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Help me find the perfect "raspberry"...

  • Thread starter Thread starter lucky_in_love
  • Start date Start date
3.7 ct and its $6500? Something seems fishy - does it include any lab report or is treatment listed?
 
That’s the vendor’s opinion, not verification by an independent reputable lab. It’s not something I would accept as a buyer.
 
chrono said:
That’s the vendor’s opinion, not verification by an independent reputable lab. It’s not something I would accept as a buyer.
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I’ve already decided to decline this vendor. As soon as I started asking more questions the stone was suddenly sold.
 
Oh, whoops - I missed that it was spinel and thought it was ruby.
 
Before you commit to a non refundable private seller, have you exhausted the list of vendors here on the CS forum? For example, Finewater gems has burmese red spinels. Most vendors allow returns, too. Gems can look so different in photos vs in your hand.
https://www.finewatergems.com/store/c13/Spinel.html
 
I’m also in the camp of not liking a non refundable seller. However, my thoughts on the stone are

1 orangey red
2. Nice cut and proportions and spread.
3 Not vivid red to my eye, although the Lotus report states it is. I still see some brown and a bit of extinction, especially in the video.
4. The sunlight photo isn’t very bright red as it should be, or is that an indoors shot?

If it were refundable, I’d say it’s worth a look, but no way to a non refundable stone. Maybe you can talk to the seller about being more lenient.

lucky_in_love said:
How about this one? Any comments?

https://loupetroop.com/listings/loo...th-lotus-report-please-watch-the-videos;29787
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BDA7F6ED-29DA-412C-87A1-522C8366D1F0.jpeg 130B07FF-F45F-4BAE-A096-9C21FC8ED450.jpeg I recommend you look at orangey red spinels since that is the color your fiancé likes. Here is what one looks like fluorescing in the sun and out of the sun. Some stones can turn very brown in artificial lighting and look similar to brick red garnets.

The pear is not as saturated as when in the sun, but you don’t see large dark extinct areas and it’s not overly brown. In the sun, top picture, it glows due to strong UV fluorescence.
 
CHRISTY-DANIELLE said:
Before you commit to a non refundable private seller, have you exhausted the list of vendors here on the CS forum? For example, Finewater gems has burmese red spinels. Most vendors allow returns, too. Gems can look so different in photos vs in your hand.
https://www.finewatergems.com/store/c13/Spinel.html
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I'm in Toronto so seeing it in person before making a commitment isn't an issue. Buying from the states and possibly returning become more complicated and FAR more costly.
 
Oh! Well that certainly changes things! I hope you get to see it in person and love it. Colored gems can be tricky, you really have to see them in person to know if they are right for you. Good luck!
 
lucky_in_love said:
I'm in Toronto so seeing it in person before making a commitment isn't an issue. Buying from the states and possibly returning become more complicated and FAR more costly.
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please check it under flourescent (low intensity) lighting before buying it. That stine looks like it is going to go a desaturated muddy brownish red colour under flourescents.
 
Actually I just watched the videos and honestly you could save yourself a lot of money by buying a pyrope garnet which is close to the same colour. Major advantage of the spinel then is if it holds its colour in low light (as pyrope garnets all go quite brown)

pyrope-garnet.jpg
 
qubitasaurus said:
Actually I just watched the videos and honestly you could save yourself a lot of money by buying a pyrope garnet which is close to the same colour. Major advantage of the spinel then is if it holds its colour in low light (as pyrope garnets all go quite brown)

pyrope-garnet.jpg
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Garnets also don’t fluoresce, but yes, they are a less expensive alternative.
 
T L said:
Garnets also don’t fluoresce, but yes, they are a less expensive alternative.
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Yes but I am not convinced by the images that this red spinel will flouresce. From the videos it seemed like the loupetroop listing featured the best shots of the stone. If the pictures in the listing are the stone at its best, then I would be worried it is muddy at its worst and never the 'lit from within' colour you'd hope to see in a flourescent gem.

It just prima facie does not have the properties I would be willing to pay $$$s for in a spinel. But I live to be proved wrong, as the higher the kullback-Leibler divergence or the cross entropy on the sample space the faster I learn. So happy to be wrong.
 
lucky_in_love said:
That's a beautiful stone, unfortunately out of our price range though. :(2
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Unless you've got an unlimited budget, it's really difficult to shop for good red gems. Maybe blue sapphires are more sought after in North America and Europe, but I think worldwide red is the most sought after color. That's why I think I'm lucky to have been able to snatch the ones I do have.

Have you made the decision regarding that red spinel from LoupeTroop?

If not, I would recommend you contact Enhoerning Jewelry about that ~5k ring I linked before; it's listed on Etsy and you said it was too pink, but maybe it looks redder to the eye than what shows up in the pictures? I just recommend Inken because I had bought and returned a ruby from her before--she shipped Fedex next day free of charge, offered a free refund within 7 days, and made the return hassle free and easy. I don't know if she has easy access to spinel suppliers, but she is able to source rubies if you give her a budget. She is very friendly and easy to work with.
 
lucky_in_love said:
How about this one? https://www.etsy.com/listing/647364095/genuine-burmese-ruby-and-diamond-ring?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Burma+Ruby&ref=sc_gallery-1-3&plkey=14dc110c2c2c1831916ed1995f7d278b645f44ee:647364095&pro=1&frs=1
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Note the comments on the GIA report (report number is 2141482492). TEC3 + C1 -- "The residues referred to in the TE scale below are those trapped within fissures that have been healed during a flux-assisted heating process. The higher the TE value the greater the extent of healed fissures."

Frankly, if you are okay with a heavily treated ruby, I would say go for it, but you should be aware that for such a highly treated ruby, you'd be better off buying a synthetic (more beautiful and durable). The $9k+ price is OVERPRICED FOR SURE.
 
voce said:
Note the comments on the GIA report (report number is 2141482492). TEC3 + C1 -- "The residues referred to in the TE scale below are those trapped within fissures that have been healed during a flux-assisted heating process. The higher the TE value the greater the extent of healed fissures."

Frankly, if you are okay with a heavily treated ruby, I would say go for it, but you should be aware that for such a highly treated ruby, you'd be better off buying a synthetic (more beautiful and durable). The $9k+ price is OVERPRICED FOR SURE.
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Insanely overpriced.
 
Okay, here is another option. I don't know if you have a cut off point as far as size goes, but here is a gorgeous raspberry ruby from Diamonds by Lauren. They're a trusted vendor and have some seriously enviable pieces. This ruby is way more affordable and not flux-filled (you can probably request them to send it to a 3rd party lab, and DBL is definitely not a sketchy vendor). A livelier, lovelier smaller gem will perform a lot better than a larger "dud" gem, especially considering you can just halo, halo, and more halo with diamonds to get finger coverage! :P2

Diamonds by Lauren will be able to create a custom ring for you that looks more beautiful and will cost less than that $9.5k flux-filled one.

Edit: here is one that Diamonds by Lauren has already made. They include the GIA report in the price of the ring. Their craftsmanship is very high-quality.
 
DBL is a great vendor.
Ask for handshots of his rubies before you decide you like or dislike what he has listed.
 
OK this one is new and from a trusted vendor...



65E4DE5A-50BD-4F73-9233-9C62DDC023B6.jpeg 42AA9668-B5AE-494C-B7E0-6BBBCC9D8264.jpeg 0452121D-4E62-46D5-B68C-1EEC5356CF75.jpeg 025C211C-F38D-42BC-8451-83860775D271.jpeg
 
It’s pretty, kind of brownish indoors, so the price should reflect that.
 
It's got a lot of orange and isn't an eye popping red.

I'm going to be upfront right now. You are not going to get a vivid 3 carat untreated ruby for $8K.
You might be able to find a vivid 3 carat spinel but if the colour is as good as you seem to be looking for, it is going to be a long and arduous search because it is rare for spinels to be that large and most red spinels tend to have some orange or brown out.
 
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voce said:
Okay, here is another option. I don't know if you have a cut off point as far as size goes, but here is a gorgeous raspberry ruby from Diamonds by Lauren. They're a trusted vendor and have some seriously enviable pieces. This ruby is way more affordable and not flux-filled (you can probably request them to send it to a 3rd party lab
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Agree that the color is very nice. The description is a little fluffy and borderline deceptive - heating is not part of the cutting process but a technique to enhance an otherwise ugly stone. But anyway...

The “internal crystals” look more like internal fractures to me. Totally normal in ruby and I don’t think you will notice them without a loupe. I would, however, ask if they are surface-reaching - that would be a bad thing and could affect durability (and explain the price, which for this color is low).

The spread is quite nice for the weight and there is no obvious window, probably also thanks to the fractures.

Price/quality seems good because of the color, which I say again is really nice.
 
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