Opinion on dark blue spinels

[lavender17]

Hello, I’m a newbie on Pricescope forum and on colored stones. I came across this pair of dark blue spinels from Nigeria. They are 4.5 ct in total. I have read that dark blue spinels tend to look grey and are less sought after. Would appreciate your views on this pair. Thank you.

 

[pwsg07]

I have never seen blue spinels in a pair!! What are you expecting from the blue spinel? Are you looking for a sapphire coloured blue spinel? Are these vendor's photos? They look like grey/blue to me.

 

[lavender17]

I’m a newbie, so I have no general expectations about blue spinels, I was not setting out to acquire blue spinels specifically. I like the Asscher cut and thought the color looked unique. I also thought it looked grey/ blue but it looks to me dark purplish/blue under light. I took the photos myself using an iPhone X at the vendor’s shop. I started reading online and read that grey/blue spinels are less desirable. They are rather expensive in my view, so wanted to hear from the more experienced.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I'd say that dark(er) blue/gray spinels are more a matter of personal taste. You either like them or you don't. Most stones with gray tend to be priced lower because the color isn't pure. I do see some purple in there as well. Asschers are also a very deep cut, so the total ctwt doesn't surprise me. What do they measure? 6-7mm?

ETA: I love asschers as well, but I feel like to truly appreciate faceting like that you almost need a light to medium tone stone instead (of a darker one). I love to see those windmills!

 

[T L]

SparklesLover took the words right out of my typing fingers. The only thing I would add is that they may look more like onyx than a transparent blue stone once set and in your ears. Those are very dark and gray. They may look almost opaque because they are so dark.

It's personal preference though.

 

[lavender17]

Thanks for all your replies. I really appreciate it. I see the potential of it looking too dark and not reflecting the light on the ears.

 

[chrono]

It’s not just dark-ish but poorly saturated, hence ought to be priced lower.

 

[JmeeMrie]

Hmmm... probably depends on what you're expecting. I don't think you'll get the complete asscher-ness look. But I still think they're beautiful.

 

[Alex_Paul]

I’m a newbie, so I have no general expectations about blue spinels, I was not setting out to acquire blue spinels specifically. I like the Asscher cut and thought the color looked unique. I also thought it looked grey/ blue but it looks to me dark purplish/blue under light. I took the photos myself using an iPhone X at the vendor’s shop. I started reading online and read that grey/blue spinels are less desirable. They are rather expensive in my view, so wanted to hear from the more experienced.

Thank you for your reply.

Very nice stones. In my opinion not only color looks unique along with the asscher cut, but the earrings with these spinels might look even more interesting / intriguing.
Alex

 

[chatoyancy]

Are you going to have them set in earrings? If so, don’t do studs. They are too big and possibly too dark. Do Euro wires or posts with dangles. They are pretty stones. I’ve noticed that past a certain carat weight, it doesn’t matter how popular or unpopular the color is, the spinel is going to be expensive. I don’t know the price, but with that total carat weight, I would expect a high price.

 

[lavender17]

Thanks for all your views. I appreciate it. The price is around US$6K, which I think is high. I think I will likely pass.

 

[chatoyancy]

Thanks for all your views. I appreciate it. The price is around US$6K, which I think is high. I think I will likely pass.

Wow!! That is way too high. I would pass at that price.

 

[chatoyancy]

You can get a 4 carat red spinel on gemcal for $6500

 

[minousbijoux]

I would've done the same - $6,500 is more than I'd be willing to pay!

 

[Cockatiel]

$6500??? That's approaching $1500 per carat. Makes no sense...once you set those in earring mountings, total cost would be like $7500, higher if you get them haloed or something. I shudder to think what the dealer will charge for finished earrings! One could easily get >1.5 cttw ACA diamond studs with that budget!!!

 

[T L]

The price is around US$6K.

 

[Gemobsessed]

Are you based in singapore like me ?
Cause these rates sound familiar !

 

[chatoyancy]

Are you based in singapore like me ?
Cause these rates sound familiar !

Why on earth is spinel so expensive in Singapore? You guys are in Asia. We don’t pay that much in the U.S. even when we are ordering from Asia!

 

[Gemobsessed]

Why on earth is spinel so expensive in Singapore? You guys are in Asia. We don’t pay that much in the U.S. even when we are ordering from Asia!

Great question but that’s Singapore for you! People here pay a lot more than you can imagine if it comes from a great store. At first I was shocked by the prices at the most famous gem store here and I genuinely thought that’s what gems cost. Luckily I didn’t make a purchase and did a ton of research and found pricescope too. Saved me a ton of money.

To give you an example, the Store I was talking about was saying that finding a trillion cut purplish tanzanite which is 1 carat would take them a lot of time and effort and would would be 1200 bucks minimum. I was amazed but ended up buying one from New York in half the price for a 2.2 carat BLUE tanzanite and frankly it wasn’t hard to find. That’s still for tanzanite but for well cut garnets they charge even more if you can imagine that. All marketing fluff.

 

[chatoyancy]

Great question but that’s Singapore for you! People here pay a lot more than you can imagine if it comes from a great store. At first I was shocked by the prices at the most famous gem store here and I genuinely thought that’s what gems cost. Luckily I didn’t make a purchase and did a ton of research and found pricescope too. Saved me a ton of money.

To give you an example, the Store I was talking about was saying that finding a trillion cut purplish tanzanite which is 1 carat would take them a lot of time and effort and would would be 1200 bucks minimum. I was amazed but ended up buying one from New York in half the price for a 2.2 carat BLUE tanzanite and frankly it wasn’t hard to find. That’s still for tanzanite but for well cut garnets they charge even more if you can imagine that. All marketing fluff.

I’m glad you found Pricescope! I’m glad I did too. Have you posted a pic of your tanzanite?

 

[Gemobsessed]

I’m glad you found Pricescope! I’m glad I did too. Have you posted a pic of your tanzanite?

Yes but I can put it up again. It’s my first CS purchase ever. Funny thing is though I got a good deal but if I did it all over again I think I could have saved another 200 bucks!

 

[chatoyancy]

Yes but I can put it up again. It’s my first CS purchase ever. Funny thing is though I got a good deal but if I did it all over again I think I could have saved another 200 bucks!

Whoa!! That’s awesome! What a beautiful tanzanite and ring!!

 

[Gemobsessed]

Whoa!! That’s awesome! What a beautiful tanzanite and ring!!

Thank you

 

[GliderPoss]

I agree with the others, the colour is a matter of preference but that price is too much for those!