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Red Ruby Color

ChaiK said:
@Nick_G , is the stoplight type of red the not sparkling but more velvety type with high flourescence?

Do you have an example of the type you like?

I love red and it is interesting to see these different types of red in a ruby or a spinel.
Click to expand...

Well I collect crystal an mineral specimens rather than cut gems but one of them is a small ruby-in-marble specimen that is highly fluorescent and is more of a fuschia pink/red, but more pink in bright sunlight:
Ruby-in-matrix01.JPG
(1) Incandescent light,

Ruby-in-matrix04.JPG
(2) Daylight

That gives you an idea.
 
Nick_G said:
Well I collect crystal an mineral specimens rather than cut gems but one of them is a small ruby-in-marble specimen that is highly fluorescent and is more of a fuschia pink/red, but more pink in bright sunlight:
Ruby-in-matrix01.JPG
(1) Incandescent light,

Ruby-in-matrix04.JPG
(2) Daylight

That gives you an idea.
Click to expand...

I bet flourescence is crazy in this specimen. :kiss2:
 
@Nick_G,

I didn't take a close look at the video so didn't notice, but are you thinking spinels because of the shape of the stones?

[USER=110761]@JackTrick,

Your pigeon looks like it has orangey red eyes too, though it has more impressive 'hair' :)

@voce,

"I don't think there is an absolute one-to-one mapping of a word descriptor like pigeon blood to only one shade of red."

Yes, you're probably right. It is maybe a descriptor given for any very beautiful red or red-ish rubies.

"I myself describe the stoplight reds as pigeon blood, yet even the stoplight reds, are only red in a particular lighting situation. No gem looks exactly the same in all lighting situations."

Ah, stoplight red=pigeon blood=pigeon eyes I get, because they are both orangey reds, though my monitors offering me an extreme choice between very muted colours (makes reds look slightly orangey sometimes) and hyper-saturated (makes the same reds look neon/pink-red) may be a factor too.

My economic circumstances means I don't have a large 'pigeon blood' red Burmese ruby lying around for close inspection, but pigeons are relatively abundant in my area, so I might go and have a look at their eyes later to see what colour they are in real life.

For reference, though I think somebody previously might have already posted a picture of this stone (a spinel), this is an example of what I imagine a stoplight red gem to be:

www.gemrockauctions.com

Brilliant Vivid Red Spinel - 7.20ct - Cushion - Mahenge - Tanzania

Red Spinel 10.63 x 9.77 x 8.19mm 7.2 cts Auction #946121 Gem Rock Auctions
www.gemrockauctions.com www.gemrockauctions.com

Beautiful.
 
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[USER=105081]@Nick_G,

Where you said ealier your preferred colour for a ruiby is "the intense 'stoplight' red with excellent fluorescence in UV light", do either of these stones (the spinel or the beryl) fit your idea of 'stoplight red'?

Or is it a different kind of red that you have in mind?
 
Sorry, don't know why it is showing @[USER=110761]@JackTrick on my earlier post, I think I was trying to put Nick_G as opposed to Nick G, and it seems to now be hyperlinked to somebody else on this forum.
 
@ChaiK,

"I love red and it is interesting to see these different types of red in a ruby or a spinel."

I LOVE red too. Ruby, red spinel, rubellite, red beryl, garnet...Iove red gemstones.
 
671550
This is my Mozambique ruby when it was loose. I considered it stoplight red. AGL graded it as LI-2, and 2-3 in color.
 
voce said:
Screenshot_20190123-145945.png
This is my Mozambique ruby when it was loose. I considered it stoplight red. AGL graded it as LI-2, and 2-3 in color.
Click to expand...

I see what you mean.
 
voce said:

Crimson Red! Natural Burmese Spinel 1.59 ct GL - Litnon

www.litnon.com
What do you think of this spinel? It's being described as crimson red, and it's vivid.
Click to expand...

Snap! It's on my watchlist, I bookmarked it recently :)

Very nice red - looks vivid crimson on one monitor, and a slightly orangish dark-ish red in the other (but that's a monitor issue I think). It's quite similar to the red spinel in my post, but darker in tone.
 
I'd go with vivid crimson.
 
JewelledEscalatorsPlease said:
[USER=105081]@Nick_G,

Where you said ealier your preferred colour for a ruiby is "the intense 'stoplight' red with excellent fluorescence in UV light", do either of these stones (the spinel or the beryl) fit your idea of 'stoplight red'?

Or is it a different kind of red that you have in mind?
Click to expand...

The red beryl pic labelled 'stoplight' is pretty close, and the sunlight pic that @voce posted of her Tanzanian ruby is another one.

There's also the article on 'Jedi spinels' from Vincent Pardieu here:

www.gia.edu

Hunting for “Jedi” Spinels in Mogok | Gems & Gemology

Documents a series of visits to Myanmar in search of exceptionally bright pinkish red spinels possessing no dark tones.
www.gia.edu www.gia.edu

I don't know how accurate the colours are on those pics in the article but the neon glowing reds of those spinels looks astonishing. In particular, check out the stone on the right in Figure 14!
 
voce said:
Screenshot_20190123-145945.png
This is my Mozambique ruby when it was loose. I considered it stoplight red. AGL graded it as LI-2, and 2-3 in color.
Click to expand...

Did you buy this from Inken? Lovely stone.
 
voce said:
@JewelledEscalatorsPlease I think your confusion is with the way the pigeon blood term has been applied and misappropriated by various vendors. Pigeon blood red, the finest red, is in my opinion a red red -- just look at its namesake, the red eye of a pigeon. I don't think there's purple in that.

Vendors that want to sell their goods, over time used the term to refer to lower quality goods, aka typical pinkish/purplish rubies that are more common from Burma.

I think these are good representations of the Jedi spinel and Mozambique ruby, without having UV light present.

IMG_20200111_204059.jpgIMG_20200125_000955.jpgIMG_20200129_135331.jpg
Click to expand...

Voce I’m completely in love with the middle ring in the top photo. Absolutely adore it. Let me know if you ever want to sell it ❤️
 
Nick_G said:
Hi there. Yes. All those crystals are octahedrons, which is the typical form that spinel crystals take. The second point is the colour, which is mostly shades of pinkish orange or brown. This sort of colour is a lot more common in spinel than corundum.
Click to expand...

Thanks for letting me know. Do you cut stones? I totally wouldn't have noticed it unless you pointed it out.
 
Nick_G said:
The red beryl pic labelled 'stoplight' is pretty close, and the sunlight pic that @voce posted of her Tanzanian ruby is another one.

There's also the article on 'Jedi spinels' from Vincent Pardieu here:

www.gia.edu

Hunting for “Jedi” Spinels in Mogok | Gems & Gemology

Documents a series of visits to Myanmar in search of exceptionally bright pinkish red spinels possessing no dark tones.
www.gia.edu www.gia.edu

I don't know how accurate the colours are on those pics in the article but the neon glowing reds of those spinels looks astonishing. In particular, check out the stone on the right in Figure 14!
Click to expand...

The spinels in the GIA pictures are lovely. My Tanzanian red spinel is the pinky/orangey neon top colour that 'Mahenge' spinels are associated with, but these Burmese red spinels (the ones you are referring to in Fig 14) seem to be a different kind of beauty altogether. One day I'd like to own one, but I imagine that they're not easy (or affordable) to come by. If they really look like these pictures, even a small stone would I imagine really really 'pop' on one's finger.

I'm not necessarily that keen on rubies that lean on the orange side, but with spinels, I love the orange in them. Somehow it gmakes them look both neon and soft in colour. Like a mellow neon, for the want of the better word.

Re: stoplight red:

I wouldn't have associated stoplight red with rubies, but the red beryl I can relate it to a ruby. It never occurred to me to put the two together. Voce's Tanzanian ruby I wouldn't thought of as stoplight red, more of a classic 'red ruby' colour in my mind, but looking at all these colours of rubies and spinels next to each other, I realise the colour lines are blurred. Even the Crimson ruby actually looks quite pink in other pictures I've found on the web. This thread has made me realise how different stones can look in various lighting conditions - I would hever have imagined Voce's Mozambique ruby looks as red as it does in the photo of it before it was set.
 
JewelledEscalatorsPlease said:
Thanks for letting me know. Do you cut stones? I totally wouldn't have noticed it unless you pointed it out.
Click to expand...

No I collect natural crystals and mineral specimens although my interest is mainly gem species such as spinel, corundum, beryl, topaz,chrysoberyl etc. I find the natural state far more interesting as every specimen is unique, and if you have a piece in the matrix it can tell you quite a lot about the environment in which the crystals formed.

Also, with the ruby crystals still embedded in marble that is a guarantee that the specimen has not been heated as the heating process destroys the marble. The colour contrast between the saturated red on the white background of the marble is another plus for me.
 
ChaiK said:
Did you buy this from Inken? Lovely stone.
Click to expand...
Yes, thanks.
Beautiful-disaster said:
Voce I’m completely in love with the middle ring in the top photo. Absolutely adore it. Let me know if you ever want to sell it ❤
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't think that's going to happen. It's a ring I designed as a family heirloom.
 
Here's another example of the colour I love, a spinel crystal on Mindat with such a vibrant glow:

www.mindat.org

Spinel

Single red octahedral crystal of spinel, partly transparent with fractures and feathery inclusions. Copyright © Lawrence Violett
www.mindat.org

I don't see any orange in that one. What a colour!
 
Is orange not a good thing in spinels? I somehow feel that the orange could render a gem ugly brown.

However, given the right combination of elements, and this is where gems are so mysterious and wonderful, like life, when everything comes together and despite an orange hue, despite any imperfections, it is a beautiful, wonderful life, a beautiful, gorgeous stone. Like this stone. Or maybe I see orange on my monitor and it is gorgeous.

1597858891023.png
 
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771489
@ChaiK I agree. The hint of orange in the Mahenge spinel color really amps up the color. I don't find my Mahenge spinel any less beautiful than the Jedi spinel, even if it has a bit of orange in it, too.
 
I hope I'm not hi-jacking this post from the OP, but this thread is hitting home with me since I am looking at purchasing a red spinel.

I have video from the PS trusted vendor, but I'm having a hard time determining if what I am seeing is the accurate color. I don't want to link the site or show too much from the vendor out of respect for the vendor.

Does this appear to be 'stoplight red'? Will this be a dark stone when set?

Vendor still shot:
1597877624591.png


Snips from an outside video:
1597877647073.png
1597877670113.png

Indoor, but near window.
1597877692712.png
 
@renwea I think it's stoplight red in at least some of the photos. I don't think that it'll be too dark when set. That is one of the stones that I would have bought, had I not already spent so much money elsewhere ;)). Do you already have a setting in mind for this one?
 
@voce Thank you. Knowing that it is a stone that you would have bought gives me greater confidence in it considering your beautiful collection.

Nothing specific in mind for a setting at this time, but leaning towards art deco.
 
Nick_G said:
Here's another example of the colour I love, a spinel crystal on Mindat with such a vibrant glow:

www.mindat.org

Spinel

Single red octahedral crystal of spinel, partly transparent with fractures and feathery inclusions. Copyright © Lawrence Violett
www.mindat.org

I don't see any orange in that one. What a colour!
Click to expand...

Beautiful! Very vivid intense colour.
 
remetau said:
I hope I'm not hi-jacking this post from the OP, but this thread is hitting home with me since I am looking at purchasing a red spinel.

I have video from the PS trusted vendor, but I'm having a hard time determining if what I am seeing is the accurate color. I don't want to link the site or show too much from the vendor out of respect for the vendor.

Does this appear to be 'stoplight red'? Will this be a dark stone when set?

Vendor still shot:
1597877624591.png


Snips from an outside video:
1597877647073.png
1597877670113.png

Indoor, but near window.
1597877692712.png
Click to expand...

@remetau,

I saw that stone too and was wondering the same thing - is it as pure red as it appears in the top 3 photos? I am thinking it may be, given the pricing compared to a similar sized red stone in the same store which is darker. The bottom pic looks a bit dark but so does the hand. If it looks like the top 3 photos, it's a lovely colour and would make a stunning solitaire ring.

Even something very simple like this might look great:

www.bonhams.com

Bonhams : A Spinel Ring

The step-cut spinel, weighing 9.41cts, ring size 6¼
www.bonhams.com www.bonhams.com

But an art deco setting would also look amazing given the shape of the stone. I really like the cut.

Do post pics of the stone and the ring if you go ahead with the purchase!
 
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