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What other rare stones are out there for an engagement rings?

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drag1320ft

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
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I have been told that diamonds are not as rare as they are made out to be, but they are just highly controlled and monitored... I guess that is irrelavant anyway. I would love to find a different neat stone to place in a engagement ring. I was hoping there might be a expert out there that could dirst me.
 
What else is out there? Those are great suggestions. Has anyone out there found something that was exceptional for them?
 
You will find pretty good refference on the "Colored stone" forum.

It doesn''t take much to go about this job: once a color and size is chosen, it is just a technicality to id the gem type that is most suitable and an attractive piece. There are no restricted choices - any imaginable color comes among gems as well: any size, and almost any price too.

I don''t think there is specific refference for color e-rings, but for the stones sure so. You may want to look over the pages at Palagems, Ruby-Sapphire or Secretsofthegemtrade. Their authors happen to post around here as well, believe it or not.
AGTA has recently put up a colorful commercial site - not as much informed but a faster read than the above.

Aside this, I guess the choice is yours. You may hear that stones other than corundum (ruby and sapphire) are not hard enough for every day wear as engagement rings are supposed to stand. But... I have seen several with opals and pearls - presented not as much to be worn everyday, but as a significant piece of jewelry to mark the moment. A personal decision, I think.

 
I love tsavorites--green garnets that look like emeralds. They''re very rare, never (as far as I know) synthesized or treated, and not nearly as expensive as better-known stones. They might be a little soft for something that would be worn every day of your (or your fiancee''s) life, though.
 
Hi! Glad you''re considering a non-diamond!

I''m not an expert and don''t know your budget, but here are some yummy gems that are personal favorites that should be durable and low-maintenance enough for an e-ring:
- A good quality alexandrite (cat''s eye or otherwise) with distinct colour change
- An orangey-pink pad sapphire
- Nice "milk and honey" cat''s eye chrysoberyl
- Sugar-loaf cab blue sapphire

Garnets and tourmalines might be too soft for an e-ring.. otherwise they come in wonderful colours and some are very rare (e.g Paraiba tourmaline, Demantoid garnet, etc.).

You might have more luck posting in the coloured gem forum, if you haven''t already.
Good luck and be sure to show us pics! :)

fox
 
You need to consider durability with a daily wear stone. Sapphires have been popular, but all corundums, whatever their color, are equally durable. This would include Ruby, pink sapphire, brown sapphire, green sapphire, orange and yellow sapphire. Another logical choice for something rare and highly durable would be Chrysoberyl Alexandrite.

One might also consider fancy color diamonds. Some of these can be extraordinary and when intensly colored, nothing else comes close.
 
Ok, once I find what I am looking for how do I know if I am getting a fair deal... I hate to sound cheap, but i don''t want to get hosed and I know in this industry in happens more times than not!
 
You really need to think about "getting hosed" before you claim that this business does it more than most. So many people here are part of the business and freely give their time and expertise to consumers so they won''t get beat up. Few other industries have such a good place to advise customers. Any time you seek out a luxury item you have the possibility of getting cheated. Try to buy a fur coat, put in a swimming pool, buy a yacht, purchase a high end automobile, and see how well these other industries treat clients. Many will treat you much worse than a jeweler ever would, but you probably have not reached the stage in life where you have "been there, done it". I just don''t want you to think that buying a diamond or colored gem is somehow worse than many other purchases. When you payf $75 per person in a nice restaurant for $10 worth of food and liquor, you are really being "hosed" far more, on a percentage basis, than paying $10,000 for a diamond that you might have bought somewhere else for $9,000. And many of us eat out a whole lot more than buying a gemstone. Do we complain about paying too much for a finely served dinner? Not usually. In fact, we enjoy the experience.

You need to turn the buying experience for jewelry into something pleasureable, not fearful. We can help you on Pricescope to do just that. It ought to be something you can tell your friends about with a degree of pride and satisfaction rather than tell them how hard it was to accomplish.
 
Well said David.
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Neil Beaty
Independent Appraisals in Denver
 
Well Dave, I am thankful I found this sight. The Lord continues to lead me in a direction full of blessings... Marriage is a very important time and as I share this wonderful experience with the women God has delivered to me and He Himself, I am determined to keep it "a pleasurable experience" as a witness to Gods power in my life!
 
Drag,

I sent you a private message .
 
Hi,

Just had to put my woman''s two cents in here. When I was in retail I remember taking 3 months to help choose the perfect Alexandrite gemstone for a client. She was so excited about the stone and doing something different. I delivered the piece and within two weeks she was back and very discouraged. No one got excited or even thought it was an engagement ring, or even what it was. She turned it back in for a diamond ring. She wanted to feel engaged! This isn''t important to everyone and I have sold (in my retail past) many colored gems for engagement rings, but usually for a second marriage. Just be prepared that most folks will not realize it is an engagement ring. Best of luck in your search! Cindy
 
Ok, Here is where I am getting confused. I am looking at one of three possible stones

1. Blue Sapphire
2. Red Spinel (Blue Spinels seem to be VERY expensive)
3. Ruby

I see people who sell the stones and the prices as shown are somewhat inexpensive incomparison to the rings I have seen the finer sites have (pre-set and all)... Obviously there is a quality of stone difference here. I don''t know if I dare by via internet... I guess I may be up for a long drive..

Some of the Websites I have been given are great. Are some of theses places over charging? For example I have found a beautiful 18kt gold Red Spinel $3100.00 it is 1.39 carrot.. If this is exceptable because of the possible quality I will except that, but..... I guess I am looking for a reliable gauge... Do I sound gittery???? I guess I am a little bit..
 
That is one reason why I am considering a three stone ring with diamonds on the sides... I do want it too look like an engagement ring.... That is why I am looking for ideas and the right size, cut and setting... I do think all of that make a huge difference how it is perceived!
 
Hi, Michael! Congratulations for considering a colored stone for an Ering!

If it were me, I''d stick with stones from the corundum family (ruby/sapphire) because of the durability, and the vast choices one has for color and price points.

If rarity is an issue, you might want to find a certified, untreated stone.

If you''re looking for true true rarities in the gem world, fine Burma ruby, Ceylon Padparadscha, and Kashmir blue comes to mind. But of course, you''d need a VERY big budget!!

You might also want also to consider your Intended''s preference in color.

For fun, I made sort of a "collage" of corundum from CherryPicked....the choices are endless!

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Untitled-Stitched-44.jpg
 
Two of the PS jewelers who specialize in colored gems are www.winkjones and www.diamondexpert.com. If you''re not all that knowledgable about colored gems, I would strongly recommend that you call one of them to discuss your needs. They can probably help guide you over the phone more easily than we can.

Good luck. Sapphires and rubies are traditional engagement stones for European royalty, so your future fiancee will be adorned like a princess!
 
Date: 1/5/2005 11:25:32 AM
Author: drag1320ft

For example I have found a beautiful 18kt gold Red Spinel $3100.00 it is 1.39 carrot.. If this is exceptable because of the possible quality I will except that, but..... I guess I am looking for a reliable gauge...
Click to expand...



Well, price is obviously not a reliable gauge. There's isn't any as clear cut as a number (you know: grade, class, quality controll stamp... things like that).

There are lots of perfect D-IF diamonds listed on top of this page. If any two guys could agree what is perfection of some other gem and gather enough of the kind to boot... I suppose there would be databases with perfect ruby and sapphire too. If there is any, I have no idea.

Here's where my gauge comes from.

The fast track meant looking for some benchmark: great jewelry (think museum) bechmark, and decent syntetics. There's not much else to do without having someone else (usually a seller) telling you what to look for. It seems to be the dealer's right to call "best" either the current stock (this is the sad version) or the best they have seen (=the expensive version). Once you do see some fine pieces, than you would at least avoind the sad part.

Surely there's more to it. Allot of fine nuance makes price gaps between otherwise perfectly beautiful pieces. No idea what the "fast track" for this part is. 'Guess everyone ends up with a personal recipe how to judge quality after enough work (and waste of money) amounts to some decent level of confidence. There are books of such recipes - usually about the very sucessful ones.

For once, the book of Richrad Wise (Secrets of the Gem Trade) has one (THIS).

Hope the little confession is not completely useless. I would love to hear oters, sure that
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PS: Btw, Why do you say blue spinel is expensive ? Is this about one in particular ?
 
Drag...Take a look at jewelryexpert.com. They''ve got lots of choices in lots of stones This red spinel is 1.39 carat, 18K, with surprise diamonds for $3150.

Red-Spinel-Ring-III-13.gif
 
Here''s a sapphire.

Sapphire-Hidden-Treasures-Ring-II-5.gif
 
I would like to say one thing that I have experienced personally in my search for a non-diamond engagement stone.

Spinels are not cheap.

Well, of course they are cheap compared to diamonds. And yes, they are cheap when looking at "comparable rubies." I think those are both true statements that I sensed from the outset. What I did not know was just how damn expensive a "comparable ruby" could actually get. Do you know... a truly amazing ruby can cost much more per carat than a very good quality diamond?

But the more research I did, the more I felt that these gems justify their price. They are truly rare. Ruby has a somewhat easier time due to all the historical mystique associated with it over the years in various cultures (same with emeralds and to a lesser extent sapphire).

Spinel, historically, has been both an accidental ruby-impostor and a ruby substitute. They are so similar in terms of their look and where they are found (in many of the same deposits) and indeed in chemical structure that they have been mistaken for awesome rubies for centuries.

But here''s the problem. The ruby market has been mutated by the existence of treatments that effect two changes in the public''s perception:

1) People think that a truly beautiful "red-red-red" stone is the only way to go, whereas in the past you didn''t expect to possibly afford one unless you were an oil tycoon or royalty.

2) People now have unfair expectations of other red stones (like spinel).

The fact is, a LOT of ruby is being churned out that would look absolutely horrible (murky, purplish-bluish core) in the market if left untreated, but *with* treatment, is perfectly saleable and in many cases highly beautiful and desirable. But with spinel, this just isn''t possible.

For spinel, what you see is what you get out of the ground. So I will give you two pieces of advice:

1) Try to appreciate the beauty of a spinel independently of what you would expect of a ruby
2) If you truly want a super-duper-red spinel of crazy vivid saturation, please expect to pay a lot.

Yeah, it won''t cost you as much as an equivalent ruby. But an "equivalent" ruby (a.k.a. with the same amazing color parameters, clarity, and natural untreated origin) could cost something like $75,000 depending on your taste. Even if a spinel cost 1/10th of that, it isn''t free!

True (beautiful) red spinels often (and maybe even typically) cost more per carat than your basic high quality treated blue sapphire. The absolutely top fine red spinels may even cost more than an untreated blue sapphire (but never more than the equivalent ruby).

That said, spinel has so much "underdog" mystique associated with it that I never gave up hope in my own search. I love the idea of a truly untreated gem that looks so awesome and is so rare in its own right that you might even say that it is rarer than ruby (certainly rarer than treated ruby).
 
Raddygast, not to get off topic (but here I go), did you ever find your own red spinel?
 
I believe I am close.
 
I looked at a Ruby yesterday and they are expensive. For the size and rareness in my area, I probably will stick to a Spinel. I love the ring above and the price in perfect, but I am afraid in person or on "her" hand it won''t look like a e-ring. Which is why i am thinking Diamonds on the side.
 
Ok, where is the best place you guys have found to buy a spinel?
 
Okay, so you defintely want a 3-stone ring...
There are many variations on this style.
Do any of these look appealing--
(Of course, imagine them with any combination of stones and colors you would like...)

p.jpg

p.jpg

Sapphire-Trellis-Ring-8.gif

Sapphire-Engraved-Ring-V-but.gif

2202s.jpg
 
I like the 3rd one down alot. Instead of Blue Sapphire, i would want the red spinel. What is kt on the diamonds?
 
Date: 1/6/2005 7:33:30 PM
Author: drag1320ft
I like the 3rd one down alot. Instead of Blue Sapphire, i would want the red spinel. What is kt on the diamonds?
Click to expand...
You're in luck ;) That is rather popular and no trouble to find off the rack, even a nice make like these (I guess the setting is available empty - that is the wholesaler's catalog - good for seeing different sizes side by side).

You can right-click on the pictures in the previous posts to find their sources. The ring you mention comes from jewelryexpert.com (link to ring).

Hope this helps
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