New to ruby buying

[applecider]

Hi all, first time poster! I am on the hunt for a reasonably priced ruby ring in yellow gold, preferably under $500 but can stretch. I'm good with keeping the gemstone under 1 karat. Mainly I have been looking at Macy's but after some Googling I found out that the lead filled kind are actually not what I'm looking for, so I'm wary of natural rubies sold thru big box chains now.

A few questions:

1. Is this budget unreasonable?
2. Should I look into synthetics? Can lab created rubies still look "real"? After the Macy's scare (returned the ring), I decided to open up to lab created to avoid lead filled rubies.
3. Has anyone have success with angara.com? I noticed that I can find items within budget...

Thanks in advance!

 

[chrono]

I don't think you can get a decent 1 ct ruby for $500 unless you sacrifice a lot of Cs (clarity, colour, treatment, etc), meaning that it's all right to be predominantly pink or purple or orange, diffused and maybe with some inclusions. Synthetics look too perfect to be real but some people don't mind. Other than that, we are not allowed to discuss synthetics per the Pricescope forum rules. Angara does not post pictures of the actual stone so who knows what you'll be getting. Have you considered red spinels?

Is a star ruby an acceptable alternative?
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?54573911

 

[iLander]

I believe that Gene may have some synthetic ruby rough.

You might ask him if he can cut you something, I suspect it will be within budget.

http://www.precisiongem.com

 

[kimpnoth]

I've read somewhere that sometimes cutters cut synthetic to clean their faceting machines. I've seen one (a rather big one, but in your price range) on Earth's Treasury site in the "related items" area when viewing other stones. I can't find it listed on it's own, and don't know if it's still available, but you could also inquire there.

 

[kimpnoth]

Oops, correction. Synthetics are sometimes used to check calibration of faceting machines.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I'm not sure this color is what you're looking for, but this completely caught my eye. I know the cut is a little wonky, and I'm curious what it'd look like on the hand, but that color! And it's untreated. By the way, was $500 for the whole ring? If so, ignore me.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/single/ruby/rb10297ac/&1244716636

I also found a nice looking berylium treated one on their site (RB10380ab), but I'm not sure I can link to it.

 

[Niel]

Had you considered red spinel. A good one is still expensive but less so than a good Ruby. Brad at the gem trader had an oval recently that was close to your budget. He may still have it. I'm not sure. It wasn't listed on his site. You'd have email him. It was a tad over budget but maybe he'd take an offer.

This is more orange red than pink red but in your budget

http://loupetroop.com/listings/rings-colored-stone-center/peter-torraca-red-spinel-ring;5834