Buying a spinel, how's this one?

[T L]

@chrono, what I'm looking for is a lavender gem, I started considering gray spinels because I had little luck and had to branch out my search. I have found some promising gray spinels but still want to look and make sure I didn't miss anything.

Maybe my expectations where a bit high to begin with, just don't want a stone that goes totally dark or murky. A cornflower to lavender shift would be fine too.

Well, if it’s lavender, it should be medium to light in tone. If you go any darker, you get into the realm of violet/blue, but then you have to be careful of darker tones going too dark. That spinel I posted above from Higems could probably be classified as a violet color as well It’s a medium tone. You almost always want to avoid dark tone in spinel, because no matter the hue, it will be murky, unless it’s some really deep vivid cobalt.

When you view stones, ask for pictures against a white background, and in various light sources, like sunlight vs. artificial.

 

[voce]

Mike from Gran Gem on Etsy has been cutting some lavenders from Luc Yen rough. I would ask him if I were you; he's been glad to make videos for me.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@T L thank you for your helpful advice about what to look for in spinel, I have learned a lot since starting this thread. Higems has some beautiful stones, I was checking them out on FB, just gorgeous.

@voce, thanks for the suggestion, I have looked in his shop before, I gave another look today and he has some beautiful lavender that shifts pink, gorgeous, I will reach out to him to see about getting a round.

 

[T L]

You’re welcome, btw, I know nothing about higems, I just follow their feed on IG. They do have some gorgeous things.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

So I spoke to Mike at Gran Gem and he has a 6.9mm 1.45 carat Luc Yen round he would sell for $800

The first pic is off IG and the second is a screenshot from a video.

Thoughts on this? Also is this a reasonable price?

 

[ShinyPink]

There are some lighter purples worth taking a peek at on gemobsessedsingapore's Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/gemobsessedsingapore/

 

[voce]

That is a beautiful lavender! I think that's a reasonable price. I bought and returned an Africa Gems spinel at 7mm that was priced at $844 regular price, but this one is more gorgeous.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Thanks @MrsKMB I will check it out.

@voce I think I'm looking for a spinel that is lighter and closer to the daylight photo, that's probably not rare or ideal and although Mike's are beautiful I think it is too saturated for me.

 

[T L]

Is it like this one?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxFjwtiB2Gb/?igshid=4iegrs49xzw6

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@T L that one from Gemobsessed looks like the one I posted earlier that I said was my ideal does it not?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Here is a question, how do I get in contact with this vendor since I am not on IG, she used to have an Etsy store but looks like it's been closed down

 

[T L]

@T L that one from Gemobsessed looks like the one I posted earlier that I said was my ideal does it not?

I think this one is less gray, but it’s similar.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I sent her a message through one of her LT listings so we shall see....

Thanks for finding that one @T L!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Well that one is definitely out, her emails were a bit confusing but she is keeping it for her personal collection and if she were to sell it $2100

 

[T L]

Well that one is definitely out, her emails were a bit confusing but she is keeping it for her personal collection and if she were to sell it $2100

How many carats was it? I don’t recall seeing that on the listing?

 

[T L]

You know, she said lavender spinels “don’t get any better than this, “ but I beg to differ. For educational purposes, although this one is probably $$$$$$.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

How many carats was it? I don’t recall seeing that on the listing?

Per her email:
"It’s really rare for a Sri Lanka lavender to have such little grey, clear crystal and a designer cut. This one was cut by a European master cutter who works for one of biggest gemstone mining companies in the world.

It’s 2100 usd and 2.6 carat and it has a tiny little inclusion a little off center."

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I think I can't get my head around a spinel in this colour costing so much because I have a cheapo pinkish lavender one that I let my kid dive in the bath with

I hand it out on playdates to for the kids to play various games with.

Obviously I'm sure there are pricey examples of anything I just personally associate expensive spinels with pink and red.

Good luck on your search Stephanie!

 

[T L]

Per her email:
"It’s really rare for a Sri Lanka lavender to have such little grey, clear crystal and a designer cut. This one was cut by a European master cutter who works for one of biggest gemstone mining companies in the world.

It’s 2100 usd and 2.6 carat and it has a tiny little inclusion a little off center."

That’s a big stone, so $800/ct sounds fair. It’s still a bit gray, but not super gray, it is still a lively bright stone with nice color. The cushion I posted above is more vivid.

I’ve seen very saturated Sri Lankan stones, and I’ve seen very grey Luc Yen material, The important thing is to buy what you like, not necessarily on origin, with lavenders. The above cushion I posted is Tanzanian.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@T L, honestly I feel way out of my league with this lol!

I did order a lilac colored sapphire from Precision Gem yesterday, definitely on the pink side, obviously not a spinel but looked pretty

I might also be ordering a purple spinel from one of the preferred vendors just to see one in front of me. These are not expensive stones, just a starting point.

@mellowyellowgirl, your daughter might be bathing and playing with my ideal color

 

[T L]

Evidently, lavender spinels are getting up there in price, but honestly, next to some hot pinks and reds, they’re still a bargain.

 

[T L]

Pretty spinel, but I’m super distracted by your tourmaline, in a good way!

 

[Rare gem lover]

Pretty spinel, but I’m super distracted by your tourmaline, in a good way!

Tourmaline is my first love! In singapore, I’ve been told they they call me the green tourmaline lady. Lol

Even after turning into trade, I feel like keeping one of each shade . But I’ve settled now on keeping one blue, green, pink and lagoon. Never enough.

Say hi sometime, we will swap personal collection pics.!

 

[Ella]

Folks, trade members may not post their own items even if they are not for sale. Thanks for your cooperation.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I went ahead and ordered these two spinels (first two pictures) the first one is 6.31 diameter 1.14 carats medium time shifts from slightly bluish purple to slightly pinkish purple.

Second one is described as violet blue purplish 5.5mm round .68 carats.

Final picture is a sapphire that I saved and am still considering it's a 1.06 carat 6.1mm violet pink heated ceylon sapphire the pic is from video they sent me. Price on this one is
$500, I'm sharing that because I don't know if that is reasonable for what it is.

All from preferred PS vendors. Granted the spinels seem to have a lot of blue in them compared to the sapphire but I like the look of them. I did get the sapphire from Precision Gem but it might be too included for me.

 

[ShinyPink]

It's hard for me to tell because it's a video still, but does the sapphire have gray edges? I like the color of the second spinel, but the first one looks clearer, although darker. Do they go dark at all?

 

[T L]

The top photo looks grayish, but it’s a nice size. The second one looks a little sleepy to me, or is it just dirty? The color is more saturated than the top picture. Is the sapphire treated?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@MrsKMB That was a debate about the sapphire is it seems to have gray in distinct areas, not sure if this is a reflection or not, I would get clarification before ordering it.

The first spinel is definitely purple, described as medium saturation SI1 clarity still the outside picture as well as the color description was enough to order it so I could see it in person.

That is the only picture I have of the second spinel which was described as VS2-SI1 clarity.

@T L, I thought the second spinel looked a little sleepy too but I would probably keep it if I keep the larger spinel and make it into a pendant, the larger spinel would be in a ring.

The sapphire is heat treated.

 

[T L]

@MrsKMB That was a debate about the sapphire is it seems to have gray in distinct areas, not sure if this is a reflection or not, I would get clarification before ordering it.

The first spinel is definitely purple, described as medium saturation SI1 clarity still the outside picture as well as the color description was enough to order it so I could see it in person.

That is the only picture I have of the second spinel which was described as VS2-SI1 clarity.

@T L, I thought the second spinel looked a little sleepy too but I would probably keep it if I keep the larger spinel and make it into a pendant, the larger spinel would be in a ring.

The sapphire is heat treated.

I think $500 is a fair price then. It’s not a bargain or outrageously priced. Just make sure it’s heated only and not diffused. Sapphires can undergo a myriad of treatments under heat.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@T L thanks for the thoughts on the sapphire!