Purplish Red Ceylon Spinel

[bookworm21]

Hello,

I just bought this spinel from Art Cut Gems, looking to set it into an LOGR setting. I did some preliminary research before purchasing, and if I understand correctly, it''s really the red spinels that are worth the most currently, and this particular stone I purchased probably won''t be worth much more than what I paid for it?

Purplish Red Ceylon Spinel

I''m not really looking for investment type stone, but something that would be worth passing on to children or nieces or something.

Thanks in advance for opinions/advice!

 

[ma re]

Wether is something worth an heirloom status is a personal matter. Some people think it''s only the thought that matters so anything that''s passed down is worth it. Others think that things to be passed down to children should have some (depending on their situation) significant financial worth. So only you can decide on the faith of this stone

I think it''s a very nice stone, the color is lovely (although I don''t see the "red" from the description), it''s clean and should be sparkly. Am I blown away by it, honestly - no. Do I find it nice and better than many things I''ve seen - yes.

The subject of gemstones is very complex, and the more you go into it, the more complex it becomes. It''s not easy to understand the real beauty of gemstones, and to realize why some (seemingly very similar) gemstones have such vastly different prices. The fact that there are no standardized systems of placing value (like in the case of white diamonds) makes things even worse and it all comes down to evaluating every stone individually.

If I would have to summarize what makes a gemstone beautiful (in a few words), I''d say that it all comes down to balance. Visual balance of color, transparency, brilliance, shape, facet pattern, dimensions and everything else that constitutes a gem. Depth of color is probably the single most important factor in evaluation, cause stones that show a color visually devided (by the play of light with the facets) into a multitude of it''s beautiful shades, is generally the most pleasing. Some people call that "the mosaic pattern" and it''s really what gives stones their three-dimensional appeal.

For a more in-depth understanding of color and other important factors of gemstones, here is a great link:

http://www.palagems.com/quality_4cs.htm

 

[oddoneout]

I just want to say that''s a very pretty stone.

 

[chrono]

Pure red spinels certainly carry a higher premium than most other coloured spinels, but it doesn’t mean that other coloured spinels are less attractive or “collectable”. Like Ma Re, I do not see much red in the stone in the vendor’s picture, and not enough to warrant red as the dominant colour. However, this is only based on one picture and I will give Rick the benefit of the doubt since he is a reputable vendor. Any stone can be deemed worthy of being passed down because everyone has different criteria; some think it must be a very rare and expensive stone while others think the sentiment behind it counts the most.

 

[bookworm21]

Ma Re, as always, thanks for all the info! I read the info provided in the link, and it''s...well, much more difficult to navigate colored stones as opposed diamonds. I didn''t realize how much so until I started on my current colored stone craze. The link you provided actually inspired me to do even more research to try to understand what to look for in future purchases.

oddoneout, thank you!

Chrono, yes, the description confused me too; the stone looks really pink, not red at all, but until I see it in person, I''ll just attribute it to lighting or whatnot. I''m pretty excited to get it in the mail to see what it looks like.