Black gems

[CheekyLemur]

Does anyone have thoughts on black gemstones? I have a lady interested in a ring with a black gem, but when I showed her a black spinel, she didn't like the way that the sparkle was just on the facets, she was imagining the sparkle to come from within like a lighter gem. Wouldn't all very dark stones be the same ? Are black diamonds any better?
Can anyone suggest a dark stone that would not be too dull?

[geti-titanium]

I occasionally set black diamonds into black rings, but they don't really have much impact in my opinion. They tend to have fewer cuts than white diamonds and, as you mentioned, the sparkle only comes from the facets. They only have seem to stand out when they are a reasonable size.

[mizgeorge]

Does it have to be faceted? I think black star sapphire or black star diopside cabochons can both be very effective and give the illusion of more 'flash'. The big advantage of a cabochon over a faceted gem when they're very dark is that you don't have the same risk of the stones getting a dusty appearance as they wear.

[Dennis]

Get her to look at haematite as well Julia. A large oval heamatite cab, particularly with silver, has a timeless quality and wears well. Dennis.

[CheekyLemur]

Thank you to all who replied to my question, there are some very good points here. I like the star sapphire/ diopside option in particular, and I will definitely check out haematite too. ...and Geti, I was hoping you were about to contradict me about the black diamonds.

[CheekyLemur]

An interesting update on my post is that since picking the brains of Tom at Ward's gems (....besides the brains of you lovely people too!!) is that he remembered a dark grey sapphire in the cupboard that nobody had wanted. Dark enough to appear blackish, but light enough to sparkle, and inside are the most brilliant colour flashes, a perfect solution. I also asked for a star sapphire, star diopside and haematite, and being the magpie that I am, fell in love with all of them. I'm planning a black phase lol.