ruby - help

[wbarnwell]

Asking $15k for 1.8 ct (claims to be flawless clarity with pigeon blood red color - though I detect a pinkish hue). Will request a lab report if this is worth pursuing...

Any suggestions on 1.5ct-2.5ct ruby rings that range from $8k-$10k? Vivid, deep red and excellent clarity are a must - heated is fine.

Help?

Thanks...

 

[chrono]

Definite pink in that picture although the saturation is superb. Not knowing the level of treatment, how can one even begin to guess if $15K for a 1.8 ct ruby is a good price. And flawless? I would definitely want it checked out in case it is a synthetic, spinel or some other simulant.

 

[LD]

Definite pink in that picture although the saturation is superb. Not knowing the level of treatment, how can one even begin to guess if $15K for a 1.8 ct ruby is a good price. And flawless? I would definitely want it checked out in case it is a synthetic, spinel or some other simulant.

I've seen BE diffused that are flawless like this also.

It is very pink and if the colour is accurate I wonder if a lab would call this a sapphire or a ruby? It will probably depend which lab it gets sent to as in Asia they're more likely to classify a pink sapphire as a ruby.

This is an interesting question and one I haven't really looked for the answer BUT I wonder if the pricing would be the same? If it's a pink sapphire my gut reaction is that it should be cheaper than a ruby but I haven't looked at the market for a while for this so am a bit out of touch!

 

[chrono]

I am very sure a ruby label will price it higher than a pink sapphire label. Interestingly, this stone reminds me very strongly of those highly saturated Mahenge spinels.

 

[srmpass98]

Alright, update: seller is willing to go down to $12k but not lower. Says he can send it to any certifier of my choice - though prefers IGI? He sent me a 30 second video and indeed looks very nice...

At any rate - Kabul ruby, flawless clarity - 1.8 ct. The fact that he went down to $12k makes me question quite a bit...

I am inclined to withdraw my interest because I'm want to find the right combination of clarity and color (vivid red). Any suggestions?

 

[chrono]

That is quite a discount of nearly 20%! IGI isn't a well known lab for coloured gemstones. Is the vendor (and you) in the US, Europe or Asia? Knowing the location will allow me to recommend reputable and recognized labs for your region.

 

[srmpass98]

I'm in USA - seller is in South Asia (where the market is good for bargains, but laden with risk). He's comfortable sending it to any lab of my choice - but warned that GIA/AGL may take longer.

Not sure if its worth the time and effort given the color is not up to my preferences.

He also sent me a picture of these three: the one on the right is 2.6 ct worth $22k (heated burmese) and GIA certified. Looks ok, but way over my budget.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I am confused. OP is Wbarnwell- and srmpass98 responds as if he is OP. It has been a long day and night. What am I missing?

 

[srmpass98]

i forgot to register myself and lost my login ID....

 

[slksapphire]

i have been looking around a bit for rubies, and this seems overpriced for a heated ruby, i presume mong hsu rather than mogok, that (according to the photograph) does not look vivid red to me at all.

check out this one:
http://www.preciousgemstones.com/141mongrufs.html

i know nothing about the vendor (will start a new thread on it shortly) but i was intrigued by it nonetheless due to the agl prestige grading report attached. if you are willing to accept "faint" treatment and heat, this seems like a good deal at $3,000 per carat. a TQIR of excellent to very good is nothing to sniff at.

as a comparison, very good burma ruby (not quite excellent) that is unheated/untreated is offered at around $10,000 per carat which is a pretty good price.

http://www.preciousgemstones.com/101burufs.html
http://www.preciousgemstones.com/1153burufs.html (a bit dark in tone)

and this one at over 2 carats is offered at $22,000 per carat. sadly, consistent with what i have been seeing out there.
http://www.preciousgemstones.com/214burufs.html

in my searching, i would say that it is difficult to find excellent/very good material from burma (unheated/untreated) at any price.

 

[chrono]

The one on the right is not as saturated as the first one you were considering.

 

[minousbijoux]

I would agree with SS that you are not getting any kind of deal with this guy. The stones while pretty, would not command that price for me. Maybe if they were of greater carat weight? But even so, they cutting is mediocre and the color is not the highest hue and saturation sought after. SS sounds like an excellent resource, as she herself is undertaking a similar search - though for a considerably larger stone.

 

[srmpass98]

Thank you all for the wonderful help. Seems like I've found my stone - albeit it on the expensive side. It's making its run through the AGL labs, so I'll upload pics soon.

Is $12k pricey for a 2 ct stone? Feel like I may have paid a tad more for a heated ruby...

 

[chrono]

It depends on the colouration, treatment level and clarity.

 

[srmpass98]

here is the AGL cert. I paid $12k for this. Not sure if I paid more than I should have...

 

[chrono]

Looks like a good quality ruby colour-wise, a bit shallow and included but overall still a very nice stone. Yes, it is a bit expensive but considering good ones are not easy to find, I wouldn't say you were ripped off or anything like that. If you were to keep looking, who knows how long it'll take to find a comparable ruby.

 

[slksapphire]

i'm with chrono on value -- you did ok. a rule of thumb that i use for rubies (very rough) is that a heated ruby costs about half that of a comparable unheated ruby. so you paid $6666/carat which translates into about $13000/carat for a a very good untreated ruby ... i think the zipcode for a very good untreated ruby is $10000-$12000 so you are in the zone. and i know how hard it is to find decent rubies, much less try to put together comparables.

there are a couple of interesting things that come out of the report. first, the stone appears much more red (and less pink) in agl's photo compared to the handshot you posted. reds are notoriously hard to capture in a photo but those photos look pretty different to me.

second, i have never seen clarity enhancement comprised of heating residues. it would be great if one of the more knowledgeable ps'ers could comment.

enjoy your ruby ... how are you planning to set it?

 

[LD]

Look at it this way .............

Have you got the stone of your dreams? If yes then you could return it and carry on looking but will you find another that captures your heart?

If you have that horrible feeling in your stomach that you've paid WAY too much (compared to your budget - not market conditions) then that's a different matter.

FWIW, my opinion is that it is expensive but if it looks like the photo on the AGL report, it's a very nice stone.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Does heating the stone always leave these residues in and around the fissures? I think SS wants to know as well. It says "faint" in this report. If it were more than faint would that lower the value. Yes. I have a report that says the same thing.


Annette

Also, Does AGL use other color designations than RED. (for ruby) As was discussed on another thread, all reds are not the same.

 

[chrono]

There are different levels of residue with good heated rubies having faint or minor residue only. I've covered this topic under "corundum and ruby treatment" if you do a search on it.

 

[srmpass98]

actually i am not as price sensitive as some of my posts may suggest - I'm looking for validation since I don't know anything about rubies in general. sounds like I came out ok.

This ruby I found was through a local vendor here and the first thing you notice is how red it is - you have to really get a microscope to see the faint orange hue - the pictures you see in this post are not the ruby in the cert but from some dealer in asia whom I had a hard time trusting - I rather pay for something legit.

I plan to have a 18k gold setting with diamonds covering it (g, vvs2) - sort of a halo with a deep yellow setting. Will post pictures when its done

thanks a lot guys for steering me in the right direction.

 

[srmpass98]