential no matter what size of stone you’re going to get. But if you do like a larger stone, you will pay an incremental price increase the bigger the stone.
Is it resilient against chipping or cracking?
Morganites are very good on the Mohs scale, about 7, 7.5. What does that mean? You can wear it every day.
In comparison, they are softer than sapphires and diamonds. If you’re worried about setting the stone up all high, there are some ways that we could set it. But overall, we haven’t really had an issue with a client coming back and saying, “Hey, my morganite’s been cracking.” It’s not a common thing that we come across.
It’s time to narrow your search
You’re going to be considering the saturation you like. You’re going to be considering the size you want, but a really great way to narrow the search is to consider:
#1: What shape do you like?
Morganite comes in a variety of shapes. Do you like it traditionally round? Or do you like a fancy shape like a heart, cushion, marquise, you name it. Pick what you want, and then that will help us narrow in on the color saturation and the size you like.
#2: The metal color that you set it in
If you set a morganite in a white gold ring, it will have a single color tone of the morganite itself. If you consider a yellow or rose gold ring, there’s gonna be a play on colors. Let’s say you don’t like a large stone, but you want a more saturated morganite color. Setting it in a yellow or rose gold ring will enhance the color saturation of the focal stone.
Custom-made the Engage way
How do we do it here at Engage? We are all about bringing your budget and wish list together to determine which stone is right for you. We curate morganites of different sizes and saturations within your budget range. In that way, you’d be able to tell side by side which one is right for you.
We always want to tell our clients, especially in terms of cost, that what makes a morganite expensive does not necessarily align with what you like. And that’s really important because what the market desires is not necessarily what you desire.
Well, there you have it. We’ve gone through everything you need to know about morganite. Contact us when you’re ready, and we’d love to show you these stones in person in our Toronto studio or online in our virtual studios.
