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Please help me find a purple spinel for engagement!

I like the color of most of them. The size is going to be really important……I'm a 6.5 to 7 ring size, so although I could live with 7mm, 8 mm plus would be more ideal. The Gemrite one I ruled out due to size as well as the ones from Africagems. I like what I can see of the one from Wildsglobalminerals, but I can't get a handshot, other pics, or video until they're done with they're show in Hong Kong. Now, that I know what a bowtie is, I ruled out the one from Wildfish. I LOVED the one from the Gemtrader, but I haven't heard back from Brad to see if he has anything similar. So, I feel like I'm at a standstill which is not a problem to get something that I truly love. Then, I thought that maybe I should up my budget to $1000 even though I don't know that it will make much difference. I'll have to weigh pros and cons anyway. :confused:
 
purplegirl|1402957231|3694507 said:
What do you guys think a decent budget would be for a spinel such as the one I'm looking for?
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I'd second the post above me that budget is very personal. Plus sometimes what you really want can be hard to find. I also want to echo that it's time to start paring down your options or seeing things in person.

You haven't expressed strong feelings towards anything available yet? Are you looking for something more blue? Purple? Lighter tone? Darker tone? A certain cut?
 
I've got about the same ring size (a bit bigger if I'm stacking bands, actually) so I hear ya on the size thing. Would you be open to using the setting to up the finger coverage - halo, three stone, etc.? Also, a 7x7mm cushion will be larger than a 7x7mm round. I use this http://www.diamdb.com/ to try to get a feel for relative sizes... not sure if it's 100% accurate, but I'm really visual so it helps me to see things.

And while the stones from Brad look gorgeous online, I'm guessing that the price will realistically be around $1500 or so (at least, that's what the Vietnamese ones I've oggled have run). :tongue:

If you love the Wilds one (and honestly, it seems like a *very* good price for a 3ct spinel) you could always order it. You'd have to pay for return shipping, but I *think* that'd be around $40 or so, so it could be worth it to see it in person if that's the one you really want. =)
 
VirginiaZee|1402958364|3694517 said:
Spinel prices are really all over. The ones with a bit of grey used to be less expensive (okay, almost all gems used to be less expensive...) but right now it really depends on the vendor. For instance, the one from GemRite is under $500 for just under 2 carats. It seems that spinel prices jump at the 2 and 3 carat marks, so keeping a gem under that will help with the budget. Jeff Davies' are also very very reasonably priced. Budget's are personal things, but my preference is to pick a budget and then get the best stone I can within that.

Origen also plays a role - Sri Lanka and Tanzania will be cheaper than Burma or Vietnam.

You've found half a dozen stones in your budget... what do you like (and don't like) about them?
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You took the words right out of my mouth here. The only thing I will add is that Sri Lankan stones (or Ceylon as they're also called) tend to be less saturated, and more grey, but there's always exceptions. I like Tanzanian and Vietnamese purples, but the latter is often harder to find. The one oval you like is Madagascar, and they're pretty too, but you don't often see Madagascar stones for sale. It's mostly Burma, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. You can search Tunduru spinel too and often lots of purples and violets show up.
 
Thanks for the link VirginiaZee. I'm going to do some comparisons. I have thought of doing a halo just for contrast. Out of all the "available" gemstones, I do like the Wilds the most. I could go ahead and order it while I'm waiting for another cutter to complete some lavender/violet rough that he has. That way, I can get a feel for the color, cut, and size. Hopefully, it won't take too long since it's coming from China. You guys are great…..I'm learning so much! :appl:
 
Hi Guys,

So I ended up not ordering the oval from Wilds Global on Ebay. As a matter fact, I decided that I didn't want to do oval at all. I wanted a cushion cut more. I emailed several cutters who didn't have quite what I was looking for. Finally, I think I hit pay dirt. I emailed back and forth with Dana at Mastercut (such a nice guy), and he recut something that he thought would interest me. This is what I received today. 3.31ct 7.8x8.1 purple squarish cushion brilliant. I love it! It's such a pretty shade of purple and very sparkly! I wish I were better at taking pictures. :roll: I still need to play with it in a lot of different light settings, but I think this one is pretty special. :)

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Congratulations on finding your purple spinel. It looks very nice on your hand.
 
Thank you so much! I ended up getting this cushion and a round and they both almost brought me to tears when I opened their packages. They were that brilliant!
 
purplegirl|1404358096|3705739 said:
Thank you so much! I ended up getting this cushion and a round and they both almost brought me to tears when I opened their packages. They were that brilliant!
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Awesome!!! Take pics after you set either one. :appl:
 
I will! This one will be one of two that I decided on. I wanted something larger and different, so I also decided to do a black spinel ring. That one I want to do a custom setting for. Maybe I'll start another thread for it. :)
 
I think the purple spinel would look great in high karat yellow gold.

Two fun projects in store for you. :naughty:
 
Yes! I'm excited about both. Unfortunately, yellow gold has never looked good on me. I've always been a white gold kind of girl. :)
 
Wow. That is very pretty!
 
Congrats! What a beautiful choice! I look forward to seeing how you set it.

I also wanted to let you know that by the time I had read through your thread I somehow suddenly decided that I NEED a purple/lavender spinel too! Pricescope is contagious!! :lol:
 
That's a beautiful purple. :appl:
 
Thank you! I love it. I was thinking of doing a Stuller setting with this once since the other will be custom. This will be the one I wear to work everyday. Yes, this is very addictive! I feel like I'm on here 24/7. :) You can't go wrong with purple! You should go for it!
 
Thank you Chrono! It was so unexpected but so perfect!
 
That's such a lovely purple! And isn't Dana just the greatest guy to work with? Congrats on a lovely stone. =)
 
Thanks so much! Yes, Dana is an awesome guy. He never gave up trying to help me find the perfect spinel. :)
 
What a beautiful stone! :love:
 
Thank you Hotpozzum!
 
Great that it turned out well. Its definitely special.
 
Thank you LoversKites!
 
Wow that's lovely!
 
Thank you!
 
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