Sold to me as a heart shaped Vintage Sapphire but tested Spinel .

[Vanilla Bling]

Hi everyone this ring was sold to me a few years ago as a Antique heart shaped Sapphire but tested as a Spinel , I don’t know anything about Spinels so I wanted to know if it would be worth getting the facets tidied up they look pretty beat to me , it’s a cute ring and looks violet under incandescent light really sparkly .

 

[Big Fat Facets]

its very pretty. I love the shape.
have you tried topnotch faceting?? im sure there are others...

 

[JackTrick]

Do you know if it was verified as natural spinel, or just spinel?

Not to worry you, but there’s a lot of synthetic spinel out there.

 

[Vanilla Bling]

Natural

 

[Vanilla Bling]

its very pretty. I love the shape.
have you tried topnotch faceting?? im sure there are others...

Thank you ,I’m not sure what that is , who would I contact for that ?

 

[fredflintstone]

That is a awsome color for blue spinel and it is expensive, but it is very, very, rare. Please have it checked out to be natural or synthetic. If natural, it may be woth more than the sapphire it looks like. If not, return it.

 

[fredflintstone]

Natural

Who reported it natural to you? Curious.

 

[Vanilla Bling]

Who reported it natural to you? Curious.

My Jeweler did , she tested it , also said with it being vintage and having color change it is a real spinel . Like I said I know nothing about Spinels I’m just wanting to get the facets touched up.

 

[Arcadian]

I'd have it checked by independent lab. Basic rule of thumb is trust but verify. Natural spinel has some tell tale signs that your images don't exhibit.

Regardless of it being natural or not, you may want to consider having the stone polished, which should help with how it looks.

 

[fredflintstone]

My Jeweler did , she tested it , also said with it being vintage and having color change it is a real spinel . Like I said I know nothing about Spinels I’m just wanting to get the facets touched up.

Synthetic spinel’s can have color shift/change, especially blue to violet. Is your jeweler a gemologist? Did you buy the stone from that jeweler? If so, you need a independent report.



Synthetic spinel’s and sapphire/ruby have been around since the 1880's (all to more reason to have it tested by a lab), and though you cannot conclusively judge by pictures such as yours, I have to agree with Arcadian, the spinel looks to clean in your blown-up pictures, though some are slightly blurry and hard to tell. Most spinel will exhibit octahedral negative crystals inclusions which are colorless. I don't see any in your pictures, but then again, they are blown up but not hugely and may be too small to see.



I’m not trying to make you feel bad or scare you, but you do need an independent report to tell you actually if it is natural or not. If you feel happy with what your jeweler says and are not concerned otherwise, then of course the decision is yours. But as you brought it up by making this thread, I’d suggest for your piece of mind, send it to a lab.

 

[Big Fat Facets]

Thank you ,I’m not sure what that is , who would I contact for that ?

i was responding to "getting the facets tidied up, they look pretty beat..", within your original post

top not faceting is a gem cutter/gem cutting service. i understand jean-noel soni is the proprietor

 

[Vanilla Bling]

i was responding to "getting the facets tidied up, they look pretty beat..", within your original post

top not faceting is a gem cutter/gem cutting service. i understand jean-noel soni is the proprietor

Thank you I appreciate the information

 

[Vanilla Bling]

Synthetic spinel’s can have color shift/change, especially blue to violet. Is your jeweler a gemologist? Did you buy the stone from that jeweler? If so, you need a independent report.



Synthetic spinel’s and sapphire/ruby have been around since the 1880's (all to more reason to have it tested by a lab), and though you cannot conclusively judge by pictures such as yours, I have to agree with Arcadian, the spinel looks to clean in your blown-up pictures, though some are slightly blurry and hard to tell. Most spinel will exhibit octahedral negative crystals inclusions which are colorless. I don't see any in your pictures, but then again, they are blown up but not hugely and may be too small to see.



I’m not trying to make you feel bad or scare you, but you do need an independent report to tell you actually if it is natural or not. If you feel happy with what your jeweler says and are not concerned otherwise, then of course the decision is yours. But as you brought it up by making this thread, I’d suggest for your piece of mind, send it to a lab.

Thank you for your information

 

[Vanilla Bling]

I'd have it checked by independent lab. Basic rule of thumb is trust but verify. Natural spinel has some tell tale signs that your images don't exhibit.

Regardless of it being natural or not, you may want to consider having the stone polished, which should help with how it looks.

Thank you

 

[Polyhex]

I think Dan Stair could polish out the abrasions very inexpensively, if you had a jeweler that would unset and reset the gemstone. I think this may be synthetic due to the time period and the fantastic color.

 

[Vanilla Bling]

I think Dan Stair could polish out the abrasions very inexpensively, if you had a jeweler that would unset and reset the gemstone. I think this may be synthetic due to the time period and the fantastic color.

Thank you

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

What ever it is, its beautiful !
If you have enjoyed wearing it up till now i hope you will continued to enjoy wearing it no matter what it turns out to be

 

[Tartansparkles]

It is a fantastic colour.

 

[Big Fat Facets]

@Vanilla Bling


i'd proceed cautiously with Daniel Stair. He's not too keen on forum members ... says so right on his homepage

 

[Spring Day]

@Vanilla Bling


i'd proceed cautiously with Daniel Stair. He's not too keen on forum members ... says so right on his homepage

This is off topic OP but I’m sorry... what??? I never noticed that on his home page before and I just read it. That’s absurd. As a person in the colored stones industry he should know that it’s hard to tell the color of a stone just with one photo/video. So, he refuses to give us more photos in different lighting but then on top of that he refuses to accept returns. What kind of business model is this?

 

[Big Fat Facets]

This is off topic OP but I’m sorry... what??? I never noticed that on his home page before and I just read it. That’s absurd. As a person in the colored stones industry he should know that it’s hard to tell the color of a stone just with one photo/video. So, he refuses to give us more photos in different lighting but then on top of that he refuses to accept returns. What kind of business model is this?

i know, i know. i completely understand and see your point. Because of this "targeted message" of his on his homepage, i have reservations in recommending him. he might be very talented but seems a bit "off", to me.

oddly enough, its not across the board to all potential clients, its specifically focused to pricescope members ...

 

[Polyhex]

I suspect that Dan operates at very low margins and hence cannot take extra photos. He charged me next to nothing for a full pavilion recut and crown polish on a large stone, and has been wonderful to work with as a cutter. (And he knew I was "on Pricescope.")

 

[LilAlex]

I agree it needs a legit independent report.

I agree that this is an almost unbeatable color for a natural spinel.

The mounting is modest and the cut suggests that weight-retention was not a high priority so I'm suspicious that it is synthetic, whatever it is.

And: RIP RBG

 

[Niel]

My Jeweler did , she tested it , also said with it being vintage and having color change it is a real spinel . Like I said I know nothing about Spinels I’m just wanting to get the facets touched up.

This looks like a textbook synthetic spinel to me. What k gold is that? itll cost money to set and unset that stone, ship and have the abrasions polished out and then reset.

I dont want you to be spending that kind of money on something with an expectation that its natural.

 

[voce]

Dan Stair is completely reliable for a gem recut. I agree with @Niel in that I think it does look textbook synthetic.

A natural spinel of that color and size would cost $50k-$100k at least. So unless you paid a lot for the ring, I highly doubt it's natural. Natural blue spinels usually comes with a gray mask, and the ones without gray, like how yours looks, would cost $$$$.

 

[motownmama]

When I scratched by sapphire Jerry Newman fixed it. Came out perfect.