Talk to me about star sapphires/rubies

[lovedogs]

Hi all,
I'm getting somewhat fascinated by star sapphires/rubies, but know almost nothing about them vs faceted stones.

Looking at pricing it seems wildly all over the place.

My assumption is that sharper star + less treatment = higher quality = more expensive. Am I missing anything?

Example:
This is $1400

3.49-Carat Purple Pink Star Sapphire with Super Sharp 6-Ray Star :: $1,483 USD :: StarRuby.in :: Exotic Gemstones - Pure. Natural. Untreated.

:: StarRuby.in :: 3.49-Carat Purple Pink Star Sapphire with Super Sharp 6-Ray Star :: Product Details:

www.starruby.in

This is 350

3.96-Carat Light Greyish Purple Sri Lankan Star Sapphire :: $347 USD :: StarRuby.in :: Exotic Gemstones - Pure. Natural. Untreated.

:: StarRuby.in :: 3.96-Carat Light Greyish Purple Sri Lankan Star Sapphire :: Product Details:

www.starruby.in

This is 550

3.06-Carat Soft Purplish White Star Sapphire with Sharp Star :: $536 USD :: StarRuby.in :: Exotic Gemstones - Pure. Natural. Untreated.

:: StarRuby.in :: 3.06-Carat Soft Purplish White Star Sapphire with Sharp Star :: Product Details:

www.starruby.in

To me, the first doesn't look much "better" than the others. Maybe sharper star than the first, but not third.

Id love to hear insights!

Calling @Starstruck8

 

[Dreamer_D]

@lovedogs did you read through the “show us your star sapphires” thread? Lots of great info there.

My assumption is that sharper star + less treatment = higher quality = more expensive. Am I missing anything?

This isn’t exactly true. Nearly all star sapphires are untreated because heat removed the silk that makes the star, so it being natural is the main concern. Apparently some could be gently heated so a lab report might be nice if you are spending $$ but this isn’t a huge concerns IMO.

Star quality is importantly. Nicely centered, straight even legs. Good movement across the face of the stone. But because more silk causes a sharper star, sharpness is more pronounced in stars with more silk, and more silk = opacity. Since translucence is ideal, the best quality stars actually have slightly weaker stars than cheaper opaque gems do. BUT the best stars permeate into the stone and appear very three dimensional with stereoscopic vision (can’t capture it well with a camera). But they are still “weaker” than you see in opaque stones.

Translucence matters maybe most of all. The quality of water that people talk about with jade and moonstone is applicable.

And color. Blue and Red, Pink and Purple are more rare. Grey and shades of denim are most common. I searched more months to find my pink-purple 4ct , which has nice translucence and a very good star. Stars are far more rare than non-star gems so they are hard to find in N Am.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Example:
This is $1400

3.49-Carat Purple Pink Star Sapphire with Super Sharp 6-Ray Star :: $1,483 USD :: StarRuby.in :: Exotic Gemstones - Pure. Natural. Untreated.

:: StarRuby.in :: 3.49-Carat Purple Pink Star Sapphire with Super Sharp 6-Ray Star :: Product Details:

www.starruby.in

This is 350

3.96-Carat Light Greyish Purple Sri Lankan Star Sapphire :: $347 USD :: StarRuby.in :: Exotic Gemstones - Pure. Natural. Untreated.

:: StarRuby.in :: 3.96-Carat Light Greyish Purple Sri Lankan Star Sapphire :: Product Details:

www.starruby.in

This is 550

3.06-Carat Soft Purplish White Star Sapphire with Sharp Star :: $536 USD :: StarRuby.in :: Exotic Gemstones - Pure. Natural. Untreated.

:: StarRuby.in :: 3.06-Carat Soft Purplish White Star Sapphire with Sharp Star :: Product Details:

www.starruby.in

To me, the first doesn't look much "better" than the others. Maybe sharper star than the first, but not third.

These are all very opaque stars. There is nothing wrong with that. It just means it will look more like a rock than a cabochon gem if that makes sense. It won’t have depth. The first is a bit more saturated and a bit more translucent than the others which is why it likely costs more. All are also quite grey.

The star is only visible in spot lighting and bright sunlight. So it’s important IMO to buy a gem that looks pretty in other lighting without the star. I would prioritize color and translucency for hat reason, over size, as a pretty cabochon with decent color and transparency is always pretty.

ETA: assume that stars this size in this price range are grey and opaque. Because a more translucent star that is nicely saturated in this carat weight costs more like 3K+ (on the Us market. I was not able to locate any comparable from this vendor of multicolor. Their offerings were all very opaque).

 

[lovedogs]

These are all very opaque stars. There is nothing wrong with that. It just means it will look more like a rock than a cabochon gem if that makes sense. It won’t have depth. The first is a bit more saturated and a bit more translucent than the others which is why it likely costs more. All are also quite grey.

The star is only visible in spot lighting and bright sunlight. So it’s important IMO to buy a gem that looks pretty in other lighting without the star. I would prioritize color and translucency for hat reason, over size, as a pretty cabochon with decent color and transparency is always pretty.

ETA: assume that stars this size in this price range are grey and opaque. Because a more translucent star that is nicely saturated in this carat weight costs more like 3K+ (on the Us market. I was not able to locate any comparable from this vendor of multicolor. Their offerings were all very opaque).

That makes sense. So a more "ideal" would be translucent. I don't want a big one (in fact, I'd prefer 2ct or less), but that's harder to find

 

[Dreamer_D]

Yvonne Raley has access to stats through her supplier. It may cost a bit more than you could find trolling websites but then again, as you said, it’s hard to find nice stars on websites!

I like this one on eBay a lot but it’s very large. Nice color, GIA report says “transparent” and the picture on the GIA report shows a nice star. The seller offered to sell for $1700 which is a very good deal!

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[Starstruck8]

+1 to @Dreamer_D's first two replies. She has stolen my thunder. I don't have much to add.

The star is only visible in spot lighting and bright sunlight. So it’s important IMO to buy a gem that looks pretty in other lighting without the star.

This is key.

Here is the link to the thread she mentioned. (PS search function can be frustrating):
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-your-star-sapphires-and-rubies.231433/
Do look through this. It shows a huge range of star stones, so it gives a feeling for the range of possibilities, what's typical and what's excellent. And, more important, which qualities you want and which you are prepared to compromise on. You don't have to go for 'ideal'. In fact, you won't find it at any vaguely reasonable price.

I don't want a big one (in fact, I'd prefer 2ct or less)

Go by face-up dimensions, not weight. Star stones vary hugely in thickness. Opaque stones can (and should be) thin. Good translucent to transparent stones should be thicker - this is necessary to give the star depth and to bring out the colour. But many have excess thickness that just adds to the weight.

IMO, you don't want to go too small face-up. You want to be able to see the star clearly and admire it rolling over the surface as you the tilt the stone.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Ahhhh the Padawan has equaled the master! I learned it all from you @Starstruck8 !!

Agreed about size. I think in a smaller gem the transparency might become even more important to really appreciate the color and depth. @YadaYadaYada has a lovely smaller star Ruby. I can’t recall the size. Maybe she can comment of how she feels about the size and appreciating the star and color etc.

 

[lovedogs]

Thoughts on these? If folks know tje vendors, don't share please



This may not have a full star, but I love it because it's unique


Oh and this ring

 

[Dreamer_D]

I like the first three loose stones best for color and shape, 1 and 3 being my faves. Others are not great colors and while the pink one with the large cloud looks cool in that photo it looks like the star is not complete and I think that stripe of silk would not look so cool in person.

For all you need to assess the star and its movement. And translucency. Can’t tell that from the pics.

 

[lovedogs]

I like the first three loose stones best for color and shape, 1 and 3 being my faves. Others are not great colors and while the pink one with the large cloud looks cool in that photo it looks like the star is not complete and I think that stripe of silk would not look so cool in person.

For all you need to assess the star and its movement. And translucency. Can’t tell that from the pics.

Thanks, appreciate it! I have vendor videos but am trying to avoid lurkers buying stuff

 

[Starstruck8]

@Dreamer_D has beat me to it again.

It's really hard to tell from single photos. You need to see also (a) the star rolling around (Are there 'dead' areas?) and (b) the body colour in flat lighting, without the star, to see how much saturation is lost.

My pick would be #3, the little ruby. My ranking would be 3, 2, 1, 6.

#1: + bright star; - the missing right ray is a worry, body 'denim' i.e. less staturated blue.

#2: + complete straight star, saturated blue body, good translucency; - star may be a bit weak.

#3: + straight sharp star, attractive body colour; - top right to bottom left ray looks short.

#4: opaque, possible only if it's inexpensive and it's what you are looking for.

#5: colour doesn't look credible (pic over saturated), possible only if you like the cool factor.

#6: good if you like the grey look. Body looks uniform and translucent

 

[Dreamer_D]

3 would be my pick to, I love it’s round bulbous shape. Assuming the video is nice of course.

 

[LilAlex]

Love #2 and #3. My guess is that they are petite and carry a lot of (invisible) weight below the equator. But agree with @Starstruck8 that is challenging to buy based on the one best photo someone can take of any of them.

 

[lovedogs]

Love #2 and #3. My guess is that they are petite and carry a lot of (invisible) weight below the equator. But agree with @Starstruck8 that is challenging to buy based on the one best photo someone can take of any of them.

I would attach/link vendor videos, but it has the company name and I always feel like lurkers will buy whichever folks like the best