Light and orangey pink spinels

[Bojambles]

Hello,

I'm considering 3 different spinels and want to consider each on their own merits.

From vendor #1 (no return policy, but other PS-ers have had good experiences with them):

Left: 2.7ct light pink to orange spinel (has eye visible inclusions), ~$2k
Right: 3ct very light pink spinel (looks pretty clean), ~$900

Diffused sunlight:





Indoor light:





Direct sunlight:





The left stone was described as having no brown and the vendor calls it "pad coloured" but let's just call it orangey pink. I know prices have shot up recently but neither are very saturated stones, so not sure if the price is good.

The stones also don't seem to darken or go brown or grey in direct sunlight (the dark parts are shadows of the facets?) - am I right?

For the right stone, I was thinking of pink diamonds since spinel is highly refractive. However all the light pink oval diamonds look a great deal more... sparkly. Am guessing it's to do with the cut also, will be grateful is someone can confirm this.

Oval cut diamond = modified brilliant
Oval cut CS = ???

Finally, in direct sunlight the stones wash out but don't have as much sparkle as I hoped for. I've seen videos of other spinels (even vividly coloured spinels) that sparkle like mad in the sun. Both look relatively clean yet no sparkle + there is an almost hazy feel instead. Is there some fluoresence issue going on?

*****

Also spoke to a trusted vendor who is able to source this 5ct, deeper pink-orange stone (which is supposed to be closer in colour to a pad) for ~$13k.
I get that it's a 5ct stone but am a bit surprised at the price since it's not a neon spinel or pure red / pink.

Can anyone comment on the price history? While past experience isn't indicative of future performance, knowing more about the price jump history gives me some comfort.

Also appreciate links to any vendors that you know of who can source similar stones.

Am getting more photos but assume poor lighting here:





TIA! For reference, I'm in Asia and so are the sellers

 

[T L]

Most importantly, do they come with reputable lab reports, especially the five carat deeper pink stone?

I’m sorry, but I would avoid any vendor that has no return policy. JMO.

 

[Bojambles]

Most importantly, do they come with reputable lab reports, especially the five carat deeper pink stone?

I’m sorry, but I would avoid any vendor that has no return policy. JMO.

The 5ct one will and I think I'll have the chance to see it in person before purchasing, but I'll have to be serious for the vendor to bring it in.

The other 2 I will ask; I had wanted to get feedback general, ie. on the pricing, performance etc before I asked more questions.

This second vendor is overseas and accepts returns if they're wrong on treatments etc.
So not if I just don't like it, but other PS-ers have got a good experience on then stone's representation.

 

[musicloveranthony]

The last stone pictured isn't attractive to my eyes. I believe the photos are highly modified to try and hide an unattractive brown or orange tone. Of the two photographed together, I prefer the stone on the right. I like the broader facets and the light tone will be more sparkly

 

[2Neesers]

Those three stones are all so different in color. If I were in your shoes, I would find a picture of my ideal color and try to find a stone that looks similar to that. I do like the stone on the left in your first post the best, but no return policy on a $2k stone wouldn’t work for me. It looks pretty though.

 

[Bojambles]

The last stone pictured isn't attractive to my eyes. I believe the photos are highly modified to try and hide an unattractive brown or orange tone. Of the two photographed together, I prefer the stone on the right. I like the broader facets and the light tone will be more sparkly

Thank you for these observations. I'm also looking for sparkle for the first left stone as am hoping that I can get a pink diamond look

Do you think the prices for both the two are fair?

 

[Bojambles]

Those three stones are all so different in color. If I were in your shoes, I would find a picture of my ideal color and try to find a stone that looks similar to that. I do like the stone on the left in your first post the best, but no return policy on a $2k stone wouldn’t work for me. It looks pretty though.

Thank you, I was open to the idea of getting 2 different looks (the top right lightest one for a pink diamond lookalike, and either the top left or the bottom one for a pad sapphire lookalike).

Do you think that makes sense in terms of spinel properties or is too far fetched?

The no returns policy is also making me pause, but I think @lovedogs mentioned having a good experience with sourcing their jedi spinel from this seller

Edit: just tagging @PinkAndBlueBling who was also satisfied with this seller on spinels. It's Stephen of HG

 

[2Neesers]

Thank you, I was open to the idea of getting 2 different looks (the top right lightest one for a pink diamond lookalike, and either the top left or the bottom one for a pad sapphire lookalike).

Do you think that makes sense in terms of spinel properties or is too far fetched?

The no returns policy is also making me pause, but I think @lovedogs mentioned having a good experience with sourcing their jedi spinel from this seller

Edit: just tagging @PinkAndBlueBling who was also satisfied with this seller on spinels. It's Stephen of HG

Getting them both for two different looks makes sense to me. I was originally thinking you just wanted one, and that’s where narrowing down your ideal color would help in getting you the stone you’re hoping for. Spinels are so beautiful! It would be nice to have a variety of colors.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

It's never going to look exactly like a pink diamond in that size. Though you can get some precision cuts that come close. You'd need similar faceting.
Now that the larger houses are using spinel more often they have hit a new level of popularity with, well, just about everyone. Advertisement and pricing structure have followed. They are on the radar of people with expendable income and the prices reflect that. I'm surprised that the less saturated pinks are commanding these prices this quickly, but that's the direction we're in. The markets support that. Look what happened to grays, they used to be used for practice cutting! I also think if you're going to be paying these prices, you want to stick to the cleanest stones possible. I also think you should get exactly the color you're looking for, and need reputable lab reports, no settling at these price points.
* These are some vendors I follow on IG- I haven't bought from them, but they have access to some amazing material. I also think the prices of each and every one of these would make me cry.

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[Bojambles]

Thanks @ItsMainelyYou !

Noted on the faceting required to achieve the same look hmm... guessing it has to be a brilliant-type cut?

I haven't come across many cut that way and thinking it would also face up smaller for the same carat weight then.

 

[LilAlex]

Of the top two, I like the left better -- although I like the more cushion-y shape of the right one better. I suspect that the right one has a lot of gray.

Bottom one is more saturated but not super-pleasing in those images and I can not quite put my finger on it. Underlit photo and I think I am seeing straight through to the gap between the fingers.

 

[ShinyPink]

Sorry I'm late to the party. Been a crazy couple of months and I haven't been on.

I think I buy too much on Instagram. I seem to have bought from all the accounts mentioned here but one. Ugh. I keep a spreadsheet of my gems and I've purchased 19 spinels from 9 IG vendors.

So...it has taken a few purchases that I'm not happy with - through no fault of the seller - to learn that "pink" to them is in no way "pink" to me. The color pink I like is always referred to as something different by every freaking vendor. Even when they say "bubblegum" I wonder wtf kind of gum they're chewing...

Without paying the premium for Jedi/neon, prices for pinks are all over the place. The most I've spent on non-neon has been about $700/ct for a lovely 2.5 ct cherry pink Mahenge and a sweet 1ct pastel pink Luc Yen. One came from Joe Henley and the other from Balder Gems. The one I bought from HiGems was a 2+ lavender and I don't have a record of what I paid. I just remember his prices weren't as high as I thought they'd be, given his glamour shots. His prices are in the middle range and he's very nice. Actually, Dana @Master Cut has some gorgeous, incredibly priced spinels on occasion. His photos are awful and the stones have always been waaaaaay better than shown. I'd buy from all of the spinel vendors again, and obviously have.

You seem to prefer the deeper colors. Check with B.G.Stones and DesertRose_Gems besides HiGems, and keep an eye out on Joe_Henley_Gemstones.

 

[Bojambles]

Sorry I'm late to the party. Been a crazy couple of months and I haven't been on.

I think I buy too much on Instagram. I seem to have bought from all the accounts mentioned here but one. Ugh. I keep a spreadsheet of my gems and I've purchased 19 spinels from 9 IG vendors.

So...it has taken a few purchases that I'm not happy with - through no fault of the seller - to learn that "pink" to them is in no way "pink" to me. The color pink I like is always referred to as something different by every freaking vendor. Even when they say "bubblegum" I wonder wtf kind of gum they're chewing...

Without paying the premium for Jedi/neon, prices for pinks are all over the place. The most I've spent on non-neon has been about $700/ct for a lovely 2.5 ct cherry pink Mahenge and a sweet 1ct pastel pink Luc Yen. One came from Joe Henley and the other from Balder Gems. The one I bought from HiGems was a 2+ lavender and I don't have a record of what I paid. I just remember his prices weren't as high as I thought they'd be, given his glamour shots. His prices are in the middle range and he's very nice. Actually, Dana @Master Cut has some gorgeous, incredibly priced spinels on occasion. His photos are awful and the stones have always been waaaaaay better than shown. I'd buy from all of the spinel vendors again, and obviously have.

You seem to prefer the deeper colors. Check with B.G.Stones and DesertRose_Gems besides HiGems, and keep an eye out on Joe_Henley_Gemstones.

Thank you so much for your reply! I'm even later >.< as I've been pretty busy but will check out those other vendors you mentioned.

I've sworn off any "pad" lookalikes with any orangey and yellow secondaries after buying a (cheap) one and seeing how it shifted brown, so the pastel and cherry pinks that you mentioned are interesting

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I’m not loving the cut of those. I have a fairly large collection of spinels at this point and maybe 4 of them are precision brilliant cut and one is a custom recut in a precision Old European pattern. All of the precision cut ones have amazing fire in good lighting very reminiscent of a diamond. It is pretty impressive.

Mine are all between .75-1.5 carats and between 5.5-7.2mm in diameter which is plenty big for me and cost between $90-400 each. I assume if you want a higher carat weight they will cost substantially more for precision cut.