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Red round 5mm colored stones for earrings - any ideas?

sxn675

sxn675

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
480
I just bought diamond settings for earrings and they'd take a 5mm round stone. I was thinking of something like rubies for the pair but for the rubies I like, they are expensive! Maybe I should consider a spinel or something else like one of those ant hill garnets? I'd like to keep it under $1000 for the stones and have something nice and lively with good color saturation. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!
 
Spinels
Ant Hill garnets are typically quite small and tend to be dark, so if you have a halo jacket or setting, it could end up darkening an already dark garnet.
Rubellite
Zircon
If you don't mind a touch of orange, there are reddish spessartites which are very pretty.
 
Thank you chrono! This is very helpful. What would your top choice be if it were you? Or would you look for some matched pairs with fire and take it from there? I actually bought the settings from a PS'er! You can see them here if you're interested:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/let-the-purging-continue-earrings-t180133.html']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/preloved-ps-jewels/let-the-purging-continue-earrings-t180133.html[/URL]

I am thinking of making them into a drop with a french wire. I hope it turns out nicely!
 
There's a decent looking pair of 5mm round Rubies at Gemfix for under a thousand.
 
I saw those when I was looking around. Do you mean Ruby-521? What did you think of them based on the pic? I know it's hard to tell in a picture....
 
The fact that you are looking for a matched pair that must be round and 5 mm AND you are fussy about saturation is going to make this a challenge. I'd take a look at the suggested Gemfix rubies first. If not, spinels will be the next easiest to find but the second most expensive after rubies. Why not contact Gemfix to ask for hand shots? They will do it now by request.
 
It's hard to tell, they're described as being "hazy" which is apparent in the picture, but they still look like they may have some decent fire. Ask for a hand shot.
 
Thanks to you both! I know it's a bit of a pain. I have a little flex in the budget and I have some time since this isn't an urgent project so I'm hoping those two things work in my favor! Did you both see those ones that are sold on the top of the page for ~#1300 ish? Those are so pretty!
 
The top pair that were sold are certainly better which is why they are sold, I suppose. :cheeky:
 
Haha - right? They were more expensive but they seemed worth it. I emailed them to ask about more pics and to see if they had anything else around that perhaps hasn't made it to the website yet. So we shall see :)
 
I checked with selectgem and they can get a pair of spinels recut for $600. They are a little dark now (native cut) but would be recut. I can't decide if I should do that or the other rubies. Any advice?
 
How dark? If they too dark they might wind up looking kind of like garnets. If your paying for spinel you want a good color. And I know a seller that sell really nice 5mm garnets for like $5 each. Big price difference :) Have you looked at any tourmaline?
 
sxn675|1351302934|3293326 said:
I checked with selectgem and they can get a pair of spinels recut for $600. They are a little dark now (native cut) but would be recut. I can't decide if I should do that or the other rubies. Any advice?
Click to expand...

Do you have a certain pair of rubies in mind already?
 
The problem with getting something recut is whether you are obligated to purchase once they're cut, even if you don't love them. Would that be the case?
 
Thanks for giving me food for thought, I hadn't thought of that. I'd love the seller of the garnet info if you have it.

The rubies are the bottom of the gemfix ruby pagehttp://www.gemfix.com/ruby.html
 
ncegems on Ebay. The bad news is I just checked and they sold out of the best one's. Bummer. But they have some others. They are super nice people. Tell them you want a pair for earrings and ask if they can match a pair as close as possible. They have done that for me in the past. And for the price I think you will be pleased. Plus if you don't use them in this project you can use them as plain studs.

These were the one's I was stocking up on.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5mm-Beautiful-Calibrated-Seza-Rhodolite-Round-Cut-/220418616462

But these are very similar from the same seller. They are even less expensive. I think they might be a little lighter
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5mm-Calibrated-Tanzania-Mixed-Shade-Rhodolite-Round-/220489490528?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335632a060

I'm always happy with the small calibrated stones I buy from these people.
 
I'm no ruby expert but that is a pretty good price for a pair of ruby rounds. Were you able to get a hand shot?
 
Thanks so much innerkitten! They said they'd get me additional shots by Monday at the latest so I'm just being impatient and searching around in the meantime :). I'm one of those people who will keep searching for the "perfect" thing until I pull the trigger.
 
Recutting a dark toned stone does not guarantee good results either which is a risk I am loathe to take. Let's wait for Monday's pictures.
 
Good point, thanks!
 
So I got the pics from gemfix today. The color is pretty but the pair is a little too hazy for me (not enough fire and sparkle). I am wondering if I should go with the rhodolite garnets? Or something else?
 
Garnets are a good and affordable option, probably with more choices as well. They do have a tendency to have modifiers though or be overly dark, depending on the type you are looking for. If you don't mind a touch of purple, rhodolites would be my pick. Garnets are also generally clean with decent RI and will show good brilliancy. Rubellite (red to purplish red tourmaline) is another great option. As you can tell by the name, fine quality rubellite can look ruby-like, yet is more affordable than red spinels but the brilliancy will be less than a comparable garnet. This is not to say a precision cut pair isn't lively though.
 
I love rubellite! I think a nice pair would be hard to find but it could be done with a little patience. Isn't there some guy on etsy that cuts them? A nice pair of rhodolites would be easier to find and you might even be able to have a really super nice pair cut. I mentioned my source for inexpensive stones but I know acstones.com often has very nice red garnets and his cuts are fabulous.
http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/advSearch_P.asp?customfield=&SearchValues=&exact=&iPageSize=10&keyword=garnet&iPageCurrent=4&priceFrom=0&priceUntil=999999999&idCategory=0&IdSupplier=10&withStock=&IDBrand=0&order=1&SKU=
 
I have both garnet and rubellite earrings, and I prefer the rubellites in most lighting. The garnets tend to go dark in a lot of lighting. The rubellites will hold the red color, which is what I was looking for.
 
Fly Girl|1351691656|3296189 said:
I have both garnet and rubellite earrings, and I prefer the rubellites in most lighting. The garnets tend to go dark in a lot of lighting. The rubellites will hold the red color, which is what I was looking for.
Click to expand...

Pics? I would love to see your earrings :)
 
Thank you! I will investigate the rubelites a bit more. Anyone know of the etsy seller innerkitten referenced? Or have other favorite sources for me to check out?
 
Now I think I remember his name. Bob Cast! And it was on diamond bistro and I think he was on Ebay too.
 
Bob Kast is a fabulous source for precision cut Rubellites.
 
Thank you!
 
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