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Color shift spinel always synthetic??

fiona00004

fiona00004

Brilliant_Rock
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Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Messages
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My jeweler says color changing spinels are always synthetic....saying he took a course and they don't come natural. Is this true?
I will show you mine tomorrow in natural daylight....it was sold by a local gem collector/appraiser...
 
Definitely not. I have a couple of Vietnamese spinel crystals that shift from sapphire blue in daylight to violet blue in incandescent light. They are coloured by iron & cobalt.
 
fiona00004 said:
IMG_20200905_082613.jpg
Here is my spinel that was sold to me as natural color changing.

IMG_20200905_082228.jpgIMG_20200905_082322.jpg
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It's beautiful. You don't find a true color change too often, mostly they're just milder shifters.
Did this happen to be certed when you bought it?
It would be a good idea to have it certed in any event.
 
If it was cheap, I’d be worried.
If it was expensive, I’d get a lab report.
 
fiona00004 said:
My jeweler says color changing spinels are always synthetic....saying he took a course and they don't come natural. Is this true?
I will show you mine tomorrow in natural daylight....it was sold by a local gem collector/appraiser...
Click to expand...

Not true, I'm not allowed to post pictures, but have owned both rough and cut colour change spinel.

It seems like a very odd thing to say on the part of the jeweller when a simple Google search can give you an answer to the question in the top ten results...

Ugh, uneducated jewellers are a giant thorn in the side of every gem dealer on the planet.
 
Skyjems said:
Not true, I'm not allowed to post pictures, but have owned both rough and cut colour change spinel.

It seems like a very odd thing to say on the part of the jeweller when a simple Google search can give you an answer to the question in the top ten results...

Ugh, uneducated jewellers are a giant thorn in the side of every gem dealer on the planet.
Click to expand...

@Skyjems yes, it bugs me too when jewelers aren't able to educate properly. Should I get it certed at $200?
 
That's a really good price! I'd only do so if you need that peace of mind. Unless you have recourse should the stone turn out to be synthetic (within return window time frame)?
 
chrono said:
That's a really good price! I'd only do so if you need that peace of mind. Unless you have recourse should the stone turn out to be synthetic (within return window time frame)?
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@chrono no, I bought it a few years ago from someone that appraised my jade bangle. I lost her contact info. When she found out about my gems interest, she sold me a crystal opal and the CC spinel from her personal collection. No cert or or return policies involved. Guess I will have to take it as it is. Probably not worth the peace of mind...I can put those funds towards setting it.
 
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Enjoy your gorgeous spinel! It's is beautiful.
 
At that price, I’d try to find a local trustworthy gemologist for an appointment.
 
fiona00004 said:
My jeweler says color changing spinels are always synthetic....saying he took a course and they don't come natural. Is this true?
I will show you mine tomorrow in natural daylight....it was sold by a local gem collector/appraiser...
Click to expand...

Not true. Most blue or violet spinel shift color. Blue to violet and violet to blue. Some are very Tanzanite like. Some shift to purple.
 
fiona00004 said:
@JackTrick
If I remember correctly, it was $200...maybe get a cert?
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What is the carat weight? If under 2 carats, no biggie. Many source dealer’s sale Spinel like that for that price. But have a qualified gemologist look at it. No need for a report that will cost you with shipping half the price of the Spinel. A qualified gemologist will be able to tell if it is real or not. Easy to identify.
 
fredflintstone said:
What is the carat weight? If under 2 carats, no biggie. Many source dealer’s sale Spinel like that for that price. But have a qualified gemologist look at it. No need for a report that will cost you with shipping half the price of the Spinel. A qualified gemologist will be able to tell if it is real or not. Easy to identify.
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@fredflintstone it's 2.3cts. I will try to have someone local take a look at it. Thanks!!
 
It will cost about $77 for a verbal consultation on the stone. Additional $54 for a certificate (from someone else, not Odile) Worth it? Maybe I should take Odile's word for it. She was one of the only people in Montreal, Canada, capable of seeing if my jade bangle was treated....
 
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fiona00004 said:
It will cost about $77 for a verbal consultation on the stone. Additional $54 for a certificate (from someone else, not Odile) Worth it? Maybe I should take Odile's word for it. She was one of the only people in Montreal, Canada, capable of seeing if my jade bangle was treated....
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If she is the one you bought it from, maybe it is real earth mined, but at the same time, if you bought the stone at retail pricing , that is very cheap, too cheap, as I take it you paid in Canadian dollars.

It is not worth paying her that kind of money to examine your stone, that is quite high. She will only tell you it is real anyway. Maybe that is how she sells stones so cheaply to get more money for consultation (which takes a few minutes), but it just does not sound right.

Go to someone else if you feel you need too that does not have a stake in the stone. Or you can send it to the AGL (American Gemological Laboratories) in NYC for a brief report for less or about the same (not sure how the Canadian dollar matched up to the American dollar) as what she wants, and you will know they have no stake in saying it is real or a synthetic, even something else.
 
Oh, I see now the report is from someone else. I was thinking that she would hit you up for the extra $54.00.
 
It was more like $200 USD.... I think!
 
fiona00004 said:
It was more like $200 USD.... I think!
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Since you said, "I found the lady who I bought this spinel from!!!" She is from Canada. I just assumed you were Canadian too. My apologies.


What I wrote still goes though. Extremely cheap at a retail level. Your stone looks to have a genuinely nice color and color change. Full blown retail would be anywhere from $500.00 a carat to $1000.00 a carat at a brick and mortar store or someone on the net selling it at full retail. $200.00 for the stone is a great deal, don’t get me wrong, but that is source pricing. Meaning you could expect to buy that for that cost from Sri Lanka, Burma, or Vietnam dealer for the single stone. But to be bought from Canada (if I’m not misconstruing what you wrote) is extremely unheard of, even American wholesale would be $400.00 to $600.00 for the whole stone.


But stranger things have happened. I just would not send it to the person you bought it from for a report on whether it is earth mined, synthetic, or other. No disrespect meant. But is this not one of questions brought up?

"JackTrick said:
If it was cheap, I’d be worried.
If it was expensive, I’d get a lab report.
Click to expand...
@JackTrick
If I remember correctly, it was $200...maybe get a cert?"
 
After just looking at your video, I'd say full retail would be $1000.00 a carat or more depending on the retailer..

Nice looking stone.
 
I wouldn't really call that a color change stone. Adjacent colors on the color wheel are a color shift, not change. Many stones shift color depending on the light sources. You need to move a few colors over on the wheel to be a color change.

Color-Theory-Graphics-WHEEL34.jpg
 
In the video I see a violet to a blue. As violet is a secondary color which includes blue, yes, a color shift. In this case a strong one, but not a color change.
 
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