Ruby, price advice please!

[cjin]

Hi, I'm very new to coloured stones, recently someone showed me two ruby with certificates, but I'm not sure if they are worth to buy for investment, it would be greate if someone here could share some opinion or advice!

The first one is with GRS certificate:
Weight:5.23 carats
Cut: Brilliant/step 4
Colour: Vivid red (GRS type pIgeon blood)
Comment: H(a) ...... Which means been heated but very light
Origin: Burma


The second one is GIA certified:
Weight: 5.24 carats
Cutting style, crown: brilliant cut
Cutting style, Pavilion: step cut
Transparency: Transparent
Colour: Red
Source type: CMT type IV
Treatment: No indication of heating

 

[JewelFreak]

Unless you buy the Timur ruby or something spectacular with a provenance (possibly not even then), colored gems are not an investment that will make you a lot of money. Buy because you love them. The problem is you buy at retail, sell at wholesale. Unless you are very experienced, know where to go & what you're looking at, you are unlikely to make a profit. This sounds like one of those situations. If you love rubies, buy one that talks to you, but if purely for profit, not a good bet.

Happy holidays!

 

[cjin]

Unless you buy the Timur ruby or something spectacular with a provenance (possibly not even then), colored gems are not an investment that will make you a lot of money. Buy because you love them. The problem is you buy at retail, sell at wholesale. Unless you are very experienced, know where to go & what you're looking at, you are unlikely to make a profit. This sounds like one of those situations. If you love rubies, buy one that talks to you, but if purely for profit, not a good bet.

Happy holidays!

Thank you Jewel!!
Both ruby are lovely, when I saw them I just want to have them! They are currently owned by a private collector and he quotes around 70k usd for the first one. I understand this kind of buy won't make any profit, but I really don't want to pay a rediculars price then realise i can get the same quality ruby with maybe only half price. Maybe my question shoulde be if with the quality stated above, is 70k usd a reasonable price?

Happy holiday too!!

 

[LD]

They are exceptionally expensive SO they would have to be absolutely first class, top quality for that price. Unfortunately you can't tell anything from the lab report stats you've posted.

- A heated ruby from Burma at almost $15k per carat sounds too much and calling it Pigeon Blood may be misleading.
- The other one is unheated but with no origin. Again, on that basis $15k per carat is a huge amount of money.

If the unheated one is from Burma with top top top top top colour then maybe it's in the right ball park but that's a very big maybe.

Can you go with the seller to an independent appraiser for them to look at both?

 

[chrono]

LD,
GRS still describes rubies as vivid pigeon's blood today which I think romanticizes it too much and can be misleading. In any case, both stones sound terribly expensive for a secondhand stone and if unsure of how to assess colour, I suggest bringing an expert along with you.

 

[LD]

LD,
GRS still describes rubies as vivid pigeon's blood today which I think romanticizes it too much and can be misleading. In any case, both stones sound terribly expensive for a secondhand stone and if unsure of how to assess colour, I suggest bringing an expert along with you.

I know Chrono - that's why I said it could be misleading. I don't like GRS's approach to using colour descriptors. Since people who don't know much about gemstones think "pigeon blood" red is the colour they have to have, putting this on a lab report implies top quality which is worrying.

 

[chrono]

Gotcha.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

The word investment associated with colored gems always makes me uneasy--especially when a "private" party is trying to sell. Presumably they bought them to make a dollar (hence "investment quality" verbage). That doesn't necessarily translate into a good deal for you.

At any rate, if they are looking for top dollar--to realize their investment--what's in it for you? What benefit do you have buying privately--over a dealer who is also trying to make money? At least from a vendor/dealer you have some assurances of return, etc that from a private dealer you likley will not.

If these gems are worth what he says they are--and don't get me wrong I am not doubting it in the least--then why do they not sell at auction where the greatest exposure is likley to garner more attention and perhaps $$?

You've been given good advice about taking along a knowledgable colored stone gemologist.

cheers--Sharon

 

[cjin]

LD, Chrono and Sharon,

Thank you all very much for your reply and advice!!

The seller was selling his collections for money because of his family issue, he sent one of the stone for auction but taking place in May.
Anyway, I don't think I'm going for either of them now. With my Ruby knowledge it is too risky, and even I love those ruby they are just too big for my hand... I still think they are really good quality stones, and may worth the value he asks for, but maybe I should start with something around 1-2 carats.

I'm very glade I found this forum, and got your reply and advices. I wish you all have a merry Christmas and happy new year!