Thoughts on this pink/orange spinel?

[OreoRosies86]

I'm very intrigued by this spinel, despite a huge window. It seems like a good candidate for recut....

At over 7 carats it is $2860.00 which seems high, though maybe if it has been gathering dust long enough the seller would accept an offer? Would like some thoughts. I do like the color but at the same time I am not sure how real-life accurate the photos are.

 

[FrekeChild]

Is there a side picture showing the pavilion?

 

[FrekeChild]

Nevermind, found it myself. It's 10.66x12.42x6.80, which I think is rather shallow for it's length and width size. It seems to be kind of round on the underside. If you didn't mind taking a pretty decent loss in carat weight, a likely loss in face up size, plus the cost of cutting, plus the uncertainty of the end result as far as color, it could be worth a risk. I'd ask a cutter first though, because I'm far from being an expert.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Here it is. It does look shallow, but I had Jerry Newman recut a shallow stone from Tan once and it came out very nicely, which gives me hope that this stone could find its true potential.

 

[innerkitten]

I wish we could see what it looked like in some other photos. There seems to be a bright light on it and we can only see one angle.

 

[OreoRosies86]

That is a lot of what-ifs!

 

[innerkitten]

Here it is. It does look shallow, but I had Jerry Newman recut a shallow stone from Tan once and it came out very nicely, which gives me hope that this stone could find its true potential.

Oh I see. oops. I like the color in the 2nd photo better. Are the proportions okay for a possible re cut?

 

[OreoRosies86]

Here it is. It does look shallow, but I had Jerry Newman recut a shallow stone from Tan once and it came out very nicely, which gives me hope that this stone could find its true potential.

Oh I see. oops. I like the color in the 2nd photo better. Are the proportions okay for a possible re cut?

I don't know It seems like it could either turn out crazy beautiful or be a huge waste of money.

 

[T L]

For a shallow cut, you would lose a lot of weight, and possibly saturation, if recut.

It's really hard to evaluate a gem against a dark background too. It would be preferable against a neutral gray or white background.

 

[movie zombie]

I suspect a window.............

 

[Starzin]

Given the colours in the first pic, I agree it could look spectacular if recut. Love the colours! Best thing to do is get the expert's opinion - email Jerry Newman with the pics and link to the website and he can give an educated guess.

 

[OreoRosies86]

I suspect a window.............

Gee, ya think?! I know, you could drive a truck through it. I find the color very delicate and pretty but it would be a shame for the stone to become less saturated due to recutting.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Given the colours in the first pic, I agree it could look spectacular if recut. Love the colours! Best thing to do is get the expert's opinion - email Jerry Newman with the pics and link to the website and he can give an educated guess.

It is pretty isn't it! I definitely think so. I could not live with that window though. I think I will email him with the pics and dimensions and see if there is anything that can work for a recut without compromising that nice mellow color.

 

[Starzin]

Oh yes! Please do. I'm sure he will be able to give you an idea if he can work his magic on it
waiting...
waiting....
waiting.....

 

[chrono]

My concern is the location of the inclusions will make this a poor candidate for a recut. It is fairly large and runs down a good portion of the spinel. I don't think the depth is too much of an issue in this case even though it is on the shallow end. This vendor has been in the business for a long time and if it could be recut to look better, he would have done it a long time ago.

 

[OreoRosies86]

My concern is the location of the inclusions will make this a poor candidate for a recut. It is fairly large and runs down a good portion of the spinel. I don't think the depth is too much of an issue in this case even though it is on the shallow end. This vendor has been in the business for a long time and if it could be recut to look better, he would have done it a long time ago.

I thought that too, but many of the stones (most in fact) on his site seem to be cut in a way that maintains a stone's weight rather than focusing on a precision cut. There are lots of candidates for recutting on there that I can see, but it does not seem to be the seller's top priority like other gem places.

 

[T L]

Can he take more photos of the stone for you, in particular one on the hand. These photos against a dark background with odd lighting, make it difficult to tell the true color of the gem. It's rather expensive for such an included and poorly cut stone, so at least if the color is good, then you have that going for you.

 

[chrono]

Colour aside (I suspect the stone is far less saturated than pictured), here's why I'm concerned it might not be a recut candidate. Recuts are typically done on gems that are very clean, not moderately included. Of course, it is best to ask a lapidary for confirmation first.

 

[GregS]

That stone doesn't look very saturated and like others have said it's shallow and included.

In case you're interested... This is a link to a lovely, nicely saturated 4+ carat sleepy Spinel that may be a good candidate for a re-cut without losing much if any of it's face-up size.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/spinel/sn11609aa/&930512007

There's a video below the picture, so somebody else has shown interest as well and requested the video.

 

[movie zombie]

I agree re the size of that window........and that is something that a recut just is not going to fix given the dimensions of this stone and the particular inclusions.

love the stone as it is or leave it, imo.

 

[OreoRosies86]

This advice is excellent as expected. I think the general consensus is probably correct. Too many uncertainties and fixes needed for such a large purchase. I still think it is a cool stone, maybe just not the stone for me.

 

[Niel]

I know they aren't this color, but Jeff Davies has some larger stones for less than that. One lovely chryso and a grey spinel. They are both near or above 5ct. The spinel is on eBay.

I know not that color but if you were looking for big..

 

[T L]

gemfix.com has some nice orangy pink and well cut spinels too.

 

[pregcurious]

I would get a stone with a nice cut. You should be able to find a better pink/orange spinel.