Quick price guide help!

[GliderPoss]

Happy New Year everyone!

Today I gave in and put a deposit on a 1ct red spinel. It's an elongated cushion cut, good faceting, minimal window with a few tiny bubble-like inclusions not visible to the naked eye.

Main thing is the colour! OMG it is absolutely pure ruby/cherry red. I see no pink or brown undertones. It's part of a pair (I cannot afford both). I have always wanted to replace my lost ruby and have been eyeing this off for years....

Comes from a local vendor whom I trust completely. She assures me it's completely untreated, bought it a decade ago when they were less known/desirable. Silly me forgot to take some photos whilst I was there.

Price is around $AU900 - is this reasonable? It's the most I will have ever spent on a gemstone so I'm keen to ensure the price is fair. Thoughts?

 

[LD]

IF it's ruby red with absolutely no brown and the clarity is great then the price of £600 (US $92 for a 1ct stone is reasonable.

What I would do is take a few friends to see it. You may find that some see purple, some see brown etc., but you want to get a consensus that it's RED because we all see colours differently. Do you remember the thread where a poster was insistent that their spinel was red and the seller said so also but loads of us saw brown? It does make a difference to the price but $900 is still acceptable for a lovely spinel so you probably won't go too far wrong. Whatever colour it is, it's made a strong impression on you and that's what's important so I would be tempted to say to you to pull the trigger.

Don't forget to look at it in all lights. My spinel is stoplight red indoors but blacks out when outside.

 

[Aoife]

I agree with LD: color perception is everything! In addition to taking along several different sets of eyes, make sure you look at it in a variety of lights. I've found reds to be particularly prone to shifting appearance based on the environmental light.

If you do decide to proceed with the sale, please post photos!

 

[pregcurious]

I agree with the posters above that the price is reasonable, and to look at the color under different light sources. I have a red spinel that an appraiser (Martin Fuller) determined was red with just a bit of purple to it (based on his assessment with a stardard set of red stones). It looks true red at my office, and in mixed light. It shfts slightly orange sometimes, and on a cloudless day outside, it shifts towards purple.

I looked for a red stone for about 2 years, and have since kept on looking for another 2, and I would buy it again. It's very difficult to find good red spinels. My advice is to avoid any that have a brown tone. Slight shift to pink/orange/purple I think is an issue of personal taste. Rubies seem to shift less, but I found it's not possible to find a decent untreated with good clarity (only slight silk) at a decent price range. Most I saw had too much pink, or were too included.

 

[LD]

So you can see the difference lighting makes, here's one of mine. I think this is a true red but others will disagree (that's fine and I don't have a problem with that!). See how it blacks out?

 

[pregcurious]

LD, that looks red to me. What color have people told you? It's certainly not pink or orange to me.

Here's are 2 threads of mine, to illustrate how different my stone can look depending on light, reflection from surroundings (yellow bananas make it shift towards orange ), and the camera. My pictures are untouched, and believe the vendors are also untouched:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-some-decent-pics-of-red-spinel.169326/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/finally-some-decent-pics-of-red-spinel.169326/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/red-spinel.167915/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/red-spinel.167915/[/URL]

In general, I try to avoid brown or grey tone in gems.

 

[LD]

Oh no Preg I was pre-empting comments!!!! I know how we all see colour differently so it's quite possible that people will see pink, purple, brown, orange in it! I do see a tiny bit of pink and a tiny bit of purple (in some lights) but mainly it's red. However, interestingly I like purple in my rubies so I'm not averse to that colour way. Yours is very similar to mine I think but I hope it doesn't black out as much.

 

[T L]

IF it's ruby red with absolutely no brown and the clarity is great then the price of £600 (US $92 for a 1ct stone is reasonable.

What I would do is take a few friends to see it. You may find that some see purple, some see brown etc., but you want to get a consensus that it's RED because we all see colours differently. Do you remember the thread where a poster was insistent that their spinel was red and the seller said so also but loads of us saw brown? It does make a difference to the price but $900 is still acceptable for a lovely spinel so you probably won't go too far wrong. Whatever colour it is, it's made a strong impression on you and that's what's important so I would be tempted to say to you to pull the trigger.

Don't forget to look at it in all lights. My spinel is stoplight red indoors but blacks out when outside.

I would also check it with a UV light if you have one. I would not spend that much on a red spinel if it doesn't have fluorescence, which tends to make them go more neon in the sunlight.

I think it's "reasonable" but not a bargain. Also, like LD says, I can't stress enough how some of us can see brown or orange in a red spinel, and others do not. If you don't have a trained eye, than you probably won't as well.

 

[T L]

So you can see the difference lighting makes, here's one of mine. I think this is a true red but others will disagree (that's fine and I don't have a problem with that!). See how it blacks out?

Yes, that's the problem with some red spinels, extinction.

 

[pregcurious]

HP, I agree with TL about assessing the color. If you're unsure, you should bring it to an appraiser who is familar with colored stones within the return period. That's how I purchased mine, and I don't regret it and just accept that that's the cost of buying higher priced stones. My appraiser used a set of GIA stones for grading the color. It's also nice to have the appraisal for insurance purposes. We can only help you so much, and someone who is an expert seeing the stone in person may be a great help.

LD, mine doesn't seem to black out. The first picture in the other thread with the bananas was take by the window, and it really seems to glow. I feel like I haven't "figured" out the stone though, and it seems to have a life of it's own. I need to get a UV pen one of these days. I think your stone is very pretty and would love to see how it is set.

 

[Arcadian]

For a 1ct stone, that sounds reasonable, but like its been said, not a bargin. If the red concerns you, its best to have it looked at. The one I bought last year came back from AGL as red (no orange, or purple) but, it does have quite a lot of silk in it which makes it glow like nobody's business. Some like that some don't.

Some are fine with red enough, some want top color. Its all good as long as you're happy with it in the end.

-A

 

[GliderPoss]

Thank you all for your advice. Good to know the price isn't entirely unreasonable!

I looked at it under indoor lights, direct and indirect sunlight. Didn't have a backlight handy. There was some slight extinction in direct sunlight but lots of red sparkles. The other one of the pair was brighter but had a visible inclusion near the table would bother me.

I think if there would be any undertones it would lean towards purple perhaps? As I said I didn't see it but I'm certainly no expert. I prefer really RED spinels, not pink so I guess this is why I was so drawn to it! Will keep you posted but I don't expect to collect it for some months as I need to pay it off.

 

[Aoife]

Thank you all for your advice. Good to know the price isn't entirely unreasonable!

I looked at it under indoor lights, direct and indirect sunlight. Didn't have a backlight handy. There was some slight extinction in direct sunlight but lots of red sparkles. The other one of the pair was brighter but had a visible inclusion near the table would bother me.

I think if there would be any undertones it would lean towards purple perhaps? As I said I didn't see it but I'm certainly no expert. I prefer really RED spinels, not pink so I guess this is why I was so drawn to it! Will keep you posted but I don't expect to collect it for some months as I need to pay it off.

We have to wait months for photos?

 

[GliderPoss]

Sadly yes, will need to wait a while for photos as I don't live here locally anymore so just visit my parents every so often.

 

[GliderPoss]

I have found a picture of something very similar but it won't let me attach photos from my iPhone!?!