Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

(Not so) Rwd Ruby

VividRed said:
Quick update: I returned the stone. It was a beautiful piece but not the one I was looking for. The search continues.

Thank you all for your contribution and advice, I started looking at red spinels too but honestly cannot say the price is significantly lower than ruby at 1-1.5 carat if the color is right - so far, I found it to it to be on par with good quality heated Red rubies, and somehow harder to find.

Anyways, I will keep you posted :)

Stay healthy and happy new year!
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, prices for red spinels have gone up astronomically over the years. Beware of synthetics if you do end up going the spinel route. It should have a reliable lab report.
 
I also look for flouro in a ruby, and have been searching for a ruby for years (10?). I have two very wonderful Burmese heat only rubies, but they are 4.5 and 4.8mm and I bought them years ago. The 4.5mm is absolutely perfect. I dream and still search for one that is 1.5-2cts.

On this one, I would also have returned for the residue. One of the precision cut vendors had tiny red Burmese ruby, maybe 4.7mm for just less than $1k, but I can’t remember who has it. IIRC, they had two rubies in stock, one of which was Burmese.

Does anyone trust an IGI cert for rubies?
 
T L said:
Unfortunately, prices for red spinels have gone up astronomically over the years. Beware of synthetics if you do end up going the spinel route. It should have a reliable lab report.
Click to expand...

Thanks @T L

Would this also apply when looking at vendors on the PS list of trusted vendors?
 
Indylady said:
I also look for flouro in a ruby, and have been searching for a ruby for years (10?). I have two very wonderful Burmese heat only rubies, but they are 4.5 and 4.8mm and I bought them years ago. The 4.5mm is absolutely perfect. I dream and still search for one that is 1.5-2cts.

On this one, I would also have returned for the residue. One of the precision cut vendors had tiny red Burmese ruby, maybe 4.7mm for just less than $1k, but I can’t remember who has it. IIRC, they had two rubies in stock, one of which was Burmese.

Does anyone trust an IGI cert for rubies?
Click to expand...

Hi @Indylady, would you mind sharing the picture of your two treasures?
 
MJO said:
To me this is the perfect red color spinel but it does have an inclusion.

https://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=11387
Click to expand...

I just received a red spinel from Litnon, and couldn't be happier. It's the first red stone purchase I've decided to keep, but the search is difficult and took me years. It helped to identify my own ideal of red vs some other ideal standard (something I learned from people on this board). Plus, the size and price were on point.

Good luck with your search!
 
VividRed said:
Thanks @T L

Would this also apply when looking at vendors on the PS list of trusted vendors?
Click to expand...

Yes, because even the best intentioned vendors can be duped by their trusted sources. There’s a few cases where a trusted vendor sold a synthetic, but not intentionally, and they did rectify the situation. Also with the advent of newer and more difficult to detect treatments in the future, a reliable lab report is like a time capsule ensuring that no future treatments have been performed on the stone. That’s not to say that all gems should have a lab report, but an expensive one probably should, especially if that gem species is prone to much treatment and/or synthesizing. Corundum, red spinel, alexandrite, emerald typically fall into this category.

There’s an old adage here, “ trust but verify.”
 
MissSarah,

Which spinel did you get?
 
Hi,

MJO-- I know you have/had a wonderful collection yrs ago. I read you to learn. I am a bit concerned that the spinel you recommended does live up to being a good color for a red spinel that our OP is looking for. I am putting out there that as my perhaps faulty memory suggests, you are also friends with Litnon and sell your gems through him. I am disappointed at your recommendation. I decided to express that here.

Annette
 
smitcompton said:
Hi,

MJO-- I know you have/had a wonderful collection yrs ago. I read you to learn. I am a bit concerned that the spinel you recommended does live up to being a good color for a red spinel that our OP is looking for. I am putting out there that as my perhaps faulty memory suggests, you are also friends with Litnon and sell your gems through him. I am disappointed at your recommendation. I decided to express that here.

Annette
Click to expand...

I have to agree, @MJO - it would be one thing if you were to recommend multiple vendors, but you almost exclusively recommend Litnon. It seems like a conflict of interest if you are slowing destashing your collection by selling to Litnon, and then coming here to promote what Litnon has for sale.
 
Hi,

Sorry, I forgot a significant word. does "NOT" live up to being a pretty good color-- Its far from a perfect color. This man MJO used to be a frequent poster here.

Annette
 
smitcompton said: ↑
Hi,

MJO-- I know you have/had a wonderful collection yrs ago. I read you to learn. I am a bit concerned that the spinel you recommended does live up to being a good color for a red spinel that our OP is looking for. I am putting out there that as my perhaps faulty memory suggests, you are also friends with Litnon and sell your gems through him. I am disappointed at your recommendation. I decided to express that here.

Annette

You are right I am friends with Litnon as I have been with many vendors. I haven't been into stones for awhile and occasionally come back and check in here. The reason I mentioned this stone is I have seen it in person and the color is wonderful but it does have an inclusion that I find distracting. Maybe the color in the picture isn't great but I still remember the actual color. It is a very bright red stone with a slight orange tint in some lighting. In the day I have purchased and sold stones to and from Richard Wise, AJS, Litnon, Paraiba International, Thaigems and many Ebay Vendors. I do mainly post Litnon because they are the stones I know best, have seen many in hand and I think the prices are reasonable. I will stop posting now if you think it is inappropriate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AV_
@MJO I was actually really excited to see you posting again, as I used to learn a lot from your and Marlow's posts. But I would love to have the opportunity to learn from a much wider spectrum of recomendations. Every vendor uses different photography styles, and it can make it really difficult to find a basis for comparison. I would love to hear someone who has a wide scope of interactions with different vendors actually weigh in on a variety of options from different sources.
 
MJO said:
MissSarah,

Which spinel did you get?
Click to expand...

My new spinel is the one pictured below. It is my ideal red. Long story short, the stone is the same red as a matchbox car I had when I was very very young. The vendor picture doesn't really do the stone justice, as it is richer looking in person, and only close to this color when it's very shaded.

46511.jpg

I also got one from Mastercut Gems that I was going to send back but decided to keep. It's a little bit warmer. I don't have any pictures of it.

There is some pretty and bright red spinel, but I feel like (@VividRed ) spinel never measures up in comparison to ruby to me because it doesn't have the same ??? [I don't know what the word is I need here]. Nice ruby has a special depth of saturation, and is red in all light. It's like comparing chocolate mousse to raspberry sorbet to me; if I'm hungry for one, I'll be disappointed in the other. IMHO, if you want a ruby, be patient and you'll find one.
 
qubitasaurus said:
@MJO I was actually really excited to see you posting again, as I used to learn a lot from your and Marlow's posts. But I would love to have the opportunity to learn from a much wider spectrum of recomendations. Every vendor uses different photography styles, and it can make it really difficult to find a basis for comparison. I would love to hear someone who has a wide scope of interactions with different vendors actually weigh in on a variety of options from different sources.
Click to expand...

Hi and thank you,

Most of the vendors I bought from are no longer here. I guess I'm just getting to old. AJS has some great stones but I think their prices have gone way to high. Paraiba International has always had great stones but now has much fewer Brazilian Paraiba as they used to since they have not found any at the original mine in a long time. They even asked me if I would sell them some of the ones I still had left. I did a few years ago but I see he sold those (I only have a few I am still holding on to. Litnon I like because he is reasonably priced and most of the time his pictures are much worse than the actual stones, lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AV_
MissSarah said:
My new spinel is the one pictured below. It is my ideal red. Long story short, the stone is the same red as a matchbox car I had when I was very very young. The vendor picture doesn't really do the stone justice, as it is richer looking in person, and only close to this color when it's very shaded.

46511.jpg

I also got one from Mastercut Gems that I was going to send back but decided to keep. It's a little bit warmer. I don't have any pictures of it.

There is some pretty and bright red spinel, but I feel like (@VividRed ) spinel never measures up in comparison to ruby to me because it doesn't have the same ??? [I don't know what the word is I need here]. Nice ruby has a special depth of saturation, and is red in all light. It's like comparing chocolate mousse to raspberry sorbet to me; if I'm hungry for one, I'll be disappointed in the other. IMHO, if you want a ruby, be patient and you'll find one.
Click to expand...

It looks lovely,

The reason most people prefer Ruby (especially Burmeses) over spinel is most burmese ruby fluoresce in ultra violet light to give a glowy effect. The only spinel that comes close is the Mahenge Spinel which has a neon glow but I have never seen a real pure red or even purplish red. I have seen a wonderful pad (orange/pink) as well as a reddish pink. That is not to say they are not around just I have never seen them.
 
Kind of orange. Don't you think? The one you just returned looked like a pink sapphire.
 
VividRed said:
Hi @Indylady, would you mind sharing the picture of your two treasures?
Click to expand...

Hiya Vivid! I’m traveling for the holidays but I’ll snap one once I’m home. Has anyone proposed this Finewater ruby to you? I’ve considered it very strongly but haven’t pulled the trigger—the only thing holding me back is that it skews toward orange and not purple. Orangy rubies are beautiful in their own right, but I tend to prefer purplish ones.
https://www.finewatergems.com/store/c28/Ruby.html
 
Indylady said:
Hiya Vivid! I’m traveling for the holidays but I’ll snap one once I’m home. Has anyone proposed this Finewater ruby to you? I’ve considered it very strongly but haven’t pulled the trigger—the only thing holding me back is that it skews toward orange and not purple. Orangy rubies are beautiful in their own right, but I tend to prefer purplish ones.
https://www.finewatergems.com/store/c28/Ruby.html
Click to expand...

That one is nice and bright. With no filler I would definitely look at it and the price isn't that bad for a heat only bright Ruby.
 
@MJO Is Pala winding down? That'd be something... ,(
 
T L said:
Yes, because even the best intentioned vendors can be duped by their trusted sources. There’s a few cases where a trusted vendor sold a synthetic, but not intentionally, and they did rectify the situation. Also with the advent of newer and more difficult to detect treatments in the future, a reliable lab report is like a time capsule ensuring that no future treatments have been performed on the stone. That’s not to say that all gems should have a lab report, but an expensive one probably should, especially if that gem species is prone to much treatment and/or synthesizing. Corundum, red spinel, alexandrite, emerald typically fall into this category.

There’s an old adage here, “ trust but verify.”
Click to expand...

Very good advice. I have seen very nice appearing red spinels bought and sold from Etsy at prices that are much lower than expected. It is hard for me to get excited by them because I am suspicious. A reputable lab report would remove all doubt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T L
Indylady said:
Hiya Vivid! I’m traveling for the holidays but I’ll snap one once I’m home. Has anyone proposed this Finewater ruby to you? I’ve considered it very strongly but haven’t pulled the trigger—the only thing holding me back is that it skews toward orange and not purple. Orangy rubies are beautiful in their own right, but I tend to prefer purplish ones.
https://www.finewatergems.com/store/c28/Ruby.html
Click to expand...

Hi Lady! Thanks a lot, I love the first three pictures, the fourth is a little too orange for me though, maybe it’s just the lighting though?
 
I asked Gary about it and he said that it does not appear that orange IRL, but some of these things are a little subjective/up to personal preference.
 
Isn't 2.5k for a fissure-filled ruby far too much? Shouldn't that be a fraction of it? Or do I misread the GIA report?
 
Anne111 said:
Isn't 2.5k for a fissure-filled ruby far too much? Shouldn't that be a fraction of it? Or do I misread the GIA report?
Click to expand...
Hi Anne, the filler isn’t mentioned but as far as I know, GIA calls glass filled rubies “composite material” so I would hope it’s something else.

I have a very heavily lead glass filled 4ct “ruby” I bought for $40 to see what that looks like. It’s bad, really bad; the 2.5k ruby in this thread looked nohing like it :)

Either way I returned it, not because of the residues, but because the color wasn’t right for me.
 
.
WWW

What do you make of it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP

Featured Topics

Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top