Possibly pulling the trigger on a ruby, come and help me decide!

[CBianco]

The color looks wonderful, I think you did well for that price

 

[Autumn in New England]

Wanting to congratulate you, but waiting for your ultimate decision!! lol No rush.

 

[icy_jade]

For the time being I haven't made up my mind yet.

This tells me that it’s not 100% there but only you can decide if you love it enough. Let’s just say, if you had seen it in person before hand, would you have gone ahead with the purchase?

I’ve bought really included stones before that I could totally ignore the inclusions because of the color, and others that just aren’t “enough”. Some I’ve kept despite niggling thoughts as I thought it’s a good buy and then realised that I just don’t like them enough to set. Erm, what I’m trying to say is just don’t settle.

Whatever decision you make, we’ll be supportive of course.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I have a spinel that has a ‘line’ of inclusions along one side and sometimes it’s invisible and other times I can see it really well. I haven’t set it yet but it seems that the inclusions only show when it’s turned a certain direction so I’m thinking that once set, I might be able to wear the ring facing the best direction. That might be the case with your ruby as well.

Also, not all gemstones look nice in all lighting. Some are best in the day or only at night or in sunlight, etc. You might decide this is an outdoor picnic ring, for example, and not an indoor low light ring.

Anyway, the color and glow look really great and I think you will enjoy wearing it despite its imperfections.

 

[Avondale]

Let’s just say, if you had seen it in person before hand, would you have gone ahead with the purchase?

I would've done just about the same thing - take my time to really think it through. I definitely wouldn't have been able to say straight up "no" to the colour. Sometimes you just gotta do that, you know, let yourself process all the information and... heh... feelings.

Now I'll be off to take a bazillion pictures so that I can spam this thread again in the evening.

 

[Avondale]

In an attempt to emulate setting it into a ring I made a tiny basket of aluminum foil for the stone to sit in. It... makes things better, definitely. Allows me to be a little bit optimistic.

Optimism levels rising.

I think probably you'll only notice the flux in strong lighting

I think you're correct. But not just strong light, more where the light is entering the stone from.

If it's entering from all sides, and especially in strong light, all the little wisps, inclusions and silk clouds can be easily seen.
However, close the stone off from the sides, allow light to mainly enter and exit through the crown, and things start looking a lot better very fast.

Quick video to illustrate my observations so far.

1. Loose stone:

https://imgur.com/dKIQA9h

2. With a thin band of aluminum foil wrapped around the stone:

https://imgur.com/gX2caph

So I'm thinking, I just need to think in the direction of a basket and a bit more intricate gallery, instead of some very open cathedral setting.

Spam to be continued.

 

[pearlsngems]

Maybe a bezel setting?

 

[Autumn in New England]

@Avondale - I like that you showed it with a metallic backing... some stones need just a wee nudge to up the refraction factor. So I think you're on the right path with a filigree or scroll, etc. gallery. Personally, I wouldn't bezel it. I think this guy will really benefit from maximum light entrance, if that makes sense. Listen, for $1,600USD, this is a lovely ruby. Actually, you called it a raspberry tone, but my first thought in seeing these new vids was a STRAWBERRY! It really reminds me of a spinel in that respect. So if you love the color, as you mentioned you do, and the inclusions/treatments don't bother you, then perhaps he's a keeper. And, as icy so wisely said, if there are lingering doubts, then maybe a bit more thought is in order. But I would definitely consider a new lab report, and be sure you have a generous return policy just in case. Good luck... I look forward to more spamming.

 

[Avondale]

Oh dear, I totally forgot to update! I got distracted reading the mildly disturbing bing chat bot transcript and discussing dystopias with my husband.

I'm keeping it.

I was right. It's about where the light is entering from. Blocking it just a tiny bit on the side of the healed fracture is all it takes, as illustrated in this short video in which I use, I kid you not, a makeup brush. Not even a reflective/metallic material.

https://imgur.com/s5ProX0

I also negotiated a 10% off with the vendor, so we're at 1440 now, which is undoubtedly a fair price for a good-coloured stone.

And yes, I probably won't bezel it, I don't think it will suit it, but I definitely won't be setting it very open either. I have a few vague ideas already but I'm still exploring.

In any case, this little stone doesn't care even if it's fully encased in a foil basket all the way through. It doesn't darken, the colour doesn't suffer at all. Here it is in daylight shade and in direct sunlight:





In the end I found myself barely noticing the cloudy smudge today. It's pretty damn difficult to see it with some foil around the stone and that's how it spent most of today. If you look closely, what you see is just a slightly visible curved line that I don't find distracting at all. So I believe it will make a fine ring for me to wear and enjoy.

 

[voce]

Oh dear, I totally forgot to update! I got distracted reading the mildly disturbing bing chat bot transcript and discussing dystopias with my husband.

I'm keeping it.

I was right. It's about where the light is entering from. Blocking it just a tiny bit on the side of the healed fracture is all it takes, as illustrated in this short video in which I use, I kid you not, a makeup brush. Not even a reflective/metallic material.

https://imgur.com/s5ProX0

I also negotiated a 10% off with the vendor, so we're at 1440 now, which is undoubtedly a fair price for a good-coloured stone.

And yes, I probably won't bezel it, I don't think it will suit it, but I definitely won't be setting it very open either. I have a few vague ideas already but I'm still exploring.

In any case, this little stone doesn't care even if it's fully encased in a foil basket all the way through. It doesn't darken, the colour doesn't suffer at all. Here it is in daylight shade and in direct sunlight:





In the end I found myself barely noticing the cloudy smudge today. It's pretty damn difficult to see it with some foil around the stone and that's how it spent most of today. If you look closely, what you see is just a slightly visible curved line that I don't find distracting at all. So I believe it will make a fine ring for me to wear and enjoy.

Beautiful, just like we hoped! I think you don't need to bezel it, a good diamond halo will block enough light from the side while allowing light to enter in other directions

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I think this is the little ruby that could.
I'm happy that it will, with you. If you just have some kind of gallery it'll be smashing.

 

[Neptune]

Oh dear, I totally forgot to update! I got distracted reading the mildly disturbing bing chat bot transcript and discussing dystopias with my husband.

I'm keeping it.

I was right. It's about where the light is entering from. Blocking it just a tiny bit on the side of the healed fracture is all it takes, as illustrated in this short video in which I use, I kid you not, a makeup brush. Not even a reflective/metallic material.

https://imgur.com/s5ProX0

I also negotiated a 10% off with the vendor, so we're at 1440 now, which is undoubtedly a fair price for a good-coloured stone.

And yes, I probably won't bezel it, I don't think it will suit it, but I definitely won't be setting it very open either. I have a few vague ideas already but I'm still exploring.

In any case, this little stone doesn't care even if it's fully encased in a foil basket all the way through. It doesn't darken, the colour doesn't suffer at all. Here it is in daylight shade and in direct sunlight:





In the end I found myself barely noticing the cloudy smudge today. It's pretty damn difficult to see it with some foil around the stone and that's how it spent most of today. If you look closely, what you see is just a slightly visible curved line that I don't find distracting at all. So I believe it will make a fine ring for me to wear and enjoy.

Mouth watering!
You are very good at this and should be a dealer, haha.