Gem report question

[pregcurious]

I dropped the red spinel in my avatar off at AGL. It has come back as natural; I had it appraised by Martin Fuller at the time of purchase, so I expected nothing less. I am thinking of requesting an origin report to confirm it is Burmese (an additional $140).

Is that silly to spend the extra $? I have no plans to ever sell it. Just curious.

 

[chrono]

Definitely not silly but perhaps unnecessary? Martin Fuller is an top notch appraiser and I think he gave you a very detailed report if my memory serves me right. It isn't a surprise that your stone is fully natural. Origin doesn't phase me that much as one can sort of guess the distinctive Burmese look (although not guaranteed ). If nothing else, I would be very curious as to AGL's colour breakdown and quality but that's a very expensive report and I would only do it for extremely special stones.

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks, Chrono. It's a slippery slope b/c the gem brief is $60 (done), the origin report is $200, and the full grading report is $260. Martin already graded the color and clarity, but I lack origin. Hmm. I will probably stick with with the gem brief and save the $140 towards another stone.

 

[chrono]

Ahhh...given the costs and etc, yes, I agree that your $140 is best put towards another stone or setting.

 

[pregcurious]

It came back as natural, with no enhancements, so I went with the GemBrief. The vendor stated it was Burmese, and I have no reason to think otherwise. I asked AGL briefly if spinels are coming back with enhancements, and the answer is yes, but not frequently.

I asked about sending in a heated sapphire for determination of enhancement, and I was able to confirm what others have written:
$60 (and 3 weeks) for a GemBrief which inspects for beryllium-diffusion, plus another $100 (and an additional 4 weeks) if diffusion is suspected and further testing is needed.