Anniversary Ruby and diamond rings

[ARTYMARG]

Hello, I recently had my 40th wedding anniversary for which my husband offered to buy me a ruby ring. He suggested I choose one and pointed me towards the Gemsny site. He also looked at some on the Costco website. I was nervous at buying a ring site unseen from Costco and they have them only at size 7; I need a 9, so I searched the Gemsny site and favored the three following designs, them falling within the price my husband was willing to pay. Please would you comment on each of these to your ability and let me know which, if any you think would be the most attractive and valuable ring. #R47502RB Emerald cut prong set Halo ring with 98 diamonds. #R48056RB Oval cut ruby halo ring with 56 round diamonds. #R48055RB Rare untreated cushion ruby halo ring with 56 round diamonds. I think I am in favor or the untreated ring after reading about heat treatment on the web. However, I see thet the heat treated ruby is larger but less brilliant. Your opinions as to whether any of these rings would be good and worth the money would be appreciated. I would also appreciate anyone's opinion of Costco jewelry in general. Thank you. Margaret.

 

[sonyachancs]

hello margaret! I'm no expert on the value of these stones but they both seem very dark to me. I like the design of the emerald cut setting a lot more - it feels more antiquey and ornate, which I think suits the ruby.

have you considered searching for a stone first, and then buying the setting later? there are lots of options here, just to get an idea of what's out there: http://www.gemfix.com/ruby.html

also - you don't necessary have to search via just your size - unless the band is an eternity-style (i.e. with diamonds all around), you should have no problem resizing it at your local.

good luck in your search!

 

[Starzin]

Welcome and congratulations on your 40th anniversary - quite a milestone! What a lovely gift also

If you haven't already, I strongly suggest you read the 'sticky' at the top of the Coloured Stones forum titled New to coloured gemstone buying? Read this first written by one of our most experienced members. The whole thread is important but the ruby specific information on the second page is crucial information for newcomers to coloured stones.

One thing to be aware of on the GemsNY site is that those aren't photos of actual rings, but CADs. A CAD is created using jewellery design software to mock up what a ring will look like. So the ruby described is not the one shown in the photo either and therefore somewhat meaningless.

If you look at their pictures of rubies here http://www.gemsny.com/ruby/basic-search/ and compare them to the ones on the Gemfix site, I think you'll see what I mean when I say they're "chalk and cheese".

Are you open to searching for your special ruby and then having it set? - you will definitely get value for money doing it this way. We can guide you through this process and you will get a quality ring you can be proud of but it isn't for the faint-hearted Or do you particularly want to buy a ring already made?

If you are open to creating your ring, we need some information to begin...
- what is your budget for the for the total ring? We can see the type of styles you like and you can refine it later.

- what shape gem do you prefer?

- what colour do you prefer?
I see Sony has given you the link to Gemfix which is a good way to discover your preferred ruby colour. Have a look through and just focus on the colours and give us the stock number mentioned in the write up for the one(s) you like. Don't worry about price for the moment.
It is useful to browse Gemfix because they usually have a good range of colour and shape and decent photography to represent the stone though several buyers have stated that the gems are darker once they get them. Holding your mouse over the finger photos to enlarge them.

I'm afraid I can't comment on Costco because I don't live in the US.

 

[deskjockey]

I can only speak to my local costco and what I've seen in the jewelry case there - to me their rubies seemed a bit dark and not very special or well cut. Probably nicer than what you see in a lot of chain jewelry stores, but if you really want something very special, I think finding a nicer stone from someplace like gemfix would be a better option, depending on your budget. The actual quality of the jewelry at costco (stones aside) seems pretty nice though I haven't really handled much of it.