Grace
Rough_Rock
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Red Spinel Search
- Thread starter Grace
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Hi Grace:
I would talk to a vendor, preferably one who deals in large quanities of commercial gems. I think you might find it a challenge to find melee size spinel stones calibrated in that range.
Diamond melee is accessible from a couple vendors, still harder to get is sapphire/ruby melee based on market availability for demand on both these gems. Now imagine the going market price for premium spinel and the demand for calibrated gems this small. It will definitely be considered a specialty item if it is even available. Demand for spinel is mainly in the larger gems because of Price per Carat..
Try contacting Palagems (Big Out Fit).Might be able to give you more input on how to approach this. If not they will give you some alternatives
I have had good luck in the past with Wink Jones-www.winkjones.com and Gary Dutton-www.diamondexpert.com.
Based on my experience, I can tell you it will be a challenge to source blood red spinel in this small of a calibrated size. Rubies might be the more likely route.
Don't want to rain on your Parade
This place seems to have lots of spinel melees. Like to see your band. Good luck.
Grace
Rough_Rock
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Thanks Josh and jackiely, I looked at the suggested links but there was nothing that small. The reason I chose spinel is because of several factors. Straight out of the box, I knew I could get better quality for less $$$. But I was also attracted to how beautifully deep vibrant CLEAR red some of the Spinel I''ve been seeing on line is. I''ve been told (correct me if I''m wrong) that ruby is "double refractive" I believe the term was, and that this is why ruby doesn''t always appear crystal clear. If the person was trying to sell me something I would have thought it was a line but they weren''t so I don''t know...Anyway all the ruby''s I''ve seen in person, especially at B&M stores were 2 things I hate--Murky and PINK. Not a pretty pink saphire pink, but cloudy hot pink BLAHHH.
Ive never seen ruby that looks like the ones blue nile has on their website and I don''t know how much they would be if I could find them. Anyway, I was researching red stones with reasonable hardness and that''s whenI found spinel. A little light went on in my head that said AH HAH what do I love even more than diamonds?? (well almost) RED things
and even more than that?? Red things that are cheaper than diamonds
So two half eternity pave (insert red stone here) rings would be fabulous flanking my diamond pave half eternity ring. And so the quest began....
Im attaching a crude mock up of what I want (excuse my poor lopsided stones
Grace
Rough_Rock
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BWise
Brilliant_Rock
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Wouldn''t the cost of find the lot of gemstones, and making a custom ring, come close to what Blue Nile is asking?
Anyway, you want to check this lot out:
Lot of red/pink sapphire
Anyway, you want to check this lot out:
Lot of red/pink sapphire
Barbara
Rough_Rock
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- Jul 30, 2006
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- 40
Hello Grace,
You said, "I've been told (correct me if I'm wrong) that ruby is "double refractive" I believe the term was, and that this is why ruby doesn't always appear crystal clear."
As is the case in so many situations, truths told by sellers are often either partial truths, or used to support an illogical conclusion.
Yes, ruby (corundum) is doubly refractive, but this, in itself, has nothing to do with its transparency or lack of it. Other doubly refractive gems like aquamarine, white sapphire, and amethyst are often "crystal" clear. In the vast majority of situations the transparency of a gem is determined by the number of inclusions it has. Rubies, especially those sold for non-astronomical prices, are generally at least slightly included, and often quite included. The more inclusions the less freely light travels through, and the less transparent the stone.
It is true that some highly doubly refractive stones like peridot and zircon even if clean, can show a slight to noticeable fuzziness if they are not cut precisely on what's called an "optic axis", but this is more a blurriness of the facet edges and not a general lack of transparency. Corundum is not a such a stone, its double refraction (birefringence) is modest.
Marketable spinels generally have to be at least eyeclean, so will usually be more transparent than equivalently priced rubies.
By the way, you say you want .14 ct stones, but is that based on the weight of diamond (or perhaps ruby)? which have different densities than spinel, so your best bet is to search for the size in mm that you want ( a .14 ct diamond and a .14 ct spinel would be different sizes). Such small stones (less than .2 ct) are called melee (rhymes with jelly) and quite a number of dealers specialize in supplying them, although red spinel melee will still require some diligent searching.
Barbara
You said, "I've been told (correct me if I'm wrong) that ruby is "double refractive" I believe the term was, and that this is why ruby doesn't always appear crystal clear."
As is the case in so many situations, truths told by sellers are often either partial truths, or used to support an illogical conclusion.
Yes, ruby (corundum) is doubly refractive, but this, in itself, has nothing to do with its transparency or lack of it. Other doubly refractive gems like aquamarine, white sapphire, and amethyst are often "crystal" clear. In the vast majority of situations the transparency of a gem is determined by the number of inclusions it has. Rubies, especially those sold for non-astronomical prices, are generally at least slightly included, and often quite included. The more inclusions the less freely light travels through, and the less transparent the stone.
It is true that some highly doubly refractive stones like peridot and zircon even if clean, can show a slight to noticeable fuzziness if they are not cut precisely on what's called an "optic axis", but this is more a blurriness of the facet edges and not a general lack of transparency. Corundum is not a such a stone, its double refraction (birefringence) is modest.
Marketable spinels generally have to be at least eyeclean, so will usually be more transparent than equivalently priced rubies.
By the way, you say you want .14 ct stones, but is that based on the weight of diamond (or perhaps ruby)? which have different densities than spinel, so your best bet is to search for the size in mm that you want ( a .14 ct diamond and a .14 ct spinel would be different sizes). Such small stones (less than .2 ct) are called melee (rhymes with jelly) and quite a number of dealers specialize in supplying them, although red spinel melee will still require some diligent searching.
Barbara
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