Star Ruby Help

[pwsg07]

I have found a 6 ct star ruby in Tucson. Highly translucent, strong star lines, high dome. The colour is not stop light red but it is medium purplish red. Not a dark red. But the stone has heavy bottom, some inclusion like other stars. I forgot to measure the dimensions. I have been saving for Tucson so I have enough fund for this star ruby. The problem is if I buy this star ruby I won’t have any fund for other stone this year and maybe for another year. Should I get this star? What kind of inclusions should I check for the star? I only took one photo of the stone. I should have taken more photos Now I keep thinking about the stone The stone looks much better than my photo in real life Thank you in advance

 

[icy_jade]

It does look more like a star sapphire than a star ruby to me but whatever it is it’s a stunner.

Will it be the one that got away if you don’t get it?

 

[strawrose]

Is this what wanted for a very long time, or just something you liked that day?

 

[voce]

It comes with the proper certs, right? It looks like a purple star sapphire to me, so I'd be bothered if the vendor was trying to sell it as star ruby to jack up the price. It is beautiful, but was a star gem at the top of your priority list? What would you do for the rest of the time that you have in Tucson?

 

[pwsg07]

It does look more like a star sapphire than a star ruby to me but whatever it is it’s a stunner.

Will it be the one that got away if you don’t get it?

I shoot the photo with a penlight to show the star. That's why the colour is not true. For your question, I don't know. I am not sure if any dealer will buy it.

 

[pwsg07]

Is this what wanted for a very long time, or just something you liked that day?

I always has a star ruby on my wishlist. But this one is what I liked yesterday. I didn't think about buying it because of the price.

 

[Burmesedaze]

This is very nice. Not that common to find another like this.

 

[pwsg07]

It comes with the proper certs, right? It looks like a purple star sapphire to me, so I'd be bothered if the vendor was trying to sell it as star ruby to jack up the price. It is beautiful, but was a star gem at the top of your priority list? What would you do for the rest of the time that you have in Tucson?

A lot of stones on the show have no cert. But this one the seller said it is unheated because it is a star. It is a natural stone for sure since there is a lot of natural rough surface at the bottom of the stone. The color is not true on the photo since I took the photo with a penlight to show the star. Ruby is at the top of my list but I have never dream about buying a big star ruby. I will be happy even it is a star sapphire. The price is way lower than a faceted ruby. I am still window shopping since there are so much to see in Tucson.

 

[pwsg07]

This is very nice. Not that common to find another like this.

Do you think I should I get it? I forgot to ask the origin of the stone.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Do you think I should I get it? I forgot to ask the origin of the stone.

Should ask for origin. Are there labs at the fair?

Stars can be heated. Seaglow has posted before on her thread.

 

[Burmesedaze]

What's the price for this if you don't mind sharing?

 

[pwsg07]

Should ask for origin. Are there labs at the fair?

Stars can be heated. Seaglow has posted before on her thread.

Thanks for letting me know about the heating. I don't see the lab. Maybe they are at the wholesale show. I have only been to the retail show.

 

[pwsg07]

What's the price for this if you don't mind sharing?

I would not like to share the price publicly. But you can ask me privately. My instagram is same as my name

 

[Burmesedaze]

No worries. Just concerned whether it's a fair price

I don't use IG.

 

[pwsg07]

No worries. Just concerned whether it's a fair price

I don't use IG.

It is still "affordable" for me. There are a lot of gems with price tags with the sky is only the limit.

 

[pwsg07]

One more question about the bottom of the star. How many percentage of the bottom in a stone is acceptable?

 

[Burmesedaze]

One more question about the bottom of the star. How many percentage of the bottom in a stone is acceptable?

No science there. Depends on the rough. So go for face up size. I've seen too many bottom heavy to be picky. A lot has to do with the rough and how they catch the asterism.

 

[Bluegemz]

Personally, I think it’s absolutely beautiful because of the relative clarity and the star. And, nice size too. Judging by the picture alone, clarity combined with a clear, centered and even star like that is not easy to find st all. Color may be off but still looks like a clear strong , lovely color.
I can’t say much about bottom weight other than the question, what kind of setting would accommodate it? For me, too much bottom weight is not desirable if it would look strange in a setting. On the other hand, it’s a matter of weighing all the qualities together. Does the bottom weight provide depth to the color and to the overall lovely shape? . It should really captivate you if you decide on this. Would you feel lucky to have it and happy with it? Re buying, this is personal, but I prefer to have one thing which I really adore over many which I don’t adore quite as much. One can have a ‘love story’ with one beautiful piece which keeps one fulfilled, especially if it’s a piece that is truly hard/ impossible to replace.
Definitely need to find out more regards to treatment if very expensive.

 

[pwsg07]

Personally, I think it’s absolutely beautiful because of the relative clarity and the star. And, nice size too. Judging by the picture alone, clarity combined with a clear, centered and even star like that is not easy to find st all. Color may be off but still looks like a clear strong , lovely color.
I can’t say much about bottom weight other than the question, what kind of setting would accommodate it? For me, too much bottom weight is not desirable if it would look strange in a setting. On the other hand, it’s a matter of weighing all the qualities together. Does the bottom weight provide depth to the color and to the overall lovely shape? . It should really captivate you if you decide on this. Would you feel lucky to have it and happy with it? Re buying, this is personal, but I prefer to have one thing which I really adore over many which I don’t adore quite as much. One can have a ‘love story’ with one beautiful piece which keeps one fulfilled, especially if it’s a piece that is truly hard/ impossible to replace.
Definitely need to find out more regards to treatment if very expensive.

Thank you so much for your advice. I will check the bottom of the stone again if I decided to buy it.

The star ruby is really hard to find because there is no grown line and highly translucent. The star is quite visible even the penlight is like 60cm away from the stone. All the stars I have seen are mostly heavy bottom. Of course, I would like to have a flat bottom star but this is no perfect stone. I am only collecting gemstones so I have not setting any stones. Since I am leaving Tucson soon, I have to make the decision in a few days. That's why I need some advices from PSers. May I ask what kind of inclusion is acceptable when buying a star? The ruby has some inclusions I think they are mostly crystals. I will check again if I see the stone again.

 

[pwsg07]

No science there. Depends on the rough. So go for face up size. I've seen too many bottom heavy to be picky. A lot has to do with the rough and how they catch the asterism.

Thank you. The cutters preserve the weight of the stones and that's why it makes shopping for stars difficult.

 

[Bluegemz]

Thank you so much for your advice. I will check the bottom of the stone again if I decided to buy it.

The star ruby is really hard to find because there is no grown line and highly translucent. The star is quite visible even the penlight is like 60cm away from the stone. All the stars I have seen are mostly heavy bottom. Of course, I would like to have a flat bottom star but this is no perfect stone. I am only collecting gemstones so I have not setting any stones. Since I am leaving Tucson soon, I have to make the decision in a few days. That's why I need some advices from PSers. May I ask what kind of inclusion is acceptable when buying a star? The ruby has some inclusions I think they are mostly crystals. I will check again if I see the stone again.

This comes down to price point and taste. So long as price is fair, some might consider crystals within a crystal like personality, with uniqueness. I have noticed tiny crystal inclusions in clear stars especially. For me, they are acceptable so long as not distracting ( you see only when looking closely into the stone and not immediately when looking at first glance) if they are clear, not dark. But with nice stars, usually at least one quality will be less than perfect because so many qualities need to come together to make a great star. )Other common inclusions in stars are growth lines, fractures, hexagon pattern and color zoning ( though not an inclusion).

It is hard to find a star with no inclusions and very translucent while also having enough rutile to make a nice, full star, evenness, and good clean color. Usually rutile dulls color and translucence. If you find one which just has a few small, non distracting inclusions above a few carats with all other great qualities, again very hard to find. For each good quality working together, the price goes up. It is a matter of weighing these qualities, the qualities which you most care about in a star and then assessing how much you love the totality/spirit of it.

Sounds very hard to make the decision because of the feeling of running close to time. But, take time to really soul search about it. I think if you know you love it upon first glance, that’s an indicator of how much you love the totality of it. Also, be sure that you love the color when the star is not showing. If there are nagging things you don’t like, that’s also an indicator because they might always bother you, or become more bothersome with time.

I am biased because I adore stars more than other gems ( mostly) I think I personally would be captivated by it based on picture it definitely has the initial look of a very high quality and beautiful star.

 

[Bluegemz]

One question, the star is 6 carats....how much of the carat weight would you guess is on the bottom?

 

[pwsg07]

One question, the star is 6 carats....how much of the carat weight would you guess is on the bottom?

I forgot so many details of this star. At least 1/3 of the weight is at the bottom. I wasn't planning to buy the star and didn't pay too much attention since it is slightly over my limit. Face up the stone is eye clean no feather no colour zoning. The crystal insides are quite large at least SI in clarity. But only visible under the backlight or the side light.

A padparascha star I have seen on another show. My stone in my photo is slightly darker than the stone in real life. It is light peach and the star is not obvious.

 

[Bluegemz]

What an unusual and interesting color..and huge! Thanks for sharing the picture.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

I personally, think it all comes down to;

If you could never find one just like it at that price point for the rest of your life, how bummed would you be? Would you regret not buying it?

If youre not sure if you'd regret it I say its a no-go.

Personally though, I'm not extremely strict on quality and I only go with the pitter of my heart, but if that star ruby is completely natural, at first glance its very stunning and looks delicious.
For me it would depend on how costly it is!
Id have one piece that takes up my year of gem/jewelry buying but never two..... I couldn't do that. Haha

I think a piece so expensive would move you in a way that any other gems wouldn't.

Good luck!

 

[pwsg07]

Some updates.

Today I went to see the stone again. It is highly translucent. The colour is purplish pinkish red. I used my cellphone light to test the star again confirming it is a strong star. Very slight unnoticeable growth line on the star. Almost straight slightly curve at the girdle The stone fluoresces red (med to strong fluorescent). The star is from Sri Lanka. The dimension is 10.5mm x 9.6mm. The bottom is half of the stone. It is 6.9ct. However, I have found a deep feather at the lower part near the girdle of the stone. The feather goes to more than 1/3 of the width of the stone. It is on the length side of the stone. If I have to recut it in the future , the stone only look skinnier. Otherwise, it is a perfect stone.

 

[pwsg07]

The colour in the photo is darker than the colour of the stone in irl

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Zero advice to give but I'm following your adventure with great joy

 

[chrono]

It’s a very beautiful stone but I’d negotiate. You’re still paying by the per carat price for a lot of bottom that cannot be “saved”. I wouldn’t tweak the bottom either as I doubt the inclusion can be removed without a lot of physical size loss, in addition to the depth of colour.

 

[Bluegemz]

I agree with @chrono . It’s still a gorgeous stone and very clean for a star all things considered.