Thoughts on this Spinel?

[royalstarrynight]

Thoughts on this spinel asides from the bubbles?
.81ct - 6mm

Thanks in advance!!

 

[minousbijoux]

Seemingly well cut, but lacking in saturation, causing it to look steely, or greyish blue instead of pure blue.

 

[JewelFreak]

I agree with Minou -- the cut looks good & I doubt the inclusions are visible without magnification, wouldn't bother me if they were. Whether or not the saturation/color is acceptable depends on what you like. Some love that steely blue (me included) & some want more saturation. The important thing in colored stones is to buy what turns YOU on. However, I would not expect to pay top price for a less-saturated spinel like that.

--- Laurie

 

[royalstarrynight]

I personally like it quite a bit but is $75 too high?

 

[innerkitten]

Do you have any other photos?

 

[royalstarrynight]

Nope. No other photos.

The vendor pulled this baby out after I asked for a .8 carat blue violet steely spinel.

 

[jstarfireb]

Then I think it's exactly what you've asked for. Price seems fine to me. Is it eye-clean?

 

[royalstarrynight]

Yep! He says it's eye clean.

 

[royalstarrynight]

It's by Jeff Davies if that makes any difference.

 

[cm366]

rsn,

That price is less than any US faceter would charge just for the cutting. The stone's not ideally coloured but it looks like it's precisely what you requested. Jeff's photos are usually pretty accurate, the only question I might ask him is how the stone performs in various lighting, as some blue spinels will close up or gray out in low light. Still, $75 for a requested stone is pretty darn good.

 

[Kim Bruun]

You know, it's one of those stones which I consider attractive in its own right though it isn't for me. It's obviously grayish (more flatteringly called steely), but there's a downplayed elegance to it. Clean, well-cut spinel can be quite fiery, by the way!

 

[royalstarrynight]

Whee!! First stone purchase ever!

2-3 weeks of shipping can't go by fast enough!
Will post IRL pics when it comes!

 

[royalstarrynight]

And..Thanks for everybody putting up with random paranoid post! I kept second guessing myself with Thanksgiving prep craziness and not wanting to lose it and the fear of doing something incredibly wrong with my first purchase ever even though though Jeff seems to be a reputable seller around here.

 

[bluebirrrd]

To be honest, I love it! Okay, so it doesn't have top saturation and of course there are some nice natural inclusions. They don't distract my eye and the color is still beautiful. 6mm is a nice medium size, and the cutting is absolutely gorgeous. I guess the question is do you love it?

 

[chrono]

We'll know in a few weeks if she likes it or not. Most blue spinels tend to be moody and look less than attractive indoors so please check that out after receiving the spinel.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Chrono: Thanks for the heads up and warning! I really appreciate knowing what to look for especially since I'm so new to this game.

If anyone is interested in more saturated spinels, he does have that are darker purple and darker blue.

 

[Kim Bruun]

We'll know in a few weeks if she likes it or not. Most blue spinels tend to be moody and look less than attractive indoors so please check that out after receiving the spinel.

I own two commercial grades spinels in the blue/purple range, and interestingly, the more purple of the two pick up some saturation under CFL, when it switches from a steely purplish blue in daylight to a pure, amethyst-like purple under CFL. This is one of the very few stones I've seen that is actually flattered by CFL! The other goes from a steely blue (no purple) under daylight to a slightly grayish lilac under CFL - the hue changes, but I'd say saturation is more or less the same. I actually think these two stones are no less beautiful under CFL, something that isn't true for most red tourmaline, for instance, which tends to pick up that brownish modifier.

 

[royalstarrynight]

How can you tell whether the spinel will close up or grey out in indoor lighting from just a vendor picture? Or does that come with asking the vendor questions?

 

[Kim Bruun]

Some vendors photograph their gems under absolutely ideal conditions, and some vendors very obviously photoshop their stones to up the saturation - it's especially obviously in vendor photos where you see the gem held between an almost glowing pair of tweezers or resting on an unusually rosy hand.

That said, I've asked vendors time and time again, "is this spinel distinctly grayish?" They often say things like "no gray at all." The next step is me ordering the stone and being disappointed to have a small gray nugget roll from the parcel. After that, I return the stone. Two explanations:

1) I'm living in the northern hemisphere where the sunlight is perhaps slightly less blue than closer to the Equator.

2) The vendor actually believes that I don't really have a discriminating eye at all.

That said, ask! It's always nice to have that to refer to if you wish to return a stone.

 

[royalstarrynight]

I'm ok with grey. Just don't want a dark charcoal color piece in dim indoor lights since that's where I am all day.

I adore Frekechild's steely grey blue purply stones which is what started this hunt.

 

[royalstarrynight]

I got my first stone!!

 

[royalstarrynight]

Please excuse my icky fingers too...never really looked at my fingers in much detail before...Oops!

Next up picture next to window on a rainy and cloudy day. It has this interesting color shift that's more blue in outdoor lighting compared to violet indoors.

 

[chrono]

That's really good for a spinel indoors unless you pay mega bucks for the super saturatred ones. I hope there's more pictures coming up? To me, the better blue spinels are blue outdoors shifting to either violet or purple indoors. This type doesn't get inky or close up indoors.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Not sure how to post multiple pictures. But the following are indoors in my room in much more icky lighting. At my desk at work it sometimes almost completely greys out. It's interesting because it turns into this dark plummy color that I can't seem to capture on my iphone.

I guess I need a new lamp at my desk.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Still trying to post...I'm sort of slow.... Sorry. It looks steely too sometimes.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Repetitive photo: Oops. Gotta work on that.

 

[chrono]

Very steely indoors - not only does it shift again (this is normal) but it seems to also lose most of its saturation. For $75, it's really not all that bad. Are you all right with how it looks under your desk lamp or is it a deal breaker for you? I'd say get rid of the yellower lamp and stick with the other one shown.

 

[royalstarrynight]

Conclusion: It doesn't look like the vendor photo but I don't know how he could had possibly captured all these facets in one picture! I was worried yesterday because it looked so drab at my desk but it seems like I just need the right lighting like all other stones. In the box, it also becomes sad but is much happier when it comes out to play on my hand!

I'm worried I look like a freak at work carrying around a little box to see how it looks. teheheh

 

[chrono]

A few old timers have suggested to Jeff to try to photograph his stone a little differently; his pictures are not realistic and as you've observed, will never or rarely see it as such. Not saying he's trying to deceive anyone, only that it makes it harder to evaluate the stone.

As with all gems, when there is little light or light is blocked by the gem case cover, most will look drab and sad.

 

[royalstarrynight]

So the pretty purple is actually from a picture in another building at work that I squat at a lot. I don't have any additional lighting in the yellow ugly lighting but maybe it's time to get some!

But it completely took my breathe away when I took it outdoors the first time. Maybe not saturated blue enough for most but still stunning to my eyes. Then again I'm a total newbie.

The color shift is so fun IRL and completely unexpected. No wonder so many of you love colorshifting babies!