Let Down by Rubies

[hxs01]

I had a frustrating experience this week looking at rubies. Basically, my budget is in the 3000 to 5000 range. I arranged to meet with a reputable dealer to view some stones. I was shocked to see how ridiculously small a carat or so is. Perhaps others on here have had similar experiences the first time they looked at stones. It was frustrating to think that something so small would be so expensive. It makes me think about getting a diamond or sapphire instead. Anyone have thoughts or similar disillusionment?

 

[VapidLapid]

well firstly, a ruby is a sapphire, albeit a red one. Also a carat can be tiny or huge, depending on the type of stone. For peridot, a one carat stone is a commonplace, while for finely colored, untreated VVS ruby one carat is quite rare and valuable. If it is your expactations, rather than rubies themselves that you are down about, how about considering a nice spinel, which everyone will think is a ruby anyway. In fact, for ages spinels were thought to be rubies and no distinction between them was even known. Fine stones are dear especially in today's market, and fine rubies I am afraid are always scarce, and valued accordingly.

 

[corundum_conundrum]

Red Spinel are a great choice if you need something a bit bigger at your budget--although they are not cheap either, but a bit more reasonable than Ruby.

To support Vapid's point about Red Spinel: I personally consider its pedigree as illustrious as its more famous pal the ruby. The Black Prince Ruby in the British Crown jewels, is, you guessed it, a Red Spinel.



Ruby is not a kind of sapphire, but both Sapphire and Ruby are comprised of the mineral "corundum." They therefore have the same density, and you will not get a more voluminous stone from Sapphire of identical weight to a Ruby. You will, however, get a bit more voluminous diamond when it weighs the same as a Ruby.

 

[velouriaL]

Yes, rubies sure are expensive, and good ones are hard to find.

As other pointed out, ruby is a *red* corundum, and there's a narrow band of color that is considered "red." Think about it: a "blue" sapphire can be a range of hues and shades, but there's really no such thing as "light red" and you get into "purple" or "orange" territory pretty quickly, which would be considered sapphire.

If I were in the market for a red stone and I had your budget, I'm with others than I would get red spinel. IMO, rubies wouldn't even have their fame unless they were riding on the mistaken identity of awesome spinels. If you want, you can even call your spinel a "balas ruby," which is what they used to be called. If someone asks what that is, just say, "Oh it's the same kind as the Black Prince Ruby in the British Crown jewels. Unlike regular rubies, they can't be treated. Most regular rubies today are filled with glass." All of which is TRUE!

Not that a stoplight red spinel will be inexpensive or easy to find, either...

 

[airplay355]

Have you looked at http://www.gemfix.com/ruby.html#thumb ? I feel like there are a few nice rubies over 1ct and within your budget.

Finding an actual red spinel will probably take a while. Red seems to be hard to find without brown, orange or pink mixed in. One good thing about spinels is they aren't usually baked and filled like rubies can be

 

[Edward Bristol]

A good ruby should be WOW even at one carat.

That said, a good ruby is expensive but your budget seems realistic, especially if you consider a treated stone.

Spinel in big and red are far from cheap these days. I've seen a 5 carat top red unheated Burma spinel in Bangkok last week for 15k/ct asking price. (Even if they get only half of what they ask, it is still a fat sum of money.)

 

[chrono]

What is your expectation in size? I can tell you that for $5K, you might not even get a 1 ct diamond unless you sacrifice the other Cs by going with a lower colour (I/J/K) and clarity (SI1/SI2). Fine unheated blue sapphires are around $2000/ct and upwards. Due to each material having different densities, a 1 ct round diamond measures 6.5 mm whilst a 1 ct round corundum (sapphire or ruby) will measure 6 mm. Spinels should be around 1 ct = 6 mm thereabouts as well. The other factor that affects size is the cut. Most coloured gemstones are cut either way too shallow or too deep. It is normal for coloured stones to have depths around 70% compared to diamonds at 60%. I've seen coloured stones cut as deep as 80%, which makes them look even smaller.

I am sorry that you are disappointed but those are the facts. You might be able to find a 2 carat untreated red spinel for $5000 as an alternative. They hold up quite well as ring stones even though not as hardy as a ruby.

 

[LD]

If you are looking for a Ruby red then you're highly unlikely to find a red spinel. Unfortunately red gems (not matter what the gem) is probably the most expensive of all. A really lovely ruby red is hard to find.

However, I think your disappointment is in the size rather than colour or material. As Chrono has pointed out a 1ct diamond will be similar in size to 1ct sapphire/ruby. However, diamonds are normally cut for performance so a 1ct diamond typically looks the same if you have five laid out in front of you BUT with coloured gemstones the emphasis is more on colour than cut so if you had five rubies laid out in front of you, they would typically range in size because some will be shallow, some deep etc.

What I think you need to do is decide on the mm you need. Then you'll be able to work out the approximate carat weight and then start looking from there. Bear in mind however that some gemstones are denser than others so will appear smaller. Here's a guide that shows you how density can affect the face up size of gemstones:

http://www.ajsgem.com/articles/how-buy-colored-gemstones-size-and-weight.html