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Spinel... excessive pricing or finally earning its due respect?

Autumn in New England said:
That's really big for a true neon cobalt! Decent cutting too!! Was it as vivid in person? I find so many look phenomenal in photos, but disappoint in person. They may still be a nice blue, but not quite neon.
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It was actually BETTER in person - with one caveat: B.G. Stones has "magic lighting" in their shop that I've never seen before.

It makes everything look amazing and colors pop like mad. I was wearing one of my own rings in there a few months back and it glowed with an intensity that I've never seen before.

If I'm interested in a stone, I always take it outside, but as soon as I heard the price, I didn't take it any further.
 
Autumn in New England said:
Yeah.... ah that's stunning. :oops2: I'm glad you mentioned Madagascar. Remember the big scandal a few years back where some of the major labs were certifying the newer stones coming out of Madagascar as Kashmir? That's how fine the color was/is. It wasn't until they were able to isolate very specific inclusion patterns/materials in the Madagascan stones that they were able to differentiate them. Inken and I were just discussing this!
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I actually was not aware of that! The glow and the color could definitely pass however. Before mine was certified, the seller told me it was from Sri Lanka, but I was sure it was not. It just looks different somehow. Sure enough, the lab report came back Madagascar.AGTA Certificate.jpg
 
Dr_Diesel said:
I saw this one in person.


It was more impressive than the video, but this side-by-side comparison speaks for itself.

IMG_0739.jpeg

…of course, that Kashmir sapphire’s price tag is likely more money than most of will even see in a single lifetime

…not that $19k/ct on that 0.78 cobalt blue ($14820 for the stone) is a more reasonable purchase by any stretch.

I do think it would make for a cute little ring if the price tag were under $500 :p
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Almost $15k for that tiny little dot!o_O
 
Autumn in New England said:
Yeah.... ah that's stunning. :oops2: I'm glad you mentioned Madagascar. Remember the big scandal a few years back where some of the major labs were certifying the newer stones coming out of Madagascar as Kashmir? That's how fine the color was/is. It wasn't until they were able to isolate very specific inclusion patterns/materials in the Madagascan stones that they were able to differentiate them. Inken and I were just discussing this!
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That’s why I am a fan of Madagascar Sapphires. Really gorgeous colors, and not as much of an origin premium.
 
mellowyellowgirl said:
Yikes that price! It’ll probably inevitably lean brown under some lighting conditions.

Haha I’m biased against them after my last one.
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It looks desaturated in the cert pic, but those are never great. Still, I'd like to believe I'd be disappointed. :lol: The photo and video, however, look fab.

P.S. Did I miss that purchase? Bad experience? My worst fiascos were all with spinels... red, blue, lavender...
 
Autumn in New England said:
It looks desaturated in the cert pic, but those are never great. Still, I'd like to believe I'd be disappointed. :lol: The photo and video, however, look fab.

P.S. Did I miss that purchase? Bad experience? My worst fiascos were all with spinels... red, blue, lavender...
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This one

I’ve made peace with it and use it as a hair ornament so it is living out its life being useful. I don’t think I would stick something I’m crazy about in my head so it’s probably just as well I’m “meh” about it as a ring. I love it in my hair!

IMG_6818.jpegIMG_6496.jpeg
 
mellowyellowgirl said:
This one

I’ve made peace with it and use it as a hair ornament so it is living out its life being useful. I don’t think I would stick something I’m crazy about in my head so it’s probably just as well I’m “meh” about it as a ring. I love it in my hair!

IMG_6818.jpegIMG_6496.jpeg
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Nooo, not her! That's a fail in your book? I was just perusing the HW candy collection BECAUSE of this piece!! If you ever decide to sell your mini tiara, let me know. :dance:
 
Autumn in New England said:
I'm just going to drop this baby right here... :oops2:

www.africagems.com

3.07 Carat Collector Quality Red Spinel with GIA, Vietnam origin, Cushion Shape, 9.04 x 7.42 x 5.18 mm

Seller of high quality loose gemstones, diamonds, jewelry, findings and mountings
www.africagems.com www.africagems.com
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Counter point to crazy spinel prices, this is a pretty close color, definitely gorgeous (though orangey per the vendor) - 2.6ct and 3.7k approx.
It sold not long ago.
you can find super expensive ones and more reasonable ones. Perhaps this one darkens/browns out in worse lighting unlike the 60k one you shared - who knows.

 
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toomuchB said:
Counter point to crazy spinel prices, this is a pretty close color, definitely gorgeous (though orangey per the vendor) - 2.6ct and 3.7k approx.
It sold not long ago.
you can find super expensive ones and more reasonable ones. Perhaps this one darkens/browns out in worse lighting unlike the 60k one you shared - who knows.

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I actually don't mind a touch (as in a nearly imperceptible amount) of orange in my red spinel, because I feel like that's what gives it the "stoplight" glow. This one seems to be a full-on "flame" spinel, per the vendor. That being said, it's positively gorgeous, and the price was crazy good for that quality. Somebody stole that beauty!

We all know that even slight differences in color and tone can affect pricing exponentially, but I can't imagine a scenario where the cushion is worth over $18k more per carat than that oval.
 
Autumn in New England said:
We all know that even slight differences in color and tone can affect pricing exponentially, but I can't imagine a scenario where the cushion is worth over $18k more per carat than that oval.
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Yeah, that was the point I was getting at, you wrote it out more clearly :)

I love me some flame spinel with a slight amount of orange too. I intended to post it in the 'somebody's gotta buy this stone' thread a few months ago but I think I forgot (or maybe I did post it)
 
It is helpful to compare retail prices to auction sales. One could argue many of the stones discussed on this forum are not popular in auctions so they don't get sold via them, and instead by other means to get more $ (garnets, spinels, even many types of sapphires - basically anything non traditional). But it is still a metric to judge what the market is actually paying. Also, you will probably sometimes find sales that appear very high/in-line with high end retail. But there are many exceptions.

Here's a spinel from an auction that happened just a month ago:
onlineonly.christies.com

SPINEL AND DIAMOND RING

Cushion brilliant-cut spinel of 13.89 carats, half moon-shaped diamonds, platinumAGL, 2013, report no. CS 52952: 13.89 carats, Tanzania, no clarity enhancementGIA, 2012, report no. 2155036444: 13.89 carats, no indications of heatingSize/Dimensions: US ring size 2 1⁄2 (with ring sizer)Gross...
onlineonly.christies.com onlineonly.christies.com

Cushion brilliant-cut spinel of 13.89 carats, half moon-shaped diamonds, platinum

Sale price 529,200 HKD which is 68k USD

Obviously this one has some silk, and is more pinkish red than a pure red. But it demonstrates the above point.

spinel (1).pngspinel (2).pngspinel (4).png


Another recent sale from May 2024, they appear to be the more desirable classic red Tanzanian color (still some pink) without silk:

Oval brilliant-cut spinels of 8.51 and 8.49 carats, round, pear-shaped rose-cut and briolette-cut diamonds, gold

Sold for 2,016,000HKD which is about 260k. Comes out to about 16k/ct, less per ct than the 3ct posted above.

spinel2 (2).png
spinel2 (1).png
spinel2 (3).png



Sorry for the amount of large images, but its for those who do not wish to click links or if the links go defunct one day.

I'd hypothesize most people are not looking for 14ct stones or 17ct pairs, so smaller fine stones are in more demand, paradoxically giving them a fairly high price per ct relative to the larger examples. A similar phenomenon I believe is found with Argyle vivid pink melee (but don't quote me on that).

I would not even think to pay some of the crazy spinel prices we have seen; I'm skeptical of how many of them actually sell for those amounts. I can see an exception for true jedi material or fine Vietnamese cobalt material.

A future auction piece to keep an eye on: a staggering over 43cttw pair set by HW. 400-600k estimate, which I think may be a bit low.

Won't bombard the board with more huge images from the above link, but I will share a potentially more candid photo from IG.
sp.jpg
 
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toomuchB said:
A future auction piece to keep an eye on: a staggering over 43cttw pair set by HW. 400-600k estimate, which I think may be a bit low.

Won't bombard the board with more huge images from the above link, but I will share a potentially more candid photo from IG.
sp.jpg
Click to expand...

I guess my hunch was correct because these sold for over 2.2m which is just over 50k/ct.
 
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